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The Doctrines of Grace

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10)

THE TESTIMONY OF GRACE

Who said those words? Paul did. Paul the apostle. Paul the church planter. Paul the pastor. Paul the theologian. Paul the “I-used-to-persecute-Christians” turned “I-am-constantly-suffering-for-Christians” did. Paul, whose credentials of good deeds and mighty works for Jesus was endless, looks at his life and all he can see was God’s grace. Grace changed him. In fact, not just changed him, but made him:

“by the grace of God I am what I am”

Paul’s confession was that over and above, under and sustaining, in and working through his hard effort and human determination was nothing else but the grace of God.

“though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”

How do we understand this truth? What do we make of it? What does it mean to freely and independently use our human will to make choices for God while believing that at the end of the day, what was truly working was the grace of God?

A STUDY ON GRACE

Starting Sunday, September 7th, For His Glory Community Church will be doing a six week intensive focus on God’s grace in saving sinners. For two years this series has been brewing in my heart and now, after coming to the end of 1 Corinthians, it seems timely to preach it. This of course will not be an easy series for us to go through. For many, God’s sovereign grace in saving sinners is a scandal in the worse way. Terms like Calvinism and reformed theology does not provoke endearment to God for them, but rather anger. For others, such a series is six weeks wasted in the land of pointless theology. Why bother with “man-made systems”? Why wrestle with “paradox” and unsolvable “mysteries”? For these, there is no line of connection between practical Christian living and such ivory-tower issues. None of these experiences, however, have been mine. For me, the doctrines of God’s sovereign grace in saving sinners have been the very anchors of hope and humility in my devotions and pastorate. They keep me. They propel me. They give me courage to be honest about my own failings, to face up and to repent. They give me patience in loving God’s people. They give me courage in engaging the lost. While none of these areas are perfect in my life and often times, often times, are far from where they ought to be, the doctrines of God’s sovereign grace in saving sinners is the truth God’s Spirit most often uses to move me forward. May it be so for us as a church as we dive in.

THE GOAL

As the elders and I have prayed about this series, one of the questions that has arisen is why do this? Why focus the church in this way for six weeks? Among all our hearts, the clear affirmation was :

We can’t do this series to convert disciples of Jesus into disciples of Calvinism. Let me say up front, the goal of this series is not the persuasion to some system of belief. That may be a result of what this series produces, but that is not the goal. The goal, or goals, for focusing on the sovereign grace of God in saving sinners are the following:

1) That we become careful and profound learners of the bible, allowing it to shape us instead of trying to shape it.

2) That we grow in our understanding of God’s greatness and majesty, resulting in lives that are deeply God-centered.

3) That we walk in humility for our salvation and victories, hopeful in our sins and failures.

4) That we learn to pray world changing prayers because our faith is grounded in a God who makes the impossible possible.

5) That we root our hearts in the unwavering truth that God is sovereign over life and death and thereby allowing us to suffer in a way that glorifies God.

6) That we awaken to the joy of being used by God in His unfailing plan of redemption for this world, living courageously and intentionally, rejecting comfort and never afraid of God-ordained risks.

7) That we find our hearts more filled with worship for the Savior Jesus and more dependent on God’s grace that flows through and because of Him.
May the God of grace grant us the grace to walk through this series in such a way that when we’re done, these goals may be experienced in our lives – for His glory and for our good.

Workbook and Study Guide

A guide is available if you would like to dive deeper into these topics and take notes while listening.