Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 22
October 1, 1970
NUMBER 21, PAGE 7

When Grace Cannot Help

Edward Fudge

As in the days of the apostles and prophets, even now the unlearned and unstable wrest the Scriptures, unto their own destruction (2 Pet. 3:16). Thus, the inspired exhortation to beware lest we fall from steadfastness, and the admonition to grow in grace and in the knowledge or our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:17, 18).

The gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24) is to those who gladly accept and obey it, the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). To those whose eyes are blinded by the god of this world, it is a savor of death unto death (2 Cor. 4:4, 5; 2:14-17). When will grace not help? Let us notice three such occasions.

1. The Grace of God May Be Received in Vain. (2 Cor. 6:1). Some will become puffed up by their own supposed state or works, be spoiled through vain deceit (Col. 2:8), and one day find themselves fallen from grace (Gal. 5:4). To these comes the divine warning: "let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall" (I Cor. 10:12). Such people frustrate the grace of God by supposing that their own works justify them and that they need not therefore wholly rely on the atoning blood of the Son of God (Gal. 2:21).

2. Some Will Fail of the Grace of God (Heb. 12:15), by indifference. Some will neglect the great salvation in Christ (Heb. 2:3). Others will receive God's grace by identifying with Christ and His righteousness (Phil. 3:8, 9) by the obedience of faith (Rom. 16:26; Col. 2:12), but will draw back unto perdition (Heb. 10:39). They, too, fail of the grace of God (Heb. 12:15).

3. Others Will Turn the Grace of God into Lasciviousness, and be lost (Jude 4). These imagine that God's favor overlooks intentional and persistent sin by men whose hearts are not set on doing the will of God. They use their liberty as a cloak of maliciousness (I Pet. 2:16). Such rebellious and willful sinners do despite to the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29). For them, nothing remains but a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation (Heb. 10:27). They should know that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God (Heb. 10:31).

Yet, God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:17). The grace of God has appeared (Tit. 2:11). Do you stand in it, justified by faith — faith that works through love? Are you at peace with God today, through our Lord Jesus Christ? (Rom. 5:1, 2). If not, trust and obey — today.

— 944 S. Geyer, Kirkwood, Mo., 63122