Wrapping Up Sola Gratia
September 10, 2017
Well this evening, we nearly pushed on to the next SOLA which is SOLA FIDE, but as I contemplated it, I just had some nagging issues that I wasn’t quite ready to leave behind just yet.
Call them some loose ends that I felt needed tying up, or call them some fragments handing around my desk that I still wanted to address.
However you want to look at it,
I just wanted to clean up the remaining issues in regard to
The doctrine of SOLA GRATIA before we move on.
That being said, I’m going to apologize in advance for the random feel to this sermon and particularly that we don’t have a specific text to work through as the basis for it.
But as I said, through all the sermons we have had on the doctrines regarding SOLA GRATIA, these were some of the issues that just never seemed to make the cut.
These were issues that did not make it into the conversation of those sermons, but they were issues that I feel are of enough importance that
I don’t’ want to move on without addressing them.
So please forgive the unusual structure as we move forward.
The first issue that I want to address in regard to SOLA GRATIA is:
#1 THE ISSUE OF CHURCH DISCORD
I call it the issue of discord because there is no doubt to me at all that
The doctrines surrounding SOLA GRATIA
Are doctrines that have produced no small amount of division.
In particular when we bring up the issues of election and foreknowledge and actual atonement, the debate has become intense.
And no doubt we have had some (as we always do)
Who would much rather people on both sides just drop the whole argument for the sake of harmony and “unity” in the body.
There are some who see the entire debate
As detrimental to the purpose and work of the church.
They would be those who would state something like this:
“As long as we are all preaching salvation through Jesus, what does it matter?”
And so I just felt the need to address
Why we find it important to proclaim these doctrines
Even though they may in fact bring about a strong debate.
Now the simple cop-out answer would be: “Because it’s the truth!”
But there really needs to be a greater explanation than that.
The reality is that all of those doctrines we have talked about
Come together to enforce 1 truth.
Absolute Inability, Sovereign Election, Effectual Call, Actual Atonement, Preservation of the Saints are really just pieces of the greater message.
Each of those doctrines work together to reveal the main truth
Which is that salvation is by Grace Alone.
That has really been the main point to all of this.
That man is not just saved by grace a lot, but that he is saved by grace alone.
That is what we have been revealing and defending.
And the reality is that when we lose that understanding
We lose the gospel all together.
If you add any human work to the gospel then you lose the gospel.
And that can include massive and obvious perversions
But it also includes the less intrusive and more subtle perversions.
A distortion is a distortion regardless of its size.
What is important for us to understand is that as the church
We must uphold the purity and simplicity of the gospel
And that includes the reality that salvation is by GRACE ALONE.
And this must be done even if it does bring discord.
In fact, that is why we study this doctrine in conjunction with
Our study called 500 years of Reformation.
When we talked about SOLA SCRIPTURA
• We talked some about Luther and Zwingli and Tyndale and Rogers and how these men fought and even died for their belief that Scripture Alone is our standard for truth.
However, we have yet to link the doctrine of SOLA GRATIA to the period of the Reformation aside from the simple fact that Calvinism obviously bears a link to the Swiss Reformer John Calvin.
I want you to understand why the issue of salvation by grace alone
Is such an important issue and ultimately one
Worth risking a little discord in order to preserve.
We have talked some about the life of Martin Luther,
But there is more to his life and experience that you need to understand.
• I told you of his Lightning Bolt experience where he surrendered to become
a monk,
• I told you of his tower experience where he learned about justification by faith,
• And we even talked about his famous statement when on trial at Worms.
But there was another very important moment in Luther’s life
That helps us understand the protests of the Reformation.
THAT IS LUTHER’S PILGRIMAGE TO ROME
In 1511 (6 years before Luther nailed the 95 thesis on the church door) Luther was still very much entrenched in Catholicism.
And you need to understand the Catholicism that Luther practiced.
We actually talked about this some while studying through Zechariah,
But I want to mention some of it again to help in your understanding.
In the Catholic system they certainly believe that
A person must achieve righteousness
Before that person is fit to enter heaven.
As we have said,
To them justification was the process of being made righteous.
Until a person was perfectly righteous they could not go to heaven.
In fact, when a Catholic died they went to PURGATORY
Which was a place of purging.
It was in Purgatory that the person suffered in the flesh until all of their punishment was complete and their flesh was purified and thus were able to enter heaven.
Let me help you understand how this worked and what Luther had believed.
The first concept you need to understand is that of MERIT
MERIT is “the quality of being particularly good or worthy, especially so as to deserve praise or reward.”
Obviously then merit was something that was sought after.
Now, in the Catholic system there are 3 kinds of merit.
Congruent Merit is that which is given and is fitting, but is not required.
Meaning you do something good which could be rewarded, but doesn’t have to be.
For example; You clean the bathroom here at the church.
A reward would be fitting, but it is not required.
Condign merit is that which requires a reward and in fact, it is unjust not to receive a reward for it. Merit that is so virtuous that it obligates God to reward it. (Jesus work, some of the saints)
Meaning you do something that God owes you for,
And God would be unjust if He failed to reward you.
And in the Catholic church there four requirements that must be met here.
1) It must be morally good
2) It must be morally free (done with pure motive)
3) It must be done with the assistance of grace (beyond natural human ability)
4) It must be inspired by a supernatural motive (done in love or faith etc.)
And if you do something that meets those 4 requirements
Then God is bound to give you reward.
The third is Supererogatory Merit
Which are works that go beyond God’s requirement
And you actually obtain more merit than you need.
I got this from the Catholic.org website which explains Catholic doctrine:
The idea behind superabundant merits is that Christ and the saints did so many good works that they don’t need them all. The merit they have obtained with God that is beyond their need can be transferred to others.
The Catholic Encyclopedia says:
Since the satisfaction of Christ is infinite, it constitutes an inexhaustible fund which is more than sufficient to cover the indebtedness contracted by sin, Besides, there are the satisfactory works of the Blessed Virgin Mary undiminished by any penalty due to sin, and the virtues, penances, and sufferings of the saints vastly exceeding any temporal punishment which these servants of God might have incurred.
In other words, according to Catholicism, Jesus, Mary, and the Saints,
By reason of their holy living and in some cases martyrdom
Have racked up more merit than they will ever need
And that extra merit is put in “an inexhaustible fund”
That fund, by the way, is referred to as THE TREASURY OF MERIT
It is the Catholic spiritual bank account were excess merit is stored.
And that comes in handy for those who are lacking in merit
And thus expecting a long stay in Purgatory to be cleansed.
The question is how one comes to acquire some of this extra merit.
And that occurs through the Catholic system of indulgences
That the next big word: INDULGENCES
Again, from the Catholic.org website:
What Is an Indulgence?
There are two ideas involved in Roman Catholic teaching on indulgences:
1) Christians receive “temporal punishment” for sin, even after its guilt and eternal punishment have been forgiven by God. That temporal punishment must be paid either here on earth or in a temporary, after-death holding place called purgatory.
2) The Roman Catholic Church has a “treasury,” composed of the “superabundant merits of Christ and the saints,” which the Church, through the exercise of the “power of the keys,” can transfer to the benefit of those who are due temporal punishment.
During the Middle Ages, when pilgrimages were common and looked upon with favor, various Church authorities can be quoted as saying that indulgences were given in return for pilgrimages. In other words, the Church told people that if they went on a pilgrimage their sins would be forgiven.
So if you’re following along with me here, Catholic doctrine goes like this.
• In order to enter heaven you have to have accrued a certain amount of “merit”
• If you do not have enough, you will suffer temporal punishment both on earth and in Purgatory until your sin is satisfactorily purged.
• To shorten this purging/punishment you can actually acquire some of the “extra” left-over merit of Jesus and the saints through various religious deeds.
One of those deeds that would earn merit was to go on a pilgrimage.
A pilgrimage was simply a long journey to visit an important site
And to take the time for spiritual reflection.
Catholics have long practiced veneration of the saints
Wherein they travel to the grave of a saint and honor them.
And for certain pilgrimages you could obtain indulgences.
Now, one of the biggest pilgrimages you could take was to Rome,
Where they supposedly had the very steps
Where Jesus was tried before Pilate.
And as you went up those steps (presumably on your knees)
And as you recited certain prayers in veneration of Jesus there,
You could obtain indulgences.
Some have even stated gaining an indulgence
Worth 1,000 years of suffering in purgatory removed.
Now, with all of that bear in mind what student of Law Luther was
And what a keen understanding he had of guilt and judgment
And you understand why such an endeavor was inviting to him.
SO IN 1511 LUTHER SET OUT TO ROME.
But it did not turn out as he had expected.
• On the way he stayed in various monasteries where he was continually disgusted with the immorality and sinful living of those who claimed to serve God.
• This disgust grew even worse when Luther actually made it to Rome and saw the corrupt practices of the clergy there.
This however did not stop Luther from approaching those famous steps
And making his way up them.
However it is said that at the top Luther asked,
“Who knows if this even works?”
That event started the crack in Luther’s theology.
His theology would be entirely broken a few years later
When Johann Tetzel arrived in Wittenburg.
• Because the Catholic church needed money to build St. Peter’s Tetzel was sort
of set free to sell indulgences for money.
• He would offer years off of your own stay in Purgatory or even to spring a soul
of a deceased one out of purgatory when you gave.
• It was this event that finally prompted Luther’s 95 thesis.
Now, I show you all that because I want you to understand
Just how bizarre and corrupt a religious system can become
When works are added to grace.
I know that calling salvation a synergistic effort (cooperative work) between man and God
May seem like a very little thing and not worth dividing over.
But the question is: Where does it stop?
If you are going to hold that man must aid the work of salvation
Then you have to tell me “how” he must aid God
And eventually you have to tell me “how much” he must aid God.
Currently in our denomination the argument merely says that
Man must aid the process by responding to the call.
This response (they say) is the sole work of the individual
And by his own efforts and free will.
And many say, well that isn’t all that bad.
Well, other denominations say not only must he “respond” by his own free will, but he must also obey in the ordinance of baptism or else he can’t be saved.
And still other denominations say not only must he “respond” but he must demonstrate “initial evidence” by speaking in tongues or he can’t be saved.
Are you following where I am going with this?
Who is to say that tomorrow
It’s not climb the steps in Rome and put money in the pot?
If you are going to insist that man plays a part
Then you have to tell me HOW and HOW MUCH.
AND ALL OF THESE ARE A PERVERSION.
That is why we think holding to the monergistic doctrine of GRACE ALONE is worth any discord that it might produce.
We see in this the heart of the gospel, and it must be defended.
Are you familiar with the Galatian church?
They faced the same issue, only for them it wasn’t “response” or “get baptized” or “speak in tongues”
What was the requirement being placed on the Galatians?
CIRCUMCISION.
The message to the Galatians was this:
Acts 15:1 “Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
And of course when the Jerusalem council met, they ultimately rejected that notion, and let me show you what Peter said.
Acts 15:6-11 “The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter. After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. “And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. “Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”
Did you hear Peter?
• Why are you trying to add something to grace?
• Anything you add is more than we can bear.
Salvation is either by Grace Alone, or it is not.
And even the smallest perversions must be protested.
Listen to the protest of Paul in this regard:
Galatians 1:1-9 “Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen. I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”
Did you hear Paul there?
Those where harsh statements for sure.
But to that we must ask, what is so bad about circumcision?
I’d venture to bet that many in this room are circumcised.
• Did we not see Paul in Acts 16 (after that counsel in Jerusalem met) circumcise Timothy before taking him on mission?
Have we not heard Paul himself say:
Galatians 5:6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.”
Galatians 6:15 “For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”
Obviously then circumcision itself is nothing.
So why would Paul get so bent out of shape with these Galatians over something that would later admit doesn’t mean anything?
Because it wasn’t about circumcision it was about the gospel.
People were teaching that salvation was a synergistic effort.
In order to be saved God must do His part and you must do your part.
And regardless of what “your part” is, it’s still a perversion.
So, we may in fact have discord over this,
But the discord is well worth it
If we are talking about the purity of the gospel.
And in that note, let me say one more thing
That I think will help us understand the Bible’s call for unity.
UNITY IS NOT A HUMAN DECISION,
UNITY IS A THEOLOGICAL LOCATION
Unity does not mean we all just agree to get along and not fight.
That is called “harmony” and that is important.
But unity is not some decision to get along.
UNITY IS A LOCATION.
What do you mean?
Ephesians 4:1-6 “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”
After calling for the church to unify,
Paul then gave the location of that unity.
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”
What Paul just gave you are the coordinates of our unity.
Those are the spiritual latitudes and longitudes of where our unity must occur.
Someone can come along and say “I believe there are two gods”
Someone else could say, “I just believe there is one, but that’s ok we can still have unity.”
No, you can have harmony, but you can’t have unity.
Unity is a location.
You can only unify at 1 place, and that is at the actual truth.
The question is, which is more important to the church…
Harmony or Unity?
Should we sacrifice unity to get harmony or should we sacrifice harmony to get unity?
Well, listen to the writers of the New Testament.
Paul just called those with a different gospel “accursed”
Listen to what Paul told the Thessalonians:
2 Thessalonians 3:14 “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame.”
Listen to what he told Titus:
Titus 1:10-11 “For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.”
Listen to John:
2 John 10-11 “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.”
• We could listen to Matthew 23 when Jesus confronted the Pharisees.
• Or we could listen to John the Baptist confront the religious leaders.
• Or we could listen to Stephen before the Sanhedrin.
The fact for a Christian is that “if possible, so far as it depends upon you”
We live at peace with all men.
But we never compromise true spiritual unity for harmony.
We never yield our position on the gospel.
That is why we are called PROTESTANTS
• We protest anything that adds to the sufficiency of Scripture
• We protest anything that adds to the work of grace.
I hope that helps you understand why
Even though it is a bit of a contentious issue,
We cannot stop defending the true gospel.
Beyond that, you should know that this issue of GRACE ALONE is directly linked to our next SOLA, which is SOLA FIDE (saved through faith alone)
Most Baptists would hold to SOLA FIDE,
But you must understand that if salvation is not by grace alone,
Then it cannot be through faith alone.
Because if salvation requires even the smallest human involvement,
Then you must add that requirement as an addition to faith.
And we’re going to talk about this more in the coming weeks,
But let me give you a verse that really links these two together.
Romans 4:13-16 “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation. For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,”
Did you hear what Paul said?
“For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace”
To put it another way, the two are linked.
You can’t have one without the other.
That is another reason we preach this doctrine even though it offends.
When we talk about things like human depravity and divine election
We are not just trying to defend our view of grace.
WE ARE DEFENDING THE ENTIRE GOSPEL.
We are defending the sufficienty of Scripture, We are defending the sufficiency of grace, We are defending the sufficiency of faith, We are defending the sufficiency of Christ,
We are defending the glory of God.
It’s all on the line.
You lose one of them and you lose all of them.
So, these doctrines of grace that we have been studying
May in fact be controversial,
But that is a controversy we are willing to endure.
The Issue of Church Discord
#2 THE ISSUE OF CHRISTIAN DUTY
And by Christian duty I want to specifically mention
The duties of prayer and evangelism.
Some of the main statements we get against these doctrines of God’s sovereignty are statements like these:
• Well if God is sovereign and already determined who will be saved, then why evangelize?
• “If God has already decreed what is going to happen, what good does it do to pray to Him with your requests?”
First let me just answer that issue as simply as I possibly can.
We pray and we evangelize because we are commanded to do it.
Even if we don’t understand how it works or why it matters
That does not change the fact that God has commanded us to do it.
But I understand that people want a better answer than that.
Let’s talk about EVANGELISM for a moment.
(We already addressed it a little once when discussing the actual atonement)
Evangelism is the means through which God calls out His elect.
Romans 10:14-15 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”
Here is the mystery and the tension.
• Has God already elected who will be saved? Yes
• Are those elect going to come? Yes
That is true.
Can I tell you what is also true?
• No one is saved apart from hearing the gospel.
Together then those truths indicate that God has also ordained
For every one of His elect to hear the gospel.
Who are they going to hear it from?
Us.
Furthermore I remind you that while the Bible does teach predestination
It DOES NOT TEACH double-predestination.
That is to say that God does predestine some to heaven,
But HE DOES NOT predestine others to hell.
Any man who is willing to repent and believe can and will be saved.
Now of course we understand that apart from a work of grace that won’t happen,
But it doesn’t change the reality.
That means that every time you offer the gospel to someone,
It is a real and valid offer.
If they believe it they will be saved.
What we are promised is that eventually the elect will believe it.
What about the issue of PRAYER?
Again someone might ask, “If God is sovereign, then why pray?”
Let me give that to you another way, “Why pray if He is not sovereign?”
People think prayer is pointless if God has ordained His will,
But that doesn’t make prayer pointless.
Pointless prayer would be to pray to a god
Who can’t or won’t enforce His will.
That is pointless prayer.
But still I understand the question.
Why do we even present our requests if God has already determined what He’s going to do?
And again the answer is: Because we are commanded to.
But have you ever considered this: That maybe God is doing more through your commanded prayer than just granting or not granting what you ask for?
It’s the old Karate Kid analogy where Mr. Miagee asks Daniel to do seemingly dumb things like wax his car and paint his fence and sand his deck.
What the kid doesn’t realize is that through that discipline he is actually building the proper muscles and learning the proper moves for karate.
Did you ever stop to think that maybe the discipline of prayer is about more than you getting or not getting what you ask for?
Perhaps God is using that time spent with him
To accomplish his work on you by molding and shaping your desires
And your focus and your interests and your compassion, etc.
Consider that famous passage in Exodus:
Exodus 32:9-14 “The LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. “Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.” Then Moses entreated the LORD his God, and said, “O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? “Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'” So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.”
Many have run to that passage to illustrate the power of prayer.
• The place where a level-headed Moses restrained an out-of-control and
hot-tempered God.
Are you sure that’s what happened?
Are you sure God was going to just wipe out all of His promises and faithfulness and throw it all aside and kill those people?
That would actually be inconsistent with the rest of the entire Bible.
Or could it be that perhaps God was working on Moses there?
As the leader of that stubborn people I’m sure Moses had the thought more than once
About how frustrating it was to lead these people,
And how nice it would be to get a different flock.
What did God teach Moses there?
• To be compassionate…
• Leading those people is also about the glory and reputation and faithfulness of
God…
When I read that story
I’m not sure God was the One who actually changed there.
But beyond that, we are commanded to pray
Because we are promised that God does in fact answer our prayers.
Now maybe He has first caused us to pray for certain things (that I don’t know) but it doesn’t change the fact that prayer works.
Luke 18:1-8 “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘ Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.'” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
That parable is NOT JUST ABOUT teaching us that
If we are persistent then God will give us what we ask for.
Jesus uses that analogy to reveal to us that
God uses prayer as means of growing our faith.
• It takes faith to continue to pray even in the midst of painful circumstances that don’t seem to change.
• Perhaps through those circumstances the answer is merely delayed so that we will learn faith and have it grow.
Do you understand?
Now, to leave it here and to move on I simply want to point out that
If your understanding of SOLA GRATIA means that
You don’t think you need to evangelize or pray,
Then you have totally misunderstood what grace is all about.
That is not at all the point.
Grace Alone does not negate the necessity of evangelism or prayer
It enhances it.
• We don’t quit evangelizing because God is sovereign we evangelize more
because God is sovereign.
• We don’t quit praying because God is sovereign, we pray more because God
is sovereign.
I want you to understand that before we move on.
Well, there, I had to get all of that off of my chest before we moved on,
Next time we’ll look at that 3rd Sola…SOLA FIDE.
