Message Information
- Key Scriptures: Luke 15:17-24, KJV
- Series: Alone (2017), no. 2
- Date: Sunday, October 29, 2017 (Morning)
- Venue: Trinity Baptist Church — Seminole, Oklahoma
- Speaker: Jared Byrns
- Audio File: Open/Download
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Salvation by Grace Alone
We’re going to be in Luke chapter 15 this morning, and we’re going to be talking about the grace of God and how the grace of God alone is what makes salvation possible. Last week, if you remember, I introduced you to the background of the Protestant Reformation. Five hundred years ago, with the anniversary coming on Tuesday, October 31, Martin Luther wrote a letter outlining ninety-five areas of disagreement with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, and he nailed it to the door of the church in the town where he served.
That door functioned sort of like their bulletin board. He posted it there hoping to spark debate and discussion. From that story, we studied the doctrine of sola scriptura, which is fancy theological talk, or Latin, for the idea that Scripture alone, not church tradition, speaks with God’s authority for measuring our beliefs and our behavior. It is the idea that God’s Word calls the shots.
There is a place for tradition. We talked about that last week. We have our own traditions. We don’t like to admit that, but we do. There is nothing wrong with tradition until we elevate it to the level of God’s Word.
For example, we take the Lord’s Supper on the fifth Sunday whenever there is a fifth Sunday in the month. That doesn’t come from God’s Word, does it? We talked about that last week. I asked you what Scripture says about the frequency of observing the Lord’s Supper, and it says, “as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup.” There is not a set time. Some churches observe it every week, some churches observe it four times a year, and we observe it four or five times a year. There is no set schedule. As often as we do it, we are to do these things in remembrance of Him.
So we have our tradition that we observe it on the fifth Sunday, and that is okay as long as we are not violating God’s Word. The Pharisees, though, were going against the Word of God with their traditions. There are religions and denominations that teach that the church is authoritative, that it is equal to Scripture and sometimes even greater than Scripture. We believe that where God’s Word speaks, it has an authority nothing else has.
As we studied this, we heard Luther’s words declaring that his conscience was bound by the Word of God alone. In his speech before the emperor and representatives of the pope, he said that he was convinced of these things, and unless he could be convinced otherwise by Scripture, he had to stand where he stood. He could not move for them or for anyone else. His conscience was bound by the Word of God, as ours ought to be.
It is not right because the preacher says it. Even if that preacher is me, I tell you all the time to check what I say against God’s Word. It is not true and right because I say it. It is not true and right because it is the position of this church or any other church. It is true and right because it is what God’s Word says.
More importantly than learning Luther’s words, we looked at Jesus’ words last week as He chastised the Pharisees for the way they were elevating their man-made traditions over the clear teaching of God’s Word. We talked about how they designated some of their resources as Corban, saying they would set it aside for the use of the temple, when really it was what we might call today a tax shelter to keep from having to use those resources to care for their elderly parents. God’s Word had told them to honor their father and mother, but they were using their traditions to get around obedience to God’s Word. That is one thing Jesus was not going to put up with.
The Doctrine Rediscovered
Today we are going to continue looking at some of these biblical doctrines that grew out of the Reformation 500 years ago. They were not all spelled out in Luther’s letter, but that letter was the spark that set a wildfire across Europe. The truth that had been underground, kept alive by hidden pockets of believers who were persecuted by both church and government, suddenly came out into the open.
The next of these biblical doctrines we are going to learn about today is sola gratia. Don’t get hung up on the theological words. Sola gratia simply means grace alone. You may walk out of here and not remember the phrase sola gratia, and that is okay. I even had to stop and think for a moment about whether I was pronouncing it correctly, and I am still not one hundred percent sure I am. If you do not remember the Latin term, that is fine, as long as you remember that salvation is by God’s grace alone.
The Bible teaches that God’s grace is the only thing that saves us. It is very clear about that. Five hundred years ago, when Luther wrote his letter, he objected strongly to the teaching that indulgences played any role in a person’s salvation.
If you remember the story from last week, one of the problems he had was that the Catholic Church was financing the refurbishment of St. Peter’s Basilica by selling things called indulgences. An indulgence was basically a certificate from the pope that a person could buy for a set amount of money. It supposedly erased some sins and either secured eternal life or reduced time spent in purgatory. People were being guaranteed that some or all of their sins were forgiven because they had this piece of paper.
Some of you are laughing, and it is laughable. Do you think for one moment that I could give you a piece of paper, sign “Jared” at the bottom, and say, “Your sins are forgiven because I said so; here is your piece of paper”? Do you think that would cut any ice with God? Who am I to sign a piece of paper and say your sins are forgiven? That is something God takes care of.
They were selling these certificates that told people they could get out of purgatory and into heaven. In one of his ninety-five theses, Luther said, “It is vain to trust in salvation by indulgence letters, even though the indulgence commissary, or even the pope, were to offer his soul as security.” What he meant was that even if the indulgence salesman, or even the pope himself, swore on his own soul that the certificate was good and would get someone into heaven, it would still be ridiculous to trust one’s eternal destiny to that piece of paper.
You see how ridiculous that is. But the people in that day were not being taught the Bible, so they did not see how ridiculous it was. Many sincere men and women likely died and went to hell because they were putting their trust in pieces of paper purchased with money.
To be fair, during that time, as now, the Catholic Church did teach that grace was necessary for salvation. They still do. I hear people say all the time, “We trust in grace, and the Catholic Church trusts in works.” That is not entirely true. They believed in grace, and they still believe in grace. They just believed in grace plus works.
I spent time this week rereading parts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Council of Trent, trying to understand how these things fit together, and I cannot make sense of it. I cannot make sense of how works and grace are supposed to play this part together when God’s Word, as I understand it, is so clear. Today, they teach that grace is necessary for salvation, but that on top of that you need other things, such as the sacraments.
This is not just a Catholic issue. People from all walks of life, in all religions, and even many people sitting in the pews of Baptist churches on any given Sunday morning, are trusting for their eternal salvation in something other than grace. They may believe grace is necessary, but they are putting part of their trust in something else and saying, “This is necessary too.” They are saying that we need grace plus something else.
What People Trust Instead of Grace
People trust all the time in things like living a good life. I cannot tell you how many times I have talked to people and asked, “Do you know you are going to heaven? Why would God let you in?” And they answer, “I just hope that when all is said and done, the good outweighs the bad, and God will let me in.” That is not biblical. It is anti-biblical. It goes against the clear teaching of God’s Word.
Some trust in baptism. “If I could just be baptized, I would go to heaven.” No. There is nothing about that water that saves you. There are some passages in Scripture that look like they could be talking about water baptism being part of salvation. Those difficult passages are not teaching that, and the clear passages say salvation is by grace alone and has nothing to do with works that you can do.
When we baptize somebody, there is nothing magical about this water. It comes from the same water system as the water at your house. There is nothing mystical about it. Baptism is important, but baptism does not save.
Some trust in church membership. There is nothing magical about signing your name on one of those little pieces of paper down here at the front, getting your letter sent here, and having your name placed on the church roll. That does not save you.
Some trust in church attendance. I am glad you are here today. We have a good time together in fellowship. We harass each other. We love each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. Not only that, we have a good time studying God’s Word together and praising Him together. I am glad you are here with us this morning, but God is not in heaven taking attendance and saying, “She was here this morning, so she gets to go to heaven now.” God knows you are here, but He is not working on a perfect attendance award at the end of all this.
Some trust in communion. When we take the Lord’s Supper in a little bit, it is a serious, solemn, somber thing that we must not treat lightly. It is important because of what it symbolizes. But there is nothing magical about the elements of the Lord’s Supper.
I was telling Brother Greg yesterday how disappointed I was around the time I was in college and realized that when we take the Lord’s Supper, the juice is Welch’s. You can buy it at the grocery store. I have to order the bread from somewhere because I have to make sure it is unleavened, but we could go get flatbread from Walmart, cut it up into pieces, and use it. I normally tell Charla, “If you are going to the grocery store this week, could you pick up some grape juice? We are having the Lord’s Supper.” There is nothing magical about these elements. What is important is what they represent. Do not trust in those things for your salvation.
Some people trust in giving. There is a joke on a sitcom I used to watch where a man says, “I have given thousands of dollars to the Catholic Church over the years, and I am assured that I will have certain powers in the afterlife.” It was a joke, but the idea was that he was trusting in the money he had given to the church to get him into heaven.
Anything you trust for your eternal security other than grace will let you down. Anything you trust your eternal security to other than grace is foolishness. None of these things work. The Bible teaches that salvation is by grace alone and that our works do not contribute.
We are going to be in Luke chapter 15 today, but one of the places that conveys this very well is Ephesians chapter 2. If you have been here for any length of time, you have heard me quote this dozens of times. Ephesians chapter 2, starting in verse 7, says, “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.”
The clear teaching of Scripture is that God desires to show His kindness to us, to lavish His grace on us, and that it is by His grace that we are saved. It is because He is gracious and because He is kind. It has nothing to do with goodness within us, and nothing to do with works, lest we have any reason to boast about it.
If you are to be saved, it is totally and completely by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, which we will talk about over the next two weeks. Paul explains this concept in theological terms. Jesus illustrates it in a story in Luke chapter 15, one of my favorite stories in all of Scripture.
The Son Who Had Nothing to Offer
At the beginning of this story, Jesus is talking about a wicked and rebellious son who rejected his father’s love. You are probably familiar with the story. This son demanded the portion of the inheritance he was owed, and he set out to squander that inheritance on a wicked and irresponsible lifestyle.
When he went out with all his money to do his wicked things, times were good at first, and friends were plenty as long as the money lasted. But eventually the money ran out, as it always seems to do, and when it did, his so-called friends disappeared. He was left destitute and alone.
That would have been bad enough, but this took place during a time of economic hardship and famine. There was no food. The whole country was suffering, and it was hard for him to find work. Eventually he took a job feeding a farmer’s pigs.
Some of you probably think, “Big deal. I have done that. It is nasty work.” I have never fed pigs. I have been around some farm animals, but I have never had to feed pigs, and I am thankful for that. It sounds like one of those things you would see Mike Rowe do on Dirty Jobs. As a matter of fact, I think I have seen him do some things with pigs that I would not want to be part of. It is a dirty job, and somebody has to do it.
But in this man’s culture, pigs were considered unclean. This was something that a good, respectable Jewish boy should never be involved in. We do not have many things in our culture that are taboo anymore. We are kind of in an anything-goes culture now.
I was thinking this week about what in our culture would carry the same stigma that feeding pigs would have carried in his, and the only things I could come up with were dogfighting and white supremacy. We think people who fight dogs are evil, and that is one of the few things you still cannot get away with today, that and being a white supremacist, and rightfully so on both counts. Combine the way our society looks at those things, and that gives you an idea of how low he had sunk. He was in a job no respectable person should have had.
At his lowest point, he was reduced to eating the slop he fed to the pigs. He was not only feeding them; he was eating with them. He had been reduced to getting down on their level, and he found himself with nothing and nowhere to run.
That is where the story picks up in verse 17: “And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!” His father’s servants had more than enough to eat, and here he was starving to death. He said, “I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.”
This prodigal son knew that in the father’s house he could find everything he could ever need. Whatever he lacked, he would find in the father’s house. As a man starving to death, he would literally find salvation in his father’s house. He would find the food that would keep him alive.
But he rightly recognized that he had absolutely no right to go back to his father’s house. When he asked for his inheritance and then squandered it the way he did, he took everything his father, and probably generations before him, had worked for, built up, and saved. He took it all and squandered it on sin. On top of that, by saying, “I want my inheritance and I am leaving,” he was basically saying to his father, “You might as well be dead. I do not care about you. I am out of here.”
He had absolutely no right to go back to his father’s house, and he admitted it. He said, “I have sinned.” He had sinned against heaven and before his father. That word sin covers a multitude of ideas. Within the scope of that word are the ideas of transgressing, breaking the rules, failing, being morally disqualified, and, in the case of an athlete, disqualifying yourself from a prize. This was not merely, “Oops, I made a mistake.” He had made life-altering choices that rendered him a moral failure and disqualified him from anything in his father’s house.
Folks, you and I stand in the same place before God because of our sin. We have failed, and we are out. We have been disqualified because of our sin. Anytime we disobey God, that is sin.
Because of his sin, the son recognized that there was no way he could ever merit anything from his father. He had no claim to blessing and no claim to a place in his father’s house. The only thing he could do was go back and throw himself on his father’s mercy. He did not deserve to be there. But there was a glimmer of hope that maybe, because his father was a kind man, his father might be gracious enough to allow him to be a servant in his household. He did not deserve to be a son. He did not deserve even to be a servant. But maybe his father would show him the kindness of letting him come back as a servant.
The Father Who Ran
Verse 20 says, “And he arose, and came to his father.” But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him, had compassion, ran, fell on his neck, and kissed him. The story totally changes when we realize that the father was watching for his son.
The father saw him from a long way away. Do not take from that the idea that he was out searching the highways and hedges. But as he went about his daily routine, taking care of his lands and animals and whatever else he had, he evidently had an eye on the road. He was watching, because he saw his son when his son was far off.
What does he do? He does the least dignified thing a patriarch in that day could do. He drops everything, runs to the boy, grabs him, hugs him, kisses him, and weeps. That is not a power move, is it?
My understanding is that if you go in for an audience with the pope, you bow down and kiss the ring. He does not come running to you and throw his arms around you. It is probably the same if you visit the president. He is probably not going to run to the door of the Oval Office and say, “I have been waiting for you all this time. I am so glad you are here.” But that is what this father did, because he was moved with love and compassion.
That is what our Father does too. He is full of compassion, and He did everything necessary to seek us. We did not go looking for God. He sought us out. Do not misunderstand me. I still believe in free will. I still believe that as far as we understand it, we have the ability to accept or reject God’s offer of forgiveness. But do not think for a second that God forgives us because we went and sought Him out, because we are so wonderful, and because we beat down His door until He said yes. No, God was looking for us with compassion.
The father saw him and had compassion on his son. He did not have compassion because the son had earned it. This boy had not earned anything except a slammed door, which would probably be the instinct for some of us. At some point, you love your child, but you might think, “You cannot treat me this way.” We all have that within us, that flesh that says, “You cannot treat me this way.” There would be some temptation to say, “No, you sort this out yourself. Tough love.”
The son had not earned a welcome like this. The father did not show compassion because the son had earned it. He did not show compassion because of the offer the son had rehearsed. If you remember the last few verses we looked at, the son said, “I will go to my father.” He had this whole deal worked out. He was going to try to negotiate with his father. “Could I come back as a servant?” He had a plan.
But he did not even get those words out of his mouth before the father came running to him. It was not because he made some kind of deal with him. God does not have compassion on us because we earned it, and He does not have compassion on us because we can make a deal with Him. “God, if You will forgive me, I will serve You. I will do this or that.” It does not work that way.
The father also did not have compassion because the son’s sin was no big deal. The sin was a big deal. That is why the son, when he finally came to his senses, was so broken up about it. He realized how grievous his sin was. And any sin is grievous. Any sin is a big deal.
We may say, “It is just a little thing.” It is still a big deal to God. When you are perfectly holy, a little bit of sin means you are no longer perfectly holy. God’s standard for us is His absolute, perfect holiness. Even a little sin on our part falls short. We have fallen short of that standard of absolute, perfect holiness.
The father had compassion on his son simply because it was in his nature to show compassion. He felt compassion because he was compassionate. The same thing is true of God. He does not have compassion on us because we have earned it. He does not show us grace because our sin is no big deal. If our sin were no big deal, we would not need grace. God shows us His kindness and grace because He is kind and because He is gracious.
So the father ran to his son and received him with compassion. Verse 21 says, “And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.” He is going through the speech he rehearsed. But the father interrupts him.
The father said to his servants, “Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.” He said, “Bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry.” Why? “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” And they began to be merry.
The son is trying to get through this speech he rehearsed, and the father is not even listening. He is planning a celebration. Why is he planning that celebration? Because he has welcomed the son back. It is already done. It is already settled.
The son was shocked by this. He still thought he had to make a deal or offer something to his father in return, because he had not forgotten how unworthy he was. He knew how unworthy he was to be there. But the father did not need to hear it. The father welcomed him back again, not because of anything he had done, not because of anything he had earned, not because of the offer he made, and not really because of any action on his part. In spite of everything the son had done, the father showed compassion simply because the father was compassionate.
We could substitute the word grace for the word compassion. Grace is the kindness God shows us. This story illustrates the reality of the grace that our Father shows to us. Paul explained it in theological terms throughout his letters. Jesus showed us in the Gospels what it looks like.
That is why I love this story. The son had nothing to offer the father. Even the deal he tried to put together was not something the father waited to hear. What made the difference in this story? The difference between forgiveness and unforgiveness, the difference between grace and judgment, is the nature of the father. That is the only thing that makes any difference here. The father is gracious.
Grace We Do Not Deserve
Here is what we need to know about grace this morning. Grace is kindness we do not deserve. If you are following along with the notes in the bulletin, that is your first set of blanks. Grace is kindness we do not deserve.
Go back and think about the son and the sin in the story. He said himself, “I do not have the right to go back to my father. I have done nothing to deserve my father’s kindness. I have no right to be there.” The whole point of grace is that we do not deserve it. If we could deserve it, we would not need it. And if we need it, we cannot deserve it.
Paul explained this in Titus chapter 3: “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.” He describes human nature, and that lurks inside each of us.
You may be sitting there thinking, “No, I am perfect.” No, you are not. I do not tell you that to be hateful. I just know human nature. No, you are not. Even those of us who are kind still have mean moments. Even those of us who have been believers for years still have that sin nature.
At this point, I think I have been a believer for twenty-five or twenty-six years, and I still have not gotten the sin nature totally straightened out yet. Drive around town with me sometime, and you will figure out who I really am. Paul says we were foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving different lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. That was my spot. It is in all of us.
Then Paul says, “But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared.” Why? We are so awful. We act this way. We are this way. Why would He do this? Paul says, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.”
God looks at us and shows grace not because we are good. We are not. He looks at us and shows grace because it is His nature. It is His grace. It is His mercy. It is His kindness. It is who He is. According to His mercy, He saved us “by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Grace is God’s kindness that we do not deserve. For us, that means salvation. God offers us forgiveness of sins. He looks at our sin and the account that stands against us, the list of sins we have committed and should be punished for, the sins that should keep us separated from Him, and He agrees to forgive us. He does this not because we deserve it, but because He is willing, because He is gracious, and because He desires to forgive it. He does so, and is able to do so, because Jesus Christ died to pay for it.
Did we deserve Jesus coming to die for us? No. Again, if we deserved for Him to die in our place, we would not have needed Him to die in our place. But God shows grace we do not deserve in offering to forgive our sins.
God shows grace beyond that too. James says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.” Every blessing you have is a gift from God. To the believer and the unbeliever, it is God’s grace.
Your heart is beating this morning, presumably, unless somebody has slipped away during the service. That is God’s grace. I do not deserve the next heartbeat. I do not deserve the next breath. I do not deserve my beautiful wife or my three awesome children. I do not deserve you all. You are a wonderful church, and I do not deserve to be here. I do not deserve anything from God but death and hell, and look at what He has blessed me with.
When you realize that what you deserve from God is death and hell, and then you look at all you have instead, God’s grace is incredible. Then add salvation on top of it, the greatest blessing of all, that He would be willing to forgive our sins. Grace is kindness we do not deserve.
Grace We Cannot Earn
Second, we cannot earn grace. The son knew he had nothing to offer his father. There was no way for him to earn that grace.
Romans chapter 4 tells us, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.” If we tried to earn it, whatever we got from God would not be grace. It would be something we worked for, something God owed us, which is impossible. But Paul continues, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
God looks at us and says it is not about our good works. It is not about trying to do enough good works to get to heaven. It is about believing on Him who justifies the ungodly. I am ungodly. I believe that Jesus justifies the ungodly. When I believe on Him, that faith is counted for righteousness.
The Bible says here that God gives this not to those who work for it, but to those who believe, to those who receive the offer He graciously gives. We cannot earn grace.
Third, if we tried to earn grace or add to it, it would not be grace. This is why it is so confusing when there are groups that believe, “Yes, we need God’s grace, but we need works too.” If you add anything to grace, it is not grace. There is a difference between believing in grace for salvation and believing in grace alone for salvation. There is a big difference.
I see this about every other time I go through the drive-thru at McDonald’s here in town. It is not just here in town. It is anywhere. Apparently, they brew their tea with the same equipment they use for their coffee. That is the only thing I can figure out.
I finally decided, after all these years, that I actually hate coffee. I have just been trying to drink it as a social drinker to fit in at church. I hate it, and I quit about the time we came here. But I love tea. Hot tea, iced tea, it does not matter. I go through the drive-thru at McDonald’s and order tea. What I mean by that is that I want tea alone. What I often get is mostly tea that tastes like coffee.
There is a big difference between tea and tea alone. Tea alone is great. Tea that tastes like coffee is something I hate, and I have to throw it out and make my own. There is a difference. There is a difference between saying, “Yes, I believe in God’s grace, but you have to add to it,” and saying, “Grace alone.” There is a huge difference between grace and grace alone.
If we tried to add to it, it would not be grace. If the son had actually paid his father in some way for the privilege of coming back, if he had worked out a deal with the father, or if he had done some kind of penance, the story would not be nearly as compelling. It would simply be a business deal. But the reason the story is so compelling is that we can all identify with the son. The way we stand before God, we have nothing to offer. And yet God is gracious to us anyway.
In Romans chapter 11, Paul said, “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” Then he says the important part: “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace.” He continues, “But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”
Paul is saying that if you take grace and try to add your good works to it, it is not grace anymore. If you are trying to get to heaven by good works and then add a little grace to it, that is not works anymore either. The two do not mix as far as what we put our trust in for salvation. It has to be one or the other. And it is grace.
Grace Paid in Full
God offers salvation to you already paid for in full. This morning, He offers salvation to you already paid for in full. You cannot add to it. You cannot say, “God, forgive me because I came to church today. I am going to take the Lord’s Supper today. I gave money. I am a good person. God, will You take all this that I have to offer?” It is nothing.
Even our righteousness, the Bible says in Isaiah, is like filthy rags. It is worthless. We come to God empty-handed, trusting completely in the grace that was already paid for in full at the cross, when Jesus Christ shed His blood and died for us.
He did not do this because we are lovable. He did it because He is loving. He did not do it because grace is what we deserve. He did it because grace is in His nature. Looking at our sin, and looking at the death and hell we deserve, God, in His loving, kind, and gracious nature, looked at us and loved us anyway. In spite of our sin, He chose to show grace and sent Jesus to pay for our sins.
Jesus went to the cross. He was nailed to that cross. He shed His blood and died to pay for our sins in full.