Grace: An Exposition of God's Marvelous Gift by Lewis Sperry Chafer
CHAPTER 1 - The Theme: Seven Fundamental Facts about Grace
A. Grace Is Not Withheld Because Of Demerit: This detail about grace is more apparent, possibly, than any other. It is the sense of demerit more than anything additional which impels a soul to bail out for the consideration and advantages of grace. So, furthermore, grace finds its utmost triumph and glory in the sphere of human helplessness. Grace ceases to be grace if God is compelled to remove it in the occurrence of human malfunction and sin. In detail, grace will not be worked out where there is the smallest stage of human deserve is to be recognized. On the other hand the topic of human sin should be disposed of forever. Christ the Lamb of God, who has taken away the sin of the world, has by His traverse eternally disposed of the disapproval of sin. He has by the traverse conceived a solely new relative between God and man. Consequently, men are now either acknowledging or declining Christ who has conveyed their sins. "He who accepts as factual in Him is not condemned; but he who does not accept as factual is accused currently, because he has not accepted in the title of the only begotten Son of God". There is no middle ground. All inquiries of demerit have been banished. Thus God is righteously free to workout grace in every case. Salvation is by grace alone. The accurate and distinguish significance of the phrase grace should be crystal clear to every progeny of God. With such insight only he can feed his own soul on the inexhaustible wealth which it unfolds and with such comprehending only can he be endowed apparently to overtake on to other ones its marvelous, changing theme. Here is a hitting illustration of the detail that very much may be comprised by one word. When utilized in the Bible to set forward the grace of God in the salvation of sinners, the phrase grace reveals not only the boundless goodness and consideration of God in the direction of man, but comes to far after and shows the supreme motive which actuated God in the creation, preservation, and consummation of the universe. What larger detail could be conveyed by one word? The significance of the phrase grace, as utilized in the NT, is not different as its significance is engaged in widespread speech—but for one significant exclusion, namely, in the Bible the phrase often comprises the meaning that which is limitless, since it comprises truths which are infinite and eternal. It is not anything less than the unlimited love of God expressing itself in measureless grace. Grace is favor, and favor is grace. Thus, in contemplating the Bible educating on this large topic, identical vigilance should be granted to all routes wherein either the phrase grace is utilized or favor is ...