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HOUSMAIL
HM048
December 1999 GRACE IN "GOSPEL PERSPECTIVE" JESUS
SAID: “Go therefore and MAKE DISCIPLES of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU; and lo,
I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20) and, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to
the whole creation. He who BELIEVES AND IS BAPTIZED will be saved; but he who
does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15-16) Did
you know that it is possible to preach the Gospel without using the word
“GRACE”? Careful
now! ..... Before some of you explode with accusations of HERESY, let me
hasten to assure you that it is a solidly based Bible question with an
equally solidly based and serious Bible answer! And let me also say at the
outset, that by the time we have completed this short study, it will be
obvious that the answer to the question is going to be a loud “YES”! How
could that be true? WHO could possibly preach the Gospel without introducing
the subject of Grace? Well,
I did a word study of the use of the word in the FOUR Gospels. (KJV Version)
Guess what ..... the word “Grace” does not appear at all in Matthew and Mark!
Luke uses it only once, and John all of 3 times. But here is the most
remarkable thing of all: JESUS
NEVER USED THE WORD “GRACE” ..... NOT EVEN ONCE! That’s
right! It was JESUS Himself who preached the Gospel of the Kingdom of God,
for three and a half years, without ever mentioning “Grace”! So, what DID
Jesus preach about then? The
content of His Gospel can be briefly summarised from Mark 1:15 - “The KINGDOM OF
GOD is at hand. REPENT and BELIEVE the Gospel.” Note
the threefold emphasis on the Kingdom, and repentance, and belief. *
“Kingdom” means the
everlasting KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH, prophesied in the Old Testament, which
Jesus will establish and rule over, when He returns from Heaven. *
“Believe” is about
FAITH in what Jesus taught ..... not just a couple of selectively chosen
comfortable “proof texts”, but ALL of it ..... including believing that He
meant what He said about OBEDIENCE! *
“Repent” means
forsaking our sins to OBEY the commandments of Jesus ..... not just those
that suit us, but ALL of them! The
way Jesus taught it, entry to this Kingdom is CONDITIONAL. *
We must HEAR the
Gospel. (Mark 16:15) *
We must BELIEVE the
Gospel. (Mark 16:16) *
We must ACT on what we
hear and believe, by REPENTING of our sins, and being BAPTISED. *
And then we must learn
to LOVE Jesus and OBEY Jesus. (Matthew 28:19-20, John 14:15, John 14:23-24, 1 John 2:4-6) From
this we understand why Jesus did not need to mention GRACE in His preaching.
Grace certainly is a Bible word, and it is an important word. It is used
often by other NT writers. But Jesus was much more concerned with
establishing the CONDITIONS on which Grace is received. (Which is VERY
practical, isn’t it?) Especially
note that you can’t receive Grace simply by TALKING about it. And you can’t
receive it, if you use it in a way that CONTRADICTS what Jesus said about
obedience. You receive it ONLY by meeting the conditions spelled out by
Jesus! Meet the conditions and it happens “automatically”, regardless of
whether you heard the word “grace”, or not! Allon |