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Doctrine of Grace

Library of Christian Doctrines — IntelligenceReport.info

Doctrine of Grace

  1. Definition
    1. Grace is all that God is free to do for man on the basis of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
    2. Grace depends on the essence or character of God.
    3. Grace is what God can do for man and still be consistent with His own character. This is illustrated by the doctrine of propitiation. Propitiation means “to satisfy” and is God’s view of the cross. God the Father is satisfied with the work of Christ on the cross on behalf of sinful man. Thus, God blesses the believer with salvation, spiritual assets for the Christian life, and eternity in heaven based on Christ’s perfect work, not our work.
  2. The divine policy of grace is the precedent for the Christian way of living and giving. God supplies the apparatus for assimilating doctrine (GAP) as the basis upon which believers live. God also provides the material resources from which believers give. The result is living and giving that reflects His plan. Grace orientation is the bona fide motivation and attitude for giving (2 Cor. 8:9).
  3. Grace is the antithesis of legalism. Legalism is man’s attempt to observe a strict standard of behavior and thereby gain the approval of God. Even if the standards are true, man’s work cannot bring him to God. Legalism is the enemy of grace.
  4. God has provided everything for salvation. Man responds in a totally nonmeritorious manner: by faith (Rom. 3:22–24; 5:19–21; Eph. 2:8–9).
  5. Under the concept of grace, the greatest thing that God can do for the saved person is to make him exactly like His Son, Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29). This is sanctification, which is accomplished in three stages:
    1. Positional sanctification: Every believer at the point of salvation is entered into union with Christ through the baptism of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). In His resurrected humanity Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father (Eph. 1:20). As one with Christ every believer shares His exalted position (Eph. 2:6).
    2. Experiential sanctification: This is the Christian way of life, the spiritual growth of believers through the consistent intake of Bible doctrine. The result: continual progress in the process of maturing spiritually (Eph. 4:11–16).
    3. Ultimate sanctification: The final stage of sanctification promotes all Church Age believers to a state of perfection and glorification in eternity. All receive resurrection bodies like that of Christ (Phil. 3:21; 2 Thess. 2:14; 1 John 3:2).3
  6. Every believer has “tasted the kindness [grace] of the Lord” at least once (1 Pet. 2:3). This verse refers to the point of salvation, when the believer receives at least forty grace gifts from God, which are unearned and undeserved.4
  7. Disorientation to grace is the believer’s greatest occupational hazard (Gal. 5:4). Falling from grace is not loss of salvation, but it is rejecting grace and accepting legalism or some other human system of pseudosanctification.
  8. God is constantly waiting to pour out His grace on every believer (Isa. 30:18–19).
  9. The Christian way of life expresses grace in many ways, for example: prayer (Heb. 4:16); suffering (2 Cor. 12:9–10); growth (2 Pet. 3:18); stability (1 Pet. 5:12); the modus vivendi of the Christian life (2 Cor. 1:12; Heb. 12:28); and the production of divine good (1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 6:1).
  10. Grace is sufficient for enduring all suffering. Through grace God is able to bless the believer in the midst of pressure, hardship, and adversity (2 Cor. 12:7–10).
  11. The axioms of grace
    1. God is perfect; His plan is perfect.
    2. A perfect plan can originate only from a perfect God.
    3. If imperfect man can do anything meritorious, then God’s plan is no longer perfect. Grace, which excludes human merit, protects the perfection of God’s plan.
    4. A plan is like a chain, which is no stronger than its weakest link. Grace excludes human merit, human ability, human good, and, therefore, the plan of God has no weak links.
    5. Human works cannot accomplish the plan of God. Human virtue always falls short of God’s absolute standards.
    6. Human good, when assumed to be man’s approach to God, expresses arrogance.
  12. Arrogance rejects grace
    1. The arrogance of the believer who rejects the doctrine of eternal security: he assumes his sins are greater than the plan of God.
    2. The arrogance of the believer who succumbs to pressure and adversity: he assumes his sufferings are greater than grace provision.
    3. The arrogance of the pseudospiritual believer: he assumes his human system is greater than the power of the Holy Spirit and the Christian way of life.
    4. The arrogance of the believer whose emotions dominate his thinking: he assumes his feelings and experiences are more valid than Bible doctrine.

2 The sin nature is the center of man’s rebellion toward God. The sin nature is transferred genetically as a direct result of Adam’s first sin, and thereafter resides in the cell structure of the human body of every human being except Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:6; 7:5, 18).

3 For a detailed discussion of ultimate sanctification and resurrection bodies, see Thieme's teachings on the believer's future glorification.

4 The Church Age believer receives at least forty things from God at the instant of salvation.

Tags:ChristChurch AgeDoctrineFaithGivingGraceHoly SpiritSalvationSinSpiritual Growth
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