Thinking with grace rather than justice, part 2; John 15:18;

Title: Thinking with grace rather than justice, part 2; John 15:18;

We have been studying the difference between justice in the world and grace that has come from God.

 

The world is under a system of justice that is contrary to God’s policy of grace and for this reason, ignorance and arrogance of the people involved in the world system turns to hatred against Christ and now against His positive believers.

 

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

We saw last night that a glimpse of grace was given in the OT generally in the form of promises to Israel for her future, but here we see that the incarnation brings the fullness of grace.

 

The adjective plh,rhj[pleres] distinguishes Christ as the full embodiment of grace.

 

Grace: all that God is free to do for man on the basis of the cross. It allows imperfect creatures to execute a perfect plan. God works and the believer receives.

 

The same One who brought the fullness of grace to the world, expressed through the CA, is the same One who took all justice upon Himself so that whosoever believes in Him would be justified forever.

 

All justice was completed at the cross and the Justice of God was satisfied (propitiated).

 

Justice is needed in the secular world under the laws of divine establishment, established by the government which is to secure the inalienable rights of nature and nature’s God.

 

Securing these rights is necessary in the world filled with fallen creatures.

 

Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built upon the ruins of the bowers [enclosure] of paradise.”

 

However, in no way is governmental justice to infiltrate the Christian way of life, neither in the Church as a whole or the individual soul of the believer.

 

Nor should the government become a god or idol to any citizen, which is a violation of divine establishment under the 10 commandments.

 

In a much quoted passage in his inaugural address, President Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.” Neither half of the statement expresses a relation between the citizen and his government that is worthy of the ideals of free men in a free society. The paternalistic “what your country can do for you” implies that government is the patron, the citizen the ward, a view that is at odds with the free man’s belief in his own responsibility for his own destiny. The organic, “what you can do for your country” implies that government is the master or the deity, the citizen, the servant or the votary. To the free man, the country is the collection of individuals who compose it, not something over and above them. He is proud of a common heritage and loyal to common traditions. But he regards government as a means, an instrumentality, neither a grantor of favors and gifts, nor a master or god to be blindly worshipped and served. He recognizes no national purpose except as it is the consensus of the purposes for which the citizens severally strive.

 

This doesn’t mean that Church and state can have nothing to do with each other; certainly the Church should affect the thinking of the individuals that make up the government, as it did the founders, however, government policy should never become Church policy, and when the Church got involved in government [moral majority, evangelical right, etc.] the government got involved in the pulpits making secularism and legalism the cornerstone of the unorthodox teaching from the pulpits.

 

The world cannot understand grace without regeneration that comes from faith in Christ and the believer cannot understand grace without a maximum amount of doctrine.

 

So the world hates you. It hates you because it hated Christ first who came with grace and truth. If the believer neglects grace and truth then he will think and live like the world, and then the world would love him.

 

In the Church we look back to the fulfilled justice by the work of our Lord, but in the OT they looked forward to that event and so they were put under a justice system while they waited for their justice to be completed.

 

Israel was placed under a justice system as they waited for justice to be completed.

 

Turn to a very popular verse, but now look at it in light of what we are studying:

 

ISA 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor [His word], Mighty God [deity],

Eternal Father [representing the Father], Prince of Peace [kingdom of peace and prosperity].

 

Notice that the government, a word that means government, rule or dominion, will rest on His shoulders and not the shoulders of man. Man cannot bring about justice! Therefore, to bring about your own upon yourself or another not only is wrong, but you will never be able to do it effectively. Evaluate a situation and make a decision either yes or no; people in authority do this all the time, but can do so without a justice system for the word of God contains the guidance for good and evil; righteousness and unrighteousness.

 

ISA 9:7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom,

To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness

From then on and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

 

This conquering of justice, taking justice upon His shoulders, is the prophecy of the fulfilled promise to Abraham, David, and all Israel of the four unconditional covenants and it will occur during the Millennial reign. This cannot occur until the conditional covenant of the Mosaic Law is also fulfilled by Christ on the cross. With these fulfilled, all five, the Millennial reign is described as eternal and on the throne of David meaning that it is an earthly kingdom.

 

The Millennium is the grace fulfillment of unconditional promises made to Abraham and all born again Israel.

 

So we would see grace in action here. No one earned or deserved this, not Abraham and not David, nor anyone in Israel, so technically this falls under the definition of grace.

 

However, this is not for the Church. The Church receives a greater grace, in fact, the fullness of grace.

 

ISA 11:1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,

And a branch from his roots will bear fruit [virgin birth].

 

ISA 11:2 And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him [baptism],

The spirit of wisdom and understanding,

The spirit of counsel and strength,

The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord [slave].

 

ISA 11:3 And He will delight in the fear of the Lord [happy slave],

And He will not judge by what His eyes see,

Nor make a decision by what His ears hear [first Advent];

 

ISA 11:4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor [Second Advent],

And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;

And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,

And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.

 

ISA 11:5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins,

And faithfulness the belt about His waist.

 

In verse four we see again, as in chapter 9 where David’s throne is, that this fulfillment in on the earth and not in heaven. This is in contrast to the Church, who destiny and current election is from heaven and in heaven.

 

COL 3:1 If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

 

COL 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

 

Don’t look for justice on the earth and don’t try and bring justice into your life or another’s. The only justice is with Christ, and that is fulfilled, so from Christ flows grace - you receive and God is glorified.

 

COL 3:3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

 

COL 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory [eternal security - the presentation of the Church at the Big Genuflect].

 

 

Phil 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;