In the Gospel of John the word Grace is found exactly 24 times. True or False? Take a moment to respond at the LLM Question of the Day, click here: http://ping.fm/YcTsl

And now the answer to the LLM Question of 3-25-2012

Question: The Pentecost message of the Apostle Peter was the Gospel of the Grace of God for Gentiles. True or False?

Answer: FALSE! The Apostle Peter’s Pentecost message was NOT ‘the Gospel of the Grace of God’ for Gentiles. The “ritualists”, and ‘back to Pentecost’ religious church members, prefer the message of John the Baptist and the message of the Apostle Peter to Israel on the day of Pentecost, “baptism unto repentance for the remission of sins,” as opposed to the Grace Gospel from Titus 3:5-8. When Peter and the Eleven preached the Kingdom Gospel to Israel on the day of Pentecost the risen LORD had NOT YET revealed His Grace Gospel for Gentiles when, and because, of the temporary FALL of Israel. (Romans 11:11). Now, out of the 762 responses we received to this question, 87.5% of you got it right! Good!! Therefore, NOW, let us take a look at,

The Grace of God, part 5 of 9

HOW MUCH GRACE WAS NEEDED IN THE DAYS OF NOAH?

In Genesis 6:8, we read, “BUT Noah found Grace in the eyes of the LORD.” If you will read the verses immediately preceding Genesis 6:8, you will catch more of the significance of the word ‘BUT’. “The wickedness of man was great on the earth”, “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” “The LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created.” God gave those who lived in the days of Noah fair warning of the awful judgment that was awaiting them. His warning went unheeded. Saving Grace was available. Noah found that Grace. This present age and dispensation of Grace will end very suddenly. Then, according to the declaration of the LORD Jesus Christ, “as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man.” (Luke 17:26).

The human heart is desperately wicked and deceitful, as God has stated in His Book. (Jeremiah 17:9.) In this age of rationalism and materialism and satanic counterfeit religions the spirit of apathetic indifference, with respect to salvation from the wrath of God, seems to be in control of the great majority of the children of Adam. This age is rightly described, in Galatians 1:4, as “this present evil age.” Satan, the great deceiver, is truly ‘the god of this age’.

In the midst of the present day disgraceful ‘sectarianism’, ‘ritualism’, ‘modernism’ and ‘fanaticism’, many religious church members, and millions of sinners not in the churches, willfully and intentionally reject God’s ‘Grace’ salvation.

Other sincere, zealous, religious people, in large numbers, seem to be either ignorant or afraid of the Grace of God. Many of them are willing to receive a limited amount of Divine Grace mixed in with their religious sacraments, carnal ordinances, water salvation (baptism), signs and visions; but they fear and tremble when asked to believe 2 Timothy 1:9, Ephesians 2:8-9 and Romans 3:24-28, “God Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling; not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and Grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”, “By Grace were ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.”, “Being justified ‘freely’ (without a cause) by God’s Grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” So, again I ask the question:

HOW MUCH GRACE IS TOO MUCH GRACE?

The willful, intentional enemies of the Grace of God, as well as the confused, ignorant, zealous, religious out people, who cherish a perverted Gospel, charge the messengers of the LORD, who preach the unmixed Gospel of Grace, with preaching too much Grace. Rather than go forward to the ‘all Grace’ message and program, which the RISEN Glorified Christ gave to the human race through the Apostle Paul, THEIR slogan is “Back to Pentecost” or “back to Jesus and the Synoptic Gospels.”

The Modernists much prefer the moral and law and religious teachings of Jesus of Nazareth in the Sermon on the Mount and the Golden Rule to the message of Act 13:39 and Romans 3:24-26, justification by God’s Grace through the Faith in the crucified, resurrected and glorified, eternal, sinless, omnipotent Christ. They are more interested in a program of religion education to educate sinners into salvation than in teaching the virgin birth and eternal Deity of the LORD Jesus Christ, His vicarious suffering on the cross, His bodily resurrection, His ascension and His present work for saints as Advocate in the presence of our Heavenly Father. (Hebrews 7:25-9:24)

The religious people, who want the Jesus they preach to be a HELPER instead of a Savior, want to feel that they really deserve and earn God’s favor by practicing the ethics of Jesus. They belong to the “DO IT YOURSELF” Society. They of course must think that the Apostle Paul taught error when he taught, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according, to God’s mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration…being justified by God’s Grace.” (Titus 3:5-8). They prefer to earn forgiveness of sins, by their work of forgiving others, according to Matthew 6:14-15 and Matthew 18:34-35, rather than to believe and accept the truth of Colossians 2:13 and Ephesians 4:32, and know that by the Gospel of Grace the believer has all of His sins forgiven, for Christ’s sake.

The “ritualists”, and ‘back to Pentecost’ religious church members, prefer the message of John the Baptist and the message of the Apostle Peter to Israel on the day of Pentecost, “baptism unto repentance for the remission of sins,” to the Grace Gospel which we quoted from Titus 3:5-8. When Peter and the Eleven preached the Kingdom Gospel to Israel on the day of Pentecost the risen LORD had not yet revealed His Grace Gospel for Gentiles when and because of the temporary FALL of Israel. (Romans 11:11).

The Apostle Peter’s Pentecost message was NOT ‘the Gospel of the Grace of God’ for Gentiles.

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In Ephesians 1:13 the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul declares that men are saved and sealed by hearing and BELIEVING the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your Salvation. Therefore, here, now, is declared unto you the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your Salvation: "that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. BELIEVE today. The time is short.

In the 39 Books from Genesis to Malachi, God’s Grace for the human race is mentioned in about twelve chapters; in most of them once only. God certainly manifested His Grace toward Abel and Enoch and Noah and Shem. In several chapters of Genesis, beginning with Genesis 12:1 we learn that God’s Grace did wonders for Abraham. God manifested His Grace to Israel under the law, in His provision for their blessings received at the blood­ sprinkled mercy seat.

In a very limited sense in the Old Testament God’s Grace was shown toward the Gentiles, who were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. According to the Divine Record, a few Gentiles, a very few, received blessings from the LORD Jesus while He was on earth, sent only unto Israel. (Matthew 15:21-28). Certainly the LORD Jesus manifested His Grace to Israel, both before and after His death and resurrection, especially in Acts 3:12-21 and Luke 23:34 and Acts 3:26.

However it is of interest and significance to note that there are about 2900 verses in Matthew, Mark and Luke and the word ‘GRACE’ in the sinner’s salvation is not once mentioned.

GRACE CAME BY JESUS CHRIST

In the Gospel of John the word ‘Grace’ is found four times. But when we read in John 1:17, that Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, or in John 1:14, that Christ was full of Grace and truth, or in John 1:16, “of His fullness have all we received, and Grace upon Grace,” we are not to understand that “the Dispensation of the Grace of God for Gentiles,” mentioned in Ephesians 3:1-3, began with the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth in the land of the Jews. (Acts 2:22, Acts 10:36-39, Matthew 15:24).

The LORD Jesus on earth was God’s Minister of Israel. (Acts 13:23, Romans 15:8). He was made under the law. (Galatians 4:4). But though the Son of God was born and lived and ministered under the LAW COVENANT, He proclaimed much truth pertaining to the New Covenant, and He certainly manifested the abounding Grace of God in dealing with transgressors of the law.

As we have no one English word giving us the full meaning of the word ‘Grace’, we cannot explain in one short sentence, or even in two long sentences, the full meaning of ‘the Gospel of Grace’. Blessed indeed is the person who knows that the Gospel (good news) by which any kind of a believing sinner can be saved is the truth that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He rose the third day, and, knowing this wonderful truth, he has believed unto the saving of his soul. However, there is something more to ‘the Mystery of the Gospel’ of Ephesians 6:19-20 than the saving Gospel recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.

THE ‘ALL’ GRACE MESSAGE IN PAUL’S LAST EPISTLES

If you will read and study the thirteen chapters of 2 Corinthians and note the word ‘GRACE’ thirteen times in that Epistle, you will say that the members of the assembly in Corinth certainly needed abounding Grace, and you will understand why the Apostle Paul exhorted them in 2 Cor. 6:1, “that ye receive not the Grace of God in vain.” In Ephesians, counting the verb form of the word ‘Grace’ in Ephesians 1:7, the word ‘Grace’ likewise is found thirteen times. Ephesians is very much a ‘GRACE’ Epistle. To be prepared for the ‘ALL’ ‘GRACE’ message in Ephesians and 2 Timothy, the saints of God should read the Epistles to the Romans and to the Galatians several hundred times and then diligently study the Epistles under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, marking the word ‘Grace’ found 24 times in Romans; “this ‘Grace wherein we stand.’ (Romans 5:2). ‘Grace’ in Galatians seven times.

It is most interesting to note that in the Apostle Paul’s oral ministry recorded in the Book of Acts, and in His Epistles, we find the word ‘GRACE’ 105 times. Compare this with the ABSENSE of the word in the gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), and with ‘Grace’, in about only twelve chapters in all 39 Books from Genesis to Malachi. Most interesting is Moses’ conversation with the LORD concerning ‘GRACE’ in Exodus 33:12-23. Read this chapter.

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In Ephesians 1:13 the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul declares that men are saved and sealed by hearing and BELIEVING the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your Salvation. Therefore, here, now, is declared unto you the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your Salvation: "that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. BELIEVE today. The time is short.