Five Christian Graces

And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. abide me...: Or, waite for me But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him, Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship. - Acts 20:17-38

    Grace makes people gracious. Grace experienced in the heart causes grace to flow from the heart. Our Lord teaches us plainly that all who know the love of God in reality love one another (1 John 3:10,16-18; 4:8; 5:1), and that all who have experienced God's forgiveness are forgiving of others (Matt. 6:14-15). All who are born of God are new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). All true believers have been given by the Holy Spirit a new nature which is gracious (Gal. 5:22-23). Believers are not perfect. The child of God has a nature of flesh and sin, with which he has a continual warfare (Rom. 7:14-25). However, in the tenor of his life, a believer is a person who walks not after the flesh but after the Spirit.

    Here are five graces, five God-given spiritual qualities, which are characteristics of all true believers:

    1. Humility (20:19)

    Paul, speaking by the inspiration of God, says he served the Lord 'with all humility of mind'. Without humility there is no salvation (Ps. 34:18; 51:17; Isa. 66:2; Matt. 5:3-5; 18:3-4; Phil. 3:3). And no man can serve God or the cause of his glory in this world without this God-given 'humbleness of mind' (Col. 3:12). Anything done for Christ must be done with humility (Matt. 6:3,5,16,33). Most people seem to think that humility is demonstrated by a timid, weak, cowardly spirit, or that it is to be seen in an unwillingness to be bold, decisive and uncompromising. Nothing could be further from the truth. Moses was none of those things, though he was the meekest, humblest man on the face of the earth (Num. 12:3). Humility is not an act. It is an attitude of the heart. Humility is brokenness of heart before God by reason of sin and in gratitude for his love, mercy and grace to sinners in Christ. Here are six things revealed in the Word of God as characteristics of humility.

    1. Humility is a realization of personal unworthiness by reason of one' s own depravity and sin before God (Job 42:1-2; Ps. 51:4-5). It is not a show of words which sound humble, but are really designed to gain praise. Rather, it is a heartfelt unworthiness before the holy Lord God (Luke 18:13; Isa. 6:5).

    2. Humility is a renunciation of all merit and personal righteousness in the sight of God (Phil. 3:9). No man's heart is humbled before God so long as he imagines that he has anything by which he may merit God's favour above another, or that his righteousnesses are better than filthy rags in God's sight (Isa. 64:6).

    3. Humility is an inexpressible gratitude of heart to God for his abundant, amazing grace to sinners in Christ (Ps. 116:12,16). It causes a person to live with a sense of delightful obligation and indebtedness to the Lord God (2 Cor. 9:15).

    4. Humility is a willing submission and devotion of one's heart to the Lord Jesus Christ that cries, 'Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?' (9:6). It is devotion to Christ as Lord, submission to his providential rule of all things and a determination of heart to obey him and honour him regardless of cost.

    5. Humility gladly ascribes the whole work of salvation to God's free and sovereign grace through Christ (1 Cor. 15:10).

    6. Humility is the mind of Christ in a person which causes him to love his brethren, esteem them more highly than himself, prefer their honour to his own and gladly give himself to serve their interests (Phil. 2:3-8).

    2. Repentance (20:21)

    'Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ' always go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other. It is only through 'repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ' that sinners obtain eternal salvation. Both are necessary. Both are vital. Both are gifts of God's grace. True repentance is towards God. Paul did not say, 'I preached repentance.' He said, 'I preached repentance towards God,' because there is a repentance that is not towards God. There is a legal repentance that is no more than a sense of guilt, a dread of God's wrath and a fear of hell. But repentance towards God is produced by the goodness of God (Rom. 2:4), not the wrath of God. It comes from the revelation of redemption by Christ (Zech. 12:10), not from the fear of judgement. Repentance, in its essence, is a change of heart towards God, as illustrated in the prodigal son (Luke 15:14-20), the tax collector (Luke 18:13) and David (Ps. 51:4). Repentance is the honest acknowledgement and confession of sin to God (1John 1:9). It is an acknowledgement by a person that he has offended God by his sin, that his very heart is enmity against God and that it is right for God to punish his sin (Ps. 51:4; Rom. 8:7). Repentance is sitting in judgement with God against yourself, abhorring yourself by reason of your sin and pleading for mercy on the basis of pure grace through the merits of Christ alone. Only God himself can cause a person thus to repent (Acts 5:31; Jer. 31:18; Lam. 5:21).

    3. Faith (20:21)

    'Faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ' is the gift, work and operation of God the Holy Spirit within saved sinners (Eph. 1:19; 2:8; Col. 2:12). Faith towards Christ is the believer's confidence in Christ as Saviour and Lord. It involves knowledge of the person and work of Christ, for you cannot trust a Saviour you do not know. That knowledge that is essential to saving faith comes by hearing the Word of God preached (Rom. 10:17) in the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 1:5). And faith is the agreement of a person’s heart with the gospel, which causes him to trust the blood and righteousness of Christ alone as the grounds of his acceptance with God. Both repentance and faith are continual, progressive, growing and persevering graces. They are not isolated acts or events in life. They are characteristic attitudes of every believer's life. The believer continually looks to God with repentance and continually looks to God through Christ in faith, trusting his propitiatory sacrifice, providential rule, heavenly intercession and Word of promise.

    4. Commitment (20:24)

    Believers are men and women who are consecrated to Christ and his gospel. They are committed to him. As men and women who love one another commit themselves to one another in marriage, so believers, loving Christ, commit themselves to him. Paul was convinced that the gospel of God's grace and the cause of Christ's glory in this world are worthy of the ultimate sacrifice of life itself. Ultimately, he made that sacrifice (2 Tim. 4:6-8). Let every sinner saved by the grace of God follow his example. The experience of God's mercy, love and grace in Christ demands the commitment of our lives to him (Rom. 12:1-2).

    5. Generosity (20:35)

    God's saints are a generous, giving people. Grace makes people generous. Find a person who has the grace of God in his heart, and you will find a person who serves the cause of God and the people of God with open heart and open hand. Find a person who is tight fisted with his money, miserly with his possessions and ever seeking to increase his riches, and you will find a person who does not know God. Search the Scriptures for yourself and see if grace and generosity do not go together (James 2:14-17; 1 John 3:16-18).