The apostle Paul says, I say
then, hath God cast away his people? And a lot of people are
confused on this portion of scripture. The term his people here is not
the nation of Israel, but it's his elect people. God forbid. Paul says, God forbid that we
should even have a thought that God would cast away his people
is forbidden. And then he clearly identifies
his people. In verse two, his people, which
he foreknew. See, that tells us who he's talking
about. That God would reject those he
has loved with an everlasting love and kept as the apple of
his eye. That would violate God's immutable
character. It would render him changeable
to cast away any whom he loved forever. Paul says, God forbid, for I also am an Israelite of
the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hadn't cast
me away. God hath not cast away his people,
which he foreknew. What ye not, what the scripture
saith of Elias, this is Elijah in the Old Testament, how he
maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have
killed thy prophets and dig down thine altars, and I am left alone,
and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of
God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven
thousand men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Elijah said to the Lord in the
midst of that ungodly society, I'm all you've got left. And
the Lord answered, no, Elijah, you're not. I have reserved to myself 7,000. Now, for those who choose to
believe this 7,000 is a definite, literal number, fine. I believe
that. I believe God had that. But at
the same time, 7,000 is a symbolic number, meaning totality. And
that'll really help you with the book of Revelation, where
the number seven is used so very often. It'll really help you
to understand that this number seven is symbolic of totality. So what God is saying to Elijah
is, I have reserved to myself all my people. Elijah, even in this wicked society,
in spite of your lack of understanding, I have kept every single one
of my elect. And they've not bowed the knee
to Baal. And they're not going to. Now in verse 5, Paul says,
Even so then at this present time, also there is a remnant
according to the election of grace. The election of grace. God's
spoken in Elijah's time. Paul spake it here in his day.
And we speak it in our days. There is a remnant according
to what? Acceptance with God by works? No. No. But even at this present
time, there is also a remnant according to the election of
grace. What does that mean, the election
of grace? Verse 6 tells us, And if by grace,
then is it no more of works. In other words, when works comes
into the picture of our being accepted with God, then it's
no more works. It can't be both. No. Otherwise, grace is no more grace.
But if it be of works, then is it no more grace? Otherwise, work is no more work. They don't mix. They don't mix.
My subject this morning from this statement in verse six is
in the form of a question. What is wrong with free grace. What is wrong with free grace? And I have three passages of
scripture we'll talk about in a little bit. And the answer
to that question is that free grace is not compatible with
proud, selfish, sinful flesh. Sinful flesh in you and in me
is not to be trusted. It promotes a, and when I say
sinful flesh, I'm not talking about this body. I'm talking
about this fallen nature. Flesh promotes a declaration
of independence against God. A declaration of independence
from God. and of God. It promotes the idea,
I'll be my own God. I can do as I please. My religion
will consist of me pleasing God in the way I choose. And if it's
good enough for me, it ought to be good enough for him. That's the idea. That's the thinking. Our fallen nature would prefer
an earned acceptance with God, an acceptance by which we could
claim the credit. And that's what the vast majority
of today's religion is based on. We'd prefer an earned grace,
so to speak, but there is no such thing and can be no such
thing. Grace is free and grace has to
be separate from works so far as acceptance with God. And that's
what Paul is saying here in verse six. If by grace, then is it
no more of works. Otherwise grace is no more grace. It ceases to be grace when works
is in the picture. No mixing, no mixing. Now Paul
is not discounting good works in their right perspective. He
proved that in his own life and ministry. Labored more abundantly
than any, he said. But the subject here is the basis
of acceptance with God. And the answer is the absolute
free grace of God or there's no acceptance at all. You see, our problem goes deeper
than conduct. Our problem is in our nature.
Sin is not what we do. Sin is what we are. We do what
we do because of what we are. Don't think that God cannot accept
you because of what you've done. That's wrong. That's wrong. He can't accept you because of
what you are. Your trouble is not just since
you've been born into this world. Your trouble began way back in
the Garden of Eden when you voted yes with Adam. to defy the authority
of God. You say, I don't believe I did
that. Well, then you're deceived with Eve. I'm not deceived with
Eve, but I did vote yes with Adam. And that's our problem. So the real
answer, the real answer now to our question, what's wrong with
free grace? Absolutely nothing. It is the
only hope any of us have. It's not a matter of you having
lived better than I have, and I sure hope you have. But the
bottom line is, if there's no such thing as free grace, absolutely
free grace, then you've got to be as perfect as God is, or go
to hell. That's your choices. There's no other answer. There's
no other help. There's no other hope than God's free and sovereign
grace. And so I want to mention the
three things wherein sinful flesh would say free grace is wrong. And the first one is self-discipline. Now don't misunderstand me. Discipline
in the Christian life is very important. We cannot overestimate
the importance of it for our own good and our own testimony,
benefit both ourselves and others, and discipline in the Christian
life is so important. Depending not on our ability,
but on the indwelling Spirit of God to lead and to guide and
to enable us to do right in everything and by everybody. It's so important. But when we get the idea that
we've done such a good job at self-discipline, then we don't need the grace
of God. That's when you're way off base. And I know a lot of religious
folk way off base. And I would urge us to be careful
not to be one of them. In Luke 15, you're all familiar
with this story. The younger son, who really messed
up, who squandered his inheritance, lost his reputation. He lost
everything. Everything's gone. The only thing
he couldn't lose is who He was. That's blessing. That's the only
thing you can't lose. It's the only thing I can't lose. He belonged to His Father, and
He couldn't lose that, or He would have. We take the blessings of God,
we squander them, so to speak, And self-satisfaction, self-interest, self-glory, it's really hard. So this boy had hit rock bottom. And when he came home, it wasn't with grace in mind. Think
about this. It was to earn his way. In pride, he was saying, I'll
make my way. No free grace for me. I'll earn
it. I'll prove that I can. But you know the story, the father
wouldn't have that. The father did something not
on the basis of what the boy deserved, but on the basis of who the boy
is. He's my son. And it's full acceptance
with the father on the basis of free grace. That's how it has to be. And the problem there is this.
Again, I say you know the story. The elder brother said, it's
just not right. It's just not right. I have exercised
so much self-discipline in my life. I've not shamed the family. I've
earned the respect of everybody that knows me. It's just not
right that he come home and be accepted as if he's done nothing
wrong. The elder brother casts his vote. I am 100% opposed to this business
of free grace. I don't like it. If he wants back in, he should
have to earn it. I'm so proud of my morality.
I'm so proud of my self-discipline and success. I don't need free grace. And
I don't think there should be any such thing as free grace.
Oh, how unlike the father that is. When we choose to put people
on probation and say, well, I'll never trust
him again. I'll never invite him again. He had his chance. She had her chance. I'm through
with them. Even the apostle Paul. Had a
little of this. He had to eat crow, remember,
concerning John Mark. But in the end, Paul said, he's
profitable to me in the ministry. So you see this? You see this
spirit that was in this elder brother? There's an elder brother
in all of us that would make much of how well
we've done. Boy, we sure ought to have more
credit than somebody that's failed much more miserably than ourselves.
We're against free grace. All right. Number two, what else
says there's something wrong with free grace? This would be
self-worth. Self-worth. Turn with me to Matthew
chapter 20. Matthew chapter 20. This is a
parable that our Lord gave, and if you're not familiar with the
first 16 verses of Matthew chapter 20, you should be. Familiarize yourself
with the whole story about these laborers. And the story goes
when the day is over and time to pay, Those who came last,
and this worked an hour, they were paid first, and they were
given a lot more than they earned. It was free grace. It was more
than their worth. Verse 10 says, when the first
came, that is, those that worked all
day, they supposed that they should have received more. In other words, when they saw
the paymaster pay those that came late in the evening all
this extra, they thought, wow, if they're getting that type
of a bonus, imagine what we're going to get. But the rest of verse 10 says,
And they likewise received every man a penny. That was the agreed
on wage of the day. And when they had received it,
they murmured against the good man of the house, saying, These
last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal
unto us, which have borne the burden and the heat of the day. Don't miss that statement in
the middle of verse 12. Thou hast made them equal unto
us. Don't that go against the grain? That's free grace. But they're
not worth as much as us. Free grace is not about anybody's
worth. except He to whom grace belongs. It's the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ. And it's His worth. And His worth
is so great that He can bestow His grace on whomsoever He will,
regardless of their worth. But these fellows had a problem
with it. Every man should get exactly what he's worth. Well, no man really thinks like
that who knows what he's worth. Self-worth, self-esteem. It's
a fantasy world. Free grace is a real world. We
have a God who is a gracious giver. No man gets what he's worth,
what he deserves. unless he drops into the pits
of the damned, then a man's getting what he's worth, what he deserves. Free grace is the only hope anybody
has. You look at somebody else and
say, but I don't need as much grace as he or she needs. I just
need a little grace to add to what I am. No, remember the text. You can't mix it. You can't mix
it. If it's works, grace is out.
If it's grace, works is out. It's either all of grace or no
grace. This is the truth of the gospel,
folks. If you, if you could believe this, if you could rest in this,
it'd really help. Happy, really happy. Oh my, your self-worth, if it be such that you need no
grace. What did Paul say in Ephesians
2.8.9? For by grace are you saved through
faith, along with what you've done." Is that what
he said? No, no. He said, for by grace are you
saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. It's not grace and works. No, he said not of works, lest
any man should boast. And that's exactly what men do. So in this Matthew 20, these
who worked all day, oh boy, they would love a bonus like the others. But they wanted it not on the
basis that we don't deserve it. They said we do deserve it. If they got it, we deserve it. And the good man of the house
said, you don't deserve it. And verse 13, he said, friend,
I do you no wrong. I gave you what you agreed on.
I paid you what I owe you. These men hated free grace and
the vast majority of religious folks that I know. and the vast
majority of religious folks that you know hate free grace. What's wrong with free grace?
It pins no ribbons on self-worth. Third thought and we'll be through.
What is wrong with free grace? Self-righteousness. Turn with
me to Luke 18. Luke chapter 18, verses 10 through 14. This is
another passage. These five verses, if you're
not familiar with, you should be. Take some time, quiet time. Read these five verses one statement
at a time. Stop and meditate on it. See
what the Lord will do for you. Luke 18 verse 10. Two men went up into the temple
to pray. The one a Pharisee and the other
a publican. Now you remember the Pharisee
was the highly respected religious elite. I mean the upper crust, the cream
of the crop in Jewish society and religion. And the other fellow,
the publican, he was a tax collector, considered a traitor. He collected
taxes from his own people, the Jews, for the Roman government. He's the IRS man. No wonder they
hated him. Publican. Several times in the
Gospels, we read the terms together, publicans and sinners. Publicans
and sinners. They're put together as one. The Jews classified the publican,
the tax collector, with the worst of sinners. They hated the tax
man more than they did a murderer. thee for anybody else. So this
self-righteous religious man, the Pharisee, he begins his prayer
in verse 11, and though he uses the name of God, it says clearly
that he prayed thus with himself. In other words, this is all about
me and how I feel about me. I like me and so God should like
me just for being me. I'm satisfied with me and God
should be satisfied with me. And he went on to say, I'll say
this, I'm so thankful I'm not like some people I know. How deceived this man is. How deceived. By nature, you're
just like everybody you know. There's an elder brother in all
of us. There's a Judas Iscariot in all of us. There's a Pharaoh in all of us. There's a Herod in all of us.
There's a Hitler in all of us. that declares I'm so much better. And then he goes on to say, I'm
glad I'm not like this publican. Oh, what a mess he is. I'd hate to be as despised. I'd
hate to be as low down as that publican is. This Pharisee says, I'd hate
to have no hope whatsoever apart from the free grace of God. I'd
hate to just have to depend on God totally for my acceptance
with him without me contributing something. I'm glad I've got some righteousness
of my own. I'm glad I'm not so unrighteous
as to need God to look for all the good on his end. I'm glad
I can supply some. I fast twice a week. I tithe. I've got a lot going for me without
grace. That's how this fella thought. The publican, on the other hand,
The Bible says, wouldn't even lift his head to heaven. He has
nothing to offer God. Neither do I, neither do you. He smote up on his breast and
said, God be merciful to me, a sinner. He said the magic word
there that touches God's heart. I'm a sinner." The Pharisee was
saying, I'm truly a saint. As old Rothbard had said, this
Pharisee said, all I need is just a little push in the right
direction. I've run this whole race in my
own ability, my own strength, All I need now is just a little,
just a little tailwind to push me across the finish line. I'm truly a Saint. I don't need
much help. But the old publican said, I'm
a flat out, filthy, vile sinner. And apart from free grace. Lord,
except all the goodness be on your end, except all the righteousness
be on your end, I'll go to hell. The Bible says that this man
went back to the house justified rather than the Pharisee. And
that's what I'm saying to us this morning, apart from Free
grace, you'll go to hell. You'll have to. What's wrong
with free grace? For self-disciplined, self-worthy,
self-righteous religious folks, everything's wrong with it. Free
grace makes God the good guy instead of us. Can't handle that. What's wrong with free grace?
Quicken sinners everywhere. Along with this old tax collector,
along with me, and I trust along with you, quicken sinners everywhere
will testify in one accord. There's nothing wrong with free
grace. It's the only kind of grace there
is, and it's the only hope I have. Bless his holy name. Stand with
me.