“Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets: ‘Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.’ ” (Acts 13:40-41) Isn’t it interesting that immediately following the message of forgiveness of sin through faith in The Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 13:38-39), the Holy Spirit sends out the word of alarm – beware!
Beware of grace? Beware of God’s unmerited and undeserved favor towards sinners (Romans 5:6-10) through faith in His only begotten Son (John 3:16), Jesus Christ (Romans 5:12-21)? Why beware is the question that I ask. What is so dangerous about the doctrine of the grace of God? I believe that the danger lies in taking the doctrine of grace to an extreme that cannot be justified in Scripture. Some people were reveling in the doctrine of grace apart from works to the point that they were saying that a person can “believe” in Jesus and continue living a sinful lifestyle. The response from the Holy Spirit through Paul to that idea? “God forbid.” (Romans 6:1-4) Then there were those who were limiting the gracious atonement of Jesus to a restricted number of people. Again, the response of the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul’s writings was to refute that idea (2 Corinthians 5:19-20; Hebrews 2:9).
But this leads to more questions and “problems.” Since Jesus tasted death for every man, than nobody will suffer eternal punishment, correct? What saith God? “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:12-15)
So, to whom does the saving grace of God apply? To those who believe God apart from works, as did Abraham (Romans 4:1-8). But it must be noted that this belief in God will result in works that are evidence of saving faith (James 2:14-26). Are we saved by our works or good deeds? Absolutely not! We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone. Jesus is The Author and Finisher of our faith; it is all of grace, beloved. Glory be to God! (Romans 11:32-36)
