Beyond Sunday
Beyond Sunday is a podcast where we dive into what our Church is up to, what's happening in society, go deeper into topics from Sunday mornings, and hear leadership talks from Pastor Greg Griffith. This is a podcast of King of Kings Church in Omaha, NE. Learn more at kingofkings.org.
Beyond Sunday
S1Ep3 - Grace — The Gift You Can't Earn
Pastor Greg Griffith and Marcus Nathan press into the richness of grace — God’s gift we can’t earn. From Scripture and the Catechism, to the cross itself, they show how grace defines salvation and reshapes everyday life.
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Thanks for listening!
You're listening to Coffee Break Theology a King of Kings podcast.
Speaker 2:Hey friends, welcome back to Coffee Break Theology, where rich truth meets your refill break.
Speaker 3:He's Greg, I'm Marcus, and today's episode is about something sweet. No, not caramel macchiatos. We're talking about grace. I do love that, but I love grace a little bit more.
Speaker 2:Amen, amen, yeah, we're not here on coffee stuff. So this is the heart of the Christian message. I mean grace is where it's at and honestly it's the heartbeat of Lutheran theology. I say that Lutherans have cornered the market on grace and it's the good news in the middle of all the bad news we talked about last week.
Speaker 3:So let's start with a question what is grace?
Speaker 2:So simple terms. God's grace is undeserved love and favor. This guy, archie, one time used to. He just used the acronym grace is God's riches at Christ's expense. I'll never forget it, and what we're learning is that in Jesus and in what he gives us, we don't deserve it. Grace is getting something we don't deserve, which is forgiveness, salvation and eternal life, and it all comes because of Jesus. I like ituther said.
Speaker 3:Grace is given to heal the sick, not to decorate spiritual heroes.
Speaker 2:It's for the messed up, not the made up man, exactly I love the way luther spoke and and ephesians 2, 8 and 9. It's just the clearest verse for us, right? So this is for grace. You've been saved through faith, and this isn't of your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of your work, right and grace.
Speaker 3:So it's not something that we climb toward, it's not something that we try to achieve. It's something that God pours down on us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so Luther in his small catechism and really Luther just dove deep into grace because he was living in a world where grace was non-existent for faith. And so he says it this way I cannot, by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him.
Speaker 3:And he continues. He says but the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts. That's pure grace. Even our faith itself is a gift.
Speaker 2:Amen, and that's what he wanted you to know. That's what we need to know. We don't contribute at all to our salvation, not even a percent, not a half a percent, not a tenth of a percent, not even the decision. It is all grace from the start to finish, and what this really is. It is all grace from the start to finish, and what this really is is think about this. God chose you right, and then you hold on Right.
Speaker 3:And I've heard it put this way before you talk about the salvation formula, we don't contribute that to it. I've heard somebody say we actually do contribute something, but Only sin.
Speaker 3:That's the only thing we bring to the table, and so in no way do we earn or merit our salvation. Last week we talked about how much of a problem sin is, how serious it is right. The biggest problem is that it separates us from God. It kills us spiritually. That's what we deserve. Our sin should merit eternal separation from a holy God, but that's not what happens. That's not what we get. We are gifted salvation because of what Jesus did, but that's not what happens. That's not what we get. We are gifted salvation because of what Jesus did.
Speaker 3:Grace and mercy are two sides of the same coin. Grace is something getting something righteousness that we don't deserve, and on the other side, mercy is not getting something damnation which we do deserve. In this book I've read recently, knowing God, ji Packer says this Grace is God showing goodness to persons who deserve only severity and have no reason to expect anything but that severity. Wow, grace and salvation are bound together as cause and effect. I got some verses here Ephesians 2.5. Even when we were dead in our trespasses, he made us alive, together with Christ.
Speaker 3:By grace you have been saved, and you read this before in Ephesians 2.8. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this before in Ephesians 2.8, for by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not your own doing, it's the gift of God. Titus 2.11 says for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people. So this is from God, this is a gift. And this grace? It's not abstract. It shows up in real, tangible ways in our lives through word and sacrament. That's what Luther called the means of grace.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's so rich and so deep and I always love anytime we can quote Titus. If I had a boy, I was going to name him Titus. I don't think my wife was going to agree, but I would have tried to do it secretly in some way. Anyways, let's get back to it. We got 10 minutes, so you want to see grace Like look at Jesus, look at the cross. That is truly grace in action God doing for us what we could never do ourselves.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Romans 5, 8, Paul says this, but God shows his love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us and you've given the grace acronym before God's riches at Christ's expense. Christ died and we get the undeserved benefit of reconciliation to the Father because of that.
Speaker 2:Notice this too. It's not like, okay, let me clean ourselves up, right, but this is while we were still and I love this. The Greek is like while we are actively doing sin. This is not like, yeah, I've been sinning, this is I am, while I'm still actively sinning. He does this Right.
Speaker 3:One of my favorite Luther quotes is this the love of God does not find, but creates that which is pleasing to it.
Speaker 2:Which means this that God doesn't love you because you're lovable, Right. He loves you and that love makes you his Right Beautiful.
Speaker 3:So what does grace mean for Monday morning, for when our coffee spills? The to-do list is growing. The kids are screaming you got to get them out the door. You're late for work. What does this?
Speaker 2:mean, yeah, it all comes back to your identity. It means you're already enough for God. Jesus is enough. He's already done it all, so you don't have to prove yourself to God. You don't have to bring them the checklist and say, like you know, I did 51% greater than the 49% worse, right. You don't have to wonder even does he still love you after a horrific day of sin? Right?
Speaker 3:And when you mess up and you will horrific day of sin Right, and when you mess up and you will, and we have, I did this morning already grace says you're forgiven, Come on back, Come home, and that's why as Lutherans, I love that we return again and again to what we call is absolution or forgiveness.
Speaker 2:This is a Lord's Supper, this is baptism, because that's where grace keeps showing up, right.
Speaker 3:And it has to keep showing up. Like you said, we sin over and over. Grace isn't a one-time download, it's a lifelong lifeline, that's good.
Speaker 2:So here's your Coffee Break takeaway today. Grace isn't your reward, it's your rescue, and it's yours Freely, fully and forever in jesus awesome.
Speaker 3:So join us next time on coffee break theology, when we dive into god's love, how it connects us to grace and why it's more than just a nice sentiment. So until then, remember you're saved by grace alone, through faith alone, because of christ alone and maybe pour a little grace, into someone else's cup today. Amen.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to Coffee Break Theology. Be sure to tune in next time and remember to check out our other podcast series available on every major podcast listening service.
