Sermon Tone Analysis

What do you think about when you hear the word “grace?”

For some they think of a prayer before eating a meal . . .

“Will you ‘say grace?’”

Others think of a ladies name

Others think of a characteristic of a person . . .

she is a lady of “charm and grace”

Although the word is used in many different ways in the English language, we are interested in how God’s Word portrays the word grace.

Here is a good definition of grace:

The unmerited favor of God, made known through Jesus Christ, and expressed supremely in the redemption and full forgiveness of sinners through faith in Jesus Christ.

(Manser, M. H. (2009).

Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies.

London: Martin Manser.)

Don’t get grace and mercy confused.

Grace is when God gives us what we do not deserve and mercy is when God withholds from us what we do deserve.

Let’s think about that definition a little bit together:

Manser, M. H. (2009).

Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies.

London: Martin Manser.

The unmerited (unearned, undeserved) favor of God

God is gracious in many ways to every person

Even unsaved people experience a measure of His grace everyday they breath God’s air and live in God’s world

However, “saving grace” is the favor of God that is extended to those who trust in Christ and His redemption (the payment made to purchase their forgiveness).

This salvation is not earned or deserved, but is given to those who believe

Note

We are not saved by what WE do, we are saved by TRUSTING in what God provided through Christ.

It is not earned, therefore it is of GRACE!

Matthew 20:

I always thought this was an interesting parable.

Looking at it from our perspective we would assume that the men who worked longer would receive more.

However, everyone received the same thing.

The truth is the denarius they all received was generous and it wasn't something any of them necessarily deserved.

When I think about Heaven I think about the fact that the thief on the cross, who never had the opportunity to live for Jesus even one day, is going to receive the same Heaven that the person who received Jesus as a child and lived for Him 60 years.

Heaven is not something we earn, but rather a gift that Jesus has already earned for us.

It's not something we deserve, but something we have the privilege to enjoy.

We should never think we are more "worthy" to receive the least of God's blessings than someone else is.

Any good gift we get from God is more than we deserve.

Let’s look at our text from this morning a little more closely:

Romans 3:21

Romans 5:6

Romans 5:15-