Fallen From Grace - Part 1

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website, morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. 2 Corinthians 6, verse 1, the Bible says,. We then, as workers together with him, also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

And that's the title for this morning's message. Verse 2 says,. For he says, In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.

Let's pray. Father, we are thankful that your spirit has brought us together in this assembly. And we ask you as we look to your word this morning that you would help us to understand it and also to rightly apply it so that no one would receive the grace of God in vain.

And we ask all these things in Jesus name. Amen. All right. So what does it mean to receive the grace of God in vain? Maybe that's not a question you've ever heard or wondered. Well, why is Paul saying this?

And who is he saying it to specifically? No doubt there were some in the Corinthian church who were not saved. I don't think you can argue that. There were definitely some people in the Corinthian church who were not truly saved.

They had not truly believed in Christ alone as their Lord and Savior. And you know, that's going to be the case in any church. That there are going to be at least a few people in the pews, a few people even on the membership roll that are truly not redeemed.

And maybe they look like they are. Or maybe it seems like they are. But after a period of time, they do what? They fall away. And anyone who has ever been a Christian for any length of time, you have seen people falling away from the faith.

I think this is what Paul is concerned about. And rightly so. That there were people in the Corinthian church who appeared to be Christians. But because of certain things, because of the false doctrine being spread by the false teachers.

They were in danger. Paul is worried that they are in danger of falling away. That the false teachers were in danger of luring them away. And as Paul puts it, they would be receiving the grace of God in vain.

But whatever is in his mind, whatever the case, we see that Paul has a sense of urgency here. We see that. What does he say? Now is the time. You've probably heard the phrase, there's no time like the present.

Right? And that's true. If something is good, if it's important, if something should be done, it should be done now. It should be done today. Don't put it off. This would be a good opening for talk of New Year's resolutions.

And you know, I just say this. If people do that. Well, I didn't make the resolution. Or on January 1st or 2nd, I broke it. Start back today. Okay? And this is good advice. Could apply to so many different things.

Don't put it off. And now is the time. But when we talk about the things of God, it's absolutely crucial. It's absolutely crucial. And as we've talked about many times, Paul in 2 Corinthians is addressing the false teachers who were endangering people's souls.

Paul apparently was so concerned about their error that it might indeed cause them to receive the grace of God in vain. So something needs to be done. That's Paul's attitude. And he says, I'm going to say something about it right here.

And he's pleading with the church. So the false teachers were threatening the well-being of the church. And they were, let me repeat it. They were a threat to people's souls. If I can use this illustration, if somebody has cancer, then we understand that if it's possible, as soon as possible, you want to cut the cancer out of the person's body.

As soon as you can. If it is left alone, it will spread and it will affect the whole body. Well, false doctrine, we could say, is a spiritual cancer. And it needs to be dealt with immediately. It needs to be removed from the body as soon as possible.

If allowed to remain, it will spread and it will affect the whole church. And apparently in Corinth, based on what Paul is saying, too many people were willing to put up with it. And I think it's safe to say in Christianity today, far too many people are willing to put up with false teaching.

And to make matters worse, it always seems to be the case that the false doctrine, you know, the brave soul, the Apostle Paul here. The brave soul who is the faithful minister who addresses this will happen.

He's attacked as though, you know, he's the problem. He's the bad guy. He's the one stirring up all the trouble. I'm sure there were people in the Corinthian church saying, what about the Apostle Paul?

Same thing people say today that Paul is being unloving. Right. Paul is being mean spirited. That Paul is the real problem. Him with his divisive rhetoric. Paul is the issue. But was that true? No. And back to our illustration of cutting out the cancer.

It's true that surgery is painful. It hurts. And it leaves scars. So Paul had to do something. And yeah, it probably didn't feel too good. And it may leave a scar. But you know what? It was essential in doing it to save the life of the church.

So Paul begins chapter 6 by quoting from the prophet Isaiah chapter 49 verse 8, when he says, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. This is something you would expect someone, an evangelist, to say to a group of unbelievers at a crusade or something.

It may even seem strange for you that Paul is saying this to a church. Today is the day of salvation. Why would he say this to a church? Aren't these people already Christians? Aren't they already saved?

Well, yes and no. Most of them were probably saved. But many of them who were, were evidently starting to listen to the false teachers. At the very least, it would have been a hindrance to their sanctification, which we'll talk about.

Others who bought in hook, line, and sinker to the message of the false prophets. They were lost, and the false teachers were just keeping them in the dark. So really, Paul is, and this is the way any sermon is, you're addressing a mixed group.

If not here, then later on when it goes out on radio or internet. So Paul here is addressing really a mixed group, which any minister does at any time. You're talking to people who are saved and some who are not.

Those who appear saved also who may one day fall away. Now, for those who are true believers, all true believers are in a process of what we call sanctification. We all know what salvation means. We hear that term, use that term all the time.

We understand what it means to be saved. But what does it mean to be sanctified? Maybe Paul was seeing things and hearing things that concerned him. So let's define this term, sanctification. Just think about it.

If somebody went up to you later this afternoon and said, so you're a Christian. What is sanctification? What does that mean? Could you give an answer? Well, the Greek word hagios mas is translated as both sanctification and holiness.

So here's the tricky thing. It can refer to a one-time event, but it can also refer to a process. Sanctification is a one-time thing in that when you came to saving faith in Christ, at that moment you were sanctified.

You were set apart. You were declared holy. You truly are saved and you can never lose that or change that. That's true. But it can also refer to a process where someone is sanctified and they're growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ.

Or they are growing in holiness to the Lord. We are being conformed to the image of Christ, as Paul said in Romans chapter 8. And you know, say, well, how do you know if somebody is in this process or how do you recognize it?

Well, if they are, here's the key. If there is spiritual life, there is going to be spiritual growth. If there's never any spiritual growth in a person's life, that would indicate that there is no spiritual life.

So you know there is spiritual life when you see growth. This is sanctification. And just to differentiate it from the other things that happen in the Christian life, I think this is the best way to describe it.

Our initial justification, when we believe, that does what? It saves us from the penalty of sin. We've been saved from death and hell. That's our justification. Sanctification saves us from the power of sin.

And then our glorification will save us from the very presence of sin. And let me repeat that again. Our justification saves us from the penalty of sin. Sanctification saves us from the power of sin. And that's ongoing.

It's growth. It's a process. Glorification, when we die or when Christ returns, that will save us from the very presence of sin. Oh, I'm looking forward to that. I am looking forward to that. So if some in the Corinthian church were being misled by the false teachers, their sanctification would have been affected.

Now go ahead and turn to Galatians chapter 5. Because I want to address this subject, receiving the grace of God in vain. Or this admonition, do not receive the grace of God in vain. So it appears to me that primarily Paul was worried about those who were not growing as they should have been.

May have been addressing other things, but I think that's primarily what's in view here. Galatians chapter 5, we'll start reading in verse 1. Paul says, stand fast, therefore, in the liberty by which Christ has made us free.

And do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed, I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. Now don't get concerned all of a sudden and say, well, wait a minute.

Nothing you can do about that. What's he saying? You know, there's nothing wrong with circumcision per se. What's he addressing? He's addressing the people who are teaching or they believe that you had to be circumcised to get into heaven.

And if you have this belief that, yes, I need to put my faith in Jesus, but I also have to do this and I have to do that. I have to believe in Jesus and I need to be circumcised. What does that show? That, well, you're trusting in Jesus.

Partly you're trusting in what you do as well. Paul says that will do you no good at all. Verse 3, when I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised, that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.

You really want to go in this direction? You need to be perfect then. Well, I can be saved by keeping the commandments. Yeah. Good luck with that. All the good luck in the world, which is another story.

It's not going to do any good. He says in verse 4, OK, go down that road. This is the result. Verse 4. You have become what? Estranged from Christ. You who attempt to be justified by law. Then he says, you have fallen from grace.

You have fallen from grace. Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Coronet Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, MorrisCoronetChurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.