In Touch Ministries

Dr. Charles Stanley: The same God who is powerful enough to save you from your sins is powerful enough to keep you every day. And listen, if he can keep you and me, he can keep all the things that concern you and me. That's no problem with him. When he says, "My grace is sufficient for you," what he's saying is this: my way, and my power, and my provision, and my presence will take care of everything you have to deal with in life.

Guest (Male): Ephesians chapter 2 makes it clear: there's nothing we can do to earn forgiveness. We're saved from the penalty of sin only by the grace of God. Today on In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley, we'll hear about the futility of trying to please God through our own efforts. In Dr. Stanley's message, "Voiding the Grace of God."

Dr. Charles Stanley: Do you value what you believe enough to defend it? Now, somebody says, "Well, when somebody just disagrees with me, I just be quiet." It does make a difference what you believe, and it does make a difference whether you defend it or not. And the scripture that I want us to deal with this evening is a perfect example. If the Apostle Paul had kept quiet about what he and Peter got into, every single one of us would be suffering today from it.

Now I want you to turn to Galatians chapter 2 because in this second chapter, Peter and Paul now are having a conflict. And the conflict is over a major issue that affected all the people of his day and is affecting us today. So let's look at this passage. We're talking about voiding the grace of God. But he says here in the 11th verse, writing to the Galatian church, he says, "Now when Cephas or Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the part of the circumcision."

Now what happened was that he'd been fellowshippng with the Gentiles and everybody was happy and so was he. And then this group of Judaizers came down from Jerusalem. They said they were sent by James, who was sort of the head pastor. And the truth is, according to Acts, he did not send them. But they came down, and when they came, all of a sudden, Peter and his commitment to the Gospel and realizing, naturally, after having his experience at Cornelius' house, eating with Gentiles and fraternizing with them and fellowshipping with them—when these Judaizers came down, for fear that they would go back and say, "Peter is now eating with Gentiles," and fearing what they would say, he made himself aloof and set himself apart and so he wouldn't eat with them.

So here's what Paul said to him. "For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles, but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the part of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy." Now listen, they just followed Peter's leadership because after all, he was the number one apostle. Even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.

But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the Gospel, I said to Peter in the presence of all, "If you being a Jew live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles, nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, trying to keep the law, those Jewish laws, but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, since by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." And Paul knew that Peter knew that.

But if while seeking to be justified in Christ we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law, I died to the law that I might live to God. And he says, "I've been crucified with Christ. It's no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and delivered himself up for me."

Now here's the verse: "I do not nullify, I do not render void, I do not frustrate the grace of God. For if righteousness came through the law, then Christ died needlessly." Now, you say, "Well, why in the world would the Apostle Paul and Peter get into it right in the middle, right in front of everybody?" Because here was the issue. The issue was this: was it necessary to put your faith in Jesus Christ and in the works of the law, or was it only necessary to be justified, declared righteous, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone?

And if the Apostle Paul had conceded to what Peter was doing, then the church would have heard that the Apostle Paul and Peter, who was the head apostle of all those first original twelve apostles, that now what they're saying is: not only must you place your faith in Jesus Christ, it is faith and works, back to keeping the law. Which would have sent a message to the early church: back to Judaism, back to keeping the law, back to bondage.

And did he not say here in this particular book, look if you will in chapter 5, a verse that is so totally distorted by those who believe you can fall from grace. Listen to what he says beginning in verse 1. He says, "It was for freedom that Christ has set us free. Therefore, keep standing firm and do not be again a subject again to a yoke of slavery," back to the law. "Behold, I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision as part of becoming a Christian and living up to some laws, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he's under obligation to keep the whole law."

You can't mix up law and works. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law, you've fallen from grace. Now that doesn't mean that you're lost and going to hell. It means that you have fallen from grace back to what? Back to the law, trying to keep the law. Ultimately, what he's saying in verse 21 was the whole issue. He said, "I do not nullify, frustrate, make void the grace of God by trying to keep the law."

So let's talk about two areas in which I think people try to make void the grace of God. Now we said the grace of God is his goodness and kindness toward us without regard to merit or worth on our part and in spite of everything we deserve, that it is his unmerited love and kindness and favor toward us. So when we talk about how we void the grace of God, one of the ways we void the grace of God is in attempting salvation in any other way than solely, completely, and only by the grace of God through the atoning death of Jesus Christ plus nothing.

Anything we add to that is absolutely in error. And the reason is because it is a major issue in most people's thinking because deep down inside, they really and truly believe that they're saved but that in order to really and truly be saved, they have to add something to what Jesus did. You can't. And that strikes against my pride, it strikes against everything, that I can't do anything but believe.

Paul was saying here, "Peter, you can't do this. You can't get by with this because what you're about to do is disrupt the whole basic foundation of redemption." It is not salvation by faith in Christ plus works, plus keeping the law, plus all of these things. It is faith in Jesus Christ only. And he reminded him and he said, "Look," he said, "you and I know that men are justified by faith without the works of the law."

And so think about all the people who really and truly believe with all of their heart that if they clean up their life enough, surely God is going to accept them. Well, how much do you have to clean up? And you see what they don't realize is the heart is stained with sin, and the only thing that can remove the stain is what? What is the only thing that can remove the stain of sin? The blood of Jesus. And so if we avoid the cross, if we try to bypass that, then what we have is man cleaning up his own life and cleaning himself up enough to be accepted in the eyes of God. Then Jesus died needlessly, and we void the grace of God.

So in spite of how many times we say that, multitudes of people who sit in churches every single week deep down inside say, "I hear what you say, but you mean to tell me that this God of love that you talk about, you mean to tell me if I clean up my life and I'm not living in sin and I'm doing the best I can and I'm being a good husband and a good father and a good church member, a good churchman, and I've been baptized and I observe the Lord's Supper and I give my money and I pray and I read the Bible, you mean to tell me that I'm not going to heaven?" No.

Why not? The only thing that makes me acceptable is faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ at Calvary. Period. That's it. Cannot be added to. And this is why we have to be loving and kind and sweet and gentle but very, very strong about some basic issues. And when you eliminate the cross or degrade it in any way or add anything to grace, what you've got is a system that is totally unbiblical. And that's why we have to be strong about what we believe and at the same time be loving and kind and gentle about it.

So one of the problems here is that we void the grace of God in our whole outlook on salvation. But here is a second one just as bad. Listen to what Paul said in the 20th verse. He said now, speaking of his own life, he said, "I've been crucified with Christ, like every believer has. It's no longer I who lives," but he says now, "it is Christ living in me. And the life which I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me."

Now you and I know we cannot live the Christian life apart from Christ. We know that. We know that you don't add anything to the grace of God in salvation. But the truth is you can't add anything to the grace of God in the Christian life. If the grace of God is his gifts to us which we do not deserve, is it not true that it takes the grace of God to live the Christian life? When you and I resort to self-effort and human effort and we resort in our own strength to overcome temptation or we resort in our own strength to serve God and in some way to accomplish and achieve things, what happens? It's failure every time because you see, it isn't in our own energy and our own flesh. It is the work of the spirit of God within us.

Therefore, I must rely upon the grace of God just as much for my daily Christian experience as I did for the day that he saved me. Because listen, Paul said, "I'm not the one who's doing this. It is Christ now who's living in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me, not only for saving me from my sins but also for living on the inside of me." That's why the Holy Spirit came. So what do we do, though? We void the grace of God, as he says here, by doing it ourselves in our own strength in the flesh.

And what I want you to see is this: the whole Christian life from beginning to end is all the grace of God. It's all the grace of God. Who enabled you with the spiritual gifts that you have to exercise those gifts? That's the grace of God. Is there anything you and I deserve from God? Tell me one single solitary thing that you and I deserve. Anything. I mean, what do we deserve? We deserve nothing.

Think about it. Sinners we were, absolutely lost, no hope of heaven, no hope of surviving in this life. And then God reached down and saved you and me and made us his children. That was his grace. Then knowing that you and I were just going to blow it, make a mess of the Christian life, what did he do? He said, "Well, that's not going to work either." So then, having saved us, instantly the Holy Spirit came to live on the inside of us and to live out through us his life because he knew we couldn't do it.

When you and I attempt anything in the flesh, self-effort on our part, we void the grace of God as if we can do it without it. And the truth is we can't. And I'll tell you one of the most liberating things in my personal life is to realize that I don't have to live the Christian life. First of all, I can't. Secondly, I don't have to do anything in my own flesh because it's just going to be the biggest mess you've ever seen. And the truth is that it's his ultimate responsibility to get it all done. And all I have to do is trust him and just do what he said do.

And you know what that does? It puts us all on the same level. It also says you don't have any earthly idea what your potential is as long as you live in absolute total dependence upon God. Grace, grace, grace, grace, grace. And you know what? That honors God. When you say, "Lord, I can't, but you'll have to do it." Paul said, "Look, you frustrate the grace of God when you try to get saved by keeping laws. You frustrate the grace of God when you try to live the Christian life in the flesh."

Listen, he did away with self-effort in salvation, and he does away with self-effort in the Christian life. And once you and I are willing to lay it down and just let him do it his way, there's this awesome sense of freedom. I can't even tell you how freeing and liberating it is. And lots of people say to me at times, "Aren't you just overwhelmed by all you have to do, In Touch and all these things and reaching around the world and the church and all these things?" And you know what? I can say, "No, I'm not."

And it's amazing how many times I will go places and especially get interviewed, and people say, "I don't understand why you're so relaxed." I say, "Why not?" "Well, all these things you've got going." I said, "Well, you know what? I wake up on Monday morning, I have perfect peace. Here's the reason I do: God's in charge." Listen, this is his ministry, it's not mine. If I thought I had to haul this around, I couldn't handle it. This is his work, this isn't mine.

I'm simply saying this, and listen, I have my faults and my failures and my weaknesses. I'm not saying I'm an example. I'm just simply saying at some point you have to learn to say, "God, it's your thing." When it's his, here's what happens: you get so free and so liberated, you don't worry and sweat and fume over it. Why? Because you learn to trust him. That's what it's all about, just trusting him.

Now think about this. You trusted God to save you forever. And all you did was believe what he said. What did you do besides believe what he said? You didn't do anything. You just believed what he said. Now look, if you based your whole eternal life on believing one thing he said about your eternal life, what about believing what he said about the Christian life and just let him do it? You say, "That's too simple." Sure it's simple. It's the only way because listen, I have enough failures to tell you it's the only thing that works. It's the only thing that works.

Anything else is not going to work. You're going to fret and fume and worry and be anxious and upset and full of fears and suppose this, that and the other, and so what? The same God who was powerful enough to save you from your sins is powerful enough to keep you every day. And listen, if he can keep you and me, he can keep all the things that concern you and me. That's no problem with him.

When I get in the flesh, I'm voiding the grace of God. When I try to do it my way, I'm voiding the grace of God. When I want to do it in my timing, using self-effort, my way, my timing, my attitude, what am I doing? I'm saying, "God, your grace isn't sufficient." When he says, "My grace is sufficient for you," what he's saying is this: my way, and my power, and my provision, and my presence will take care of everything you have to deal with in life.

Does that mean I'm to live a passive life? Oh no. But it means I don't have to carry the load. That's the difference. And you see, most Christians are living in a strain. One thing Hudson Taylor said that I'll never, never forget as long as I live. He said, referring to a letter that a friend of his had written, he said, "If you'll notice, there is no furrow on Jesus' brow." That is, he wasn't walking around worried and concerned about Pharisees, Sadducees, chief priests. He wasn't worried about those things.

You know why? He said, "I just do the things I see the Father doing. I just do what he tells me to do." Think about that. If you and I get up tomorrow morning and we say, "Now, Lord, today, by your grace and your power, I'm just going to do what you say do." What are you going to worry about? You've got to think up something. Because if you and I are that surrendered to him, you know that he's powerful enough to take care of whatever you and I face in a given day.

And some weeks for me, just like yours, are just as stormy as they can be. But somehow, that storm doesn't get on the inside. I'm telling you, it doesn't have to get on the inside. Haven't you seen pictures of little birds in their nest? And here's the mother bird and little baby birds here, and the picture or the drawing will be this black cloud and lightning and rain pouring. There they sit, resting, snuggle up to each other. How many times does the scripture refer to our hiding under the shadow of his wings until these storms be overpassed?

You see, when you and I learn to rest in him, what we do is we give up some things we've been carrying around a long time: worry, fretting, anxiety, fears and doubts. And friend, God never intended you and me to carry that kind of baggage around with us because what it does, it affects my countenance, it takes away my joy. And whatever takes away my joy is going to take away my smile. But when he sets you free, you are free indeed. And what makes us free? The grace of God.

Guest (Male): Believers are saved by God's grace, and it's his grace that also enables us to live the Christian life. Today's message on In Touch has encouraged you to give up the futile struggle of self-effort and live each day from the resources God has already provided. To learn more about what's yours as a follower of Jesus Christ, take time to visit our website, intouch.org. And then follow the link to "Today on Radio" to hear this message a second time.

And if you'd like a copy of today's complete message, you can order that online from the bookstore. The title is "Voiding the Grace of God." Again, you'll find these resources at intouch.org. Or call or text us. The number is 1-800-IN-TOUCH. That's 1-800-IN-TOUCH. And you can write to us when you address your letter to In Touch, P.O. Box 7900, Atlanta, Georgia 30357.

Dr. Charles Stanley: How do you share the truth about sin with someone without feeling like you're condemning them? Well, you let the Holy Spirit help you do the talking. The cross was not something that God gave us as a piece of decoration. The cross is the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. None of us have the right to condemn someone else because when you think about it, all of us have been forgiven of so many sins we couldn't count them.

And so therefore, if I've been forgiven, how do I have a right to condemn someone else? Now, to correct someone else in a loving spirit for the purpose of building them up, helping them to move in the right direction, that's one thing. But for me to condemn someone, no matter what it is. And when I think about the fact of things I've done in ignorance, and there are a lot of people who are living a lifestyle they genuinely have never stopped.

And I can remember as being a pastor, this couple I went to visit, I led them to Christ. And so for some reason, I didn't know they weren't married. And in the conversation, I just took for granted they were. Well, I found out they weren't. But they're at church, got baptized, you name it, in the right in the middle of everything. So I just said, "Okay, I've got to go straighten this out." It's like God said, "Trust me."

One Sunday they came down the aisle. They said, "We need to tell you something. In all these months"—and it wasn't a whole lot of months—"we're not married. But the Holy Spirit has convicted us that we've been living in sin." And so it was a good lesson for me that the word of God convicts. And so sometimes our trying to convict somebody is sometimes our condemnation of them instead of trying to convict them of sin.

The work of the Holy Spirit, that's conviction. He's the one because somebody could tell me, "You ought to correct this in your life or that or the other." Well, most of the time, we get on the defensive if we're not careful. But when the Holy Spirit does it, the good thing about that is they can't point to anybody. It's just coming from within. That's the wonderful thing about the work of the Spirit of God.

Guest (Male): Visit us at intouch.org, and you can learn more about how the Holy Spirit will guide and direct you as a believer to live a life of consistent faith. And if today's program has encouraged your relationship with Jesus, we'd love to hear about that. On our next program of In Touch, have you ever felt like something's missing from your life? Find out how Jesus can fill that empty space when you join us next time for more of In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. This program is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia, and remains on this station through the grace of God and your faithful prayers and gifts.