Future Grace Seminar/Session 4: Is It Biblical? Part 2

From Gospel Translations

The Function of Bygone Grace: Solid Ground Under Faith in Future Grace

Romans 8:32

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

Romans 5:9-10

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Hebrews 4:14-16

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.

Faith Is a Being Satisfied With Heartfelt Valuing and Treasuring All that God Promises to be for Us in Jesus, Not Just an Assent to Truths (Past or Future)

Philippians 3:8-9

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.

John 6:35

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."

John 7:37-38

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'"

John 3:19-20

And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world,and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who practices the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.

John 5:40

You are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life.

John 6:37

All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.

1 John 5:3-4

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith.

Therefore faith includes love for God in the sense of delight in him and valuing him and treasuring him above all else. And so faith is a being satisfied in all that God is for us—and promises to be for us in Jesus. Therefore faith severs the root of sin which is the promise sin makes for a better future and a better satisfaction.

What Is the Role of the Holy Spirit in Enabling Obedience?

Galatians 5:22-23a

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Galatians 5:6

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.

Galatians 3:5

Does He then, who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

Why Does the Spirit Unite Himself to Faith as a Way of Bringing about the Works of Love?

The answer seems to be that the Holy Spirit loves to glorify the all-satisfying dependability of Christ and his Word (John 16:14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you"). If the Holy Spirit simply caused acts of love in the human heart without any clear, on-going causal connection between love, on the one hand, and faith in Christ's promises, on the other hand, then it would not be plain that Christ's all-satisfying dependability is honored through love. But the Spirit is utterly committed to getting glory for Jesus. Therefore, he keeps himself quietly beneath the surface, as it were, and puts forward "hearing with faith" as the conscious cause of love.

1 Peter 1:3-6a

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice...

John 7:37-39

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water."' 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

What Is the Role of Gratitude in the Motivation of Obedience?

Nowhere in the Bible is gratitude connected explicitly with obedience as a motivation. We do not find the phrase "out of gratitude" or "in gratitude" for acts toward God.

Christian obedience is called the "work of faith," never of the"work of gratitude" (1 Thessalonians 1:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:11).

We find expressions like "live by faith" (Galatians 2:20) and "walk by faith" (2 Corinthians 5:7), but never any expression like "live by gratitude" or "walk by gratitude."

We find the expression "faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6), but not "gratitude working through love."

We read that "the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (1 Timothy 1:5), but not "from sincere gratitude."

We read that sanctification is by "faith in the truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:13), not that it is "by gratitude for the truth."

We read that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:26), but not that "gratitude without works is dead."

And when Jesus deals with the disciples' hesitancy to seek the kingdom first because they were worried about food and clothing, he did not say, "O men of little gratitude," he said, "O men of little faith" (Matthew 6:30).

Faith in future grace, not gratitude, is the source of radical, risk-taking, kingdom-seeking obedience.

The temptation to say: "God has done so much for me, what can I do for him?" is very great. But it is very dangerous for three reasons:

1. We can never pay God back — not one penny's worth — because every move we make in love and holiness is a move that God himself supplies (1 Corinthians 15:10), and so we are simply going deeper in debt to grace by our obedience, not paying any of the debt off. A better way to think is to say grace pays our debts to God which sin creates.

2. If we could succeed in paying God back for all he does for us, or for any of it, to that degree we would nullify grace and turn it into a business transaction. Grace is free or it is not grace. Grace does not establish an amortization schedule of obedience payments.

3. Thinking of obedience as empowered by gratitude directs our attention backward to bygone grace rather than forward to future grace. In this way the debtor's ethic tends to divert us from the wealth of grace yet to be known and distracts us from the very power of obedience we need — future grace. You can't run your car on gratitude for yesterday's gas.

Therefore, Our Passion for Holiness Involves a Fight for Faith in Future Grace. We Battle Against Sin by Battling against Unbelief.

1 Timothy 6:12

Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

2 Timothy 4:7-8

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

2 Corinthians 1:24

Not that we lord it over your faith, but are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are standing firm.

Philippians 1:25

And convinced of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith.