Austin Bible Church
God in His sovereignty decided in eternity past to treat man in grace. Eph. 3:11; Eph. 2:8-9.
“This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (Ephesians 3:11, NASB)
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NASB)
God's grace can only express itself in love and eternal life because His love is the motivator of grace. God does not ignore the rest of His character when He expresses grace. Absolute righteousness and justice stood in the way because sin stood like a wall or barrier between God and man. God’s absolute righteousness (+R) cannot have fellowship with man’s relative righteousness (-R). God’s justice demands a penalty for sin. Rom. 6:23.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, NASB)
The penalty for sin is spiritual death which is no fellowship with God. Adam and Eve sinned and died spiritually. They were incapable of having fellowship with God. Gen. 2:17; Gen. 3:8.
“but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die."” (Genesis 2:17, NASB)
“They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8, NASB)
The human race is born spiritually dead due to imputation of Adam’s original sin. Rom. 5:12.
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—” (Romans 5:12, NASB)
In His love, God sent His Son to the Cross to die spiritually for the sins of the whole world. On the Cross, Jesus Christ paid the penalty of sin for all of mankind through His substitutionary spiritual death. In doing so, He removed the sin barrier. John 3:16; 1 John 2:2.
“"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NASB)
“and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2, NASB)
God cannot just love the human race and ignore His absolute righteousness (+R) and perfect justice. The work of the Lord Jesus Christ satisfied the absolute righteousness (+R) of God. The work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross satisfied the justice of God, making provision for salvation. So God’s love and eternal life are free to be imputed to the believer at salvation.
Now, the only barrier between man and God is the volition of every person ever born. You either believe in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ for your sins or you reject that grace provision. If you don’t receive Christ satisfying the absolute righteousness (+R) and justice of God, then you are subject to His justice.
Grace always depends upon the character of the person, not on the merits of another. Inherent character depends on what you think, not what appears on the outside. When a believer operates under grace, they fulfill the Christian way of life. The believer forgives as Jesus Christ forgave, loves others unconditionally (agapao love), has no illusion about human ability, and relies entirely upon God's grace resources to live the spiritual life. The believer must have epignosis Bible doctrine in the right lobe of their soul to be able to orient to God's grace.