Truth Magazine

By Weldon E. Warnock

The word “omnipresent,” is a combination of two words, omni and present. “Omni” is from the Latin word, omnis, meaning “all.” “Present” means “at hand; in attendance, as opposed to absent.” Hence, “omnipresent,” means “at hand, in attendance or present in all places.” The omnipresent God is, therefore, present in all places, everywhere at the same time.

The words, “omnipresent” (adjective) and “omnipresence” (noun) are not found in the Bible, but the idea is taught in the Scriptures in several places.

God Is Everywhere

A heathen philosopher asked, “Where is God?” A Bible believer responded, “Where is He not?” Indeed, where is God not to be found? The Psalmist wrote, “Whither shall I go from they Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and they right hand shall hold me” (Psa. 139:7-10).

There is no escape from God. If I ascend to heaven, He is there. If I journey to the depths of Sheol, God is there. If some way I could latch on to the wings of the morning, the sunbeams that rapidly dispel the darkness of the night, and travel to the unexplored depths of the ocean, He would be there. Yes, God is everywhere!

Jehovah said, “Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord” (Jer. 23:23-24). Paul stated that God is “not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:27-28). He also said, “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool” (Isa. 66:1). Solomon declared that heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain God (1 Kgs. 8:27).

The Bible speak so God as dwelling between the cherubims of the ark (2 Kgs. 19:15), in the temple at Mt. Zion (1 Kgs. 8:11, 13: Psa. 26:8; Isa. 8:18), in Christ (Jn. 1:14; 2 Cor. 5:19), in the church (2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:20-22) and in individual Christians (1 Jn. 4:12-16).

How God Is Everywhere

God is found in all places by the instrumentality of His creation, laws, works, agents, appointments, manifestations, etc.., while His person is in heaven. Omnipresence does not means that God’s person is everywhere, but rather His presence is everywhere by way of the preceding avenues mentioned.

The Bible does not teach the omniperson of God, but rather it teaches the omnipresence of God. To teach that the person of God is everywhere is to teach a form of pantheism, the belief that the universe ins God and God is the universe. Though Jehovah is both transcendent (separate from and beyond the material universe) and immanent (with us), He is not omniperson.

During World War II, Hitler’s presence was felt throughout Europe by his armies, oppression and influence, but he, personally, was in Germany. A man’s presence may be manifested by his voice on radio or his appearance on TV while his person may be thousands of miles away. In like manner God’s presence is seen, felt and manifested throughout the universe, but His presence is in heaven.

Through the agency of angels, God is said to be present in the Old Testament. The Lord saved Israel from the Egyptians (Ex. 14:30), but He did it through the “angel of his presence” (Isa. 63:9). Notice the word “presence.” God spoke to Moses from a burning bush (Ex. 3:4), but He did it through an angel (Ex. 3:2). God went before Israel in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Ex. 13:21), but He did it through the medium of an angel (Ex. 14:9). All of these things are attributed to God, but He performed them through agency, namely, angels. God’s power portrayed in miracles, revelations and communications, manifestations through such things as lights, voices, lightnings and thunders, all reflect His divine presence.

Jesus promised to be in every gathering where two or three come together in His name (Matt. 18:20), but who believes that Jesus is personally present? Jesus promised to be with His disciples unti the end of the world (Matt. 28:20), but who insists that Jesus is with His disciples in person? Jesus is in heaven (Acts 7:56; Eph. 1:20; 1 Pet. 3:22). Since Jesus is in heaven, He is with us through the means of His word (the Bible), the Lord’s Supper, singing gospel songs, prayer, influence, and of course, omniscience (God’s power to know and see all). The following expresses the omnipresence of God so adequately:

He’s here, and there and everywhere

In all the ways I’ve trod

I’ve never passed beyond the sphere

Of the providence of God.

May Leave God’s Presence

Though God is omnipresent, there is a sense in which we can leave His presence. We read that God may cast us out of His presence. Concerning Israel, when God was chastising His people by the Syrian king Hazael, He preserved them from annihilation, being gracious unto them, “and would not destroy them, neither cast them from his presence as yet” (2 Kgs. 13:23). Ultimately, however, the Assyrians conquered them (2 Kgs. 17:18), and took them captive, removing them from God’s sight. Being “removed from God’s presence” (sight) was rejection by God, separated from Him, losing God’s protection and standing defenseless against their enemies.

Later, God cast Judah out from His presence (2 Kgs. 24:20), allowing the Babylonians to take them captive. This was also called, “removing them out of His sight” (2 Kgs. 24:3). Moses said of Cain, “And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord” (Gen. 4:16). Having been rejected by God, Cain went out, or separated himself, from God’s protection and blessings.

On the day of the final judgment, God will punish the disobedient with “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2 Thess. 1:9). “Presence” in the passage means “face,” actually denoting the “presence of a person.” H.A. W. Meyer states, “`to see the face of the Lord’ is a well-known biblical expression to denote blessedness whereas distance from it is an expression of misery” (The Second Epistle of the Thessalonians, p. 584).

So, in Thessalonians, banishment from God’s presence is not only separation from His immediate presence in heaven, but a rejection by God of His blessedness, glory and honor in an eternal fellowship. Although the wicked will be everlastingly excluded from the face of the Lord, yet the presence of God will be realized in hell as a place prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41) and through the suffering of God’s divine justice.

Lessons Learned

There are practical and important lessons learned from the omnipresence of God.

(I) Comfort. The saints of God are comforted, encouraged and consoled to know that God is with them to help and succor. We echo the Psalmist’s words of the long ago, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psa. 46:1). “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psa. 23:4). The writer of Hebrews stated, “and be content with such things as ye have; for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee” (Heb. 13:5).

Whenever we go as faithful Christians, we know that God is near, that He goes with us. He is never asleep, too busy to listen, or on a journey, but He is always ready to bless and help us.

(2) Communion with God assured. The nearness of God assures that a communion with God may be enjoyed everywhere, even apart from the hallowed places. God’s people could pray to Him, sing to Him and study His word without having to go to the temple in Jerusalem. This by no means excused temple worship, but it did mean that communion with God could be enjoyed outside of a specific location.

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father ….God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4:21,24). From any place on the earth, children of God may worship Him. Paul and Silas worshiped God while in a prison, disciples worshiped at the temple grounds in Jerusalem and saints worshiped in the home of Aquila and Priscilla. (This does not exclude assembling with the church.)

Yes, God is not very far from everyone of us. He dwells not in temples made with hands (Acts 17:24). He is not a local God, just meeting the needs of certain geographical boundaries. He is the omnipresent God!

(3) Cannot escape from God’s presence. Jonah learned this lesson from the belly of the great fish when he attempted to flee from God to Tarshish (Jonah 1:1-17). Adam and Eve, because of guilt, tried to hide themselves from the presence of the Lord, but the trees of the garden could not conceal them (Gen. 3:8). We can never get away from God. “Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee” (Psa. 139:12).

What is strange with many people is that they would not think of doing some things in the presence of other people, like taking a drink or whiskey or cursing, but yet they will do so in the presence of God. It is important, therefore, that we develop the sense of the presence of the Lord, for this will keep us from doing that which is wrong.

(4) Can be excluded from His presence. When we live in sin, walk in disobedience, we are cast out of God’s presence, here and in eternity. Cain went out by disobedience. Israel and Judah, through sin, were cast out (rejected by God and forfeited His blessings). We, too, lose God’s care, protection and fellowship when we are cast out of His presence because of sin.

In conclusion, may be confidently say of our infinite God and Father:

Lord, I believe, Yes, I believe,

I cannot doubt or be deceived;

The eye that sees each sparrow fall,

His unseen hand is in it all.

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 2, pp. 43-44
January 17, 1985

By Johnie Edwards

The world’s philosophy tells us that we can worship as we please and whom we desire. This is true legally, but to please God, our worship must be on God’s terms. When Satan tempted Jesus to fall down and worship him, Jesus responded, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Matt. 4:10). God is a jealous God and He made it very clear to Israel of old when He said, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou, shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I am a jealous God. . .” (Exod. 20:3-5).

God – The Object Of Our Worship

In today’s society, men worship about everything but God. They worship men, angels, false gods, and even Satan. When Cornelius fell down at the feet of Peter to worship him, Peter said, “Stand up; I myself ship God! also am a man” (Acts 10:26). He would not allow Cornelius to worship him. Jesus sharply rebuked Satan when he tried to get Jesus to worship him (Matt. 4:8-10). John was told, “See thou do it not” when he fell down to worship an angel, and was quickly told to “worship God” (Rev. 22:8-9). The Samaritan woman told Jesus that “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain (Mt. Gerizim); and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4:20-24). Once and for all Jesus settled the issue that men ought to worship God!

Man’s Response

Man’s response to God’s desire for worship has gone from faithful worship by many to no worship at all. Men have responded sometimes by:

(1) Worshiping God in vain. Jesus accused the scribes and Pharisees, “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:9). You see, our teaching can be of such nature that it even renders our worship vain. These people were worshiping God, but it was to no avail. How sad it is when men go through a form of worship and it all be for nought!

(2) Worshiping to please self. Paul referred to “will worship” as he wrote the Colossians (Col. 2:23). Many respond to the plea of worshiping God by doing as they please in worship. Often it is said, “We like it this way” or “it sounds good” and the list goes on. When folks say things like that, it is pretty evident that they have no desire to please God in their worship! It might be well just here to remind you, “For even Christ pleased not himself . . .” (Rom. 15:3).

(3) Mockery. Man have been known to just make fun of the Lord in their worship. In the past, the Jews worshiped in mockery. “And they worship has gone from faithful worship by many to no worship at all. and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshiped him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him” (Mk. 15:18-19). There is no way that worship of this nature could be sincere; but they were merely having a good time – this the Lord will not accept.

(4) In spirit and in truth. The only kind of response that God will accept is the kind of worship Jesus referred to as He talked with the woman at the well. He said, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4:24). Worship is to be of a spiritual nature. To worship in spirit is to worship from the heart. It involves understanding, meaning and feeling. To worship in truth is to worship by the teachings of the truth, the Word of God (Jno. 17:17). The Word of God must be the standard by which we worship. Early Christians followed this rule when “they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). They also sang praises from the heart (Eph. 5:19).

Some Reasons Why We Should Want To Worship God

We should feel a response of love toward God and want to honor Him in our worship. We need to want to worship God, not out of a fear of going to hell if we don’t, but rather from a desire to please God in our worship. Let’s take a look at some reasons why men ought to worship God.

(1) God Made Us. We should worship God for He made us. That which is made needs to adore the maker. In the very beginning God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Gen. 1:26-27). Man is superior to everything God made and God put him in a position of dominion over the rest of His creation.

(2) God Provides For Us. God cares about His creation. From the feeding and watering of Israel of old, Paul told the Athenians, “For in him we live, and move and have our being…” (Acts 17:28). Since it is in God that we even live and move, surely we ought to give Him the praise and adoration of our hearts in worship. Jesus said in the sermon on the mount, “Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you. . .”(Matt. 6:30).

(3) God Loves Us. There is no love like the love that God has demonstrated for His creation. The highlight of God’s love can be seen in the golden text of the Bible. “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16). Paul told the Romans, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). When we ponder the fact that God gave His only son to die for our sins, surely we should be motivated to worship Him.

(4) There Is No Other. We ought to worship God for there is no other God to worship. As the people in the Old Testament were told, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Isa. 45:22). If we don’t worship God, it is like Peter said one time about Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life” (Jn. 6:68). There is only “one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4:6). It is either we worship God or we don’t really worship!

(5) Heaven Will Be a Place of Worship. Heaven will be an extension of our worship after our earth life. People who don’t like to worship God while here will be most uncomfortable in heaven! As the book of Revelation closes, God’s people are pictured as they worship God. John reported that “they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty, just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints …for all nations shall come and worship before thee” (Rev. 15:3-4).

Have you checked your worship lately?

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 3, pp. 65, 86
February 7, 1985

By Larry Ray Hafley

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 Jn. 4:9,10). “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son” (1 Jn. 3:16). “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for ‘us” (1 Jn: 3:16). “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us” (1 Jn. 4:16). “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 Jn. 3:1).

The best part of this essay is inscribed above. “And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of” the height, the depth and the width of the love of God which “passeth knowledge.” However, with a trembling hand and a grateful heart, we shall seek to magnify our theme and glorify our Rock and our Redeemer.

“Our theme will lead us as deep into the mystery of God’s nature as man can go, deeper than any of our previous studies have taken us. When we looked at God’s wisdom, we saw something of His mind; when we thought of His power, we saw something of His hand and His arm; when we considered His word, we learned about His mouth; but now, contemplating His love, we are to look into His heart. We shall stand on holy ground; we need the grace of reverence, that we may tread it without sin . . .

“It is staggering that God should love sinners, yet it is true. God loves creatures who have become unlovely and (one would have thought) unlovable. There was nothing whatever in the objects of His love to call it forth; nothing in man could attract or prompt it. Love among men is awakened by something in the beloved, but the love of God is free, spontaneous, unevoked, uncaused” (J.I. Packer, Knowing God, pp. 108, 112).

Expressions Of God’s Love

All men enjoy the tokens and expressions of love a nice gift, a warm smile, a kind word. God has not left us without the evidence of His love.

(1) In The Physical, Material Realm. We take for granted the beauty of our planet. But imagine a world without the aesthetic sounds and shades of nature. Every stream that gurgles and babbles, every bird that coos and calls, every sunrise and sunset’s radiance and light bathes us in the temporal beauty of the love of God. Surely, the canopy of heaven on a night “clear as crystal” is a taste of the artistic talent of nature’s Creator. The shimmering splendor of a silver star enlightens the heart if not the pathway. Have you never been entranced while watching an eagle soar or hearing an ocean roar and spend itself on the sands of an endless shore? All of these are the touches and brushes of the Master’s stroke. The earth is the canvas of His hues and tints and tones from whence we view the handiwork of God.

(2) In The Spiritual Realm. See and review the texts of our introduction. Observe that God’s love is shown in what God did. The sending of Christ and His sinless, selfless sacrifice reveal God’s love for sinful man. Some translations render Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrated his love for us” by having Christ to die in our place. Time and the ravages of life may steal our ability to enjoy the grandeur of our earthly domain, but “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38, 39). “But though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16). The cross of Calvary, above and beyond the manger of Bethlehem, manifests the love of God.

All the signals of love commence with the death of Jesus, but emanating from the cross, like sparkling spokes from a glowing hub, are the attendant provisions of God’s love. (A) “That we could be called the sons of God” (1 Jn. 3:1). Consider the pride one might feel if he could cite some famous and honored person as his parent. (Select your own hero.) Then, cease the idle dream and recognize what an exalted tribute it is to be called a son of God, a child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (B) The word of God is ours. It can be hidden in the heart (Psa. 119:11). It is a divine communication, a heavenly revelation. Occasionally, an “average citizen” in a local community will receive a personal letter from the President or some other head of state. A newspaper in the city will note the letter and write a story, complete with a photo of the recipient and his letter. All of these events occur because someone received a message from the President of the United States. How more wonderful, then, is the love of God because we have His word, His letter to us, to teach, to correct, to admonish and to comfort (2 Tim. 3:16,17; 1 Thess. 4:18). (C) Prayer. Esther was afraid to petition the king personally and directly (Est. 4:11). Few members of Congress, let alone “John Doe,” are allowed to have a personal conference with the President. Think what a privilege we have to call upon our Creator and Savior and to know that He hears (Heb. 4:16; 1 Pet. 3:12).

Nature Of God’s Love

(1) Active, Not Passive. As alluded to earlier, God’s love is shown in deeds, actions. A woman would not believe a man loved her if his love could not be seen in what he did. “For God so loved that, he gave . . .”

(2) Not Eroded By Time. Time may efface and erase the love of man. Time often dims the luster of man’s ardor and devotion, but time cannot erode or corrode the love of God. It is not subject to the forgetfulness of long separation or to the changes in temper wrought love by age.

(3) Constant. One who loves us may at times appear indifferent or may disappoint us by some thoughtless oversight or “Balance must be maintained, negligence, but God’s love but a superficial for us never has to say, “I am sorry.” It is always sentimentality must there. It is steady. It is constant. It is true.

(4) Personal. The love of God is not some abstract, intangible quality diffused throughout the universe. It is supremely, intensely personal – “the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). No one is a faceless number on some celestial computer. The God who marks the death of a sparrow and who knows the names and number of the stars and of the hairs of our head certainly loves you and me as individuals and not solely as a drop in the sea of humanity.

(5) Has Moral Requirements. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another” (1 Jn. 4:11). “We love him because he first loved us” (1 Jn. 4:19). As God says, “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:17); so, we are to love because He loves. The love of God cannot be passively accepted or appropriated. His love is the basis of our love. “Even so, love, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”

(6) Described And Defined In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. In this passage, Paul was showing the genuine character of Jesus

of true love. Generally, it is applied to the nature of man’s love, but does it not also typify and exemplify the love of God? “Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends” (RSV).

God’s Love Does Not Exclude

God is often portrayed as a kindly, doting, indulgent grandfather who benignly excuses the mischief of His children. Assuredly, “God is love,” and He is king, but “God is (also) light, and in him is no darkness at all.” Hence, His love does not exclude:

(1) Hatred of Evil. “But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate” (Rev. 2:6). “So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate” (Rev. 2:15). There is a “time to love, and a time to hate” (Eccl. 3:8). “Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way” (Psa. 119:104). “Therefore I esteem all they precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way” (Psa. 119:128). Paul said, “Abhor that which is evil” (Rom. 12:9). God commends love but never of hatred for every false way. Balance must be maintained, but a superficial sentimentality must never suppress hatred of evil. A man can be measured by what he loves, and he can be weighed by what he refuses to hate, despise and denounce. There is a time for smiles and the extension of the right hand of fellowship, but it must be tempered by times of stern rebuke and stiff opposition, yes, with hatred of everything that is not in harmony with the truth of the gospel (2 Cor. 10:3-5). God knows how fervently we love truth by how ardently we hate error.

(2) Conditional Blessings. Certain blessings are unconditional, “for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:45). However, God’s love does not provide benefits unconditionally in all realms or spheres. Religious denominationalism often scoffs at commands or conditions of pardon as though they contradict or make void God’s love. Thus, they hiss and boo at us from the haven of the love of God. They stake claim to God’s love, mercy, grace and blood and mock at “terms of pardon.” They confuse the basis or grounds of salvation with the terms or conditions of forgiveness. It is a fatal error. Even Christians occasionally fall into this trap. Attempting to excuse sin by claiming the merits and benefits of “the perfect doing and dying” of Jesus will not hold. Forgiveness is posited in the blood of the Son of God and granted in the mind of God upon obedience to the word of God (Col. 2:11-13; 1 Jn. 1:7-2:2; Rev. 22:14; Heb. 5:8, 9; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19, 22; Rom. 6;17, 18). He labors in vain who would seek to cite a spiritual blessing provided by God’s love that does not have conditions attached to the reception of it.

(3) Judgment. God loved Adam and Eve, but He drove them from the garden. God loved man in the days of Noah, but he brought the flood “in upon the world of the ungodly.” God loved Israel with an “everlasting love,” yet He brought them out of their favored land and into the chains and shackles of bondage, servitude and death. God loves the world and does not will or desire that “any should perish,” but He will cast all the wicked into hell, into everlasting shame, reproach and contempt, into “tribulation and anguish, indignation and wrath,” into outer darkness, “the blackness of darkness forever.” Yes, God is love, but judgment is not excluded. Therefore, let us serve Him “with reference and godly fear.”

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 2, pp. 36-37, 53
January 17, 1985

By Ron Halbrook

Amazing Grace! how sweet the sound That saves a wretch like me! (John Newton, 1725-1807)

There is a gap of infinite proportions between the perfect holiness of God and the wretched sinfulness of man. God’s grace is the bridge across that gap. The better we grasp the purity of God on one hand and man’s utter defilement by sin on the other, the more amazing becomes the sight of God’s grace-and the sweeter its sound! That should be the result of our study on man’s need, God’s gift, and the means of receiving this gift, the dangers of perverting it, and the privilege of proclaiming it.

Man’s Desperate Need

The sacred and happy fellowship of man with God was broken by sin. The universe was designed and equipped by God to be a blessing to man in every way. God made man in the divine image-an eternal spirit, a pure spirit, and a spirit with moral and spiritual capacities enabling man to enjoy fellowship with his Maker. God blessed man with a body and with access to “the tree of life,” a tree whose fruit perpetually sustained the life of the body. An abundance of delicious foods was provided by trees of every variety. Man was blessed with the job of looking after the gorgeous Garden of Eden, and thus with the joy of accomplishment. The crowning gift to Adam was Eve-a companion made from his rib and perfectly suited to share with him all of life’s bounty.

The record of Genesis 1-2 reveals that God is good, generous, gracious-the Giver of every good and perfect gift, the God of all grace. Grace is “the friendly disposition from which the kindly act proceeds” (W.E. Vine’s Dictionary of New Testament Words, 11:170). Adam and Eve could never earn, merit, or deserve the loving-kindness of God. Man’s fellowship with his Maker was full and free. How welcomed was the sound of God’s approach! How precious were every moment and every memory of man’s communion with God!

“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:17). “Ye shall not surely die,” Satan lied, as he sang the attractions of sin. Eve listened, and ate. Adam ate. In one moment, by one sin, the horrible pall of death fell upon them. Now, they knew sin. They experienced the passing pleasure, and then . . . . Then, they experienced sin’s night, its guilt, its shame, its unspeakable horror! Now they knew pain, fear, terror, dread, and despair. Righteousness, joy, and peace vanished. The warmth and love of fellowship with God were gone. They truly knew sin with all of its wretchedness, poverty, misery, blindness, nakedness, disease, and bondage. They were living corpses!

Adam and Eve heard the approach of their beloved Friend and Master. Oh, for a place to hide! Yes, they knew sin. They could not undo their sin, could not remove its debt and defilement. All their past good works could not save them. Excuses could not avail.

God held them accountable for their sin. Man looks on the outer world. Just as God’s grace was demonstrated there, sin’s destructive force would be demonstrated there. Physical consequences fell upon the human family, and they were driven from the Garden. The result was physical disease, degeneration, and death. Those sorrows are constant reminders to us all that Satan is our enemy and sin is his instrument to destroy us. Those sorrows humble us and bring us back to reality time and time again-the reality of our desperate need for God’s grace, for His pardon, and for His fellowship.

God’s Supreme Gift of Grace

Many people view the Judgment as a time for weighing their good deeds against their bad deeds-and whichever weighs the most will determine a person’s destiny. But no amount of good deeds by Adam, before or after his sin, could outweigh the effect of even this one sin.

We are all lost if our lives are weighed on the scales of justice alone. If a person is arrested for robbing “just one bank,” he must face that one deed before the judge in spite of all of his promises not to rob again. A football player runs with the ball from one goal line to the other and steps out of bounds only one time at the fifty yard line. Will it do him any good to plead with the referee about all the yards run in bounds before and after the infraction? Is it a touchdown if the runner was sincere, or if a teammate deceived him and urged him to continue running? We must understand Adam and Eve’s despair-every sinner’s despair-your despair and mine-before we can appreciate God’s supreme gift.

While Adam and Eve staggered under the weight of their sin, God by grace promised a Savior who would bear that weight away. The son of woman would some day rise up to bruise Satan’s head, to destroy his work of sin, and to defeat his purpose of condemnation upon man (Gen. 3:15). Immediately, the human family was taught to offer animal sacrifices, which pointed to the Savior’s perfect sacrifice of Himself for sin (4:4). Later, God promised that the Savior would come out of faithful Abram’s seed-“in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (12:1-3).

Could this one sacrifice be sufficient for all sinners? Yes, the prophet said, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:6). Yes, this innocent Servant of God would willingly suffer for all the guilt of all the sinful world. Amazing grace!

God gave the descendants of Abraham the Law of Moses because of their transgressions, to more deeply impress upon their hearts the guilt of their sins. That Law was heavy with rituals, forms and ceremonies, none of which could save of themselves, but all of which kept the slush people in training to understand the mission of the coming Messiah. Though the blood of animal sacrifices flowed like rivers, the sins of the Jews were pardoned only in prospect and Israel was annually reminded of this growing debt. But in the day of the Savior, the Law of Moses with its elementary forms and its load of debt would be replaced by a New Law of righteousness, peace, and joy to be written into the hearts of the people of God. “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jer. 31:31-34).

How are all these blessings made possible? “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” If God did so much for us while we were enemies of God, while we were yet wicked and wretched, we cannot doubt that He will supply our every spiritual need and save us in the end now that we are friends of God justified and reconciled in His Son, Jesus Christ. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Rom. 5:1-10). Christ is raised from the dead, is reigning in glory, and is bringing to fruition every promise of God. Amazing grace!

Conditions For Receiving Grace

Grace provided unconditionally for our pardon “while we were yet sinners.” But our personal reception of the gift of pardon is conditional. We read of other gifts received conditionally. God offered Abraham a land, but to receive it he was called upon to leave his native country. “By faith Abraham …obeyed” (Gen. 12:1; Heb. 11:8). The generation of Jews which approached the land in Numbers 13-14 did not obtain it because they disobeyed God. The Lord told Joshua, “I have given into thine hand Jericho,” but obedience to special instructions was required in order for him to possess what God gave (Josh.6). Naaman was cleansed of leprosy when he dipped in the Jordan River seven times. This gift was available the moment Elisha spoke, but could not be received until Naaman met the condition of obedient faith (2 Kgs. 5). So it is with our pardon from sin.

How do we personally receive God’s amazing grace in the forgiveness of our sins? Jesus said that when men hear the gospel of God’s grace, they must believe it and be baptized in order to be saved by God’s grace (Mk. 16:15-16). Through Peter, the Spirit of God told sinners how to be saved by grace: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). In Acts 19:5, sinners at Ephesus, “were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Concerning these very people at Ephesus, the Holy Spirit later said,

For by grace are ye saved by grace through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph. 2:8-9).

When and how were they saved by grace through faith? When they were baptized! Baptism for remission of sins is salvation by grace through faith!

After we receive God’s grace in the pardon of our past sins, we must continue in His grace. Christ teaches us how to live each day, always putting off the old man and putting on the new (Eph. 4:17-32). He is our Savior and our head in this new relationship of God’s grace (1:22-23; 5:23). We have privileges and duties in the local church (Acts 2:42; 14:23; 20:7). If the child of God stumbles and falls into sin, God’s amazing grace reaches out still and we receive it as we repent of error, confess wrong, and pray to be forgiven (Acts 8:13-24; 19:17-20; 1 Jn. 1:5-2:2). We can despise “the Spirit of grace” by hardening our hearts, refusing to repent, and so departing in unbelief forever (Heb. 3:12ff; 6:4-6; 10:28-29).

Grace throws a rope to the man drowning in sin. He does not deserve that grace and can never earn it. Unable to reach safety by swimming to it, he must take hold and continue to hold on to the rope in order to be saved by grace.

Perversions of Grace

False teachers in the first century perverted the gospel and “the grace of Christ.” Anything more or less than the apostolic word is a perversion of grace and the Apostles warned against it: “As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:6-9). We are not ignorant of Satan’s devices today.

1. The popular idea is that men will be saved by sincerity alone, or faith alone, or grace alone. If it were grace alone, all men would be saved because God desires none to be lost (2 Pet. 3:10); but, all will not be saved (2 Thess. 1:7-9). We receive saving grace not by faith alone, but by “the obedience of faith” (Rom. 16:26; 6:17). “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only” (Jas. 2:24). If sincerity alone can save, all of the following are “nonessential”: the New Testament pattern for the church (1 Tim. 3:14-15), baptism (Mk. 16:16), Christ (Jn. 8:24), the Bible (2 Tim. 3:16-17), and God (Heb. 11:6). Many who sincerely cry, “Lord, Lord,” will be lost (Matt. 7:21-23). Jesus said that we must know the truth of God’s grace to be freed from sin (Jn. 8:32). That is why men are lost in idolatry, Masonry, cults, Catholicism, denominations, and sects.

2. Satan’s preachers say, “Since we are saved by grace, there is nothing to do in order to be saved. ” God’s Son taught that “the work of God” is to “believe on him whom he hath sent,” and that men who will not do it “shall die in your sins” (Jn. 6:29; 8:24). God’s only begotten Son, whom we must believe, also said, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:5, 16). Once we enter that kingdom of grace, we just “be careful to maintain good works”-this is “faith which worketh by love” (Tit. 2:8; Gal. 5:6). These truths destroy the claim of “once saved, always saved,” i.e. the claim that once we are saved there is still nothing to do in order to receive the final redemption. The Holy Spirit told those who departed into heresy, “Ye are fallen from grace” (Gal. 5:4).

3. The Devil’s ministers speak of “irresistible grace” and a “direct miraculous operation of the Holy Spirit .in conviction and conversion,” This means that sinners are waiting on God to act. But God urges sinners to act-to “save yourselves” by obeying the gospel or else be self-condemned (Acts 2:40; 13:46). If sinners must wait on God, He is responsible for their lost state and is a respecter of persons for saving some and neglecting others (10:34).

4. Error argues, “We don’t need the church since we are saved by grace.” Christ is the Head and Savior of the church, which He “purchased with his own blood” (Eph. 1:22-23; 5:23; Acts 20:28). To be saved “by grace” is to be reconciled unto God “in one body”-the church! (Eph. 2:8, 16). The kingdom, body, or church of Christ refers to our relationship with Christ, including all duties and privileges He gave us in the local church. Just as there is only one true God, there is only one true church which is the fulness of divine grace (1:3, 22-23; 4:4).

5. In an effort to declare the conditions for receiving grace “non-essential, ” Satan pretends that they are “works of human merit. ” Thus, man cannot exercise his own faith in the gospel upon hearing it but must wait for God to give faith as a miraculous gift. Or, man upon believing cannot be baptized as the means of calling on God for pardon, lest he should earn salvation. The truth is that faith and baptism are just as essential in God’s plan of grace as is hearing the gospel (Mk. 16:15-16). These conditions mean that sinners cannot be saved by their own merit and so must receive God’s grace in the manner He chose to give it.

6. Another perversion says, ” If we believe the basics and are baptized, violations of the Bible pattern (instrumental music in worship, premillennialism, institutionalism in church work, church sponsored social meals and recreation, etc.) are forgiven even as they are committed. When error is sincere, grace does not require such `mechanical and meritorious works’ as repentance, confession, and prayer for pardon. ” This theory reflects a weakening faith in the authority of the Bible pattern, compromise with the popular idea of salvation by sincerity, and capitulation to the denominational dogma that conditions are works of merit. Leroy Garrett started at this very point, later conceded baptism on the same theory, and is now “sympathetic with . . . universalism”-grace wholly unconditional (Restoration Review, Nov. 1984, p. 366). Human speculation about grace is not the Word of God’s grace. What saith the Scripture? “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God” (2 Jn. 9). Whosoever! “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth,” you can be restored to God’s grace only be meeting the conditions of grace (Acts 8:18,24; Jas. 5:16-20.)

7. To kelp people from obeying God now, Satan preaches that grace will be extended to the lost after death. The second-chance idea comes in many forms: prayers for the dead, baptisms of the living for the dead, and theories about the dead hearing the gospel in hades or being raised to hear it later. The Bible says with finality that God provided His grace in Christ to the living and that after we die we face the certainty of judgment (Heb. 9:27-28). It’s now or never! Spread The Good News Of Salvation By Grace!

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men” (Tit. 2:11). God wants all men to hear of His amazing grace. It is broad enough to take in everyone, if only men will receive it. The Lord is patient, “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). During the time of God’s patience, we have the wonderful privilege of telling men about His grace.

We must show men their desperate need for God, the supreme gift of His love, the conditions for receiving it, the dangers of perverting grace, and the joy of sharing God’s grace. “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest” (Jn. 4:35). In other words, men perish while we delay. Like men and women of the first century who caught the sweet sound of God’s amazing grace, let us go “everywhere preaching the word” (Acts 8:3-4).

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 2, pp. 38-39, 51
January 17, 1985