Jump Start # 4132

2 Peter 3:18 “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity.”

Yesterday I finished writing my final sermon as one of the preachers here. I have been thinking about that for a long time. What do you say? After 18+ years with a group and more than 46 years of preaching, there are endless stories, memories and blessings. Good times. Challenging times. Fun times.

I shared with my good Tennessee friend Mike how I was going to structure the final sermon. He sent me an audio recording from Robert Jackson about final words. The recording was classic Robert Jackson. He pointed out Paul’s final words, Peter’s final words and John’s final words that are recorded in Scripture.

Paul: The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you (2 Tim 4:22).

Peter: But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now an to the day of eternity. Amen (2 Peter 3:18).

John: The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. Amen. (Revelation 22:21).

Three amazing apostles. Combined, they wrote twenty of the twenty-seven books of the N.T. And, in their final words, all three use the word “grace.” It makes one believe that grace is pretty important.

Here are some thoughts:

First, we are a grace filled, graced lived people. Our emphasis upon obedience and baptism can easily lead to the conclusion that grace isn’t important. It is. It is the most important. Our obedience can never do what grace can. Because many misunderstand and misuse grace, even among us, let us not shy away from this word. We are saved by grace through faith. Grace moves the attention off of us and our performance and puts it on the Lord. Had it not been for the Lord, the Psalmist declared, ought to be what we too declare. Had it not been for the Lord, we would not be saved. Had it not been for the Lord, we would be hopeless and helpless.

These three apostles understood that grace is important. Do we?

Second, grace is a choice made by a loving God. God does not owe us forgiveness. He does not have to forgive us. He does not owe us a second chance. Mercy comes from the kindness of the Lord and not because we are so cute, adorable and God can’t resist us. We were sinners. We were the enemies of God. Why not turn His back on us and walk away? He didn’t because He loves us.

And, once we get a good taste of that, we will quit arguing about “Do I have to attend Wednesday night,” or pushing the buttons of God’s patience. Our hearts will explode with gratitude for the kindness of God. We are prodigals who do not desrve back into God’s house. But, the Lord has done more. He has hosted a celebration in our honor when we have done nothing to deserve it.

When I hear folks trying to squeeze social drinking into the Scriptures or winking at the casual and indifferent manner of worship that is promoted today, I wonder why are you not content with what God has done? If you understood grace, you’ll not push God. You’ll not try to improve upon God. You’ll be happy with things just the way the Lord set the table. It’s about grace.

Third, growing in grace and knowledge of our Savior, as Peter ended his inspired writings, go hand in hand. The more I know the Lord, the more I’ll demonstrate grace in my life. We have learned how to be the prodigal’s older brother pretty well. We’ve got the Jonah attitude down. Now, it’s time to forgive as God has forgiven us. It’s time to show grace to others.

The more time one spends in the sunshine of God’s grace, the kinder, more patient and more forgiving he will be. Because of His grace, we have grace. Because we’ve been given a second chance, we give second chances. We learn from the One who was full of grace and truth. The woman at the well was a mess in her relationships. The Lord was kind to her. The woman caught in adultery was guilty. The Lord was kind to her. And, because of that, we become kind to the toxic co-worker. We become kind to the person having a bad day. We become kind to one another.

Three apostles ending their writings with “grace.” Simply amazing.

Roger