David Diga Hernandez - Grace: God's Power Within

Well, I want to get right into this. First of all, I want to tell you what grace is not, because often you’ve heard of grace being abused. The Scripture makes it very clear that the grace of God is not an excuse to live an unholy life. There are those, even preachers or so-called ones, who will tell you that you can live however you want, and as long as you’re living in the grace of God, there are no consequences for that sin. But the truth is that the Bible makes it perfectly clear that God demands and requires of us holy and righteous living. So, I want to read a Scripture to you that is going to, first of all, lay the foundation, teaching you what grace is not and how prophetic this Scripture is. Jude chapter 1, verses 3 through 8 say this: «Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share, but now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. So, I want to remind you, though you already know these things, that Jesus Christ first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt, but later He destroyed those who did not remain faithful.»

I’m going to stop here just for a second, and then I’ll read the rest of that portion of Scripture. There are some who teach that because we are living in a period of the grace of God, there is, therefore, no more judgment, no more punishment for sin. But the Scripture here makes it perfectly clear that there are still consequences to sin. Let’s continue reading. «And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them, but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment. And don’t forget about Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment.» Verse 8: «In the same way, these people who claim authority from their dreams live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings.»

So, here the Scripture is making it very clear that though we are under the grace of God, and though Jesus did pay the penalty for our sins, we are not to abuse that grace to live immoral lives. Now, I’m not talking to the believer who is struggling and making an effort in holiness; I’m talking to the one who is stubbornly refusing to turn from sin, clinging to grace as, in this context, a false hope. Grace does not do a thing for the one who will not attempt to walk with God, for the one who does not try. It’s all about the heart; it’s all about the position of repentance in the heart. So, that portion of Scripture makes it absolutely clear: we are not to live immoral lives; we are to live in holiness, we are to live in righteousness, and we are to live for God’s will. So, don’t go on sinning, saying, «Well, the grace of God allows me to do so.» That’s not at all what the Scripture teaches. But the Bible does teach that God’s grace empowers us. You see, the grace of God is more than just unmerited favor, as you’ve often heard it said. Unmerited favor means that God gives us something we don’t deserve. Grace is not the idea that God gives us something that we do not deserve; grace is that which God gives us even though we don’t deserve it.

So, the question is not, «How merciful is God that He gives us what we don’t deserve?» The question of grace is, «What is that thing He gives us that we don’t deserve?» And this is what grace is: it’s more than mercy, it’s more than forgiveness, it’s more than the pardon from your sin. You see, the Holy Spirit, in Zechariah chapter 12, verse 10, is called the spirit of grace, and I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications. And what does this spirit of grace cause them to do? Look very carefully at the Scripture. So that spirit of grace comes upon them, that spirit of supplication, grace, and prayer. What does the Holy Spirit within them cause them to do when He comes upon them? What does grace drive us to do? Look at what the Scripture says: «And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourning for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.»

Well, think about this. Look at the Scripture for a second. Look at the way the Bible phrases this; it’s so powerful. «And they shall look upon me,» this is God talking, «whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him.» He’s talking about His crucifixion when the Word became flesh. This is talking about Jesus. The spirit of grace will, first of all, cause you to look to the cross. You know that drawing, that pull, that sense of urgency that you felt when you first gave your heart to the Lord? That was the grace of God drawing you.