The Glory of God's Grace (II)

Continuing to share from James Montgomery Boice's The Glory of God's Grace:

Just a note from the preface. Boice is remarking on an indifference, among Christians, regarding the matter of the grace of God. I think that in some circles there is great indifference to grace, as if it were just another theological nuance, a matter for Bible scholars and theologians, but not something that the Christian need bother with overmuch. Drawing from J. I. Packer's Knowing God, Boice suggests four reasons for this misperception:

1. The sin of man

"Modern people are complacent about their grim spiritual condition. They assume that God is also."

2. The judgment of God

Many have lost a sense of the causal relationships in moral areas of life. "So the idea of a final judgment of God in the end of human history at which sin is punished seems quite fantastic to them."

3. The spiritual inability of man

Our culture has long inculcated the notion that all things are possible, and that we are the masters of our own fate. "So the idea that we need the grace of God in order to get right with God, since we cannot save ourselves, seems . . . well, it just seems wrong, frankly. We assume that it will always be possible to mend our relationship with God."

4. The sovereign freedom of God

We think God owes us salvation. That it is a "right," and He is under obligation of some kind to give it. But God does not owe us anything. "The freedom of God to give or withhold favor is what very essence of what grace is about."