THE GRACE OF GOD by J. A. Corliss

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Nov 9, 1876

THE GRACE OF GOD.

By J. A. Corliss

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” Titus 2: 11, 12.

Grace means favor. Man lost the favor of God by the fall; but a plan of reconciliation has been formed whereby favor is still shown him; and though through sinfulness he fails to appreciate this grace, yet God is merciful and kind to the unthankful and to the evil. Life, with all its comforts and blessings, is given by the grace or favor of God; yet these things only pertain to this life; but the grace of God that bringeth salvation reaches beyond this vale of tears and the dark and dreary tomb into that eternity of bliss where God and all the heavenly host now dwell.

Through Jesus alone is this grace obtained. He says of himself, “I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” All are invited to partake of this grace. Hear the invitation: “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Again, “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” We see from these texts that man is given the freedom of choice to come and be saved, or stay away and suffer the penalty of disobedience. He may come if he will.

The saving grace of God not only appears to all men, but it also teaches them that accept it. It is a school, and we may call it the school of Christ. When a child begins to attend school, it is not expected to learn everything the first day; but by progressive steps it does in time attain to perfection in the branches studied. So with the Christian; he does not expect to become perfect at once; but, like Paul, he reaches forth unto those things which are before, pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

This mark of the prize, what is it? When I was a small child and went to school, prizes were awarded to those who came up to a certain standard. Take deportment for illustration: Those whose deportment was perfect for a whole day, received a ticket, simply a piece of paper with the name written thereon. When ten of these had been received, a nice card was given; and when ten cards had thus been earned, then a prize, consisting of a book or piece of money was given. The ten cards constituted the mark of the prize; and I remember how eagerly I used to press toward the mark of the prize.

What is the mark to which Paul refers? Jesus says, in his sermon on the mount, that we must “be perfect, even as our Father which is in Heaven is perfect.” Here is a mark, and it is perfection. This is evidently the mark to which Paul refers, as we may see by reading Phil. 3: 12. He says, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.” Paul knew he was not yet perfect; but he could say, “This one thing I do, forgetting [leaving] those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark.” As the child in school could not gain the mark in one day or by one step, but by successive steps, gaining first the ten tickets and then the ten cards, so the Christian gains the mark of perfection only by daily progression.

The saving grace of God teaches us how to make this progress. It points us to Christ as our example. He is a perfect pattern; and though we may begin in childhood to learn some of the ways of life, except we have this knowledge so deep in our hearts that it causes us to forsake our faults, we have not been taught by saving grace. When we can by grace deny ourselves of ungodliness and worldly lusts, and learn from Jesus to be meek and lowly in heart, then the grace of God will bring to us salvation. It is then that we can trust the “Mighty to save,” and feel that “his yoke is easy, and his burden light.” However much we may profess to have this grace, except it enables us to overcome our faults, it is not the saving grace of God. We may have been invited by the Spirit to partake of it, but we have not yet received it. Satan knows this full well, and does all in his power to hinder souls from obtaining freedom from sin.

We may have the theory of the truth, and a knowledge of the holy requirements of God; but to dig deep into the heart, acknowledge our own faults, and give up our idols to serve the true and living God, are most difficult of all, on account of the distress of mind it costs to crucify the affections and lusts of the old man. Blessed are they who learn to endure this suffering, this mortifying of the flesh; for they are those who are taught by the saving grace of God, and know by experience what it is to follow Jesus in the way to life.

What is ungodliness? It is just the opposite of godliness. A godly man is one who loves God with all his might, mind, and strength, and tries in all his walks in life to please him, relying on Jesus to cleanse him from all his iniquities. The ungodly man despises the law of God, and treats with contempt the precious blood of Jesus that was shed, that he might live, and therefore is like “the chaff which the wind driveth away.”

Fleshly lusts are those inclinations of the mind which we have inherited from our parents, or have formed by our conduct or associations with the world. So long as we do these things and walk after the inclinations of our own minds, we may be assured we have not learned the lesson taught by saving grace, but are walking in the counsel of the ungodly. In order to fulfil the requirements of God’s word, we must see our wrong course, repent, turn to the Lord, and receive from him the gift of the Spirit, that he may lead us in the way of godliness, soberness, and righteousness. Every child of grace will bear witness to the truthfulness of this, that when he had learned these lessons of grace, old desires and affections passed away, and he could pray with the psalmist, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Nothing is so hard but the subject of saving grace will undertake to do it for Jesus’ sake. He has suffered for us, and we will suffer, too, if we may but become acceptable in his sight. Oh! how sweet to suffer for Jesus’ sake! But how can we suffer for him? He is all purity and all holiness; we are all impurity, all unholiness. He wants us to have a place with him in his pure and holy kingdom; but no sin, no unholy thing, can ever enter there. Can we not, then, for his sake, because he loves us and has done so much for us, suffer a little, in order that we may be acceptable in his sight? J. A. Corliss.