“The Bible is a history of grace. From the story of creation, with which it begins, to the picture of last things, with which it closes, it is grace, grace, grace.” —R. A. Torrey
The clearest manifestation of God’s grace is of course the Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnated Son of God, born in Bethlehem to die on Calvary. In the Gospel of John it says, “The Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ” (Jn. 1:17).
Nevertheless, there are pictures of God’s grace sprinkled throughout the Old Testament, scattered across its pages like gems, waiting to be found by those who have “eyes to see and ears to hear.” Following are ten of these precious gems, God’s grace in the Old Testament:
Grace Gem #1: After the Fall of man into sin, God clothed Adam and Even with the skins of a slain animal (perhaps a lamb), the death of a substitute in place of their own (see Genesis 3:21). Commenting on verse 21, Dr. C. I. Scofield writes: “Coats of skin: Type of ‘Christ, made unto us righteousness’—a divinely provided garment that the first sinners might be made fit for God’s presence.”[1] In the New Testament, John the Baptist said of Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn. 1:29). The writer of the book of Hebrews says: “He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Heb. 9:26, NASB).
Grace Gem #2: God banished the fallen couple out of the Garden of Eden and most importantly, away from the tree of life. For if they had eaten from the tree of life as sinners, they would have been confined to their sinful state forever and ever! (See Genesis 3:22.) Andreas Köstenberger affirms that God “casts them out in order to prevent them from eating from the tree of life and living forever (Gen. 3:22-24). This constitutes an act of God’s grace in limiting human sin. It would be a disaster for a human to live forever in a fallen state.”[2]
Grace Gem #3: “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Gen. 6:8, KJV). R. A. Torrey has well said: “Noah was saved by grace. No man was ever saved in any other way (Eph. 2. 8). Noah was a sinner and deserved to perish, but Noah was saved with all his house by the unmerited favor of God (cf. Acts 16. 31). It is true that Jehovah speaks of Noah as righteous (ch. 7. 1), but Noah’s righteousness, like that of Abraham, was the righteousness that comes by faith (cf. ch. 15. 6). God told Noah that there was to be a flood and Noah believed what God said, and prepared an ark to the saving of himself and all his house (Heb. 11. 7). He was saved ‘by grace through faith,’ and any other man can be saved in the same way to-day (John 3. 16).”[3]
Grace Gem #4: God was patient with the wicked generation of Noah’s day by withholding judgment for 120 years, as Noah preached to them. “God gave the neighbors of Noah one hundred twenty years of grace”.[4] God provided only one way of salvation, the door of the Ark, and any sinner who entered through that door would be saved! In the New Testament, Jesus said, “I am the door, anyone who enters through Me will be saved” (Jn. 10:9).
Grace Gem #5: God delivered Israel out of the land of Egypt; He commanded that the blood of a spotless lamb to be sprinkled on the doorposts of each house, and all who took shelter under the blood were saved! (See Exodus chapter 12.) The Passover lamb was a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the apostle Paul says, "Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5:7, NLT).
Grace Gem # 6: Moses lifted up the serpent on a pole in the wilderness, and whoever simply looked to the serpent was healed (see Numbers 21:6-9). This was a picture of Jesus being lifted up on the cross, that whoever simply looks to Him in faith will be saved (see John 3:14-17).
Grace Gem #7: God spared King David’s life after his willful sin with Bathsheba. David even tried to cover up his sin by murdering Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah the Hittite. It was by sheer grace that God forgave David, since in the Old Testament, there was no sacrifice for willful, deliberate sin: the penalty was death![5] Nevertheless, God graciously spared David’s life.
Grace Gem #8: God warned Nineveh for 40 days, saying through Jonah the prophet, “And yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overturned!” (See Jonah 3:4.) Here we see God’s grace in the “yet forty days,” which gave the Ninevites time to repent. Commenting on this incident from Jonah chapter 3, Warren Wiersbe affirms concerning the Ninevites that “God gave the people forty days of grace”.[6] Amazingly, the entire city of Nineveh repented! God withheld judgment and the people were saved.
Grace Gem # 9: God commanded that there were to be cities of refuge in the land of Israel for manslayers and those guilty of shedding innocent blood, where they could flee for safety. Dr. Ironside notes that these cities of refuge are types of Christ, and expressions of God’s grace.[7]
Grace Gem #10: “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost” (Isaiah 55:1, NIV). This is, as someone has said, “An Invitation to Grace”! The Bible closes with a similar appeal in the book of Revelation: “And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17, NKJV). Similar to God’s invitation through Isaiah the prophet, this appeal in the last book of the Bible is likewise, and fittingly, also an “invitation of grace”![8]
ENDNOTES:
[1] C. I. Scofield, The Scofield Reference Bible, p. 10, note 1 on Genesis 3:21; cf. Job 29:14; 1 Corinthians 1:30.
[2] Andreas Köstenberger, The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown, 2nd Edition (Nashville: B & H Academic, 2016), p. 1027.
[3] R. A. Torrey, Record of Christian Work (July 1901), vol. 20, p. 517.
[4] Robert M. Russell, The Christian Workers Magazine (September 1918), vol. 19, p. 665.
[5] Warren Wiersbe affirms, “The law provided a sacrifice for sins committed ignorantly, but there was no sacrifice for deliberate presumptuous sin (Ex. 21:14; Num. 15:27-31; Ps. 51:16-17).” (Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, p. 221, comment on Luke 23:34.)
[6] Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament, p. 384.
[7] H. A. Ironside, Addresses on the Book of Joshua, pp. 124-131. Dr. Scofield similarly writes: “The cities of refuge are types of Christ sheltering the sinner from judgment (Psa. 46.1; 142.5; Isa. 4.6; Ex. 21.13; Deut. 19.2-9; Rom. 8.1, 33, 34; Phil. 3.9; Heb. 6.18, 19).” (C. I. Scofield, The Scofield Reference Bible, p. 213, note on Numbers 35:6.)
[8] Phillip Mauro, The Fundamentals (Chicago: Testimony Publishing Company, 1900), vol. 5, p. 71.
7 comments:
Wow, that was beautiful and so well put together! Thank you Jonathan! I've turned this into a PDF and saved it on my computer.
Todd
Hi Todd,
Thank you, that's encouraging to hear. I spent not a little time on it, doing the research, making sure the English grammar was not only correct but also smooth, and that each point was conveyed clearly. It reminds me of the Proverb that says, "An idea well-expressed is like a design of gold, set in silver" (Prov. 25:11, Good News Translation).
I'm glad it was a blessing to you. Praise the Lord!
By His Grace,
Jonathan
Hello again, guys. This is Steven — I commented a month or so ago. I am asking for prayer, please. I have come under such fear and condemnation that it's begun to affect my health and mind again. I'm back to not eating, and my mind doesn't seem to be working normally. I'm forgetting things constantly, mixing up words when I talk, having memory lapses, and I'm not sleeping. I feel so sinful and evil. I keep thinking about the false teachers in 2 Peter 2, and I wonder if I am one of them, or at least like them. Please ask God to give me wisdom and understanding, peace and clarity, and whatever else I might need to get through this. I don't really know how long I can live like this. Todd, if you're still around, could I have your e-mail again? I think I would benefit from having someone to talk to. Thank you, Jon, for your help in the past. Please lift me up urgently and frequently in prayer.
Hi Steven,
Good to hear from you again. I'll keep praying for you! By the way, I don't know if you read my reply to you in the comments thread of my post titled "Is Repentance Sorrow for Sin?", but I will cut and paste it here just in case you didn't see it. I trust it will be a help to you:
Steven,
I just came across a wonderful statement by Martin Luther that it would be good, I think, to apply to your heart. Here is the statement, excerpted from the book Free Grace Truths: or Gospel Comfort for Doubting Minds (published in 1769). The author, William Mason, writes the following in a letter to a friend, and I would encourage you to think of him as speaking also to you:
“I cannot finish this epistle [i.e. letter], without affectionately exhorting and earnestly wishing my dear Friend, to be ‘strong in the grace which is in CHRIST JESUS.’ Therefore shall conclude in those suitable words, to excite to this, of Luther, that champion of free grace, that son of consolation to afflicted consciences. See his exposition on the Galatians—meditate on them—pray over them—may the LORD apply them with comfort to your soul! Says he: ‘The comfort is this, that in serious conflicts and terrors, wherein the feeling of sin, heaviness of spirit, desperation, and such like, are very strong, (for they enter deeply into the spirit, and mightily assault it) thou must not follow thine own feeling, for if thou dost, thou wilt say; I feel the horrible terrors of the law, and the tyranny of sin, not only rebelling against me, but also subduing me and leading me captive, and I feel no comfort or righteousness at all; therefore I am a sinner, and not righteous. And if I be a sinner, then am I guilty of everlasting death. But against this feeling thou must wrestle and say: Although I feel myself utterly overwhelmed and swallowed up with sin, and my heart telleth me that GOD is offended and angry with me, yet indeed it is not true, but that my own sense and feeling so judgeth, contrary to the word of GOD, which teacheth a far other thing, namely, ‘that GOD is near unto them who are of a troubled heart, and saveth them who are of an humble spirit,’ Psalm 34. 18. Also ‘he despiseth not an humble and contrite heart,’ Psalm 51. 17. But looketh in love and pity to him who trembleth at his word. Wherefore when the law accuseth and sin terrifieth thee, and thou feelest nothing but the wrath and judgment of GOD, despair not for all that, take unto thee the armour of GOD, the shield of faith, the helmet of hope, and the sword of the SPIRIT, and try how good and valiant thou art; these weapons are given thee for use; thou must have trials to exercise them.
Lay hold of CHRIST by faith, who is the LORD of law and sin, and of all things else which accompany them. Believing in him, thou art ‘justified from all things,’ which thing, reason, and the feeling of thine own heart, when thou art tempted do not tell thee, but the word of GOD. Moreover, in the midst of these conflicts and terrors, which often return and exercise thee, wait thou patiently through hope for righteousness which thou hast now by faith. But thou wilt say, I feel not myself to have any righteousness, or at least I feel it but very little. Thou must not feel but believe thou hast righteousness. And except thou believe that thou art righteous, thou dost great injury to CHRIST, who hath cleansed thee by the washing of water through the word, who also died upon the cross, condemned sin, killed death, that through him thou mightiest obtain RIGHTEOUSNESS, and everlasting life.’
May our blessed Saviour make you as happy in your experience as you are here wisely directed to be, is the fervent wish of
Yours affectionately,
W. M.”
(William Mason, Free Grace Truths: or Gospel Comfort for Doubting Minds, pp. 51-52.)
Hello, Jon. Steven here again. I hope you had a nice Easter weekend! Thank you for your last encouraging response to me. It really helped, and I'm grateful. You have such detailed and well-thought-out (making my own English here) explanations and teaching. It's quite a gift!
I'm wondering about 2 Tim 4:3 this week, and those teachings for itching ears. What exactly are those teachings? What comes to mind when you think of those teachings that are ear-ticklers? I know those in the Lordship camp would say that Free Grace is such a teaching. It is really good news, after all, to the sinner, to the believer struggling with sin. They would say it just makes people feel better about their sinfulness. I know it has been a sweet relief to my heart, and a source of comfort and reassurance. I've started following quite a few Free Grace teachers, in fact. Am I just "heaping up teachers" who tickle my ears? Even I have to admit, however, that while Free Grace may make me feel better about my security in Christ, I have never once heard a FG teacher say that sin is ok. Quite the contrary. It seems that they are just more realistic about sin and how it can affect the life of a believer. They're more realistic about how difficult some sin patterns can be to break. They might encourage the believer not to give up, and not to doubt their salvation based on those sins, but I've NEVER heard one say that sin is ok, or not a big deal. What would you say to those in the Lordship camp who accuse FG of being a teaching for those who want their ears tickled?
Also, in relation to 2 Tim, do you believe that Alexander and the other (I forget his name) were genuine believers? Lordship says no way, that they were only "professed" believers. But why would Paul turn them over to satan if they weren't the real deal? From what I understand, such discipline is reserved for genuine believers.
I'd love to see your thoughts. Hope you're well, and God bless!
Hi Steven,
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that Free Grace theology “is really good news, after all, to the sinner, to the believer struggling with sin.” It should be obvious that just because a teaching is good news doesn’t mean that it’s false, nor that it just tickles people’s ears. After all, the Gospel is “Good News”! Lordship people probably say that about Free Grace theology because is contrast to Free Grace, Lordship Salvation (aka Calvinism) is not good news! For example, how is it good news to say that God predestined most people to go to Hell simply for His “good” pleasure because he hates them?! That’s Calvinism. They know it’s bad news and so they try to turn the good news of the Free Grace message into something bad because otherwise it would highlight the error of Calvinism, because Calvinism is obviously NOT good news. The Bible says, “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good, how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him” (Psa. 34:8). Of course, Calvinists SAY that God is good, but by their theology they deny it. Free Grace is consistent, we say that God is good, and Free Grace theology also demonstrates that God is good. So basically, Lordship Salvationists begrudge us the fact that Free Grace theology is good news. That's pretty sad of them to do when you think about it.
Let's look a little more closely at what the apostle Paul says in the context of the Pastoral epistles, and in the context of the Pauline corpus in general. Is Paul warning Timothy against Free Grace theology? Hardly!
I like what Dr. Thomas Constable (a Free Grace expositor) has to say in regards to 2 Timothy 4:3-4. In his Notes on 2 Timothy, Dr. Constable says:
“I think church people were probably in Paul's mind when he made this statement, but what he said has proven to be true of people generally. ‘In other words, they [these listeners] have made themselves the measure of who should teach them and what teaching is acceptable.’ ‘The desire for pleasure is insatiable, and is increased or aggravated by indulgence; hence the heaping up of those who may minister to it.’ Moreover, these listeners would choose to believe myths rather than the truth (e.g., atheistic evolution, humanism, reincarnation, etc.; cf. 1 Tim. 1:4; 4:7; Titus 1:14). The context seems to indicate that these people were believers (cf. Luke 8:13; 1 Tim. 4:1; Heb. 3:12; 2 Tim. 2:12).”
Marvin Vincent also has some helpful comments on 2 Timothy 4:3-4. He writes the following in his Word Studies:
[2 Tim. 4:3] “Having itching ears (κνηθόμενοι τὴν ἀκοήν) Or, being tickled in their hearing. Κνήθειν to tickle, [...] Κνηθόμενοι itching. Hesychius explains, ‘hearing for mere gratification.’ Clement of Alexandria describes certain teachers as ‘scratching and tickling, in no human way, the ears of those who eagerly desire to be scratched’ (Strom. v.). Seneca says: ‘Some come to hear, not to learn, just as we go to the theater, for pleasure, to delight our ears with the speaking or the voice or the plays’ (Ephesians 108).”
[2 Tim. 4:4] “Shall be turned unto fables (ἐπὶ τοὺς μύθους ἐκτραπήσονται) More correctly, will turn aside. The passive has a middle sense. For fables see on 1 Timothy 1:4.”
[Continued below...]
Referring to “fables” (2 Tim. 4:4), Vincent’s referenced 1 Timothy 1:4; his comment on 1 Tim. 1:4 is as follows:
“Fables (μύθοις) Μῦθος, in its widest sense, means word, speech, conversation or its subject. Hence the talk of men, rumour, report, a saying, a story, true or false; later, a fiction as distinguished from λόγος a historic tale. In Attic prose, commonly a legend of prehistoric Greek times. Thus Plato, Repub. 330 D, οἱ λεγόμενοι μῦθοι περὶ τῶν ἐν Ἅΐδου what are called myths concerning those in Hades. Only once in lxx, Sir. 20:19, in the sense of a saying or story. In N.T. Only in Pastorals, and 2 Peter 1:16. As to its exact reference here, it is impossible to speak with certainty. Expositors are hopelessly disagreed, some referring it to Jewish, others to Gnostic fancies. It is explained as meaning traditional supplements to the law, allegorical interpretations, Jewish stories of miracles, Rabbinical fabrications, whether in history or doctrine, false doctrines generally, etc. It is to be observed that μῦθοι are called Jewish in Titus 1:14. In 1 Timothy 4:7, they are described as profane and characteristic of old wives. In 2 Timothy 4:4, the word is used absolutely, as here.”
Thus, it appears that in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, when the apostle Paul refers to “fables” (or “myths”), he is referring to extra-biblical Jewish or Gnostic teachings, not the doctrines of Free Grace theology as the Calvinists want us to believe! Indeed, in 2 Timothy 2:1, Paul exhorts young Timothy by saying, “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” And we know, according to Paul’s own words in Romans 3:24, that by definition, grace is free! As even Augustine has said, “Grace, unless it is free, is not grace.” So in the epistle of 2 Timothy, the apostle Paul is actually instructing young Timothy to be strong in Free Grace! Let that sink in!
In regards to your question about whether or not Hymenaeus and Alexander were genuine believers, I would refer you to the comments by Dr. Thomas L. Constable on 1 Timothy 1:20 (see his Notes on 1 Timothy). Basically, Dr. Constable says that it is entirely possible that they were indeed genuine believers.
I hope this helps!
God Bless
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