03/29/23 GRACE THAT GOES BEFORE

03/29/23 GRACE THAT GOES BEFORE

Without using the term, "Prevenient Grace" (because of the confusion arising from its use or misuse), let me just refer to this subject as, "grace that goes before salvation."

I do not believe that grace before salvation needs to be or even can be saving grace. The grace that goes before salvation is the gracious work of God that makes salvation available and obtainable. A person is not saved while God is yet seeking or calling them to salvation.

However, God, in His rich grace and love and mercy reaches out to lost people and communicates whatever is essential for that person to come to a saving knowledge of Christ, before they actually believe on Christ for salvation.
This includes the plan of God from before the foundation of the world, the plan of God from the first prophecy in Genesis, the plan of God in the Jewish sacrificial system, the plan of God in the Jewish Priestly office, the plan and work of God in the Incarnation, the plan and work of God in the Crucifixion and Resurrection, the plan and work of God in His written revelation, the plan and work of God in the enlightening ministry and the convicting ministry of the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the protection, provision, proclamation and persuasion ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the unsaved, which leads to the non-believer coming to saving faith and saving grace.

Faith is essential to salvation, and God provides faith through hearing His word, which takes place by God's grace. In other words, whatever God did before our regeneration, which would lead to our salvation was "grace that went before."

God's has provided everything necessary for us to believe and receive salvation, but it still depends on our willingness to believe. Our free will, our personal decision concerning salvation is not a matter of an inherent ability to create or determine what we want, it is the God given ability to decide whether we will submit our free will and our life to God's will. It is a battle of authority, and God's authority will win. We can choose our relationship with God, but we cannot choose the consequences of our decision. Whatever our decision will determine our end result, our final destiny.

Let me remind you of this passage from Romans.
Romans 2:4-11
4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
*6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:*
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
*11 For there is no respect of persons with God.*