What Is The Inheritance Of God's Grace?

Tom:

This is our Understanding the Scriptures segment, we are in the Book of Acts Chapter 20, and we’re going to pick up with verse 32.Acts:20:32And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
See All..., “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.”“I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.”Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were withme.”Dave, I probably shouldn’t say this, but I will—The apostle Paul is not into The Secret.

Dave:

Well, I think he opposed it.

Tom:

I would say!“I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.” And he is working for his necessities of life.Not that he didn’t appreciate those who gifted him in many ways.

Dave:

Right.Yeah, well, of course you could say that all the way throughhere.He’s not into The Secret he certainly is opposing it.Verse 32 begins, “And now, brethren, I commend you to God.” Well, what God is that?Well, it’s the God of the Bible, the God—By the way, Tom,—who has proved that He is God by His doings with Israel.Hundreds of prophecies about Israel have all come true or are in the process of coming true.And you can look at the daily news, look at the Middle East, and there we have the fulfillment of Bible prophecy.The fulfillment of Bible prophecy in Christ, and the teachings of the Word of God.No one can deny this is the Bible, I mean we have all the proof you could ever want.Okay.So we know who the true God is. The Creator of the universe and He says repeatedly, I am God, and there is n one else.In Isaiah, I think it’s the end of chapter 43, maybe it’s 44, He says:Is there a God beside Me?I know not any.God says, I created this universe and I’ve looked everywhere in the universe that I made, you know what? I can’t find another God, I am the only one.And then He talks about them worshipping their idols of gold and silver and so forth.So—“I commend you to God” this is the God Paul is talking about, “To the word of His grace.”Wow!As you pointed out, Tom, grace has no part in The Secret. They try to fit it in there but it doesn’t work.

Tom:

Well, even in the scripture there’s a difference between law and grace.

Dave:

Of course.It its grace is no more works, and the law gives you things to work for.If it’s by works, it’s not grace.Paul says you can’t put the two together.

Tom:

Dave, also throughout, particularly the Old Testament— I know you hate this word negative and positive because they really have no place in the Bible, but God judges—We talked about righteous judgment, and when they sinned God brought judgment, He brought punishment, He raised up other nations to scourge, basically His instruments, which were really deterrents could make the Israelites obey His rules, His laws.

Dave:

Tom, if God doesn’t fulfill His promises about judgment and punishment, how can I believe what He says about blessing?You have two sides to this.Well, he says:“I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up.”Jesus said:Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.This is like food.Doctrine, people despise it today.Doctrine is the container of truth, this is God’s Word, and so God’s Word will build us up.And the problem, Tom, which we have often pointed out is, most—well, do I dare say most?I think we could say most, most Christians are suffering from spiritual malnutrition.They don’t read the Bible, they don’t feed upon the Word of God, they don’t obey it and live it.And it’s able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all men which are sanctified.

Tom:

And sanctified does not mean canonize the saint, it means just set apart for God, we are a unique people, according to Titus, a peculiar people, it says.

Dave:

“To give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.”That’s an interesting clause there, after all, am I not saved, am I not assured of heaven, I believe in Christ?Well then, how is reading the Word going to give me an inheritance?Because it’s going to build me up in my faith; allow me to live a more fruitful life for the Lord, which will benefit me as in a heavenly reward, I think that’s what he’s talking about.What is this inheritance?Well, we’ve been made heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ, heaven is our home, we are going to live with Christ in the Father’s house of many mansions.So, I would say this is the inheritance.It’s a heavenly inheritance, it’s not something on this earth.Then he says, “I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.”I’m not in this for money, Paul says.He would be in bad shape if he were.He didn’t—see whether it’s Frederick Price, or it was Kenneth Hagin before he died, or Robert Schuller— possibility thinking or Norman Vincent Peale— positive thinking.

Tom:

Yeah, the prosperity gospel.

Dave:

Yeah, but you should be driving a Rolls Royce, says—

Tom:

Well, they said Jesus wore designer clothes, remember?His clothes were one piece, that made it designer clothes.So you really had more money than many people, according to them.

Dave:

He was so wealthy he had a treasurer.Well, I don’t want any of that, Paul says, because it passes away, and I’m not out to get something from you people. I’m here to serve you.And to prove that, he says, You know these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.He worked as a tent maker.He must have been a pretty good tent maker, and he was able to earn enough money on the side to support not only him, but his team.So, he wasn’t in an ivory tower by any means.He was beaten and stoned and scourged everywhere he goes.Verse 35:“I have showed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”Well, if I can give even the widow’s mite, and Jesus said she put more in there than all of them.He said, I don’t have much to give.Well, give what you have.And we’re not asking—please, don’t anybody out there misunderstand, we are not hinting for you to give to our ministry.Now we do need something to pay for the radio, but we never ask anyone because we ask the Lord.We are doing the Lord’s will, He’s going to provide, and through His people, but He says we should labor and work and remember, it is more blessed to give than to receive.And I think any bum on the street, you know, and there are some people out there I feel sorry for them, I don’t know how they got into that condition. How much was their fault and how much was “the breaks”, so called, but I think they would all wish that they could give rather than having to beg.So that goes with—you know, that certainly is true, but he’s speaking from a spiritual standpoint, to be able to give as the Lord has given to us.We have nothing, Tom, I love the hymn: Not have I gotten but what I have received, grace has bestowed it, since I believed.Boasting excluded, pride I abase. I’m only a sinner saved by grace.All I can give is what the Lord has given me, and if He has been that gracious to me, I surely ought to try to pass it on.