Two things that are essential if you are going to be married, a parent, a good boss, or a good employee are grace and patience. I won’t speak for anyone else, but sometimes I seem to lack both of those. Those are just two reminders of how much I need God’s grace every single day. Praise God that He never runs low on grace or patience. This doesn’t mean that we can take them for granted, because one day they will no longer be available because God’s grace will have stopped and His judgment will have come. The Bible is full of evidences of this. We can see it in Genesis, when God put up with man’s sin for a while, but then He sent the flood. We also see it in the nation of Israel as they continued to rebel and reject God, until He sent them into captivity. Of course the greatest evidence of God putting a limit on grace and patience is the cross. At the cross, God poured out His wrath against sin. Yet, even in God’s judgment we can see mercy. He poured His wrath out on Jesus, instead of us, the ones who truly deserve His wrath. In Romans 10, Paul is going to demonstrate both God’s grace and His patience. Romans 10:20-21 says, “But Isaiah is very bold and says: ‘I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.” But to Israel He says, ‘All day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and contrary people.'”
We see God’s grace in sending the Gospel not just to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles. That is what is meant by God being found by those who did not seek Him. The Gentiles didn’t have the Law, they didn’t know they were supposed to seek God. Yet, God in His grace revealed this to them, and by His grace He saved all those who trusted in Him by faith. We see God’s patience with Israel, as God has patiently put up with their rebellion and rejection of Him. Israel had a distinct advantage over the Gentiles in that God sent prophets to Israel, and He met directly with them over the course of their history. Yet, they continued to trust in themselves. While we may think this is about Israel, it really is a study in human history. I believe we are seeing some in the church follow in the footsteps of Israel. They are trusting in what they do to save them, instead of trusting in the Gospel to save them. I have said many times, an addict realizes that their life is messed up and that they need help. However, sometimes those who go to church every week don’t see their sin and their need. This is why it is so important that we ask God to keep us humble, to search our hearts, and to reveal our sin to us. It is possible that we can become so deceived by our own sinfulness, that we believe we are saved when in fact we are not.
The other lesson for us in this text is how we should treat one another. As a Christian, we are called to imitate Jesus. The way He treats us is the way we are called to treat other people. Among other things, this means that we need to give grace to people and be patient with them. We need to be patient because every Christian is in a different place in their walk with God. Some are newer Christians, and some have never been taught what it means to follow Jesus. We need to remember where God found us, and how He has been patient in growing us in our walk with Him. Then, we need to give that same grace and patience to others. We need to be patient with those who are unsaved, because they don’t know better. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man does not receive the things of God, because they are spiritually discerned.” Whatever we know about God, it has been given to us by the Spirit of God. Therefore, we need to give grace and be patient, and pray that God would open their heart to the Gospel that they might be saved. In a world that is severely lacking in grace and patience, let’s be different. Let’s not just tell people what they should do, let’s show it to them, and watch God make all the difference in there world and in their lives.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin