Now is the Acceptable Time
2 Corinthians 6:1-2 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
What is Paul saying? Paul pleads with the Corinthians, “Please do not neglect or take lightly this offer of Godly pardon. It is offered freely and fully. It may be partaken of by all, and all may be saved. But it may also be slighted, misused and all the benefits of it will then be lost.”
For simply to hear of the plan of salvation, with no accompanying action; will no more save a sinner than to have your doctor say, “Just look at this medicine and you will be healed.” Medicine must be taken according to the dr’s instructions. Looking at the bottle does nothing. Grace must be embraced and applied according to the Great Physician’s instructions, or it will be in vain. Grace is a free gift, but once received you must partner with grace and permit it to transform your life.
Paul then quotes the prophet Isaiah:
Isaiah 49:8 Thus says the Lord: “In an acceptable[a] time I have heard You, And in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will [b]preserve You and give You As a covenant to the people,
To restore the earth, To cause them to inherit the desolate [c]heritages;
This passage refers to the Messiah. God would be favorable to Him; that He would hear Messiah when he prayed, and would make Him the medium of establishing a covenant with His own people, and of spreading the way of salvation.
Under the Messiah, God would hear and He would be willing to show mercy to the Jew and to the Gentile in an acceptable time. That time says Paul, has arrived. The Messiah has come, and now God is willing to pardon and save. And during this period of Christ, God is willing to show mercy to all people.
This verse speaks of there being an accepted time, a limited period, in which His mercy is poured out and then that window will be closed. Through the Lord Jesus, and where He is preached, God is willing to pardon and save. The world is under a dispensation of mercy, and God is willing to show compassion, and while this era exists; the offer of salvation is made freely. HOWEVER, the time will come when it will not be an acceptable time with God. The day of mercy will be closed; the period of trial will be ended; and people will be removed to a world where no mercy is shown, and where compassion only weeping and gnashing of teeth
People should seek reconciliation with God. To enforce that, he here says, that it was now the acceptable time, the time when God was willing to be reconciled to human beings.
What does this mean to you?
You can receive grace in vain.
“in vain “—means that divine grace does not answer the end for which it was designed; does not render a person godly, righteous, and holy, in this present world. It means “without effect”
Example: man who stole and pawned our instruments, drilled into the safe and stole the tithe, lied, gambled, drank heavily, had several DUI’s and went to jail, eventually cheated on his wife, left his wife. My husband extended grace to him for multiple years. If anyone tells you Ps Matt is not gracious LIED to you. That grace was without effect. The pardon my husband gave him, over and over had no effect on this man’s life. He died in his own vomit.
Many are like this man. The grace God has given them is in vain.
The governing principle of grace lies in righteousness and true holiness.
In vain means both passively to receive and actively to accept as a personal benefit. The new man in Christ, being conformed to His likeness and image, walk in righteousness and holiness is the chief aim of the gospel. This is the first work of grace. So Paul says you can receive the grace of God in vain; that is, “without effect.” Paul uses this same phrase later on his letter:
1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Grace is a source of power. It is not a stagnant thing, but an active and powerful agent of change. You must not only accept the God’s offer of salvation through Jesus, but see that it produces adequate moral results. Grace must not, so to speak, fall “into a vacuum.”
What the grace of God is meant to effect is written in Titus
Titus 2:11-13 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
Grace is our teacher, teaching us to be godly, reject worldly lusts and desires, live soberly, righteously and godly, living in hope, waiting on the Lord to return for us. EX: I just watched the movie “The Forge” last night. It revealed this kid Isaiah getting saved and immediately his life began to change, he threw out his gaming system, magazines, etc. Within a years time, he was a different person. This is the true gospel
If the grace you say you have received is not producing these kind of changes in you; you have received grace in vain. It is in fact, been made of none effect.
If you really are in Christ you must show that you have thereby become “a new creation”
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Charles Spurgeon said this:
“Beware of presuming you are saved. If your heart is renewed, if you hate things you once loved and love the things you once hated, if you have really repented, if there is a thorough change of mind within you, then you have reason to rejoice…..But if there is no vital change, no inward godliness, no love to God, no prayer, no work of the Holy Spirit, then the statement, “I am saved” is only your own assertion and it may delude you, but it will never deliver you.”
If you continue on your same path, living life the same way, there is NO change whatsoever, you do not see sin differently, you love righteousness and hate sin, you are not more loving, more kind, more peaceful and more gentle; there is a problem with your grace. It has been received in vain.
You have received a counterfeit grace.
Jude 4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord [a]God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
The enemy always produces a counterfeit to God’s plans and purposes. There is a true grace
1 Peter 5:12 By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.
Peter wrote this letter to encourage believers to continue to walk in the true grace. The very fact that Peter uses the term “true grace” provides evidence that there is a counterfeit grace.
How do we recognize true grace? Grace’s aim and purpose is to restore man and make us into the image of Christ. True grace will turn you away from your sin and toward a holy God.
True grace is freedom from sin, not for the extension of personal liberties. True grace is always to the glory of God, even at the expense of personal liberty. True grace is sacrificial and will promote God’s will above your will, Gods way above your way, God’s law above your law. True grace makes Christ the center and object of affection.
So how then do we recognize a gospel of counterfeit grace? CG will lift you up above the Lord- it makes the gospel about you, not Jesus. It puts men as the center and the objection of affection. It will seek to please men more than pleasing the Lord.
CG always gives you lustful freedom. It will say you are free to live like you want because you are “under grace”. There are a lot of modern day preachers teaching this very thing. That you can live like you want and inherit eternal salvation. I knew a man who abused his wife, cussed regularly, got drunk, smoked pot and “preached”. He had assured himself he was “saved” by grace and would post on his social media videos from so-called “grace preachers”. He was deceived.
CG will exalt traditions more than Christ. There are a lot of Christians out there trying to keep the law and work to earn their salvation, thinking they are good because they light a candle and say a prayer.
Galatians 5:4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
Do you know how many people come to our church after years of “being a Christian” and tell us, “I thought I was saved until I came here”; Or “I have never really heard the gospel until I came to FVC”; Or “I was dying on the vine until I came here”. The counterfeit is rampant. Beware of the counterfeit!
Grace bears fruit.
John 15:1-8 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He [a]takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you[b] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
In fact, we are here as Paul says, as “fellow-workers” with the Lord, we are called to work for Him and bear much fruit for the kingdom. This is the second work of grace.
Jesus says, “bear fruit,” “bear much fruit,” and “bear fruit that will last”.
John 15:3 Jesus says, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful”.
You are endanger of being cut off if you do not bear fruit.
Many of the Gospel passages about fruitfulness are warnings to the Pharisees, Sadducees, and “false prophets.” The Pharisees and teachers of the law produced the fruit of self-effort, priding themselves on fulfilling the smallest details of the law, busying themselves with activity, holding on to traditions, and trying to impress others.
Jesus was concerned about the lifestyle and example of the Pharisees and their negative influence on others. Of the Pharisees He said,
Matthew 15:9 “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men”
The Pharisees acted as if they were close to God, but their hearts were distant and disconnected from Him. Therefore, the fruit they were producing was rotten.
When John the Baptist proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near”, he also said,
Matthew 3:8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance,
Part of “living in the Kingdom”—of having a relationship with God—involves bearing fruit. This requires action, but it is action that results from being close to God and knowing what He desires. It comes from an intimate, sensitive connection to God.
Jesus said, “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Fruit reflects its source.
Producing fruit requires action, but it is not the action of frenzied spiritual activity.
God wants us to “bear fruit…that will last.” However, He takes responsibility for providing all we need to be fruitful.
So what actions are you responsible for?
You are responsible for repentance and abiding. As we abide in Christ and He in us, we experience the life and love of Christ flowing into our lives, resulting naturally in fruitfulness. What is this fruitfulness? Moving toward spiritual maturity, becoming more and more like Jesus. In a word, fruitfulness is Christlikeness—Jesus increasing in me produces the fruit that honors God.
But what is this fruit? Is it one’s character—the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22,23? Is it “results,” such as winning the lost, building a church, taking care of those who are in need? It is both. If fruitfulness is Christlikeness, then the fruit we produce is both Christlike character and Christlike actions that result when He sends us into the world to bear fruit that will last.
2 Peter 1:5-8 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control [a]perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither [b]barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
MY people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. We must partner with grace in order to be fruitful.
Philippians 2:14-16 Do all things without [a]complaining and disputing,[b] 15 that you may become blameless and [c]harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
I feel Paul’s statement. I do not want my life or my ministry to be in vain. I want it to produce good and lasting fruit. I do not want to pour into vessels with holes. I want to rejoice over you, not be saddened by your unfruitful conduct.
Now apply the Word.
All of us have a limited time. Now is the acceptable time. God is giving us mercy for our race. Examine your heart and motives. Clean up the areas that are fruitless. Do not receive His grace in vain. Make sure that grace is working in you Christlike character. Your character is either revealing Christ or repelling Christ. You will never win someone to the Lord with poor character, or non-action.
Because the time is short, the window could close at any time, we have work to do for His kingdom. We are fellow laborers with the Lord, working with the Holy Spirit to win souls for the kingdom.
We should take this word seriously. We should be concerned for more than just ourselves, but those around us who are lost and blind. Our region specifically needs the true grace of God, not the counterfeit.
Matthew 9:37-38 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
Are you bearing fruit for the kingdom? How often do you pray for the lost? How often do you pray period? Do you purposefully find people to talk to and minister to? You must pray and be purposeful. Ask the Lord to put someone in your life daily that needs the gospel. Are you making disciples? We must be multiplying.
I believe this year will be a fruitful year for FVC- birthing season, fruitful vine vision
Time is short and we have work to do.
For more sermons please visit our SERMON PAGE
Please subscribe to our YOUTUBE PAGE
