"Christianity in Two Words"
Should the task of describing Christianity fall as your responsibility and only two words could be used to accomplish this feat, what words would you choose? There are some who would select rules & regulations to describe their life in Christ. Others may cull through their vocabulary and decide that do’s & don’ts would fit the bill. Still there would be those who, for their explanation, would present trust & obey as adequate. If this task fell to me, and from the library shelves of our language I had only two words to choose, without question I would select GRACE & GRATITUDE.
From the gallery of Scripture there is a beautiful picture that profoundly illustrates these words, and it is found in Luke 17:11-19. As the sweet Lord Jesus was traveling on His way to Jerusalem, He “entered into a certain village.” There, in this unnamed township, Christ was approached by ten lepers. There is no doubt as to the horrible effects of this life altering disease. It was devastating socially, it was disturbing mentally, and it was defiling physically. More than likely there had been a time in the lives of these men when this plague did not touch them. Perhaps some of them had once known the sweetness of marriage and the joy of a family. Maybe others of the ten had, in the past, enjoyed the fruitfulness of a productive career. It is even possible that a certain number of these men had been outstanding citizens in this little village.
All of this beauty changed when leprosy marred the scene. Now the man who once knew the bliss of the marital relationship could only see his wife on occasion and even then at a distance. Now the man who once basked in the laughter of his children, wept at the silence of their absence. Now the man who had reached great wealth in his business, scraped for nourishment through the food scraps of his village.
These men were well aware of their desperate need for GRACE! Somehow they had discovered that the Savior’s itinerary was leading Him through this town. They had heard that this Prophet had the power to make deaf ears hear, blind eyes see, lame legs walk, and dead men live. Certainly if He could work such glorious miracles on others, He could heal them!
Thus they approached the Great Physician, “afar off. And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” These lepers with a great need for grace now stood before the Source of grace. They were grace deficient; He was Grace sufficient. They cried out from their lack of grace, and Christ answered from His vast supply of grace.
Just as these ten lepers called upon Jesus, so must every individual who would enter the kingdom of God. Their cry was for physical salvation, ours must be for spiritual salvation. When one recognizes his desperate need for saving grace and calls upon Christ alone to meet his need, he immediately receives salvation. This is the beginning of Christianity, and it highlights God’s grace.
There can be no debate that this saving grace is emphatically declared throughout the whole of Scripture. “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). “...The Lord will give grace and glory...” (Ps. 45:2). John specifically stated that “...grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). Peter declared to a group of legalizers that “through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved” (Acts 15:11). Paul’s ministry was “...to testify the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). That is why, under inspiration, he wrote “being justified freely by his grace we have peace with God” (Romans 3:24). He also declared that “...by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8, 9). Where would we be without His Saving Grace?!
This matchless grace that saves us also abides to sustain us. The theme of sustaining grace is also supported by the Sacred Text. This grace is offered to those who are humble, for “...He giveth grace unto the lowly” (Proverbs 3:34). Without hesitation Paul proclaimed, “but by the grace of God I am what I am” (I Corinthians 15:10). In the context of giving, Paul urged the Corinthians to be cheerful in their gifts because “...God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (II Corinthians 9:8). On three occasions, when Paul was suffering with his “thorn in the flesh,” he besought God to remove it. This was God’s reply: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (II Corinthians 12:9). When this apostle realized it was God who allowed this trial and God who provided sustenance through the midst of the trial, his load became much lighter. That is why the blessed Holy Spirit, through this suffering preacher, inspired him to open nearly every one of his epistles with the phrase “Grace be unto you.” It would be an empty description of Christianity indeed that did not include the word “Grace.”
To answer the call of these desperate men, Jesus “said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests.” Without delay these lepers obeyed the words of Jesus Christ and experienced immediate results. “And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.” Now the horrifying scourge of leprosy was gone! Now the excruciating pain from this disease had vanished! Now the resumption of life was possible! Now the joy of reunion was a reality, and it was all because of God’s grace.
Grace! ‘tis a charming sound
Harmonious to the ear;
Heav’n with the echo shall resound,
And all the earth shall hear.
At this juncture the passage takes an interesting turn. Though ten lepers were just miraculously cleansed and no doubt restored to society, the Bible is plain that only “...one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God...” All ten of the men had been smitten by the same disease. Each one had obviously recognized his horrible condition. They all had come to the only One who held the cure and pleaded for His grace. The Scripture clearly stated that “as they went, they were cleansed.” Yet, though all of this was true, only one returned to unashamedly glorify God. This brings us to the second and final word in our description of Christianity: Gratitude.
The man who returned understood the essence of the Christian life. In simple faith he turned back to the Lord, magnifying Christ as the One who forgiveth all our iniquities and who healeth all our diseases (Psalm 103:3). Through this simple act of confidence, he displayed what the Biblical kind of Christianity is all about. It is simply a matter of grace & gratitude; nothing more, nothing less.
This is appropriately conveyed through the words, “We love him, because he first loved us” (I John 4:19). Everything that we offer to God ought to flow from a heart filled with sheer gratitude. We would not have known true freedom had it not been for God’s grace. We would never have realized forgiveness were it not for His grace. There would not presently be joy flooding our souls had we not experienced the grace of God. Thus, the only normal response to our Savior is abundant gratitude!
That is what this leper displayed. He “glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.” After his healing, he was keenly aware of God’s position. That is why he glorified Him with a loud voice. After Christ had cleansed the disease from his body, this man had no doubt as to his own position. That is why he fell on his face at the feet of his Savior. After he had been confronted with the Giver of grace, he had no question as to his responsibility. That is why he gave Him thanks.
This responsibility is echoed the entire Bible over. Asaph promised, “So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks forever” (Psalm 79:13). David was crying out for God’s protection when he confirmed that, “Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name...” (Psalm 140:13). Jesus showed an example of gratitude when “...He took the seven loaves, and gave thanks...” (Mark 8:6). Surely Paul was full of deep appreciation when he wrote, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (II Corinthians 9:15). All throughout the Christian’s life he ought to fill his mouth with gratitude and thanksgiving for the wonderful grace that he has received.
This attitude of gratitude ought be reflected in every task completed and every command obeyed by the believer. He ought not view Christianity merely as a tedious duty. Are there Scriptural guidelines to be followed? Yes! Are there diabolical sins to be shunned? Without question. However, the motivating factor behind every act of obedience ought be gratitude. “In whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks unto God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17).
A strong indictment is in order against the nine lepers who out of thoughtless ingratitude hastened on their way, and a magnificent compliment is due to the one leper who out of grateful appreciation returned to offer thanks. Jesus Himself highlighted and blessed this act of gratitude when He said, “Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” Though all of these men had been physically cleansed, only one was spiritually made whole. He was saved! This fact remains because he alone understood the essence of Christianity. That it is nothing more and nothing less than Grace & Gratitude.
Evangelist Dwight Smith
This article was first published in the July – December, 2002 Volume 6 Issue 2 of The Exhorter formerly a Bi-yearly publication of Evangelist Dwight M. Smith
