Theological term
Free Grace
8 sermons · All terms
The Martyrdom of Stephen
Acts 7:54–8:1 records the martyrdom of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, whose death exposes the murderous hatred that unbelieving Israel bore toward the Messiah and those who bore witness to Him. Standing alone before the Sanhedrin, Stephen receives a vision of the glory of God and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of the Father — confirming his theology of temple, rebuking his executioners, and manifesting the presence of the triune God with His servant in extremity. His dying words, mirroring Christ's own prayers from the cross, demonstrate that true temple worship — the meeting of God and sinners in prayer and forgiveness — is found not in any physical structure but in the Lord Jesus Christ. The passage calls believers to theological preparedness, courageous witness, and dependence on the triune God in the face of opposition, however severe.
The Martyrdom of Stephen
Acts 7:54–60 records the martyrdom of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, whose death exhibits divine sustaining grace amid murderous opposition. This exposition traces three movements in the passage: the blessedness of Stephen as the triune God fills, illumines, and comforts him; the murderous rage of the Sanhedrin, whose violent reaction to his vision of the exalted Christ exposes their guilt and apostasy; and the death of Stephen, whose dying prayers — for Christ to receive his spirit and to forgive his murderers — mirror the death of the Lord Jesus and further corroborate his entire defense. The sermon closes with the conversion of Saul of Tarsus in Acts 9 as God's answer to Stephen's intercessory prayer, and with a call to trust Christ as the one who hears prayer, forgives sin, and grants access to God.
The Healing of Naaman
The healing of Naaman in 2 Kings 5 is exposited as a portrait of sovereign, free, and humbling grace that reaches beyond Israel to a Gentile enemy — a Syrian military commander who is not only cleansed of leprosy but converted from idolatry to the living God. The sermon traces God's providential orchestration through a nameless captive servant girl, Elisha's deliberate absence from the healing, and Naaman's progression through fury, submission, confession, gratitude, and resolution — all paralleled with the offense and power of the New Covenant gospel. The contrast between the converted pagan Naaman and the perverted Israelite Gehazi underscores that Yahweh's grace is free and cannot be bought, bartered, or manipulated. Hearers are called to recognize in Naaman's conversion the marks of genuine saving faith: humble confession, gratitude, and a sensitive conscience toward the one true God.
Free Grace Baptist Church - November 19, 2017 PM
This expository sermon on 2 Kings 5 traces the threefold structure of Naaman's healing: the providence of God working through a nameless Israelite servant girl, the conversion of a Gentile enemy of Israel, and the judgment upon the covetous Gehazi. The sovereign Lord is shown to govern Syrian politics, military affairs, and the destinies of servant girls alike, so that his free grace — which cannot be bribed, manipulated, or earned — reaches even those outside the covenant community. The congregation is called to see in Naaman's conversion a pattern of genuine New Covenant salvation: humility under the gospel, confession of the one true God, gratitude expressed in worship, and a sensitive conscience regarding ongoing sin.
2 Kings 5
2 Kings 5 presents the curing and conversion of Naaman, commander of the Syrian army, as a window into the comprehensive sovereignty of God, the free grace of God, and the inclusion of Gentiles in the covenant promises of Israel's God. Working through three sections — the sovereignty of God (vv. 1–8), the healing of Naaman (vv. 9–19), and the greed of Gehazi (vv. 20–27) — the exposition argues that the greater miracle is not Naaman's cleansed skin but his cleansed idolatry, his monotheistic confession of Yahweh as the only God in all the earth. The simplicity, exclusivity, and freeness of God's grace illustrated in Elisha's instruction to wash in the Jordan anticipate the gospel itself, while Gehazi's attempt to monetise the cure warns against every addition to grace.
The Son's Accomplishment of Redemption
Ephesians 1:7–12 sets forth the Son's accomplishment of redemption within the eternal Covenant of Redemption, in which the Father plans, the Son accomplishes, and the Spirit applies salvation. Working through four movements in the text — redemption by the Son's blood, the revelation of the mystery of God's will, the cosmic reconciliation of all things in Christ, and the reward of an eternal inheritance — the sermon shows that sinners enslaved to sin have been purchased at a cosmic price paid only by the eternal God-Man. The sermon closes by calling believers to meditate on and proclaim this redemption, and by urging unbelievers to believe on Christ before they die in their bondage.
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
Peter's question about the limits of forgiveness — 'up to seven times?' — draws from Christ the parable of a servant forgiven an astronomically unpayable debt who then seizes a fellow servant over a trifling sum. This sermon works through Matthew 18:21–35 in three movements: the setting of Peter's question, the three scenes of the parable itself, and the concluding verdict of verse 35. The central argument is that the forgiven community must be a forgiving community — not by counting to 490, but by forgiving without counting — and that a professing Christian who withholds forgiveness from a repentant brother thereby gives evidence that he himself has never truly received the grace of God.
The Apostle and his Apostolic Task
Titus 1:1 opens with a two-word identification — 'Paul, a bondservant' — that is itself a monument to sovereign grace. This sermon works through Paul's self-designation as bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, tracing the apostolic commission through Acts 22 and Acts 26 to show that Paul's entire ministry was aimed at three ends: bringing the elect to saving faith, securing their public ownership of the gospel, and ensuring that gospel truth adorns itself in godly conduct. The application presses both the congregation and the unconverted: appreciate God's appointed means of grace in faithful preaching, grip tightly the acknowledged truth, and adorn the doctrine of Christ with lives worthy of the gospel.