What people are saying about The Grace Pipeline . . .
“It gives me joy to recommend this inspiring book, written by the
gifted broadcast-speaker Shelley Quinn. Written for the reader in the
pew, The Grace Pipeline provides valuable insight into the central biblical theme of salvation, which is the grace of God. The author affirms
that by grace we are justified, and goes on to show that grace plays a
key role in sanctification and a life of victorious obedience to God. I
believe The Grace Pipeline will provide valuable guidance to those who
have recently come to know Christ and also to long-time Christians—
both of whom are seeking a life of victory over sin.”
Ranko Stefanovic, PhD
Andrews University Theological Seminary
“The Grace Pipeline sparkles with biblical truth and eloquently
articulates the meaning of righteousness by faith in the Christian life.
Shelley Quinn’s vivid word pictures and clear explanations set forth
with clarity what it means to experience justification and sanctification.
Every Christian will benefit from this Bible-based study of salvation.”
Jud Lake, ThD, DMin
Southern Adventist University
“This book is pure gold. Shelley has hit a home run. The reader will
gain much from my dear sister’s scripturally rich and lucidly written
rendering of God’s grace. She doesn’t merely communicate the facts.
Rather, she paints a believable and inviting picture while conveying
serious, deep theological insight along the way. There is a wealth of
mind-expanding, heart-warming truth to feast upon in The Grace
Pipeline.”
Ty Gibson
Co-Director and Speaker, Light Bearers Ministry
“The end is near. We have not a moment to lose. Light is to shine
forth from God’s people in clear, distinct rays, bringing Jesus before
the churches and before the world. God will give additional light, and
old truths will be recovered and replaced in the framework of truth;
and wherever the laborers go they will triumph. As Christ’s ambassadors, they are to search the Scriptures to seek for the truths that have
been hidden beneath the rubbish of error, and every ray of light received is to be communicated to others. One interest will prevail, one
subject will swallow up all others, Christ our Righteousness” (Ellen
G. White, The Paulson Collection of Ellen G. White Letters, p. 342;
emphasis added).
3ABN
books
Pacific Press® Publishing Association
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P.O. Box 220
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Cover design by Ariel Warren
Cover photo by Nicole Warren
Inside design by Aaron Troia
Copyright © 2011 by Shelley J. Quinn
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved
The author assumes full responsibility for the accuracy of all facts and quotations as cited
in this book.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The New King James Version,
copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.
Scriptures quoted from AMP are from The Amplified Bible. Old Testament, copyright ©
1965, 1987 by the Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified New Testament, copyright ©
1958, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used
by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Additional copies of this book are available from two locations:
3ABN: Call 1-800-752-3226 or visit www.3ABN.org.
Adventist Book Centers: Call 1-800-765-6855 or visit www.adventistbookcenter.com.
3ABN Books is dedicated to bringing you the best in published materials consistent with
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study guides, devotionals, biographies, and lifestyle materials promote the whole person in
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Quinn, Shelley (Shelley J.), 1949The grace pipeline : the practical effects of God’s three greatest gifts of grace and their
powerful impact on your relationship with him / Shelley Quinn.
p. cm.
ISBN 13: 978-0-8163-2492-7 (pbk.)
ISBN 10: 0-8163-2492-1 (pbk.)
1. Grace (Theology) I. Title.
BT761.3.Q46 2011
234—dc22
2011007787
11 12 13 14 15 • 5 4 3 2 1
Table
Contents
of
1. The Gospel of Grace...............................................................9
Embracing the Master of grace
The heavenly pipeline
Defining grace
2. The Indescribable Gift......................................................... 21
What must I do to be saved?
According to your faith
The cost of grace
3. The Reality of Relationship................................................. 37
The spirit of oneness
The yoke of relationship
Partnered with His power
4. The Justifier and the Justified.............................................. 53
A snapshot of salvation
A just God—An unjust accuser
Our mercy-seat covering
Justified in Jesus alone
5. His Righteousness Justifies................................................. 67
Righteousness by faith
Christ’s righteousness accounted to us
The legal transaction of justification
At peace with the past
What about works?
6. Growing in the Grace of Sanctification.............................. 85
God’s will for your life
The continuing process of salvation by grace
Practicing righteousness
The privilege of pursuit
7. The Refiner’s Fire................................................................. 99
The Father’s work of sanctification
Christ—Our Sanctification
8. The Launderer’s Soap........................................................ 113
The Comforter’s cleansing power
The Spirit of grace within
Grow in love—Grow in holiness
Surrendering to God’s sanctifying power
Sanctified by the grace of truth
Sanctification seekers
9. The Author and Finisher of Our Faith............................ 133
Developing by faith
Defining faith
Faith’s Hall of Fame
The inheritance of faith
10. Developing Victorious Faith........................................... 151
The turning point of faith
Seven steps to victorious faith
Opening the faith faucet
11. Guarding Grace............................................................... 173
Remaining faithful
An apostate restored
Standing in the light
Hidden with Christ in God
Holding on to God’s hand
Chapter 1
Gospel
The
Grace
of
Whether you frequent a favorite place of worship or never enter a
church, something you possibly share in common with many who believe in God’s existence is confusion concerning God’s character. Popular misconceptions abound. How can the congenital, self-centered
nature of humankind—hindered by human reasoning and experience—
comprehend the glorious character of God?
God is love1—the Author and Source of “unconditional love.” Humans have difficulty defining it. Perhaps the closest condition of the
natural human heart that captures a portion of this character trait is
the free-flowing feelings of devoted parents to their children. Such
parents love their children whether their behavior is good or bad, and
they are inclined to make sacrifices for their children’s security and
happiness. Tragically, not all parents model this behavior, making
even this example difficult for many to absorb.
The very essence of God’s nature is self-sacrificing love.2 He delights in mercy3 and longs to be gracious to us. Deep within our hearts,
we feel unworthy of such love from our Creator. Frankly, it sounds too
good to be true, so we resist this revelation.
The love of God is the compelling force behind the grace of God. To
resist His infinite love is to resist His abundant grace. Above all, God
9
Grace Pipeline
The
wants to reveal His true character to His created beings that we may
know Him and accept all that He desires to bestow upon us.
Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you;
and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him. . . .
You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at
the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you
(Isaiah 30:18, 19).
A just and tenderhearted God earnestly seeks opportunities to multiply His mercies to you. His heart’s desire is to demonstrate His lovingkindness—to lavish His love, His joy, His peace on you. He calls to you
and with eager expectation He waits, willing to answer your cry for help
by exchanging His power for your weakness.4 The Almighty stands
ready to give you victory over sin5 and its destructive consequences, and
to grant you life abundantly.6 This, my friend, is the good news. It is the
gospel of God’s grace!
“Grace!” No other New Testament word is more meaningful, and
none other is as greatly undervalued—or as grossly distorted—by our
feeble attempts to define it. Far too many Christians live with an understanding of grace that is fundamentally flawed, leaving the immeasurable
riches and power of divine grace untold. Some suffering consciences have
yet to be soothed by its great promise. Others have twisted its meaning to
their own destruction, turning the grace of God into an excuse for the
absence of restraint.7
“You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the
power of God” (Matthew 22:29, NIV). With this saying, Jesus refuted
the argument of the Sadducees, who rejected the truth of resurrection.
I would also extend this rebuttal to believers today who abuse His
truth of grace. While it is accurate to say God’s abundant grace grants
us liberty from pharisaical legalism, it is the devil’s distortion of truth
to suggest grace grants us license to sin, or that anyone who mentions
10
The Gospel of Grace
“obedience” is legalistic and unlearned in grace.
Sin turns our hearts away from God—grace draws us toward His
embrace. God’s divine grace contains power to set us free from sin.
This revelation radically changed my Christian experience. I’m writing this book to share the good news. The Master of grace can make a
dramatic difference in your life too.
Embracing the Master of grace
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). I am
convinced Christians walk in a lesser degree of power than is available
to us because we don’t comprehend the full value of words that encase
great biblical concepts—words such as grace, love, faith, justification,
sanctification, and others that represent systematic and practical
truths.
If we cannot comprehend the value of a word, we cannot really
define it. We overlook and underappreciate undefined words. Many
resources are available to help today’s Bible students interpret meanings of the ancient languages. Still, the definitions provided are not
always sufficient because Bible writers sometimes spiritualized (enhanced with spiritual meaning) the value of a word. To determine the
true significance of an original Bible word or phrase, we must look at
its every use within Scripture—examining passages that come before
and after for complete understanding. Scriptural context is a certain
compass that points us to the writer’s intent and true meaning.
In God’s language of love, there is no weightier or more worthy
word than grace. Everything in God’s economy—His pardon, provision, privileges, protection, power, and peace—comes to us by the
pleasure of His grace.
Who better to help us understand this than the apostle Paul, the
self-proclaimed “chief of sinners,”8 who was rescued and renewed after encountering the Master of grace? Our beloved brother became a
believer, considered his own indebtedness to life-altering grace, and
11
Grace Pipeline
The
accepted Christ’s commission to bear witness to the gospel (“good
news”) of God’s grace.
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
(1 Corinthians 15:10).
“But none of these things move me;
nor do I count my life dear to myself,
so that I may finish my race with joy, and
the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus,
to testify to the gospel of the grace of God”
(Acts 20:24).
Paul strategically uses the word grace at least one hundred times
in his epistles, accounting for more than half of the some 170 times
the New Testament employs this term. From a heart that throbbed
with passion born of his experience, Paul supplies a special significance (one not found elsewhere in classical Greek literature) to this
word. Together, you and I will take a closer look at this respected
apostle’s revelation on this matter, allowing it to unfold naturally in
the following chapters like a fragrant rosebud coming into full
bloom.
Although “grace” was not a commonplace greeting of the day, Paul
assigned such noteworthy value to this word it became his customary
blessing at the opening and closing of his writings. Bookending his
messages this way, Paul began and ended his letters by pronouncing a
divine blessing on the readers.9 In like manner, the apostles Peter and
John used “grace” as a salutation,10 and it is the final benediction
(prayer of blessing) found in the last scripture of the Bible.11
To the apostles, the affirmation of “grace” over the believers was a
12
The Gospel of Grace
sufficient summary of all God’s blessings. The expression evolved, as it
were, into the New Testament version of the blessing found in the
book of Numbers:
“ ‘ “The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace” ’ ”
(Numbers 6:24–26).
“Grace” fits into the category of words that Bible authors spiritualized. The elasticity of this word in its classical definition represented
multiple, but related, concepts. More than any other writer, Paul further stretched its meaning and shaped the unique New Testament
rendering of divine grace as representing the unity of God’s enormous
endowments to humanity.
Divine grace is the solid foundation upon which we build our hope.
It is essential we comprehend this marvelous concept, for our salvation and everything good depends upon it. Our most desperate need
is to recognize and receive the manifold grace of God. As we recognize
His gifts of grace, we will begin to understand the effects of grace.
God is wholeheartedly engaged in His covenant of grace, by which
He bestows all of His blessings and benefits upon us. We can’t afford
to allow misunderstanding to be a barrier between us and our benevolent Creator. If we can but grasp the scope of grace—the height, depth,
width, and length of it—we will more fully recognize His perfect plan
is for us to be completely dependent upon Him. This will, I feel certain, result in our spending more time in prayer embracing the Master
of grace!
O Lord, help us to gain greater revelation!
13
Grace Pipeline
The
The heavenly pipeline
My most significant time of personal spiritual growth was the years
of 1999 through 2004. God called me to full-time ministry and, simultaneously, to sit at His feet to learn from Him. During that time of
intense study, He taught me stunning truths, many of which took root
in a study on the sanctuary. I was shocked to learn the tabernacle in
the wilderness was the sanctuary of grace. His method of salvation has
always been by the wonders of His grace. God does not change12—He
is the same yesterday, today, and forever.13
But, wait! I’m getting ahead of myself here. The foundation I want
to lay in this opening chapter, even before we work out a definition,
is how God’s system of grace works. Let me explain what I mean by
system.
I marvel at the order and rhythm of Creation, designed by the Master
Craftsman. God is the Architect and Engineer of astounding lifesustaining systems. Certainly, there is systematic order to our spiritual
world and development as well. He is the God of order, not of confusion,14 and within Scripture are revealed His systems of interwoven
“spiritual principles”—their relation to each other, and their cause
and effect.
God has taught me to search for His systems to “connect the dots,”
so to speak (like a child drawing lines from one numbered dot to another to reveal a picture that could not be seen before). As I began
grasping the process of divine grace, I asked the Lord for an illustration to help make it practical. This is how God impressed its operation
to me:
1. God’s heart wells with love for us. He loves us with an everlasting love, and draws us to Himself with loving-kindness.15
From that well of love flow all of God’s blessings.
2. Grace is the pipeline through which all blessings flow from
heaven to earth. Everything—absolutely every good thing—
comes to us through His great pipeline of grace. God is the
14
The Gospel of Grace
Giver of every good and perfect gift16 and makes them available to all humankind.17
3. Faith is the faucet. It is how we tap into God’s grace pipeline,
and our faith regulates the release of blessings from His great
reservoir. Through Christ, we have access by faith into this
marvelous grace of God.18
4. Prayer is the handle that opens the faith faucet.19
5. Trust is the foundation for the prayer of faith.20
6. Relationship is the foundation for trust.21
7. Love is the foundation for relationship.22
The greater our understanding of God’s love for us, the greater our
love will be for Him. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John
4:19)!
The greater our love, the more intimate our relationship will become with Him.
The more intimate our relationship, the greater our trust.
The greater our trust, the more persistent our prayer of faith will
become.
The more persistent our prayer, the greater our actions of faith develop.
The greater our faith, the more we will tap into the various areas of
God’s grace.
The more we access God’s grace pipeline, the greater blessings we
receive. God’s streams of grace flow from His heavenly pipeline without any shortage of supply, turning our dry and dusty life experiences
into a spiritual oasis.
Defining grace
So what is grace? How do we define it? If you have been a Christian
for any length of time, I can almost hear you muttering “God’s unmerited favor.” Yes, yes—that’s it, isn’t it? For the last ten years as I have
15
Grace Pipeline
The
shared this teaching, that is the standard response audiences give
when I pose this question. However, I find fault with this definition—
not that it is untrue, rather, it is just far too narrow to express the
spectacular scope of grace.
If I urge people to elaborate, they often offer the explanation as
meaning God’s graciousness to us, manifested in His undeserved mercy
that saves sinners. No, no, no! God’s graciousness is an attitude—an
attribute of His character. Grace is an act of the Divine Donor. He
expresses the dynamic forces of His grace through specific acts and
gifts. Let me illustrate this important distinction: our gracious God is
merciful (His attitude/attribute); by grace, He extends pardon (a specific act/gift).
Before we unpack the customary definition—“God’s unmerited
favor”—let’s examine something of interest from the original Greek
language. I have purposed not to make the teaching of this book a lesson
in linguistics, but this exception will benefit your understanding and
prepare the way for broadening the scope of our definition. Let’s briefly
consider four related Greek words: chairō, charis, charisma, and
charaktēr.
• Chairō (pronounced khah’ee-ro) means “to rejoice” and is the
root word for grace.
• Charis (pronounced khar’-ece) is “grace” and represents multiple, but related concepts. Used in numerous senses in Scripture, it can mean gracefulness, loveliness, agreeableness, acceptableness, gratitude, or thankfulness. By far, the most
prominent meaning is the act of favor, or goodwill gift, freely
bestowed by God. Strong’s Concordance offers this most notable definition of grace: “The divine influence upon the heart,
and its reflection in the life.”
• Charisma (pronounced khar’-is-mah) is a divine gift of grace.
Charísmata is the plural form of this noun.
• Charaktēr (pronounced khar-ak-tare’ ) is a related word that
16
The Gospel of Grace
has to do with a genuine engraved work of art, in which the
features of the created image perfectly match the instrument
or person producing it. This word stresses complete similarity,
an exact image of, or the express representation of something
or someone. We derive the English word character (defining
the moral nature of a person) from this.
Can you see the picture these related words paint? God pours out
His grace from on high through His heavenly pipeline to offer us gifts
with divine power that will re-create within us a character in harmony
with His divine nature. Rejoice! Grace results in our rescue and renewal.
God desires to fashion us into His genuine work of art, re-creating in us
His very image!
For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship),
recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those
good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us
[taking paths which He prepared ahead of time],
that we should walk in them
[living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]
(Ephesians 2:10, AMP).
Now let’s revisit the standard definition of grace and see what we
can uncover. “Unmerited favor”—what does it mean?
Unmerited means we do not deserve it by self-worth and we cannot
earn it.
Favor represents a divine gift that bestows blessing and benefit.
So, even within conventional confines, we see that grace is a spontaneous action of love from God, as He bestows His free gifts on undeserving people (like you and me) who will accept His generosity by faith.
What is the single most exceptional revelation—the greatest gift—
of God’s love to the rebellious human race? More accurately, I should
ask, Who is?
17
Grace Pipeline
The
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”
(John 3:16).
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,
how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
(Romans 8:32).
Nothing else can compare to the gift of God’s grace found in our Savior,
“through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which
we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2).
God manifests His matchless grace to us freely through the specific
and underserved gifts of:
1. Jesus Christ and His merits;
2. The Holy Spirit and His influencing assistance; and
3. The Holy Scriptures that yield knowledge of our Lord and the
power of His promises.
As we examine these three greatest gifts of grace in the following
pages, we will begin to understand grace is God’s divine power of salvation to rescue us from sin and death, renew a right spirit within us,
and restore us to moral purity!
God desires we come to Him as little children, learning to be absolutely dependent upon Him. All things come to us through His liberal
acts of love. God calls, saves, justifies, sanctifies, and establishes us by
grace. Further, we learn, repent, love, pray, and obey by grace. I could
list the effects of grace endlessly, but I think the point is becoming
clearer. Grace is dynamic and all-sufficient23 and it is through grace
that we reign in life victoriously!24
I’ve given you the long answer to the question “What is grace?”—
now, let’s condense this explanation to a succinct definition that can
be easily remembered:
18
The Gospel of Grace
Divine grace is the unearned, undeserved gifts
bestowed by a God of infinite love,
which provide His divine assistance
and supernatural power unto salvation.
Every good and perfect gift is from above and comes down from
our perfect heavenly Father through His grace pipeline.25 God is the
Source of life. His grace is our source for spiritual life. Grace imparts
the Life-Source of our Savior, who was willing to become our Ransom
and Substitute.26 Grace grants the Life-Source of the Holy Spirit, who
works in us to will and to do God’s good pleasure.27 Grace supplies the
Life-Source of the Word of God which, implanted in our hearts, is able
to save our souls28 and make us partakers of His divine nature.29
We have reason to rejoice. Grace is the remedy for all that ails humanity, and it is ours for the asking!
1. 1 John 4:8, 16.
2.Romans 5:8; John 15:13; 1 John
4:10.
3. Micah 7:18.
4. 2 Corinthians 12:9.
5. Titus 2:11; 1 John 3:8.
6. John 10:10.
7. Jude 1:4.
8. 1 Timothy 1:15.
9.Romans 1:7, 16:24; 1 Corinthians
1:3; 16:23; 2 Corinthians 1:2; 13:14; Galatians 1:3; 6:18; Ephesians 1:2; 6:24; Philippians 1:2; 4:23; Colossians 1:2; 4:18; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 5:28; 2 Thessalonians 1:2;
3:18; 1 Timothy 1:2; 6:20, 21; 2 Timothy
1:2; 4:22; Titus 1:4; 3:15; Philemon 1:3;
1:25; Hebrews 13:25.
10.1 Peter 1:2; 2 Peter 1:2; 2 John 1:3;
Revelation 1:4.
19
11. Revelation 22:21.
12. Malachi 3:6.
13. Hebrews 13:8.
14. 1 Corinthians 14:33.
15. Jeremiah 31:3.
16. James 1:17.
17. Titus 2:11.
18. Romans 5:2; Matthew 21:22.
19. Mark 11:24; James 1:6, 7.
20. Proverbs 3:5, 6; Hebrews 4:16.
21. 1 John 3:1.
22. Mark 12:30.
23. 2 Corinthians 12:9.
24. Romans 5:17.
25. James 1:17.
26. Hebrews 2:9; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18.
27. Philippians 2:13.
28. James 1:21.
29. 2 Peter 1:3, 4.