September 19, 2025 • 7 mins
Pastor Greg Griffith and Marcus Nathan press into the richness of grace — God’s gift we can’t earn. From Scripture and the Catechism, to the cross itself, they show how grace defines salvation and reshapes everyday life.
Stay up to date by following us on your favorite social networks.
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
Have questions or comments? Email us at contact@kingofkings.org.
Thanks for listening!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Coffee Break Theology a King of
Kings podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hey friends, welcome back to Coffee Break Theology,
where rich truth meets yourrefill break.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
He's Greg, I'm Marcus , and today's episode is about
something sweet.
No, not caramel macchiatos.
We're talking about grace.
I do love that, but I lovegrace a little bit more.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Amen, amen, yeah, we're not here on coffee stuff.
So this is the heart of theChristian message.
I mean grace is where it's atand honestly it's the heartbeat
of Lutheran theology.
I say that Lutherans havecornered the market on grace and
it's the good news in themiddle of all the bad news we
(00:50):
talked about last week.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
So let's start with a question what is grace?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
So simple terms.
God's grace is undeserved loveand favor.
This guy, archie, one time usedto.
He just used the acronym graceis God's riches at Christ's
expense.
I'll never forget it, and whatwe're learning is that in Jesus
and in what he gives us, wedon't deserve it.
Grace is getting something wedon't deserve, which is
(01:19):
forgiveness, salvation andeternal life, and it all comes
because of Jesus.
I like ituther said.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Grace is given to heal the sick, not to decorate
spiritual heroes.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
It's for the messed up, not the made up man, exactly
I love the way luther spoke andand ephesians 2, 8 and 9.
It's just the clearest versefor us, right?
So this is for grace.
You've been saved through faith, and this isn't of your own
doing.
It is the gift of God, not aresult of your work, right and
(01:51):
grace.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
So it's not something that we climb toward, it's not
something that we try to achieve.
It's something that God poursdown on us.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Yeah, so Luther in his small catechism and really
Luther just dove deep into gracebecause he was living in a
world where grace wasnon-existent for faith.
And so he says it this way Icannot, by my own reason or
strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
And he continues.
He says but the Holy Spirit hascalled me by the gospel,
enlightened me with his gifts.
That's pure grace.
Even our faith itself is a gift.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Amen, and that's what he wanted you to know.
That's what we need to know.
We don't contribute at all toour salvation, not even a
percent, not a half a percent,not a tenth of a percent, not
even the decision.
It is all grace from the startto finish, and what this really
is.
It is all grace from the startto finish, and what this really
is is think about this.
God chose you right, and thenyou hold on Right.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
And I've heard it put this way before you talk about
the salvation formula, we don'tcontribute that to it.
I've heard somebody say weactually do contribute something
, but Only sin.
That's the only thing we bringto the table, and so in no way
do we earn or merit oursalvation.
Last week we talked about howmuch of a problem sin is, how
serious it is right.
The biggest problem is that itseparates us from God.
(03:12):
It kills us spiritually.
That's what we deserve.
Our sin should merit eternalseparation from a holy God, but
that's not what happens.
That's not what we get.
We are gifted salvation becauseof what Jesus did, but that's
not what happens.
That's not what we get.
We are gifted salvation becauseof what Jesus did.
Grace and mercy are two sides ofthe same coin.
Grace is something gettingsomething righteousness that we
don't deserve, and on the otherside, mercy is not getting
(03:33):
something damnation which we dodeserve.
In this book I've read recently, knowing God, ji Packer says
this Grace is God showinggoodness to persons who deserve
only severity and have no reasonto expect anything but that
severity.
Wow, grace and salvation arebound together as cause and
effect.
I got some verses hereEphesians 2.5.
(03:54):
Even when we were dead in ourtrespasses, he made us alive,
together with Christ.
By grace you have been saved,and you read this before in
Ephesians 2.8.
For by grace you have beensaved through faith, and this
before in Ephesians 2.8, for bygrace you have been saved,
through faith, and this is notyour own doing, it's the gift of
God.
Titus 2.11 says for the graceof God has appeared, bringing
salvation for all people.
So this is from God, this is agift.
(04:15):
And this grace?
It's not abstract.
It shows up in real, tangibleways in our lives through word
and sacrament.
That's what Luther called themeans of grace.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Oh, that's so rich and so deep and I always love
anytime we can quote Titus.
If I had a boy, I was going toname him Titus.
I don't think my wife was goingto agree, but I would have
tried to do it secretly in someway.
Anyways, let's get back to it.
We got 10 minutes, so you wantto see grace Like look at Jesus,
look at the cross.
(04:48):
That is truly grace in actionGod doing for us what we could
never do ourselves.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Yeah, Romans 5, 8, Paul says this, but God shows
his love for us in that, whilewe were still sinners, Christ
died for us and you've given thegrace acronym before God's
riches at Christ's expense.
Christ died and we get theundeserved benefit of
reconciliation to the Fatherbecause of that.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Notice this too.
It's not like, okay, let meclean ourselves up, right, but
this is while we were still andI love this.
The Greek is like while we areactively doing sin.
This is not like, yeah, I'vebeen sinning, this is I am,
while I'm still actively sinning.
He does this Right.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
One of my favorite Luther quotes is this the love
of God does not find, butcreates that which is pleasing
to it.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Which means this that God doesn't love you because
you're lovable, Right.
He loves you and that lovemakes you his Right Beautiful.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
So what does grace mean for Monday morning, for
when our coffee spills?
The to-do list is growing.
The kids are screaming you gotto get them out the door.
You're late for work.
What does this?
Speaker 2 (05:58):
mean, yeah, it all comes back to your identity.
It means you're already enoughfor God.
Jesus is enough.
He's already done it all, soyou don't have to prove yourself
to God.
You don't have to bring themthe checklist and say, like you
know, I did 51% greater than the49% worse, right.
You don't have to wonder evendoes he still love you after a
(06:19):
horrific day of sin?
Right?
Speaker 3 (06:20):
And when you mess up and you will horrific day of sin
Right, and when you mess up andyou will, and we have, I did
this morning already grace saysyou're forgiven, Come on back,
Come home, and that's why asLutherans, I love that we return
again and again to what we callis absolution or forgiveness.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
This is a Lord's Supper, this is baptism, because
that's where grace keepsshowing up, right.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
And it has to keep showing up.
Like you said, we sin over andover.
Grace isn't a one-time download, it's a lifelong lifeline,
that's good.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
So here's your Coffee Break takeaway today.
Grace isn't your reward, it'syour rescue, and it's yours
Freely, fully and forever injesus awesome.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
So join us next time on coffee break theology, when
we dive into god's love, how itconnects us to grace and why
it's more than just a nicesentiment.
So until then, remember you'resaved by grace alone, through
faith alone, because of christalone and maybe pour a little
grace, into someone else's cuptoday.
Amen.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Thanks for listening to Coffee Break Theology.
Be sure to tune in next timeand remember to check out our
other podcast series availableon every major podcast listening
service.
You're listening to Coffee Break Theology a King of
Kings podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hey friends, welcome back to Coffee Break Theology,
where rich truth meets yourrefill break.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
He's Greg, I'm Marcus , and today's episode is about
something sweet.
No, not caramel macchiatos.
We're talking about grace.
I do love that, but I lovegrace a little bit more.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Amen, amen, yeah, we're not here on coffee stuff.
So this is the heart of theChristian message.
I mean grace is where it's atand honestly it's the heartbeat
of Lutheran theology.
I say that Lutherans havecornered the market on grace and
it's the good news in themiddle of all the bad news we
(00:50):
talked about last week.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
So let's start with a question what is grace?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
So simple terms.
God's grace is undeserved loveand favor.
This guy, archie, one time usedto.
He just used the acronym graceis God's riches at Christ's
expense.
I'll never forget it, and whatwe're learning is that in Jesus
and in what he gives us, wedon't deserve it.
Grace is getting something wedon't deserve, which is
(01:19):
forgiveness, salvation andeternal life, and it all comes
because of Jesus.
I like ituther said.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Grace is given to heal the sick, not to decorate
spiritual heroes.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
It's for the messed up, not the made up man, exactly
I love the way luther spoke andand ephesians 2, 8 and 9.
It's just the clearest versefor us, right?
So this is for grace.
You've been saved through faith, and this isn't of your own
doing.
It is the gift of God, not aresult of your work, right and
(01:51):
grace.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
So it's not something that we climb toward, it's not
something that we try to achieve.
It's something that God poursdown on us.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Yeah, so Luther in his small catechism and really
Luther just dove deep into gracebecause he was living in a
world where grace wasnon-existent for faith.
And so he says it this way Icannot, by my own reason or
strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
And he continues.
He says but the Holy Spirit hascalled me by the gospel,
enlightened me with his gifts.
That's pure grace.
Even our faith itself is a gift.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Amen, and that's what he wanted you to know.
That's what we need to know.
We don't contribute at all toour salvation, not even a
percent, not a half a percent,not a tenth of a percent, not
even the decision.
It is all grace from the startto finish, and what this really
is.
It is all grace from the startto finish, and what this really
is is think about this.
God chose you right, and thenyou hold on Right.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
And I've heard it put this way before you talk about
the salvation formula, we don'tcontribute that to it.
I've heard somebody say weactually do contribute something
, but Only sin.
That's the only thing we bringto the table, and so in no way
do we earn or merit oursalvation.
Last week we talked about howmuch of a problem sin is, how
serious it is right.
The biggest problem is that itseparates us from God.
(03:12):
It kills us spiritually.
That's what we deserve.
Our sin should merit eternalseparation from a holy God, but
that's not what happens.
That's not what we get.
We are gifted salvation becauseof what Jesus did, but that's
not what happens.
That's not what we get.
We are gifted salvation becauseof what Jesus did.
Grace and mercy are two sides ofthe same coin.
Grace is something gettingsomething righteousness that we
don't deserve, and on the otherside, mercy is not getting
(03:33):
something damnation which we dodeserve.
In this book I've read recently, knowing God, ji Packer says
this Grace is God showinggoodness to persons who deserve
only severity and have no reasonto expect anything but that
severity.
Wow, grace and salvation arebound together as cause and
effect.
I got some verses hereEphesians 2.5.
(03:54):
Even when we were dead in ourtrespasses, he made us alive,
together with Christ.
By grace you have been saved,and you read this before in
Ephesians 2.8.
For by grace you have beensaved through faith, and this
before in Ephesians 2.8, for bygrace you have been saved,
through faith, and this is notyour own doing, it's the gift of
God.
Titus 2.11 says for the graceof God has appeared, bringing
salvation for all people.
So this is from God, this is agift.
(04:15):
And this grace?
It's not abstract.
It shows up in real, tangibleways in our lives through word
and sacrament.
That's what Luther called themeans of grace.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Oh, that's so rich and so deep and I always love
anytime we can quote Titus.
If I had a boy, I was going toname him Titus.
I don't think my wife was goingto agree, but I would have
tried to do it secretly in someway.
Anyways, let's get back to it.
We got 10 minutes, so you wantto see grace Like look at Jesus,
look at the cross.
(04:48):
That is truly grace in actionGod doing for us what we could
never do ourselves.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Yeah, Romans 5, 8, Paul says this, but God shows
his love for us in that, whilewe were still sinners, Christ
died for us and you've given thegrace acronym before God's
riches at Christ's expense.
Christ died and we get theundeserved benefit of
reconciliation to the Fatherbecause of that.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Notice this too.
It's not like, okay, let meclean ourselves up, right, but
this is while we were still andI love this.
The Greek is like while we areactively doing sin.
This is not like, yeah, I'vebeen sinning, this is I am,
while I'm still actively sinning.
He does this Right.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
One of my favorite Luther quotes is this the love
of God does not find, butcreates that which is pleasing
to it.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Which means this that God doesn't love you because
you're lovable, Right.
He loves you and that lovemakes you his Right Beautiful.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
So what does grace mean for Monday morning, for
when our coffee spills?
The to-do list is growing.
The kids are screaming you gotto get them out the door.
You're late for work.
What does this?
Speaker 2 (05:58):
mean, yeah, it all comes back to your identity.
It means you're already enoughfor God.
Jesus is enough.
He's already done it all, soyou don't have to prove yourself
to God.
You don't have to bring themthe checklist and say, like you
know, I did 51% greater than the49% worse, right.
You don't have to wonder evendoes he still love you after a
(06:19):
horrific day of sin?
Right?
Speaker 3 (06:20):
And when you mess up and you will horrific day of sin
Right, and when you mess up andyou will, and we have, I did
this morning already grace saysyou're forgiven, Come on back,
Come home, and that's why asLutherans, I love that we return
again and again to what we callis absolution or forgiveness.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
This is a Lord's Supper, this is baptism, because
that's where grace keepsshowing up, right.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
And it has to keep showing up.
Like you said, we sin over andover.
Grace isn't a one-time download, it's a lifelong lifeline,
that's good.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
So here's your Coffee Break takeaway today.
Grace isn't your reward, it'syour rescue, and it's yours
Freely, fully and forever injesus awesome.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
So join us next time on coffee break theology, when
we dive into god's love, how itconnects us to grace and why
it's more than just a nicesentiment.
So until then, remember you'resaved by grace alone, through
faith alone, because of christalone and maybe pour a little
grace, into someone else's cuptoday.
Amen.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Thanks for listening to Coffee Break Theology.
Be sure to tune in next timeand remember to check out our
other podcast series availableon every major podcast listening
service.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.