By God’s grace, the theme for this month is “GRACE”. Our prayer is that, through this month, we would be able to IDENTIFY GRACE and PERCIEVE what GRACE does. Our first topic under this theme is God’s Saving Grace.
GOD’S SAVING GRACE
So what is GRACE?
Main text: EPHESIANS 2:8-9 (NLT) “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward from the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it”.
2 Timothy 1:9(NLT) “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time- to show His grace through Jesus Christ.
Romans 11:5-6 (NLT) “It is same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace- his undeserved kindness in choosing them. And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is – free and undeserved.
1 Timothy 1:14 (KJV) “And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus”.
Drawing from scripture, we can define God’s GRACE as “A FREE AND UNDESERVED GIFT FROM GOD FOR THE SALVATION OF MANKIND”and God’s grace is revealed through Jesus Christ and this grace is EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANT. Grace is an undeserved free gift. Meaning we did nothing or we have to do nothing for it to be given to us. It is amazing to know that this Grace is not only a free and undeserved gift but it is also ABUNDANT meaning it is MORE THAN ENOUGH. This grace has no geographical limitation, it has no racial limitation, it has no social status limitation etc. The Grace is for everyone and it is given to us through Jesus Christ who died and his blood was shed on the cross to wipe away our sins. By the Grace of God, Jesus died on the cross and paid the price for our sins. Under this Grace, there is no condemnation for all who believe in Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:1)
What is the Purpose of Grace?
The Ultimate purpose of God’s grace is for the SALVATION of mankind. God’s grace comes from the depth of God’s abundant love for mankind (John 3:16). God does not want ANY OF US to perish so He has given us exceedingly abundant Grace which is always there for us. All we need to do is to receive this grace by believing in Jesus Christ who is the Grace of God and whose blood has already been shed for the remission of our sins. The saving Grace of the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross of Calvary is all we need for our salvation.
John Newton (1725–1807), a famous English clergyman wrote the song “AMAZING GRACE” and in the first stanza, he says “Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.” In this song, John Newton in trying to give his testimony about receiving God’s grace. He describes this Grace as “AMAZING” meaning that this Grace is astonishing, too pleasant and too awesome that its experience even surprises the beneficiary. It is recorded that John Newton grew up without any particular religious conviction. John Newton was very much involved in Atlantic slave trade and in 1748, a violent storm battered his vessel so much that he cried out to God for mercy and this is said to be the mark of his spiritual conversion. Afterward, he ended his slave trading career and began studying Christian theology and became an ordained CURATE (a parish priest).
Being a slave trader, John Newton could be looked upon as someone who was inhuman, cruel, evil, etc. But what is amazing is that he identified and believed in God’s saving Grace evident by his calling on God to have mercy during his ship wreck. He surely had this ship wreck while transporting slaves for sale. This is surely something detestable. But it is really amazing to know that John Newton received the free, undeserved abundant grace of God. Newton testified that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of sins committed and the soul can be delivered from despair through the AMAZING GRACE of God.
What about the apostle Paul? He was Saul before his conversion to Paul. Saul persecuted and killed the followers of Christ. On his way to Damascus to persecute Christians, Saul was convicted by Jesus about persecuting Him (Jesus Christ). Saul recognized and believed Jesus Christ. Thereafter, scales fell off his eyes, he was converted and given a new name Paul. Its interesting how when God sent a Christian believer Ananias to lay hands on Paul (then Saul), Ananias recounted to God the terrible things Saul had done but God never changed his mind; for Saul did not have to do any good works to merit God’s grace as Ananias thought. (Acts 9:1-15). God’s free, undeserved and abundant grace was sufficient for Saul who believed and was converted to Paul. Paul is the writer of majority of the New Testament books in the Bible and one of his key focus is on Grace and he testified as a beneficiary of God’s Grace which he solely depended on.
What about Simon Peter? Simon Peter was one of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ. He believed in Jesus Christ. He was the disciple who was blessed to have received the revelation from God that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:11-17). Notwithstanding, in the face of hardship, Simon Peter did wrong by denying Jesus three times (Matthew 26:69-75). Despite this, when he looked to Jesus Christ, he repented. Simon Peter identified and understood that grace and when he fell, he looked up to Jesus Christ and received the forgiving Grace of God. Peter was restored and lived to fulfill the purpose of spreading the good news of Salvation through Jesus Christ. This is contrary to Judas Iscariot who was also a disciple and did wrong by betraying Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:47-56). Judas repented from his acts just like Peter did but unlike Peter who looked to Jesus and believed that he was justified by God’s grace through Jesus Christ, Judas killed himself. This act of self-justification unfortunately could not save him as only the blood of Jesus Christ could save him.
It’s amazing to know that God’s grace is a free gift, undeserved (no one has done or has to do anything to deserve it) and is exceedingly abundant. God’s grace has no limit. God’s Grace is available to EVERYONE, the Jews and Gentiles, believer and unbeliever, young and old, dark skin and white skin etc. The gift of God’s Grace through Jesus Christ is already at the door of your hearts (Revelation 3:20). All I/you have to do is open up and receive this free gift of God to you by believing in Jesus Christ who shed his blood on the Cross once and for the forgiveness of our sins. May we understand the awesomeness of God’s Grace as we journey together this month.`
Remain Blessed