Do You Believe God’s Amazing Grace?

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:1-9, NIV).

Do we really understand the grace of God, especially in conveying salvation?

How much do we appreciate God for it? Do we rejoice in it, as John Newton did and he was even inspired to make the song, “Amazing Grace”?

When God opened my mind to have a glimpse of His grace, I was really in great awe as if I was just beginning to learn of His Almighty Power – how He created the universe out of nothing! Also, I felt I “fall in love” again with God – but the height of the “fall” was much higher!

My heart was “dancing with joy” as I read on the subject of grace, written by Jerry Bridges, Charles R. Swindoll and Max Lucado..

But the Bible gives us many wonderful illustrations of grace. Are we aware of them?

Many Bible teachers quoted Ephesians 2:5, “…it is by grace you have been saved.” And they even proceed to go to verse 9, “…not by works, so that no one can boast.”

We could readily believe that we obtain salvation by God’s grace – it is His gift – not by works, not by any single good performance we do. We read in Isaiah 64:6, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…”

Even the physical chosen people – the Israelites -- received favor from God, not because of their righteousness. Moses told them:

“Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people” (Deut. 9:6).

We need also to realize that even the spiritual favor enjoyed by spiritual chosen people of God – salvation, as they received eternal life, as they became adopted children of God or became His own, as they received heavenly citizenship, or as they are brought into God’s Kingdom – is purely by God’s own doing – His gift to them – not because they have labored for it.

We do not even deserve to be saved!

Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:1-3:

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.”

Those He saved, actually, deserve to suffer His wrath.

But even we are not deserving, “… because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions…” (Eph. 2:4-5).

He still saved us – “made us alive with Christ.” And He did it, because of His great love for us, in His mercy – “by grace” – through faith, or belief in the Son of God, Jesus Christ (verse 9).

What do we need is to believe – to have faith in the Son of God. We are saved not by own works. Unfortunately, we tend to conclude that we are saved by our own faith, or by our faith plus the faith given to us by God!

But Paul wrote that “through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8). If we received salvation by grace, we need also to realize that the faith needed in salvation is not from ourselves, “it is the gift of God” – just like salvation.