Grace: Unmerited Favor.

A conversation on a bus was overheard between a young woman her friend ahead of her. The woman was reading

- Scott Peck’s “The Road Less Traveled”

(published in 1978. It eventually spent 13 years on the New York Times bestseller list to create a paperback record, sold 10 million copies worldwide and was translated into more than 20 languages.

The opening words were: "Life is difficult.")

“What are you reading?” Asked the neighbor.

“A book a friend gave me. She said it changed her life.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s it about?”

“I ‘m not sure. Some sort of guide to life. I haven’t got very far yet.”

She began flipping through the book. “Here are the chapter titles: ‘Discipline, Love, Grace,…

The man stopped her. “What’s Grace?”

“I” I don’t know. I haven’t got to Grace yet.”

A. What is Grace?

- Amazing Grace named as the favorite wedding hymn

- We say Grace at meals

- British subjects address royalty as “Your Grace”

- Court declares an “act of Grace” to pardon a criminal

- Mortgage companies may gave a “grace period”

People have fallen from grace - Ted Haggard, “Tiger Woods”, “BP” is the UK's largest corporation - World’s 3rd, largest energy company

- Opposite words “disgrace” or “You ingrate”

Grace:

* Les Misérables (literally "The Miserable Ones

- 1862 - Victor Hugo

- This musical has ran continually for 25 years

- Jean Valjean released from imprisonment after nineteen years: five for stealing bread for his starving sister and her family, and fourteen more for numerous escape attempts

- Required to carry a yellow passport that marks him as a convict

- Can’t get lodging

- A Bishop takes him in

- He- steal the silverware

- Caught and dragged back

- The bishop claims that the silverware was a gift and gives him his two silver candlesticks as well, chastising him to the police for leaving in such a rush that he forgot these most valuable pieces. The bishop then "reminds" him of the promise, which Valjean has no recollection of making, to use the silver to make an honest man of himself.

B. GRACE ID

- To be accepted by another is to experience grace

G_od’s R_iches A_t C_hrist’s E_xpense

- Grace is what God does for mankind, > which we do not deserve, > which we cannot earn, and > which we will never be able to repay.

Titus 2:11KJV

11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

Ephesians 2:8-9KJV

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

C. How do you get there?

We begin with verse 14 and work to verse 9

Col 1:9-14

v. 9 – Dizzy height “Being filled with the knowledge of God

START WITH:

❶ - v.14 FORGIVNESS

“even the forgiveness of sins”

- No one can forgive sins but God

- That was the complaint against Jesus

Luke 5:21KJV

21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?

- Our desperate undeserved need

- Until we have received forgiveness of sins we are forever lost

❷ v. 14 REDEMPTION

“redemption through his blood”

- Redeem means to buy back

- Think of a Pawnbroker

- If you pawn something that you own, you leave it with a pawnbroker, who gives you money for it and who can sell it if you do not pay back the money before a certain time

- We have sold ourselves to sin but Christ has redeemed us by his l

- He claims us as his own

❸ v. 13 TRANSLATION

- To transfer, brought us from one place to another

- “into the kingdom of his dear Son”

- In nature there is no passing from one kingdom to another

- The mineral never becomes a vegetable

- The vegetable never becomes an animal

- Here the sinner is transformed into saint

- Changed lives

- The dead made alive

❹ v. 13 DELIVERED

“delivered us from the power of darkness”

- Unable to we are attacked & destroyed

- Sin like a vampire

- In it’s darkness sucking the life out of us

- Darkness makes us blind unable to see

- Christ delivers us from darkness giving us light to see

❺ v. 12- PARTAKERS

- What a glorious assurance

“made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light”

1 Peter 1:4KJV

4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

- Partakers not purchasers

- We inherit because he died

- We win because he triumphed