Points Of Grace

POINTS OF GRACE

Turn with me to 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 9 (read). I wonder how many people sitting in churches today actually believe in salvation by grace? It seems like every article I read or every sermon I hear on the radio, the emphasis is on faith, and not grace. There are a lot of people out there who think that they can manipulate God by faith. They think that faith is some sort of magical cattle prod that can goad God into doing whatever they want. But they seem to forget that they are dealing with a sovereign, and omnipotent God.

Grace is a free gift from God. Faith is simply trusting that God will minister His grace, by which we are saved, healed, blessed, prospered, etc… The grace of God is undeserved, unearned, favor. You see, we are all sinners, every one of us. And we all deserve to go to hell, but God, in His grace, forgives us. So when a person wakes up in the morning it’s only by grace. When a person is healed, or recovers from sickness it’s only by grace, and when a person is saved it’s only by grace. Now like I was saying there are a lot of people who put all the emphasis on faith. But the problem with doing that is that your faith is only as good as the object you put it in. You see, I could have a great deal of faith that if I flapped my arms I could fly, and I’ll never get off the ground. On the other hand I might not have any faith in an airplane I’m about to get in but it still manages to get me from point A to point B.

Now forgiveness is the complete obliteration of all of our sins. When your forgiven it’s not only like your record was wiped clean, it was thrown out and you were given a new record, and you are restored to fellowship with God. In forgiveness, the holy God receives sinners. Remember Jesus said, “I am come not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance”. He also said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and save that which was lost”. God longs to blot out our sins. God longs for fellowship with man. He said, “Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden and I will give you rest”. Forgiveness includes justification; justification means just as if you had never sinned. Turn with me to Romans 4:5-7 (read). Our sick and frustrated world needs to hear the truth of Gods Word. Mans problem isn’t psychological, it’s sin! And men need forgiveness for sins. They need a real relationship and fellowship with their Creator, and by the grace of God we can have these things.

The grace of God, is God redeeming us through the death of His Son. We live in the land of the free and the home of the brave, but that freedom cost the lives of hundreds and hundreds of men. They paid the ultimate price for our freedom. And salvation is free but it cost Jesus Christ His life.

Some might ask, “What does grace do”? Well in the first place, it saves us from sin. Man had sinned, and needed a Saviour. They couldn’t save themselves. They were under the just condemnation of God. So Jesus came and paid the penalty that we owed, redeeming us from the bondage of sin, and the second you trust Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior the redeeming power of God begins to operate in you. And you’re given the ability to turn to God from your sins, and are transformed from a condemned sinner, to a child of God. Secondly the grace of God not only saves you, it also keeps you. Jude 24 says that He is able to keep us from falling and will present us faultless before the presence of His glory. Who keeps us from falling, and who presents us faultless? Jesus Christ that’s who! If a person was saved by grace and then falls away then in reality they were never saved. The word “saved” is past tense. It’s a done deal. The same grace that saves us keeps us. It enables us to live in the world, without becoming part of the world.

So how do you receive the grace of God? Well first the sinner has to realize and admit that he is a sinner. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There are none righteous, no, not one. One little white lie is enough to keep you out of heaven. One instance of jealousy, or covetousness, or lust is enough to send you straight to hell. No man can meet the holy and righteous requirements of God. So one has to realize and admit that he is a sinner, and isn’t worthy to stand before a holy and pure God. Secondly, the sinner has to put his faith in Jesus Christ. He has to trust in the finished work of the Lord. He has to believe with all of his heart that what Jesus has done, was more than enough to save him, and make him acceptable to God. And when he has done this, he is instantly saved and eternally secure by the grace of God. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God”. Faith is how you receive God’s gift of grace, given in the person of Jesus Christ. And let me just tell you this. God sees the end of time. He knows all and sees all, and I don’t think that God would say that your saved if some time in the future you lost your salvation. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 6 (read Heb. 6:4-6). Now there are many who say that this passage of scripture proves that a Christian can loose his or her salvation, but that’s not what it’s saying at all. In fact it proves that a Christian can’t loose his salvation.