Introduction – A Gospel that Begins at the Bottom
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)
What a breathtaking way to open the greatest sermon ever preached.
Jesus does not begin the ladder from earth to heaven with “Blessed are the pure in heart.”
If He had, most of us might close the book and sigh, That rules me out.
But Christ starts where everyone can start: “Blessed are the poor in spirit”—blessed are those who know their need.
That opening beatitude signals the heart of the gospel: God meets us in our need with sheer gift.
Eternity is infinite; finite creatures can never earn it.
Salvation has to be free or we will never have it.
The good news of the gospel is that all the good things we want are free.
This is the essence of grace—God’s unimaginable generosity, reaching down where we are and lifting us where we could never climb.
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1 – The Gospel Is Free
Grace is not a reward for moral athletes; it is God’s initiative toward those who cannot pay.
Paul declares:
> “And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” (Romans 11:6)
Think of what that means:
Eternal life is not wages for work.
Forgiveness is not negotiated settlement.
The Holy Spirit is not a prize for spiritual performance.
Every blessing in Christ is a gift, purchased by Jesus and received by faith.
If the gospel were only, “Be good and God might save you,” it would hardly travel outside its little hometown of legalism.
But when people hear that God justifies the ungodly, that Christ receives sinners and promises that all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven, the message moves “at almost the speed of light.
This is why you and I can come freely, even on our worst day.
Grace opens the door every morning.
Illustration: a friend once said, “I’ll come back to church when I get my life together.”
That’s like saying, “I’ll shower after I’m clean.”
Grace means you come as you are, and the cleansing is God’s gift.
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2 – News Travels Quickly
Bad news travels fast. Good news that is truly good travels even faster.
The gospel is the best of news:
“God justifies the ungodly” (Romans 4:5).
“This man receives sinners” (Luke 15:2).
“Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men” (Matthew 12:31).
Tell that, and watch it cross cultures and continents.
This is exactly what happened in Acts: a handful of fishermen and tax collectors carried the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome and beyond, toppling idols and changing hearts.
Grace, whenever it's presented as a gift, becomes unstoppable.
It breaks through barriers of race, class, and language.
It outruns the slow foot of law with the swift wings of joy.
Grace is not advice about how to climb; it is news about how God came down.
It does not say, If you improve, God might accept you.
It announces, God has accepted you in Christ; believe and live.
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3 – That’s Grace
Grace is not an abstraction; it has names, faces, and promises.
> “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son… (He) did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16-17)
“This Man receives sinners.” (Luke 15:2) — That’s grace.
“Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men.” (Matthew 12:31) — That’s grace.
“The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” (John 6:37) — That’s grace.
Love is grace. Mercy is grace. Joy is grace.
Indeed, you cannot think of any good thing that is not connected to grace in some way.
And there could have been no grace for us apart from the fact that God the Son volunteered to take our place and redeem us.
Grace is not God lowering His standards.
It is God meeting His own holy standard in Christ so He could justly and joyfully embrace sinners.
Grace is not leniency; it is love paying the price.
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4 – Illustrations of Grace
Scripture is a gallery of grace.
Abraham prayed, “O that Ishmael might live before Thee!”
God gave him Isaac and descendants “as numerous as the stars.”
He asked for the life of one and received millions.
That’s grace.
Jacob asked only for bread and water.
When he returned home he was rich in family and flocks.
That’s grace.
The prodigal son resolved merely to be a hired servant.
Instead he was robed, ringed, and welcomed to a feast.
That’s grace.
Christ told many stories about parties but only one about a funeral (Matthew 11:17).
The Old Testament appointed many feasts but only one fast (the Day of Atonement).
Joy, not gloom, is the native climate of grace.
> “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)
Where joy is missing, the solution is not more effort but a fresh encounter with grace.
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5 – The “Good News” Religion
The gospel does more than comfort; it redefines religion itself.
Luke records the religious leaders’ shocked complaint about Jesus:
> “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:2)
That sentence captures the heart of biblical faith.
There are only two religions in the world.
The popular religion says, ‘Be good and God will love you.’
Bible religion says, ‘Christ came into the world to save sinners.’ He loves and accepts us even while we are sinners. It is this acceptance that changes us.”
Those two religions—self-salvation versus God’s salvation—still divide humanity.
One is works-centered and anxious; the other is Christ-centered and free.
One says, Do more and maybe God will accept you.
The other says, Christ has already done everything; trust Him and live.
Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone.
Even the righteousness of sanctification—the Spirit’s ongoing work in us—remains imperfect in this life.
Our peace is never in our progress but in Christ’s perfection.
The believer does not need to negotiate peace with God.
Christ Himself is our peace.
This is why Paul exclaims,
> “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)
Every other so-called religion ultimately comes back to “be good and God will love you.”
Only the gospel announces: “God loved you first. Trust Him and be changed.”
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6 – Law vs. Gospel
Now we come to a contrast that Ford insisted we must never blur.
> “The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17)
The law is holy and just and good.
It shows us God’s character and reveals our need.
But it cannot save.
The law says, “Do this and you will live.”
The gospel says, “Live and you will do.”
The law says, “Pay me what you owe.”
The gospel says, “I freely forgive you everything.”
The law says, “The soul that sins shall die.”
The gospel says, “Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live.”
The law says, “Get yourselves a new heart.”
The gospel says, “I will give you a new heart.”
At Sinai, three thousand died.
At Pentecost, three thousand lived (Exodus 32; Acts 2).
Three thousand sermons on the law won’t convert one person. One sermon on the gospel will convert three thousand.”
The law diagnoses; the gospel delivers.
The law exposes; the gospel transforms.
The law tells us what love looks like; the gospel gives the love itself.
This does not mean we throw away God’s commandments.
Grace doesn’t make obedience optional; it makes it possible.
When Christ writes the law on our hearts, we begin to want what God wants.
The only obedience God will accept is the obedience of gratitude.
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7 – Application and Appeal: Gratitude-Driven Obedience
So where does all this lead?
Not to complacency but to worship and service.
The prophet Ezekiel pictured the gospel as a river flowing from the temple, growing deeper and stronger until it became “a river to swim in” (Ezekiel 47:12).
That’s how grace works.
It starts as a trickle of conviction and becomes a flood of transformation.
True religion is not something we carry; it is something that carries us.
It is Christ in us, writing His law on our hearts, so that what once felt like duty becomes delight.
Gratitude is the engine.
Not fear. Not pride.
Gratitude.
Paul expressed it perfectly:
> “We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
When we know we are loved with a love that absorbed the full penalty of our sin, our hearts are set free to love in return.
This is why guilt alone never changes anyone.
We don’t obey to earn God’s favor; we obey because, in Christ, we already have it.
Every act of genuine Christian obedience is a thank-you note written with our lives.
Whatever is not of faith is sin. The only obedience God will accept is the obedience of gratitude.
That’s the invitation of grace:
Lay down every ladder you’ve been trying to climb.
Step into the river of mercy.
Receive the life that Christ died and rose to give.
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Conclusion – Grace for the Graceless
Grace for the graceless.
That is the gospel.
It is for the one who knows their poverty of spirit.
It is for the one who has tried and failed a hundred times.
It is for the one who thinks they have no need and only now senses the emptiness inside.
It is for you.
Hear again the Savior’s own assurance:
> “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” (John 5:24)
Today the call is simple:
Believe.
Receive.
Live.
Not someday, not when you’ve fixed yourself—now.
