AMAZING GRACE
Ephesians 2:1-10
Grace. A word used in a variety of ways. Have you ever heard these:
Time for lunch, honey, would you say grace. – Did you see how she danced? She has so much grace in her steps.
Have I introduced you to my friend Grace?
It is a word that has been used as an alternative term for prayer. It has been used to describe the way a person moves. It has also been used by many parents to name their daughters.
Still, none of these uses seem to catch the true nature of what Grace is. They fall short of the true meaning. They miss the purpose of it.
This morning, I want to try and bring you closer to understanding what the Grace of God truly is and what it should mean to each and every one of us. Through a couple of short stories, I hope to accomplish this.
(Illustration by Len Kageler)
Just about everyone enjoys playing computer games. One of the best is Microsoft’s “Flight Simulator.” In most versions of the game, you can choose a prop plane or a Lear jet, and you can also choose which of 180 airports around the country to take off from or to attempt a landing at.
Only after acquiring landing skills after many hours of practice can a player avoid crashing the plane and land safely. It’s all very realistic. You can crash into the Empire State Building in New York City, the Sears Tower in Chicago, or the Space Needle in Seattle. Your plane can break apart in midair, breaking the sound barrier over Dallas. You can nose-dive into Lake Michigan going five hundred miles per hour.
The greatest thing about “Flight Simulator,” though, is that the game always restores you. No matter what happens, you can start all over again. Whenever you crash and burn, fall apart, or splash into the ocean, the game always puts you back together and places you back on the runway ready to take off again.
That’s the way it is with the Lord. He’s absolutely faithful to forgive us and to restore us when we mess up and to get us back into action, hopefully a little wiser after our failures and bad decisions.
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
When we are with Christ we are never out of the game. Peter writes:
1 Peter 5:10 “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast”
So as our lives continue to move forward, we will encounter some rough times. We will have those days where it is difficult to keep going. There is so much stress, so much work, so many commitments to maintain, and we just don’t know how to get them all done.
à On top of that, there is the daily battle to resist temptation in our weak spots. We have an enemy who knows where we struggle, and he makes sure to remind of those struggles. He reminds us of our inadequacies, our sinful nature and he reminds us that we are not worthy of God’s grace.
à So again, what is this Grace we’re talking about. Well Paul gives us some good insight in his letter to the church at Ephesus. (Chap. 2)
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved… (Jump to verse 8)
Eph 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
Eph 2:9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Over & against humanity’s rejection of God, Paul sets God’s gracious acceptance of human beings in Christ. Though God cannot approve of sin if He is to remain righteous, yet God is not vengeful toward those He has created. He loves them and has made possible their reconciliation to Himself. Had He decided to destroy his rebellious children, He would be entirely justified, and nothing could stop Him. Instead, love leads to mercy"-- God’s compassion for the helpless, requires an action for their relief.
Paul’s main point is that God "made us alive with Christ". For those who were spiritually dead in their sins, God gave new life together "with Christ." The life Christians now possess is an effect of which Christ’s resurrection was the cause.
Christ’s resurrection was an act of God’s power & the regeneration of believers is an act of God’s "grace" which is repeated in verse 8.
Where Paul, again reminds his readers that they owe their salvation entirely to the undeserved favor of God. "Grace" is the objective, the operative, and the instrumental cause of salvation.
Paul expands verse 5, by adding that the precursor to our salvation is "faith", which is its necessary condition.
Faith, however, is simply a trustful response that is itself evoked by the Holy Spirit.
Unless faith should be in any way misinterpreted as our contributing in any way to our own salvation, Paul immediately adds a disclaimer to explain that nothing is of our own doing; rather, everything is the "gift of God." The entire process of salvation comes from nothing that we have done.
In verse 9, Paul erases away every possibility of self-achieved salvation by adding to his emphasis in verse 8, "not by works." Any kind of human self-effort is ruled out by this expression. The reason is immediately attached: it’s to prevent self-congratulations. There shall be no patting ourselves on the back when we reach our eternal home. For if salvation comes by, the clearly unmerited favor of God, boasting is altogether out of place. The only boasting we will do, is through our recognition of an incredibly patient, forgiving, merciful and gracious God.
Conclusion:
Let me share one last story to depict the beauty of Grace:
Story about being pulled over about 2 years ago:
I was pulled over for going a bit over the speed limit.
Officer approached my car/wanted license & registration
Went back to his car & radioed in my info.
Came back and gave me a ticket
Now, that was not demonstrating grace, but I didn’t feel the need to share that with him at the moment. I got the just penalty for my crime.
However, what if he had shown me grace. What would that look like?
Pulls me over
Comes to car and gets my info.
Goes back radios it in
o But now he tells me to slow it down & let’s me go. No, that’s not really GRACE.
o How about he writes out the ticket but cuts the fine in half. Still, that doesn’t really show me GRACE.
No, instead he comes back to my car, reminds me of the crime I have committed by speeding, writes out the ticket, with the fine being at the full amount, then hands it to me. Then he reaches out and takes the ticket back. He signs his own name in the guilty as charged spot, and then he turns the ticket in with his name on it and pays the full amount of the fine with his own money.
YES! That is what GRACE is.
This is what God has done through the Son Jesus.
That is exactly what Jesus has done for each & everyone of us.
He has taken our sins (or crimes) upon Himself
He put Himself in the guilty as charged spot
He paid the penalty (not a money fine) but death
(we deserved)
Why? John 3:16:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His One and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
God loves you! Let me say it again, God loves you. No matter what you have done, God loves you. No matter who you have hurt, God loves you. No matter how many times you have fallen, God loves you. God doesn’t want you to walk away from this place today without knowing that He loves you. Don’t doubt, just believe & know that He loves you.
Do we deserve it? Do we deserve this incredible gift called grace?
Not really, but God in His unconditional, unending love, has offered it to us that we may have the opportunity to dwell with Him for eternity.
Ooooohh…
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.
This morning, if you wish to receive this awesome gift, to acknowledge the goodness that God has displayed, come forward to accept it.
If you desire to give yourself to the Lord and receive Him as your Lord and Savior, come forth and do so.
If you are looking for a church family to become a part of, we invite you come forward and accept this local body as your family.
