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Free and Sovereign Grace

     In the matter of salvation we must go to the Word of God. There is no other source to tell us of God, man, sin, Christ, and salvation. The word "Grace is of the utmost importance, the scriptures are full of this word "Grace"; 38 times in the Old Testament and 115 times in the New Testament.

     Moses was interested in knowing if he had found "Grace in the sight of the Lord." Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Grace is what the New Testament is teaching us - "Salvation by Grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." To be ignorant of Grace is to be ignorant of the scriptures and of salvation. The meaning of "Grace" has been lost to most people, to most it's a word used to get a "celestial battery charge" when they go to church. The majority of preachers in preaching and religious people in practice deny God's grace and even frustrate it!

     There is not a more urgent need today than for people to have a true understanding of Grace and what it means. What is the biblical definition of grace? Grace is God's undeserved favor, his unmerited love. It means the favor one finds in the eyes of a superior person from whom one cannot claim favorable treatment as a right! If you don't receive grace what can you say? You didn't deserve it anyway. Grace is Free, the one who shows it is in no way obligated to do so. God is not "bound" by anything about us to show grace to us, "Being justified freely by his grace" (ROM. 3: 24). Grace is entirely depending on God's will, it is never deserved, if it were it would cease to be grace. (ROM. 11:6) Men in the bible where overwhelmed by the fact that God's love towards fallen men is a Free gift (Rom. 9:16).

     Grace is love, eternal, electing love manifested, "God commendeth his love toward us in, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8) This electing love is unconditional, unevoked, undeserved. Grace is sovereign and unconditional. Grace is God spontaneously working out in a sinner what he purposed to do from all eternity, "grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (2 Tim. 1:9). Grace is God loving the unlovely, covenanting himself to them, forgiving their sins, accepting their persons, revealing himself to them, causing them to respond. God gives them a knowledge of Himself, bringing them to enjoy Him. God in his sovereignty overcomes every obstacle to fulfill his purpose towards them. God has, God does, and God will continue to show grace to his elect people.

     Grace is not an impersonal energy automatically switched on by prayer, ordinances, or works, it is the heart and hand of the living almighty God manifested to an innumerable company of sinners, whom he calls own, his children. Grace is a wonder and it is amazing. To know mans corruption, to know our absolute uselessness to add anything to God. To know the reality of God's justice and wrath against sin. When and if you ever know these things, you will in stand in amazement that there would be such a wondrous thing as Grace at all. Grace that God shows sinners at the expense of the death of his dear Son on calvary's tree!

     With all the "wonders" of the world, the wonders of nature, of science, of space, these are nothing as they are compared to the Wonder of the Grace Of God. Nothing we can say can do it justice, all words fall short of describing it, it is "God's inexpressible gift" (2 Cor. 9:15).

Topics: Church Bulletin Articles Gospel Distinctives
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