Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace (Ephesians 1:7)

Ephesians 1:7, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”

The Blood of Jesus Christ is one of the great subjects of Scripture. It is one of the fundamentals of our faith. The liberals and modernists discount and deny the blood atonement. They tell us that the shedding of Christ's blood was nothing more than a symbol of His death. However, the Bible is clear when it comes to sin that “…without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). Without the shed blood of Jesus Christ, there is no salvation.

The whole human race is a family of bankrupt beggars. All that God intended us to be, Adam lost to the devil in the Garden of Eden. We were left naked, poor, and miserably lost in sin. We could in no way, and by no means, pay the price for our salvation. Left to himself, man is helpless and hopeless, lost and sentenced to spend eternity in a devil's hell. The Bible declares that the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many (Matthew 28:20). There on the cross Jesus fulfilled the one great purpose of His coming, giving Himself and shedding His blood as a ransom for sinners. How clearly He stated the purpose of His coming. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep and I lay down my life for the sheep (John 10:1; 15). Christ gave Himself in death as the great ransom for the world, which was under the curse of sin and subject to eternal death and damnation, but God stepped in. Just think of where we would be without God.

The grace of God is a beautiful treasure that God has given upon all who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. His grace abounds toward us which means it "abounds or overflows." God's grace abounds so that every need we have will be met. We would all be hopeless without the grace of God. It was God's grace that gave healing to those who looked upon the brazen serpent in Numbers 21. It was God's grace that provided water from the rock as Israel traveled through the scorching, searing desert in Exodus 17. Grace brought healing to Namaan after he obeyed God and washed in the Jordan River. In Exodus 16, it was grace that provided Israel manna for forty years while they wandered in the wilderness.

The grace of God is essential and enough for every area of our lives from salvation to service, from surviving suffering to being saintly. G. Campbell Morgan said, "Grace is the river flowing from the heart of God." Grace is God doing for man that which he cannot do for himself. The nature and character of grace is giving. It is God's nature to give. He is a God of grace because He freely gives to us. God bestows His grace not because of what we do, or what or who we are, but because of who God is…He is God! His grace is unearned, undeserved, and unmerited. We are unworthy, unqualified, and unentitled to receive it, but we do because it is given freely by a gracious God. Thank God it is free for we could never pay the Lord back anyway. Augustus Toplady said, "Grace finds us beggars, but leaves us debtors." Yes, we are indebted to the Lord. We cannot begin to comprehend and understand what God's grace is all about, but we do know that it gives us pardon and peace with Him.

God never gives from, but according to His riches. God's grace is as boundless as He is. Romans 5:20, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Redemption and forgiveness of sins are according to the riches of his grace. Notice: it is not from His riches, but according to the riches of His grace. Elon Musk is the richest man in the world with a net worth of over 222 billion dollars. If Elon Musk were to contribute to a worthy cause, and he gave a check for $200,000.00, he would only be giving from his riches. But if, instead, he gave a check for $2,000,000,000.00, he would be giving according to his riches. Charles Hodge spoke of this abundance as "an overflowing abundance of unmerited love, inexhaustible in God and freely accessible through Christ."

Grace gave Paul great confidence and contentment. He said in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." The word "strengtheneth" means to empower or enable. God gives us a strength that will not rot, rust, or ruin because its roots are in Christ. He enables and energizes us to serve Him. If we do less under God's grace than we do under God's law, it is a disgrace. We have no excuse for not serving the Lord and making our life count for Him because His grace energizes us for serving Him.

The life of a man named John is a beautiful picture of the grace of God. John was raised in a Christian home in England in the early years of his life. At the age of six, he became an orphan and ended up living with unsaved relatives. He suffered persecution and harassment during this time. When he got older, John ran away and became an apprentice seaman in the British navy. After serving in the Navy for a period of time, he deserted and fled to Africa to live a wild lifestyle. He joined up with a Portuguese slave trader and was treated terribly in his home. When the slave trader was away, his ruthless wife would abuse John, making him eat his food off the floor like a dog. John ran away from this predicament, too. He lit a signal fire on the coast and was picked up by a ship en route to England. John did not serve well on the ship. He broke into the rum, distributed it to the sailors and got drunk. He fell into the sea and almost drowned. Toward the end of the voyage near Scotland, the ship encountered a terrible storm, was blown off course, and began to sink. John was sent down into the bottom of the ship to man the pumps. He was terrified and was certain he would eventually drown. He worked the pumps for days and began to cry out to God, remembering verses he learned as a child. In that ship, he trusted Christ as his Saviour. His life was transformed and John Newton became a preacher of the Gospel. It was John Newton who wrote the song "Amazing Grace". John became a preacher of grace because he understood the grace of God in his own life. In Christ, we all have this wonderful grace. We have so much for which we should be thankful.

PRAYER: Father in Heaven, You have been so good to me. You have placed godly people in my life. You have led me to many wonder people. To my precious godly wife, the sweetest church I know, and to the hearts of those who are in need of You. There is no need to turn back now. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. AMEN!

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