Amazing Grace
“For all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (
What
is
Grace ?
Grace in Christianity
means the undeserved favor of God in providing salvation for those deserving
condemnation.
Jesus Christ gave
this illustration in the parable of the prodigal son:
“And the son said to him,
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer
worthy to be called your son.’ But the
father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and
put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.
And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;
for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.” (Lk.
15:21-24)
Dispensation of the Grace
of God
“If indeed you have heard
of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you.” (Eph. 3:2)
The word “dispensation” refers to a system of
administration. God has two distinct
ways of dealing with His people. “For
the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ.” (Jn. 1:17) “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for
you are not under the law but under grace.
What then? Shall we sin because
we are not under the law but under grace?
Certainly not!” (
Grace
is
given through the
Lord Jesus Christ
“And the Word became
flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Jn.
1:14)
“And of His fullness we
have all received, and grace for grace.
For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through
Jesus Christ.” (Jn.
1:16-17)
How
to
receive the Grace
of God
1 Recognize yourself as
a sinner
“And the tax collector,
standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his
breast, saying, “God be merciful to me a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his house
justified rather than the other; every one who exalts himself will be abased,
and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Lk. 18:13-14)
2 Repentance
“Now I rejoice, not that
you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner,
that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.
For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted
but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
(2 Cor. 7:9-10)
3 Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ
“And he brought them out
and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’
So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved,
you and your household.” (Acts
16:30-31)
“For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)
4 Baptism into
the Lord Jesus
Christ
“He who believes and is
baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Mk. 16:16)
5 Receive the Holy Spirit
“Then Peter said to them,
‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children,
and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39)
What’s
so
amazing about Grace ?
The word “amazing” means supernaturally
wonderful. It describes the Son of
God. “And His name will be
called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince
of Peace.” (Isa. 9:6)
“For God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world through Him might be saved.” (Jn.
3:16-17)
Salvation from the
Lord Jesus Christ
is Amazing
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (Jn.
14:6)
“I am the door. If anyone enters
by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and
find pasture.” (Jn.
10:9)
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me,
though he may die, he shall live. And
whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (Jn. 11:25-26)
The
Love
of the Lord
Jesus Christ is
Amazing
Jesus said, "Greater
love has no one than this, than to lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends
if you do whatever I command you." (John 15:13-14)
“But God demonstrates His
own love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died
for us.” (Romans 5:8 )
The
Death of
the Lord Jesus
Christ is Amazing
"And I, if I am
lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." This He said, signifying by what death He
would die.” (John 12:32-33)
“For by one offering He
has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” (Heb. 10:14)
The
Burial of
the Lord Jesus
Christ is Amazing
“For as Jonah was three
days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Mt. 12:40)
“Then He shall confirm a
covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and
offering.” (Dan. 9:27)
Jesus died in “the middle of the week” – Wednesday, and was
buried in the evening (Mt. 27:57-60)
The
Resurrection of
the Lord Jesus
Christ is Amazing
“On the first day of the
week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw
that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.” (Jn. 20:1)
That was a Saturday
evening. Jesus was buried in the tomb
exactly 3 days and 3 nights.
“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits
of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Cor. 15:20)
It’s
amazing Jesus continues
to forgive us our sins
“If we say that we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn. 1:8-9)
“For if we sin willfully
after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a
sacrifice for sins.” (Heb.
10:26)
Sufficiency of Grace in
Time of Tribulation
is Amazing
The apostle Paul had “a thorn in the flesh – a
messenger of Satan”, and he prayed three times for healing, but the Lord said to
him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My
strength is made perfect in weakness.” Paul wrote: “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast
in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in
reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For
when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor.
12:7-10)
“Amazing Grace”
is an inspired
Christian Hymn
John Newton reflected on
his own conversion to
Christianity from a past sinful life when he wrote the hymn “Amazing
Grace”. He was the captain of a ship
that transported slaves from
Amazing
Facts about
the Hymn “Amazing Grace”
·
John Newton first used the hymn “Amazing Grace”
to illustrate his New Year’s sermon of “Faith and Grace” on
·
Over 3,200 different recordings of it exist
today. It is the most popular song in
all of history; It appears on at least 1,100 albums
worldwide. In 1972 “Amazing Grace”
became the Number 1 hit on the international charts and the best selling single
of the year.
·
It was sung at the funerals of
·
On
May God bless you
A sermon based on this article was preached by Paul Wong
to a
Congregation in
For comments please write first to: arkpw@sbcglobal.net
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Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the
President of ARK International. |
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