Back to Basics - Amazing Grace 2

I want to continue on in our series called Back to Basics – Grace this week. We are picking up from last week where we looked at some of the fundamentals of grace.
 
Scripture might not give us an explicit dictionary definition of grace but it is not silent on what God’s grace means to us is! Verse after verses reminds us that God’s goodness – His grace to us is unmerited, undeserved and unearned.
 
Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that:
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
 
Romans 3:23-24 says:
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
 
And Romans 11:6 tell us that
 6 And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.
 
This grace is amazing – but as I said at the start of last week it is also really difficult for us to understand and to accept! We believe that our salvation should be more in our control – surely we have to do more to be saved than just confess with [our] mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)
 
And so what we see in grace – is the completeness and sufficiency of Christ to us for salvation. As we consider this, this is something that is sometimes not expressed to it’s fullness in church. Why is that? There is a legitimate, perhaps fear, amongst those who teach the gospel that some will hear the message of grace and run away with it. By this I mean, that they will hear the great truth of God’s grace and use it to legitimize a lifestyle that is not at all beneficially nor reflect a life where the proper balance is maintained. And so we ask ourselves if this is God’s grace for us -  what does the gospel of grace mean for sin? Is it okay to keep sinning if God’s grace is sufficient for salvation? And what about good works – are these an optional extra? 

Listen along as we talk about the power of grace!

God bless,
Ps. Simon
simon@horizonchurch.org.au