Tag Archives: God’s grace

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – God’s Grace and Holiness

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Titus 2:11-12

One of the grandest expressions of the gospel is contained in Titus 2:11, where Paul tells us, “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men.” How could there be any better news than that? What was invisible for many centuries and what was once unavailable has now come into view. Moreover, this grace has appeared not simply for the benefit of a chosen few but for “everyone.” It is what the apostle elsewhere calls “the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16).

With such power at our disposal, we are sometimes disappointed when we find there are a number of painful chapters in the book of grace. To most people, the word “power” suggests instant transformation and easy accomplishment. We often forget that grace is a schoolteacher who has appeared with very specific instructions.

In Titus 2:12, we learn the lesson plan. This teacher has appeared, “instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.” We can learn to say no to sin and worldly appetites. We can learn what holiness consists of, and we can find sensible ways to acquire and display it. What’s more, we can do it here and now, even when the cultural climate seems unreceptive. And it is only through God’s grace that we can even attempt to live a righteous life.

Such learning may take time, but progress in this school is just as much a tribute to God’s grace as are the instant changes that sometimes occur right after a person gets saved.

Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 18-21

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – On-and-Off Salvation

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On-and-off salvation never appears in the Bible. Scripture contains no example of a person who was saved, then lost, then re-saved, then lost again. Where there is no assurance of salvation, there is no peace; no joy. Is this the life God creates? God’s grace creates a confident soul who declares, I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

1 John 5:13 says, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” Trust God’s hold on you! His faithfulness does not depend on yours. His performance is not predicated on yours. His love is not contingent on your own. Your candle may flicker—but it will not expire!

From GRACE

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The prodigal’s return

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“But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” Luke 15:20

Suggested Further Reading: John 3:16-21

When the light of God’s grace comes into your heart, it is something like the opening of the windows of an old cellar that has been shut up for many days. Down in that cellar, which has not been opened for many months, are all kinds of loathsome creatures, and a few sickly plants blanched by the darkness. The walls are dark and damp with the trail of slugs and snails; it is a horrid filthy place into which no one would willingly enter. You may walk there in the dark very securely, and except now and then for the touch of some slimy creature, you would not believe the place was so bad and filthy. Open those shutters, clean a pane of glass, let a little light in, and now see how a thousand noxious things have made this place their habitation. It was not the light that made this place so horrible, but it was the light that showed how horrible it was before. So let God’s grace just open a window and let the light into a man’s soul, and he will stand astonished to see at what a distance he is from God. Yes, sir, today you think yourself second to none but the Eternal; you fancy that you can approach his throne with steady step; it is but a little that you have to do to be saved; you imagine that you can accomplish it at any hour, and save yourself upon your dying bed as well as now. Ah! sir, if you could be made to be in appearance what you are in reality, then you would see that you are far enough from God even now, and so far from him that unless the arms of his grace were stretched out to bring you to himself; you must perish in your sin.

For meditation: Even the believer has sins of which he is ignorant (Psalm 19:12). God knows all about them. Thank him that he came in the person of his only-begotten Son to meet us when we were far off and to bring us back to himself (Ephesians 2:13).

Sermon no. 176

7 February (1858)

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – In Debt to the Attributes of God

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So then, brothers, we are debtors.  Romans 8:12

 

As God’s creatures, we are all debtors to Him: to obey Him with all our body and soul and strength. Having broken His commandments, as we all have, we are debtors to His justice, and we owe to Him a vast amount that we are not able to pay.

But of the Christian it can be said that he does not owe God’s justice anything, for Christ has paid the debt His people owed; for this reason the believer is in debt to love. I am a debtor to God’s grace and forgiving mercy; but I am no debtor to His justice, for He will never accuse me of a debt already paid. Christ said, “It is finished!” and by that He meant that whatever His people owed was wiped away forever from the book of remembrance. Christ has completely satisfied divine justice; the account is settled; the handwriting is nailed to the cross; the receipt is given, and we are no longer in debt to God’s justice. But then it follows that since we are not debtors to our Lord in that sense, we become ten times more debtors to God than we should have been otherwise. Christian, pause and consider for a moment.

  • What a debtor you are to divine sovereignty! How much you owe to His disinterested love, for He gave His own Son that He might die for you
  • Consider how much you owe to His forgiving grace, that even after ten thousand offenses He loves you as infinitely as ever.
  • Consider what you owe to His power; how He has raised you from your death in sin; how He has preserved your spiritual life; how He has kept you from falling; and how, though a thousand enemies have surrounded your path, you have been able to hold on your way.
  • Consider what you owe to His immutability. Though you have changed a thousand times, He has not changed once.

You are as deep in debt as you can be to every attribute of God. To God you owe yourself and all you have: Offer yourself as a living sacrifice; it is but your reasonable service.

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for February 3, 2015
* Genesis 35, 36
* Mark 6

 

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.
Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The treasure of grace

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“The forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Ephesians 1:7

Suggested Further Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:5-11

Paul proclaimed the grace of God—free, full, sovereign, eternal grace—beyond all the glorious company of the apostles. Sometimes he soared to such amazing heights, or dived into unsearchable depths, that even Peter could not follow him. He was ready to confess that “our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given unto him,” had written “some things hard to be understood.” Jude could write of the judgments of God, and reprove with terrible words, “ungodly men, who turned the grace of God into lasciviousness.” But he could not tell out the purpose of grace as it was planned in the eternal mind, or the experience of grace as it is felt and realized in the human heart, like Paul. There is James again: he, as a faithful minister, could deal very closely with the practical evidences of Christian character. And yet he seems to keep very much on the surface; he does not bore down deep into the substratum on which must rest the visible soil of all spiritual graces. Even John, most favoured of all those apostles who were companions of our Lord on earth—sweetly as the beloved disciple writes of fellowship with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ—even John does not speak of grace so richly as Paul, in whom God first showed forth “all long-suffering as a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.” Not, indeed, that we are at liberty to prefer one apostle above another. We may not divide the Church, saying, I am of Paul, I of Peter, I of Apollos; but we may acknowledge the instrument which God was pleased to use; we may admire the way in which the Holy Ghost fitted him for his work; we may, with the churches of Judea, glorify God in Paul.

For meditation: Paul always looked back with amazement when he recalled God’s grace to him, the chief of sinners, who so persecuted the Church (1 Corinthians 15:9-10; Galatians 1:13,15; Ephesians 3:7,8; 1 Timothy 1:13-15). Our gratitude and love to God can sadly be limited by our failure to realise how sinful we really are and how much he has forgiven us (Luke 7:41-47).

Sermon no. 295

22 January (1860)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Enjoying God’s Forgiveness

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In Christ we have “the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of [God’s] grace, which He lavished upon us” (Eph. 1:7-8).

In Christ we have infinite forgiveness for every sin—past, present, and future.

On Israel’s Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) the high priest selected two goats. One was sacrificed; the other set free. Before releasing the second goat, the high priest symbolically placed the sins of the people on it by laying his hands on its head. This “scapegoat” was then taken a great distance from camp and released—never to return again (Lev. 16:7-10).

The Greek word translated “forgiveness” in Ephesians 1:7 means “to send away.” It speaks of cancelling a debt or granting a pardon. Like the scapegoat, Christ carried away our sins on the cross.

In Christ, God cancelled your debt and pardoned your transgressions, and He did so “according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon [you]” (v. 8). That means you have infinite forgiveness because God’s grace is infinite. You cannot sin beyond God’s grace because where sin abounds, grace super-abounds (Rom. 5:20).

God delights in lavishing His grace upon you. Such grace is overflowing and cannot be contained. You are forgiven for every sin—past, present, and future. You will never be condemned by God or separated from Him (Rom. 8:1-2, 31-39). Even when you fail, God doesn’t hold your sins against you. Christ bore them all so that you might know the joy and peace that freedom from sin and guilt brings.

Let the reality of God’s grace fill your heart with joy and assurance. Let the responsibility of glorifying Him fill you with awe and reverence. Let this day be a sacrifice of praise and service to Him.

Suggestions for Prayer; Thank God for His infinite grace and forgiveness.

Look for opportunities to extend forgiveness to others.

For Further Study; Read Matthew 18:21-35.

What characteristic marked the wicked slave?

What was the king’s response to the wicked slave’s actions?

What point was Jesus making? How does it apply to you?

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Amazing But True

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God does not always pick the most likely person for a particular job. Abraham was old. Moses was shy. Samson lacked self-control. Jonah ran away. David was an adulterer and murderer. Mary was a virgin chosen to be a mother. Peter was impatient. Paul persecuted Christians. The list goes on.

A minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.

Ephesians 3:7

Paul said because of God’s grace and power, when he was weak, he was strong (II Corinthians 12:10). In today’s verse, Paul noted how he relied on God’s grace and power to minister the gospel. It’s amazing but true: God chooses the foolish, the weak, the low and despised to shame the powerful, so no human can boast in God’s presence (I Corinthians 1:27-29). Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

Abide in Christ through prayer, reading the Bible and doing what it says. Recognize your weaknesses and work to eradicate them, but don’t let them hold you back from service for Him to others. Then pray for your newly-elected politicians to seek God and rely on His power and grace.

Recommended Reading: John 15:1-11

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Trust God’s Grace

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Joyce meyer

I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.

—Galatians 2:21 NKJV

I discovered years ago that every time I became frustrated it was because I was trying to do something myself, in my own strength, instead of putting my faith in God and receiving His grace (help). Receiving a revelation of God’s grace was a major breakthrough for me. I was always “trying” to do something and leaving God out of the loop. I tried to change myself and my husband and children, tried to get healed, tried to prosper, tried to make my ministry grow, and tried to change every circumstance in my life that I did not like. I was frustrated because none of my trying was producing any good results.

God will not permit us to succeed without Him. If He did, we would take the credit that is due Him. If we could change people, we would be changing them to suit our purposes, which would steal their freedom to make their own choices. I finally learned to pray for what I thought needed to be changed and let God do it His way in His timing. When I began trusting His grace, I entered His rest. Grace is always flowing to us in every situation, but it must be received by faith.

Lord, give me the understanding of Your grace that frees me from doing things in my own strength. Help me to do my part and rest in the fact that You will do the rest. Amen.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — A Picture Of Humility

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Our Daily Bread

John 13:1-11

God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. —James 4:6

During the Easter season, my wife and I attended a church service where the participants sought to model the events that Jesus and His disciples experienced on the night before He was crucified. As part of the service, the church staff members washed the feet of some of the church volunteers. As I watched, I wondered which was more humbling in our day—to wash another person’s feet or to have someone else wash yours. Both those who were serving and those being served were presenting distinct pictures of humility.

When Jesus and His disciples were gathered for the Last Supper (John 13:1-20), Jesus, in humble servanthood, washed His disciples’ feet. But Simon Peter resisted, saying, “You shall never wash my feet!” Then Jesus answered, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me” (13:8). Washing their feet was not a mere ritual. It could also be seen as a picture of our need of Christ’s cleansing—a cleansing that will never be realized unless we are willing to be humble before the Savior.

James wrote, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). We receive God’s grace when we acknowledge the greatness of God, who humbled Himself at the cross (Phil. 2:5-11). —Bill Crowder

My faith looks up to Thee,

Thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine;

Now hear me when I pray, take all my sin away,

O let me from this day be wholly Thine! —Palmer

The most powerful position on earth is kneeling before the Lord of the universe.

Bible in a year: Psalms 123-125; 1 Corinthians 10:1-18

Insight

In ancient Israel, the task of foot-washing was necessary because of the open shoes worn in streets filled with dirt and refuse. Because it was such an unpleasant task, it was usually assigned to the lowest servant in the house. Here Jesus Himself performed this menial job (John 13:3-5).

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Amazing Grace

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Joyce meyer

I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. —Galatians 2:21

In today’s scripture, the apostle Paul said that if he did not receive the grace of God, he would be treating His gift as insignificant. In the Amplified Bible, the first part of this verse says, “I do not treat God’s gracious gift as something of minor importance and defeat its very purpose. I do not set aside and invalidate and frustrate the grace (unmerited favor) of God.” In other words, the grace of God is so awesome and so wonderful that we need to highly esteem it, deeply appreciate it and allow it to work in our lives.

I discovered years ago that every time I became frustrated, the reason was that I was trying to do something in my own strength instead of putting my faith in God and receiving His grace (help). I was frustrated and struggling with something most of the time in the early years of my walk with the Lord. Receiving a revelation of God’s grace was a major breakthrough for me. Prior to that, I was constantly trying to change myself, change other people, get something I wanted, or change some circumstance I did not like. I was extremely frustrated because none of my efforts ever produced good results.

Maybe now is a time when you need to embrace God’s grace in your life. He wants you to stop trying to do things in your own strength and simply rest in Him, trusting that He will handle everything in the best possible way. Our works of the flesh (us trying to do God’s job) will always produce frustration, but receiving grace (God’s power to do what needs to be done) always produces peace and joy.

God will not permit us to succeed in life without His help. If He did, we would take the credit that is due Him. Because He loves us, He wants to pour out His grace in our lives. When we receive it, we will be thankful, joyful and amazed by what He accomplishes on our behalf.

Love God Today: Have you been frustrating the grace of God that is available to you? Relax, receive it and let God’s grace do for you what you cannot do for yourself.

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God’s Grace

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Max Lucado

I’ve never been surprised by God’s judgment, but I’m still stunned by His grace! God’s judgment has never been a problem for me. Lightning bolts on Sodom…fire on Gomorrah… good job, God! Discipline is easy for me to swallow; it’s logical to assimilate.

But God’s grace?  Anything but. Peter denied Christ before he preached Christ. The thief on the cross was hell-bent and hung out to die one minute, then heaven-bound and smiling the next. I challenge you to find one story in the Bible of a person who came to God seeking grace and did not find it. I dare you. God gives a lot more grace than we would ever imagine.

We could do the same. I’m not for watering down the truth or compromising the Gospel. One thing is for sure. When we get to heaven, we’ll be surprised at some of the folks we see.  And some of them will be surprised when they see us.

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – You Are His

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Max Lucado

God’s grace defines you! Society labels you like a can on an assembly line. Stupid. Unproductive. Slow learner. Fast talker. Quitter. But as grace infiltrates, criticism disintegrates. You know you aren’t who they say you are. You are who God says you are.  Spiritually alive; heavenly positioned…“seated with him in the heavenly realms” and “one with Jesus Christ.”

Of course, not all labels are negative. Some people regard you as clever, successful. But it doesn’t compare with being “seated with him in the heavenly realms!” God creates the Christian’s resume! Grace defines who you are. The parent you can’t please is as mistaken as the doting uncle you can’t disappoint.

Listen, God wrote your story. He cast you in his drama. You hang as God’s work of art, a testimony in his gallery of grace. According to Him, you are His. Period.

From Cast of Characters

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Enough of This Frenzy

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Max Lucado

Attempts at “self-salvation” guarantee nothing but exhaustion. We scamper and scurry, trying to please God, collecting merit badges and brownie points, scowling at anyone who questions our accomplishments.  The result?  The weariest people on earth.  We so fear failure that we create the image of perfection.  Call us the church of hound-dog faces and slumped shoulders. Stop it!  Once and for all, enough of this frenzy!

Hebrews 13:9 says, “Your hearts should be strengthened by God’s grace, not by obeying rules.”  In Matthew 11:28 Jesus promises, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

There is no fine print. A second shoe isn’t going to drop. God’s promise has no hidden language. Let grace happen. You have His unending affection. Stretch yourself out in the hammock of grace. You can rest now!

From GRACE

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – A Spiritual Heart Transplant

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Max Lucado

Grace!  The bank gives us a grace period.  The seedy politician falls from grace. Musicians speak of a grace note.  We use the word for hospitals, baby girls, kings and pre-meal prayers.  We talk as though we know what grace means.

You turn the page of your Bible and look at the words.  You might as well be gazing at a cemetery.  Lifeless, stony.  Nothing moves you.  But you don’t dare close the book, no sirree.  You dare not miss a deed for fear that God will erase your name.

God’s grace has a drenching about it.  Grace comes after you.  It re-wires you.  From insecure to God secure.  From regret riddled to better-because-of-it.  From afraid to die to ready to fly.

As Paul said in Galatians 2:20:  “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”

You might call it a spiritual heart transplant!

From GRACE

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Grace Comes After You

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Max Lucado

God’s grace!  It has a wildness about it.  A white-water, rip-tide, turn-you-upside-downess about it. Grace comes after you!

Some years ago I underwent a heart procedure.  I asked the surgeon,

“You’re burning the interior of my heart, right?”

“Correct.”

“You intend to kill the misbehaving cells, yes?”

“That’s my plan.”

“As long as you’re in there, could you take your little blowtorch to some of my greed, selfishness, superiority, and guilt?”

He smiled, “Sorry, that’s out of my pay grade!”

But it’s not out of God’s!  We’d be wrong to think this change happens overnight. We’d be equally wrong to assume change never happens at all. It may come in fits and spurts—but it comes!

Titus 2:11 says, “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared.”

You just never know when grace will seep in.  Could you use some?

From GRACE

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – The Joy of God’s Peace

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John MacArthur

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:2).

Paul’s wonderful benediction for grace and peace was ever on his heart. He offered it in each of his epistles and expounded on it throughout his writings.

Grace is the outpouring of God’s goodness and mercy on undeserving mankind. Every benefit and provision you receive is by God’s grace. That’s why Peter called it “the manifold grace of God” (1 Pet. 1:10). Just as your trials are manifold or multifaceted, so God’s multifaceted and all-sufficient grace is correspondingly available to sustain you.

Peace, as used in Philippians 1:2, speaks of the calmness and absence of strife characteristic of one in whom God’s grace is at work. The New Testament also links it to mercy, hope, joy, and love. To experience those graces is to experience true peace.

It is said that when Bible translators were seeking a word or phrase for “peace” in the language of the Chol Indians of South Mexico, they discovered that the words for “a quiet heart” gave just the meaning they were looking for. That’s an appropriate parallel because peace guards the soul against anxiety and strife, granting solace and harmony.

Colossians 3:15 says, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.” In Philippians 4:6-7 Paul says to “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Although “grace to you and peace” was a common greeting in the early church, it was an uncommon experience in the unbelieving world. The same is true today because only those who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ receive grace and peace.

 

Are you experiencing God’s peace? Remember, nothing you face today is beyond the purview of God’s all- sufficient grace and surpassing peace.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Read Ephesians 2:14-18 and praise God for Christ, who is your peace, and for His gracious work on your behalf.

For Further Study:

What is the first step to acquiring peace (John 16:33; 1 Pet. 5:14)?

What does the God of peace desire to accomplish within you (1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 13:20-21)?

 

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Unintentional

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Our Daily Bread

Leviticus 4:1-3; Romans 3:21-26

If a person sins unintentionally . . . let him offer to the LORD . . . a young bull without blemish. —Leviticus 4:2-3

When I was returning our grandson Alex to his family after a visit, the traffic seemed especially challenging. Fast-maneuvering cars blocked me from the correct toll lane, forcing me to go through a lane where only cars with a prepaid pass are permitted, which I didn’t have. Alex told me that my license plate would be photographed and a ticket might be mailed to me. I was frustrated because a penalty would have to be paid even though my infraction was unintentional.

For the ancient Jews, a violation of God’s laws committed even in ignorance was taken very seriously. The Old Testament recognized and provided for unintentional sins through appropriate sacrifices: “If a person sins unintentionally against any of the commandments . . . let him offer to the LORD . . . a young bull without blemish as a sin offering” (Lev. 4:2-3).

Old Testament sacrifices were more than a reminder that accidental wrongs have consequences. They were given in anticipation that God in His grace would provide atonement even for wrongs we didn’t realize we were doing. He did this through the death of Jesus in our place. God’s grace is far greater than we could ever imagine! —Dennis Fisher

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that is greater than all our sin. —Johnston

Grace is getting what we do not deserve. Mercy is not receiving what we do deserve.

Bible in a year: Leviticus 4-5; Matthew 24:29-51

 

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The prodigal’s return

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“But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” Luke 15:20

Suggested Further Reading: John 3:16-21

When the light of God’s grace comes into your heart, it is something like the opening of the windows of an old cellar that has been shut up for many days. Down in that cellar, which has not been opened for many months, are all kinds of loathsome creatures, and a few sickly plants blanched by the darkness. The walls are dark and damp with the trail of slugs and snails; it is a horrid filthy place into which no one would willingly enter. You may walk there in the dark very securely, and except now and then for the touch of some slimy creature, you would not believe the place was so bad and filthy. Open those shutters, clean a pane of glass, let a little light in, and now see how a thousand noxious things have made this place their habitation. It was not the light that made this place so horrible, but it was the light that showed how horrible it was before. So let God’s grace just open a window and let the light into a man’s soul, and he will stand astonished to see at what a distance he is from God. Yes, sir, today you think yourself second to none but the Eternal; you fancy that you can approach his throne with steady step; it is but a little that you have to do to be saved; you imagine that you can accomplish it at any hour, and save yourself upon your dying bed as well as now. Ah! sir, if you could be made to be in appearance what you are in reality, then you would see that you are far enough from God even now, and so far from him that unless the arms of his grace were stretched out to bring you to himself; you must perish in your sin.

For meditation: Even the believer has sins of which he is ignorant (Psalm 19:12). God knows all about them. Thank him that he came in the person of his only-begotten Son to meet us when we were far off and to bring us back to himself (Ephesians 2:13).

Sermon no. 176

7 February (1858)

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The treasure of grace

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CharlesSpurgeon

“The forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Ephesians 1:7

Suggested Further Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:5-11

Paul proclaimed the grace of God—free, full, sovereign, eternal grace—beyond all the glorious company of the apostles. Sometimes he soared to such amazing heights, or dived into unsearchable depths, that even Peter could not follow him. He was ready to confess that “our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given unto him,” had written “some things hard to be understood.” Jude could write of the judgments of God, and reprove with terrible words, “ungodly men, who turned the grace of God into lasciviousness.” But he could not tell out the purpose of grace as it was planned in the eternal mind, or the experience of grace as it is felt and realized in the human heart, like Paul. There is James again: he, as a faithful minister, could deal very closely with the practical evidences of Christian character. And yet he seems to keep very much on the surface; he does not bore down deep into the substratum on which must rest the visible soil of all spiritual graces. Even John, most favoured of all those apostles who were companions of our Lord on earth—sweetly as the beloved disciple writes of fellowship with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ—even John does not speak of grace so richly as Paul, in whom God first showed forth “all long-suffering as a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.” Not, indeed, that we are at liberty to prefer one apostle above another. We may not divide the Church, saying, I am of Paul, I of Peter, I of Apollos; but we may acknowledge the instrument which God was pleased to use; we may admire the way in which the Holy Ghost fitted him for his work; we may, with the churches of Judea, glorify God in Paul.

For meditation: Paul always looked back with amazement when he recalled God’s grace to him, the chief of sinners, who so persecuted the Church (1 Corinthians 15:9-10; Galatians 1:13,15; Ephesians 3:7,8; 1 Timothy 1:13-15). Our gratitude and love to God can sadly be limited by our failure to realise how sinful we really are and how much he has forgiven us (Luke 7:41-47).

Sermon no. 295

22 January (1860)

 

 

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Enjoying God’s Forgiveness

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 John MacArthur

In Christ we have “the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of [God’s] grace, which He lavished upon us” (Eph. 1:7-8).

On Israel’s Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) the high priest selected two goats. One was sacrificed; the other set free. Before releasing the second goat, the high priest symbolically placed the sins of the people on it by laying his hands on its head. This “scapegoat” was then taken a great distance from camp and released–never to return again (Lev. 16:7-10).

The Greek word translated “forgiveness” in Ephesians 1:7 means “to send away.” It speaks of cancelling a debt or granting a pardon. Like the scapegoat, Christ carried away our sins on the cross.

In Christ, God cancelled your debt and pardoned your transgressions, and He did so “according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon [you]” (v. 8). That means you have infinite forgiveness because God’s grace is infinite. You cannot sin beyond God’s grace because where sin abounds, grace super-abounds (Rom. 5:20).

God delights in lavishing His grace upon you. Such grace is overflowing and cannot be contained. You are forgiven for every sin–past, present, and future. You will never be condemned by God or separated from Him (Rom. 8:1-2, 31-39). Even when you fail, God doesn’t hold your sins against you. Christ bore them all so that you might know the joy and peace that freedom from sin and guilt brings.

Let the reality of God’s grace fill your heart with joy and assurance. Let the responsibility of glorifying Him fill you with awe and reverence. Let this day be a sacrifice of praise and service to Him.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Thank God for His infinite grace and forgiveness.

Look for opportunities to extend forgiveness to others.

For Further Study:

Read Matthew 18:21-35

What characteristic marked the wicked slave?

What was the king’s response to the wicked slave’s actions?

What point was Jesus making? How does it apply to you?