January 19, 1949 LIVING BY THE GRACE OF GOD E ph . 2 :4 -1 0 ; 2 C or . 1 2 :9 ; 2 P et . 3 :1 8
"And the- angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring yon.good tidings of great joy, which- shall be to all people. For unto you is bom this day in the city of David a Scrriour, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10,11). reign over us.” They want no restrictions on their actions. They want no regula tion o f their lives. They are enemies of God’s truth and refuse to obey His com mandments. They are not subject to the law o f God and do not wish to be. They live lives o f resistance to God and His ways. Grace comes to such persons re vealing the Lordship o f Christ and His saving power.
T RUE Christianity is based on the extraordinary attribute o f G od ’ s grace. By this sovereign grace, salvation was planned by the loving heart of God t h r o u g h infinite mercy, for a sinful world. All of us deserve God’s wrath, but we all may enjoy His loving kindness. Christ Jesus is the Saviour who gave His life for His enemies and is willing to save His foes. He died for those who treated Him the worst. His desire is to make them His best. No other religion offers God’s grace and God’s mercy. Most of them defile and nullify God’s grace by man’s works. W e N eed G race B ecause W e A re G uilty R om . 3 :24 All men are lost until they receive Christ as Saviour. “ He that believeth not is condemned already” {John 3 :18). A condemned man does not need jus tice; he has already received it in his sentence to death. What the con demned man does need is grace. This grace must be first in the heart of the judge or the governor who because o f his mercy grants the pardon. The con demned person does not work for it; he certainly does not buy it. He cannot earn it and he does not merit it. Pardon is procured only through pure grace. W e N eed G race B ecause W e A re D ead E ph . 2 :1 The unsaved man is dead to God. God speaks to him but he does not answer. God commands him but he does not obey. God expresses His love to him but there is no response. The spiritually dead man does not recognize or manifest any inter est in the God of heaven. The Lord tells us that such a man is “ dead in sins.” I f he is to receive life so that he can walk with God and live for Him, then it must be by grace alone without merit or de sert. The dead man can do nothing to in fluence the heart o f the Life-giver. God sovereignly gives eternal life to the per son who trusts in His grace and mercy offered through His son. W e N eed G race B ecause W e A re B lind I sa . 4 2 :7 The unconverted man is blind. He can not see his own need. He cannot perceive the loveliness of Christ. He does not ap*- prehend his own guilt and defilement be fore God. He cannot understand the won ders of the Word o f God. He does not discern his end which is to be sent to the lake of fire. The Saviour came that He might give spiritual sight, for He is the Light o f the world which enlightens every man who comes into the world'..
Some do not want this light. They turn from it. They avoid it. They prefer to be spiritually blind and think that such ig norance is bliss. W e : N eed G race B ecause W e A re E nem ies o f G od R om . 5 :1 0 Not only are lost men dead, blind, and guilty, but they are opposed to God and to the laws o f God. Their language is “ we will not have this man [Christ] to
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