The Simple Gospel-Amazing Grace

By Stan Cox

We sing the beautiful song, Amazing Grace. (And the sentiment is worthy.)

Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me,
I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind but now I see.

Thru many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come;
'Twas grace that brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me, His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.

When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun.

I am afraid that many of us really do not understand what this song is saying, or what God's grace truly is. In this article, I would like to attempt to eliminate these difficulties.

In order to do this, we need to define the word grace. The word grace means undeserved or unmerited favor. Grace is the opposite of merit. Grace and merit are best explained, with regard to man's salvation, as follows.

If a man believes that he can, in any way, earn or merit his salvation, he is sorely mistaken. In Romans 3:23, Paul wrote: "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Once a man sins, he forfeits his right to live with the Father throughout eternity. In effect, the sinner separates himself from God. When this occurs, as long as he remains outside of God's grace, he is without recourse. He can do nothing to earn his passage into heaven.

However, God loves man and does not want him to spend eternity in Hell. In order to spare man this final, deserved punishment, God made a way of escape. He gave us an opportunity to avoid Hell and reach Heaven. This is not to say that all men will go to Heaven. Unfortunately, most reject God's extended grace.

We cannot over-emphasize the power of God's grace.

The apostle Paul, this time in Ephesians 2:8-10, wrote, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." This passage teaches many things.

God's grace saves us. It is an undeserved gift from Deity.
This grace grants salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
It teaches us that man cannot merit or earn his salvation. We do not earn our salvation by working. This we have already discussed and hopefully shown to be true.

However, this passage does not teach that it is not necessary to obey in order to be saved or justified. Too many who read these verses, where Paul states that salvation is not of works, assume that means that obedience has nothing to do with salvation. Nothing is further from the truth. Paul was simply pointing out that when a man dies, if he goes to Heaven, it is because God gave Heaven to him as a gift, not because he earned it by his works. However, we must understand that obedience is man's way of accepting this proffered gift. You do not earn your salvation by works, but that does not mean that works of righteousness, or obedience, are not necessary.

James understood this, and wrote, in James 2:21-24, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only."

Let us not forget that we are saved only because God extended his grace in love, by sending His Son.
Let us not forget that if we make it to Heaven, it will not be because we earned, or paid, our way there, but because of God's freely offered gift.
And let us not forget our part in the salvation equation. His extension of grace teaches us that we have certain responsibilities to our God.

Notice Paul's words to Titus in Titus 2:11-12, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age..." God offered the gift, and it is up to us to accept it by displaying the obedient faith James described in his epistle.

How tragic it is that so many in the religious world fail to properly understand God's amazing grace. Many enemies of the Lord's church portray us as denying the need for God's grace. On many occasions, I've been told that works of obedience "negate God's grace." How can obeying the Father's will negate the grace He bestowed on us? No man will or can be saved without God's grace, but that does not negate or diminish the sinner's need to obey.

"So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do." (Luke 17:10)

All we can do is obey God's will from the heart and do our best to conform to it and make it our will. That does not mean we earn, merit, or obligate God to pay a debt of service. It does mean that we love Him enough to keep His commands and trust that, in the end, His grace will make the difference. (KMG)