Continuing Michael’s message on God’s remarkable grace, he writes that there is a true story of a young Christian minister was called by his board of elders and they said, “We think you’ve been sloppy in your work.” The pastor felt discouraged and felt his anger rising when he heard this comment. Then their next statement was, “but we think you’re redeemable.” Even though this Parson felt discouraged, he was encouraged about redemption. They said, “we think you need a sabbatical.” The Reverend spent the next three months in prayer, meditation and bible study. As a young minister, these three months were the closest and sweetest months of fellowship with God he had ever experienced. Isaiah 40 says, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
God will give us grace when we humble ourselves under His Almighty hand. Therefore, receive not the grace of God in vain. To receive God’s grace means that we must forsake our pride. It’s not about me, it’s about Him. He’s given us this gift of salvation, the spirit of Christ in us, the hope of glory. Why? So that we would present our bodies a living sacrifice of praise, holy and wholly acceptable unto him which is our reasonable act of worship… and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
In Psalm 51, David’s prayer of repentance was, “Against thee and thee only have I sinned. Create in me a new heart O God. Deliver me from my iniquities and wash me with hyssop. Restore unto me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with thy free spirit.”
According to Romans 3:23, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Jesus said that in our flesh nature that we inherited from Adam, there dwells no good thing. We cannot help but sin and the wages of sin is death.
When the Apostle Peter said, Lord don’t wash my feet I’m not worthy. Jesus said, unless I wash your feet then you can have no part in me. We’re contaminated by our worldly nature, our sinful flesh desires and by our worldly environment. We’re washed from sin by Jesus Christ’s blood. He is the fountain of “living water”. In the Old Testament the blood of animal sacrifice was insufficient to temporarily cover for the sins of Israel. However, we’re cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. Jesus Christ is “the Lamb of God”. For He who was without sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him.
Jesus Christ was remarkable. He humbled Himself and drank the cup of sin and judgement on our behalf. He shed his innocent blood in exchange for our guilty blood. Therefore, thank God for His gracious gift. “You were bought with a price”: the precious blood of the Son of God. Because of Christ’s precious payment on our behalf, our value is that we are God’s dwelling place. As the Apostle Paul said, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of the Holy Spirit?”
This is remarkably amazing grace is in His unfailing love. This is God’s remarkable grace. For by grace are ye saved by faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, his poem, his magnum opus, his great work, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which he has foreordained that we should walk in them. Because of His remarkable grace, may we ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ, Michael
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