Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Special Services

Easter 2006

                                                             Message: ‘What’s So Amazing About Grace?’            Text: 1 Timothy 1:12-16

Introduction: I have a trivia question for you music buffs. Which song has been recorded by more artists, vocal and instrumental, than any other song ever written?
The answer is ‘Amazing Grace’. This hymn was written in 1779 by John Newton and was somewhat autobiographical in that he believed his life was a testimony of God’s amazing grace.
    •    Newton, before he placed his faith in Jesus, was admittedly a wicked and evil man. Among his sinful deeds, was captaining a ship that transported slaves from          Africa to America.
    •    God touched John Newton, opened his eyes not only to what he was doing, but also to see Jesus Christ for the very first time. John repented of his sin, and              asked Jesus into his heart
    •    By God’s Amazing Grace, John was forgiven all his sin and wicked deeds.
    •    By God’s Amazing grace, he was saved from an eternity in Hell.
    •    By God’s Amazing Grace John was promised eternal life in heaven.

Explanation: If you were to ask John Newton, he would say God’s grace is amazing! This time of the year we hear the word ‘grace’ often because of it’s connection with Easter. We sing songs like:
    •    ‘Wonderful Grace of Jesus’
    •    ‘Grace Greater Than All Our Sin’ and of course
    •    ‘Amazing Grace’

But ‘What’s so amazing about grace?’.John Newton answered that by writing the hymn, Amazing Grace. If I were to ask you that question this glorious Easter morning, could you answer it with some measure of comfort and confidence?

To understand the glory of Easter, we must come to terms with God’s grace. Grace is a concept that’s at the very center of Christianity. Without grace there is no faith, without grace there is no forgiveness, without grace there is no salvation and without grace there is no spiritual growth. So what is grace?

1. Grace Defined
    •    Grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense
    •    Grace is God’s freely given, unmerited favor toward the sinful, expressing forgiving, redeeming, restoring love toward the unworthy.
    •    Grace is something given that we need but will never deserve through our own efforts.

Grace as a biblical concept is complicated and not easy to define. But grace as a gift from God is easier to illustrate. So let me try.

ILL: Anyone play video games? In the games where if you don’t play well your character dies, what happens next. What happens when your video game character is killed off? He/she is restored. You get to start over again as if nothing ever happened.

That’s similar to God’s grace. When we fall, when we fail, when we sin, God forgives us and restore us to the place we were as if we have never sinned…hopefully a bit wiser.

ILL: Let’s say you were pulled over for speeding and the officer gave you a ticket. That’s not grace. You would just be getting what you deserve for speeding. It would be the penalty for your crime.

Another scenario. Officer pulls you over for speeding and tells you to slow down & let’s you go. Still not grace.

How about this? You get pulled over for speeding and the officer writes you a ticket but cuts the fine in half. Not grace.

Once more. You are pulled over for speeding (by the way, as a Christian you all really should slow down) Ok, the officer informs you of your crime, writes the ticket, with the full fine, and hands it to you. He then reaches out, takes the ticket back and signs his own name on the ‘I plead guilty line’. He then turns the ticket in with his name on it and pays the full amount of the fine with his own money. That’s GRACE!

And it’s what God does through Jesus.  He takes our sins (or crimes) upon Himself. He put his own name on the ‘I plead guilty line’. And he paid the fine with his own life. Why? Grace! (Warren Curry)

That’s what makes Easter glorious…God’s Amazing Grace…for you and me.

But let’s not just take my word for it…let’s take God’s Word for it. Open your Bibles to I Timothy 1:12 (pg. 903 in the Bible under the chair in front of you) There we will see God’s Amazing Grace displayed.

2. Grace Displayed
Read: 1 Timothy 1:12

What’s so amazing about grace? It gives us strength. If you ever hear someone tell you life as a Christian is always great, peaceful and without any troubles….run! Because it’s not true. Jesus told us:
    •    I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (Jn 16:33)

Being a Christian doesn’t remove your troubles. It just means God gives grace to make it through the troubles. The journey  to heaven as a Christian is not always smooth. There are ups and downs. We don’t always get answers to our questions right away. Sometimes our problems seem to linger longer than we like.

But God’s grace is always greater than any of our troubles. We have Jesus’ promise:
    •    My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Cor. 12:9)

What’s so amazing about grace? It gives us strength to face life’s difficulties.

Read: 1 Timothy 1:13

What’s so amazing about grace? It makes us all equal.
Paul was once a bad guy. His purpose in life was to destroy Christianity. He was guilty of killing many Christians and putting even more in prison just because they believed in Jesus.

Look, it doesn’t matter how bad you think you are…or how good for that matter. If God was willing to seek Paul out and save him, knowing the kind of guy he was, he will do it for anyone, regardless of their background

The forgiven and renewed Paul writing to his friend Titus said
    •    For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. (Titus 2:11)

To the Romans and to all here this morning he says
    •    ‘Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord, will be saved’ (Rom 10:13)

God’s grace is so amazing because it makes us all equal.

Read: 1 Timothy 1:14

What’s so amazing about grace? It’s abundant.
Many Christians believe they are saved by grace but attempt to live their lives without grace by self denial and discipline. In practice they are saying they are saved by grace but live by good works. It’s as if the ocean of God’s grace dried up after our salvation.

Sooner or later we are confronted with the painful truth of our inadequacy and insufficiency when it comes to spiritual growth and maturity as a Christian. We need to come to the place where we really get it…in all of life, in every part of our journey of faith, we need God’s grace. Everything Paul lacked in life and in ministry, God’s grace had more than amply supplied.

God’s grace is so amazing because the more we need it, the more God provides it.

Read: 1 Timothy 1:15-16

What’s so amazing about grace? It saves!
    •    Easter tells the story of Jesus coming innocently as a baby in Bethlehem and dying innocently on the Cross in Jerusalem.
    •    Easter tells the story of Jesus living a life of complete obedience to the Father and the Father raising him from the dead in complete victory.
    •    Easter tells the story of God’s love for those who have rebelled against him and of his amazing grace in sending Jesus to reclaim them for his own.

Paul, writing to the Christians in Ephesus said ‘It is by grace you are saved’. I once saw graffiti on a wall. It said ‘Are You Saved?’ It looked like someone later added ‘Saved from what?’ That is a question many people ask, especially at Easter.

What are we saved from?

God’s grace saves us from the penalty of our sin which is death.
    •    Our sin is rebellion against God and that deserves judgment. The Bible says ‘The soul that sins shall die’
    •    God’s grace says ‘There is now therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus’ (to those who are saved)
    •    God’s grace says ‘For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.’ (John 3:17)

God’s grace saves us from the penalty of our sin which is death.

God grace saves us from the power of sin.
    •    Every Christian has…things that temp them and cause them to fall, to give in to what they know is wrong, to sin.
    •    God’s grace says ‘No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can                   bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.’ (1 Corinthians 10:13)

God grace saves us from the power of sin.
God’s grace is so amazing because it saves us.
Conclusion

What’s so amazing about grace? It’s all about God and not about us.
Many Christians depend too much upon their own efforts in their journey of faith and not enough on trusting God and accepting his gift of amazing and abundant grace.

    •    Many people who are not Christians just can’t accept the truth that they can not do anything to save themselves, to go to heaven.
    •    They just can’t accept that when Jesus cried out from the cross ‘It is finished’ That it really is finished. The work of salvation is done.
    •    They just can see that God’s grace says all you need to do is believe.

Friends, the glory of Easter is that Jesus came into the world, he lived, he died on the cross and he rose from the dead…to save sinners…you and me. And by God’s grace lead us to the Father.

I believe with all my heart that no one is beyond the touch of God’s amazing grace. If you will only believe, you too will find God’s grace truly amazing!