Grace is Fundamental

I recently read a story that during the early days of the Civil War a young Union Solider was arrested on charges of desertion.

The solider was found guilty and sentenced to death.

President Lincoln heard about the soldier’s sentence, felt compassion, and decided to offer him a pardon.

The solider returned to the army, continued to fight for his country, but was killed in the war’s final battle. When his body was retrieved they found in his breast pocket, the folded and well worn letter of pardon signed by the President.

The symbolism is striking. Close to his heart were the Great Emancipator’s words that emboldened him to return to his ranks and keep fighting until the end.

I’m that solider. And so are you.

We’ve sinned. Transgressed God’s law. Failed our fellow soldiers. And even, at times, have gone AWOL. (Rom. 3:23).

Yet, God, The Greatest Emancipator, issues pardon for our wrongs. His grace emboldens our courage to begin again, the power to continue the fight, and the peace of mind that provides confidence.

Grace is fundamental to our faith. And its message is close to our heart.

In fact without God’s grace, our faith would be feeble, futile, and fruitless. But the Bible assures us grace’s reality, and of its sufficiency. In his commentary on Ephesians, Dr. Charles G. Caldwell explained it this way:

“Grace is undeserved blessing. Grace manifest God’s attitude of love and pity for sinful man in relieving him of guilt. To justify such relief by grace, God provided the sacrifice of His Son. To inform us of his grace, God provided special revelation. To teach us how to receive his grace, God provided the gospel made known in that revelation.”

Grace is such an extraordinary topic, this post is hardly a cliff notes version of the scope and profundity of its grandeur. But in bullet form here are a few things I know about grace.

• God is the giver of grace (Eph. 3:2).
• Grace is a gift. I cannot earn it (Rom. 5:15).
• Grace is embodied in Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:14).
• Grace is revealed and enunciated in the gospel (Ax 20:24).
• Grace changes lives (Eph. 2:1-10).
• Grace is sufficient for any trial or trouble I may face (2 Cor. 12:9).
• Grace is given to the humble (Jas. 4:6).
• My works do not merit grace (Rom. 11:6).
• Grace empowers us to give up wicked ways and worldly desires (Titus 2:11-4)
• Grace can be perverted and twisted into a license for ungodliness (Jude 4)
• Grace motivates me to be gracious in word and in deed (Col. 4:6; Ax 11:23).
• Through grace I have redemption and receive justification (Rom. 3:24).
• Grace can shape me into the person God wants me to be (1Cor. 15:10).
• I can fall from grace (Gal. 6:4).
• I am saved by grace (Eph. 2:8).

In his book, Grace Does That, Perry Hall offers this summary of grace.

“Grace can give us confidence to approach God (Heb 4), motivate us beyond our natural ability and common sensibility (2 Cor 8-9), obligate us to obedience (Rom. 6), cause us to be fruitful through a better and deeper understanding of Christ (Col 1); rekindle our fire of faith (2 Tim. 1-2), cause us to burst out in worshipful song (Col. 3), sustain us through disappointing times–including when we are disappointed with God (2 Cor. 12), and vastly more.”

“I did not even mention the most common thing grace can do, which is save us (Eph 2:8). Grace is not only received it is used. Grace is not only theological, it is practical. Grace is to be used in speech, in worship, and in life.”

Indeed, grace is fundamental to our faith. Julia Harriette Johnston’s Hymn “Grace Greater Than Our Sin,” embodies and captures the greatness of God’s grace with these lyrics:

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount out-poured–
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.

Sin and despair, like the sea-waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater– yes, grace untold–
Points to the Refuge, the mighty Cross.

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
All who are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive

Refrain:
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!

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman