Grace

Intro:

If you were with us a couple of weeks ago, you might remember that we talked about one of the most beautiful and comforting attributes of God—His mercy.

Mercy is what holds back the judgment we deserve. It’s God saying, “I see your pain. I see your failure. And I’m not going to give you what justice demands. I’m going to show you compassion instead.”

Well, today, we’re looking at an attribute that’s closely connected to mercy—so closely, in fact, that the two often show up side by side in Scripture. And that’s God’s grace.

Mercy and grace are like two sides of the same coin. They go hand in hand—but they’re not exactly the same. If mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve… then grace is God giving us what we don’t deserve.

Both come from the same loving heart of God—but grace takes it a step further. It’s not just about withholding judgment… it’s about pouring out favor. And that’s what we’re going to dig into today.

We sing about it… whole books have been devoted just to explaining it… We talk about it all the time…

But… Do we really understand what grace is?

We acknowledge it. We repeat it. But have we let the truth of it really sink in?

For many of us, grace has become a Christian catchphrase—a word we use without thinking, a concept we assume we already get. But grace is so much more than a word. It’s more than a feel-good idea… Grace is at the center of everything God does for us.

God’s grace is why any of us are here today. It’s why we’re forgiven. It’s why we have hope. It’s why we can live free and walk forward—even after we've fallen.

But if we’re not careful… we can treat grace like a get-out-of-jail-free card instead of the life-transforming power that it is.

We can talk about it without ever really experiencing it. We can sing about it without ever letting it change us.

So today, we’re going to slow down and take a deeper look at this amazing attribute we call grace…

There are many verses that talk about God’s grace and there are many accounts in Scripture that exemplify His Grace… and today we are going to look at one of those…

Turn with me to John 8… … and in the beginning of John chapter 8, we find the account of a woman who has been caught in adultery…

(Read vv. 1-11)

Meat:

Now, I know that I could do an entire sermon series about God’s Grace... and each one of the points that I make today, could be the main topic of individual sermons all on their own… but I want to show you 4 of the main principles of God’s Grace this morning that we are clearly seen in the passage that we just read…

First of all…

God’s Grace Is...

1. Freely Given

Let’s be honest—most of us are wired to believe we have to earn everything in life. If you want a paycheck, you work. If you want respect, you prove yourself. If you want trust, you show you deserve it. That’s how the world works. And unfortunately, that mindset often bleeds into how we think about God.

We start to believe that if we want His blessing, His love, His forgiveness—we have to somehow deserve it. Like we’ve got to pray enough, serve enough, clean ourselves up, and finally become “good Christians” before God will give us anything.

But grace doesn’t work that way.

You…

1.1 Don’t have to Ask for it

I’m not sure if you caught that as I read through the account… but… the woman never asked Jesus for help.

She didn’t cry out, “Lord, have mercy!”

She didn’t fall at His feet and beg for forgiveness.

She didn’t even get the chance to speak before she was thrown in front of Him like evidence in a courtroom.

And yet—Jesus stepped in.… He defended her.… He protected her.… He extended grace to her before she ever asked for it.

We often think grace is something we receive after we make the first move—after we say the right prayer, or show the right kind of remorse… But this woman shows us something different. Grace doesn’t start with us… —it starts with God.

This woman didn’t ask for grace—but Jesus gave it anyway… …

Grace is freely given, so that means… you…

1.2 Cannot Earn it

Grace is completely unearned. It’s not a paycheck for good behavior—it’s a gift for people who could never afford it. And the woman in John 8 is a perfect example.

She had nothing to offer. No excuses. No defense. No moral track record to point to. She stood in front of Jesus completely exposed—guilty by the law, condemned by the crowd…

And yet… He gave her grace… Freely... Right there in the dirt.

Ephesians 2:8–9 NKJV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

That’s how God works. He doesn’t wait for us to clean ourselves up—He steps into our mess and meets us, right where we are.

Grace isn’t something we earn; it’s something He freely gives because that’s who He is.

And His Grace is freely given…

1.3 To Anyone who will Receive it

One of the most powerful truths about grace is that it’s available to anyone. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. It doesn’t matter how broken, addicted, ashamed, or far gone you feel—God’s grace is for you.

American, Hispanic, Jew, Muslim, Black, white or brown… God’s grace is for you…

The woman in our passage proves it… She had committed a sin that, under the law, carried the death penalty… She was guilty… Everyone around her knew it. And yet Jesus offered her grace—not because she deserved it, but because He came to give it.

But here’s what we need to understand: Grace is for everyone... but it doesn’t automatically save everyone…

Some people believe that because God is gracious, everyone will automatically be saved in the end—no matter what they believe or how they respond to Him. That sounds comforting, but it’s not what the Bible teaches.

Again, Ephesians 2:8 says… “For by grace you have been saved… … through faith..." … Faith in what?…

Faith in Jesus Christ.

Faith that He is who He said He is — the Son of God.

Faith that His death on the cross paid the full price for your sin.

Faith that He rose again, conquering death, and now offers you eternal life.

That’s what saves… Not your effort… Not your goodness… Salvation if By Grace Alone, Through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone…

Think about it: Jesus offered grace to the woman, but what if she had ignored His words? What if she had brushed off His invitation and gone right back to her old life?… Grace was still extended—but it wouldn’t have changed her unless she accepted it.

The same is true for us.

Grace is powerful. It’s transformational. It’s the very thing that saves and restores… But it only changes those who are willing to receive it—who humble themselves and say, “Yes, Lord, I need You.”

God’s grace is freely given to anyone who will receive it…

The second principle that I want you to see is that… God’s Grace Is…

2. Part of His Sovereign Plan

Sometimes we treat grace like it’s just God’s emergency backup plan—like He had all these rules in place, and when humanity screwed it up, He thought, “Well, I guess I’ll just have to be gracious.”

But grace isn’t an afterthought. It’s not Plan B. Grace has always been part of God’s bigger plan from the very beginning.

2 Timothy 1:9 NKJV

9 [God] has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,

God gave grace before time even started—before creation, before the fall, before the first sin…

I’d even say that creation itself was an act of grace — because God already knew we’d mess it up, yet He chose to create us anyway…

God, knowing that humanity would fall into sin, by His Grace, already had a plan…

2.1 To Pay our Sin Debt

From Genesis to Revelation, grace runs like a thread through the whole story of Scripture. It’s not just something God does—it’s who He is.

And the grace that Jesus extended to the woman, caught in a adultery, wasn’t some spontaneous moment of compassion. It was part of the very reason He came.

John 3:17 NKJV

17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

That moment in the temple courtyard—the woman standing alone in her guilt, the crowd ready to condemn, and Jesus offering grace and mercy—that wasn’t just a simple story of compassion… That was a glimpse of the gospel… It was a snapshot of God’s eternal plan to rescue broken people through the gift of grace.

God planned from the beginning to show us grace through Jesus. He knew we would need it. He knew we couldn’t save ourselves. So He made a way—not by lowering His standards, but by sending His Son to meet them for us.

So when I say God’s grace is part of His Sovereign plan, I mean that Jesus didn’t come to write off our sin—He came to pay for it… … “For by Grace you have been saved...”

The third principle is basically the definition of Grace…

God’s Grace is…

3. Receiving what we Don’t Deserve

And I don’t mean in a negative way…

Back in 1972 there was a man named Richard Phillips who was wrongfully convicted of murder and spent 46 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

Think about that — nearly half a century of his life was taken from him. No amount of apology or money can give those years back. He didn’t deserve the sentence he received. That’s injustice… which is the opposite of grace.

Grace is getting what you don’t deserve in the best way.

How about the woman caught in adultery?

She had no defense.

According to the law, she deserved to be punished.

The stones in the crowd’s hands were legally justified.

But Jesus stepped in and gave her what she didn’t deserve… He gave her mercy, protection, and a second chance… That’s grace.

And the truth is—we’re no different. We may not have been caught in the act like this woman was, but every one of us has sinned. We’ve fallen short. We’ve rebelled against God in our own ways.

Yet God, in His incredible grace, gives us what we could never earn and certainly don’t deserve.

Through His Grace we Receive…

3.1 Forgiveness - Not Condemnation

By all accounts, the woman deserved to be condemned. She had broken the law. The evidence was undeniable. The crowd was ready to carry out judgment.

But Jesus didn’t condemn her—He forgave her.

And the same is true for us. We’ve all sinned. We all deserve judgment…

But Romans 8:1 says…

Romans 8:1 NASB95

1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Through grace, God doesn’t just let us off the hook—He removes our guilt entirely. He takes the punishment we deserve and places it on Jesus at the cross, so that we can walk away free, clean, and forgiven.

By God’s Grace we also receive…

3.2 Adoption, Not Rejection

We were spiritual orphans—cut off from God by sin, deserving to be cast out. But instead of turning His back on us, God opened His arms to us… He didn’t just forgive us—He adopted us!

Listen to what the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 1:5

Ephesians 1:5 NASB95

5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,

Think about that—God didn’t stop at saving us from punishment. He went further and said, “I want you to be Mine.”

He brought us into His household, gave us His name, and called us His children.

Romans 8:17 NASB95

17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

By grace, we’ve been written into the will. Everything Jesus has access to—we share in it. That’s how deep God’s grace goes… He doesn’t just erase our sin—He gives us a new identity.

We’re not rejected… We’re not strangers trying to earn God’s love.… We’re part of His family now… … That’s the power of grace…

And as God’s adopted Children… we Receive…

3.3 Eternal Life, Not Separation

By nature, because of sin, we were headed toward eternal separation from God. That’s what we earned… That’s what His justice demanded…

The Bible is clear…

Romans 6:23 NKJV

23 For the wages of sin is death...

Not just physical death, but spiritual separation from the presence of God for all eternity… That’s the path every one of us was on…

But grace changes everything!

Instead of giving us what we deserved—God offered us the opposite… … Through Jesus, He gives us eternal life.

Romans 6:23 NKJV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This eternal life isn’t just a “someday” promise in heaven—it’s a present reality and a future guarantee.

The moment you trust in Christ, eternal life begins. You’re brought into fellowship with God now, and you’re promised forever with Him.

That’s not something we could ever earn—it’s the result of God’s amazing grace.

And God doesn’t just promise eternal life—He seals it.

Ephesians 1:13–14 NASB95

13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

God doesn’t leave us guessing. His grace secures us. The Holy Spirit is like God’s down payment—His guarantee that what He started, He will finish… not because we earned it, but because grace made a way.

God’s Grace is…

Freely Given

Part of His Sovereign plan

Receiving what we don’t deserve…

And finally… God’s Grace is…

4. A Teacher

Grace isn’t just something that saves us—it’s something that shapes us… It doesn’t just forgive our past; it begins to transform our future.

God’s grace met the woman caught in adultery at her lowest point… caught in sin, dragged in shame, standing in front of a blood thirsty crowd… waiting to be stoned by, if I may use my sanctified imagination,… she was waiting to be stoned by the very men in which she had committed the adulterous acts with… who would’ve been guilty of the same crime and deserving of the same punishment…

These men are accusing this woman… but in reality they are trying to trap Jesus so that they can accuse Him of either disregarding the Law of Moses if He shows her mercy, or of being harsh and unloving if He calls for her execution. It was never about justice—it was about setting a snare… and she was the bait.

But Jesus wasn’t caught off guard—He was in complete control…

Start in the latter half of v.6…

John 8:6–9 “... But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

We are not told exactly what He wrote… but we can get an idea...

7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”

8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

And Again… We are not told exactly what He wrote… but we can get an idea...

9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.”

It’s very possible that Jesus began writing the names of the very men who had sinned with this woman… After all, that phrase—“being convicted by their conscience”—is a pretty strong clue…

The fact is… Whatever He wrote must have struck a nerve. Their silence is telling. One by one, they walked away—not because of mercy or compassion for the woman… , but because of guilt and conviction…

v.10…

John 8:10–11 “10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.””

Jesus didn’t just spare this woman’s life… He taught her how to live… His grace doesn’t leave us where it found us—it invites us into something better.

Titus 2:11–12 NKJV

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,

God’s Grace becomes our Teacher…

It teaches us…

4.1 To Walk Away From Sin

Jesus commanded the Woman… “Go and sin no more”

Grace empowers us to walk a new path… True grace doesn’t encourage us to stay in sin—it teaches us how to leave it behind.

God’s Grace teaches us…

4.2 Who We Are Now

The woman was known publicly for what she had done, but Jesus gave her a new identity… She wasn't just “the adulterous woman” anymore—she was someone who had encountered the mercy and grace of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

When we experience God’s grace, we learn and can say with confidence: “I am no longer defined by my worst mistake. I am now who God says I am.”… One of His Children…

I believe this adulterous woman found out that God’s Grace is a teacher… and it leads us into a changed life.

Closing:

Maybe you came in today feeling like that woman—ashamed, exposed, carrying the weight of something you can’t undo.

Maybe you’ve been running from God, thinking you’ve got to clean yourself up first… or maybe you’ve been trying to earn what He’s always offered for free.

Listen, Jesus already knows everything about you—your failures, your regrets, your secrets—and He still stoops down in the dirt to meet you with mercy and grace.

And if you’ve never fully trusted in Jesus—if you’ve never received that gift of grace for yourself—then today is your day.

Because of Grace, Jesus went to the cross to pay the price for your sin, and He rose from the dead to offer you new life—eternal life. And He offers it freely… right now.

There was a man who had once lived a life completely opposed to the message of God’s grace… He was born in 1725 in England. His mother was a devout Christian and taught him the Bible from an early age, but she died when he was just seven years old.

After her death, this boy went out to sail the sea with his father, who was a merchant ship captain. He eventually joined the British Navy but was rebellious and unruly. At one point, he tried to desert and was punished severely.

He eventually found work on slave ships, transporting enslaved Africans across the Atlantic. He was deeply involved in the slave trade, even becoming captain of his own slave ship… By his own admission, he was a hard-hearted man—vile in speech and action, and spiritually dead.

In 1748, during a voyage from Africa to England, his ship encountered a terrible storm off the coast of Ireland. The ship was taking on water and seemed destined to sink.

In the midst of the chaos, this vile, hard-hearted man, cried out to God for mercy—something he hadn’t done in years… That moment became a turning point in his life.

Though the ship survived and he gradually recovered from the storm, it took some time before he fully left the slave trade. He continued working in it for a few more years, but the seeds of conviction had been planted.

Eventually, he left the sea entirely and began studying Christian theology. In 1764, he became an ordained minister in the Church of England and began preaching the gospel he had once mocked.

As he prepared a sermon, to be delivered on New Years day, January 1, 1773, based on the Words of King David, who said in 1 Chronicles 17… “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me this far?”… John Newton penned the words…

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see”

If God’s grace was sufficient enough to save a man like John Newton.… … If God’s Grace is sufficient enough to save a man like Tom Ekkel… Then it is certainly sufficient enough for your salvation as well.

I trust you’ve received this grace—that you’ve come to Jesus just as you are, with nothing to offer but your need. That you’ve turned from your sin, reached out in faith, and taken hold of Him with all your heart.

I hope that you can sing with confidence…

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see”

Prayer: