The Gift: God's Amazing Grace

Intro: The Song We All Know (And the Story We Don’t)

Greetings Fresh Start family, and welcome to Monday Night Live! I’m going to give everyone a couple of minutes to log in, then jump right into our topic.

*Set timer for 2 min, then open with prayer.

Alright…let’s jump right into this. The text for our consideration is Eph 2:8-9. I’d love to dig into the prior verses for context & study, but for the sake of time we will focus on these verses- I encourage you to go back and read this whole chapter. His Word reads,

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” NASB (1995). (Eph 2:8–9)

I’d like to tell you a quick story about the song we all know, “Amazing Grace”. While it has been embraced by the Church globally, the song holds a special place in the Black church here in the USA. While you may know the song, you may not have heard the story of John Newton, the man who wrote it. Newton was a slave trader, and a non-believer. But in 1748, his ship got caught in a storm just off the coast of Ireland. Certain he would die, Newton cried out to God for mercy. He survived and, believing God spared him, became a Christian. 6 years later, he gave up the slave trade and entered the priesthood. During this time he wrote many hymns, one of them being “Amazing Grace”. Knowing his story gives us insight into the words which follow the famous chorus:

“‘Twas grace which taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed.”

Let me provide a simple definition for grace: it is God’s undeserved favor- meaning His unearned kindness, generosity, preferential treatment. Newton’s story exemplifies my first point:

Point 1: Grace is for the guilty.

Newton’s storm experience reminded me of Paul’s experience of the road to Damascus. Both were guilty of taking innocent lives; both were confronted by God, and both were given what they never deserved- a second chance. Their lives became an example of God’s grace…a beacon of hope for sinner who were hopelessly lost.

Point 2: Grace is costly.

God’s grace was given freely to you, but it wasn’t free. This is important, because it shows not only God’s commitment to love and mercy, but His commitment to justice as well. This is critical for the Christian to understand- both for their our understanding of God’s gift of salvation, but also as an apologetic answer to everyone who asks, “How can God forgive everyone who asks?” People want to know how the guilty can escape, because they subconsciously want to know if there’s a way for them to be freed. Only is Jesus do we see the perfect balance of God’s grace- we are forgiven for our sins- and God’s judgment- our debt has been paid in full by Christ- not just swept under the rug, which would make God less than perfect in His judgment.

Point 3: Grace is God’s Amazing Gift

Gifts are not earned; we have known this ever since we were kids. Some of our kids have gifts waiting for them that they don’t deserve! Perhaps the reason we are prone to give gifts- without considering the recipient’s worthiness- is because we know we have been given the greatest gift of all: Salvation through grace!