Grace: Salvation as God's Gift
| For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians2:8-9) |
Grace is defined as the wholly undeserved favour of God the Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. You and I are saved by the grace of God, we did not earn it because we fulfilled the law of God, or that we did all kinds of righteous deeds. We are saved because God, in the Person of Jesus Christ (God incarnate), paid the price of sin!
It is when we realise that we are wretched sinners, saved by the amazing grace of God that we in gratitude will seek to be partners in mission with God the Father, Son and Holy. We serve with God for the reason that we understand that His grace - is the gift of God.
John Newton was a wretched sinner who captained slave ships. He partook in the most evil enterprise crafted by the heart of humanity. But after a shipwreck he decided to follow Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. For the remainder of his earthly life, he dedicated each day to the Master of his soul. He became a partner in mission and penned one of the most well-known and used hymns in the world: Amazing Grace.
I conclude with the first verse of the hymn and encourage you through grace - the gift of God - to become a partner in mission:
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.
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Wayne van Heerden, husband to Frances, father to David and Angela. Enjoys cycling. Serving at Gateway Presbyterian Church, Kempton Park.
