HIS GRACE IS STILL AMAZING!

Ephesians 2:8-9
   The grace of God is often spoken of, sometimes misunderstood, but always amazing because of what it provides. Simply put, God’s Grace is that means whereby a Holy God provides and offers His forgiveness to undeserving sinners.  It is by accepting this gift of grace that we are saved from the penalty of sin. It is received by faith – by believing in the redemptive work of Christ on Calvary’s cross. It is available to all who will believe. (1Tim.2:4; Titus 2:11;2Peter 3:9)…and that’s amazing!
     It is not the extent of our sinning, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Rom 3:23),  but the because of the extent of our sin that “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8). Amazing grace, indeed!
    One day a drunken captain of a slave ship fell overboard. In what appears to have been a reluctant attempt to save him, a crew member threw a harpoon at him. It impaled in his hip and they hauled him aboard. The captain recovered, but limped for the rest of his life.
     This man was an avowed atheist who delighted in shocking people with his profanities; but, there was a young woman on shore who was praying for his soul. So, it was during a terrible storm at sea in 1748, that this wicked man sought God and received the forgiveness for his sins that he so desperately needed and was converted to Christ.
    He abandoned his slave trade and the sea, married Mary Catlett, the sweet Christian girl who had prayed for him. Years later, while pasturing a church in Olney, England, he penned the words to our familiar hymn, Amazing Grace. Today, you know his name as John Newton and you know the song, but do you know this amazing grace?
    Don’t minimize the cost of your sin. The consequences remain the same for all. That price which many take lightly, He took the penalty fully on our behalf. Until we see our sins as exceedingly sinful, we won’t see His grace as so amazing!