Once the guilty party comes to realize his/her sin–the breaking of God’s Law (1 Jn. 3:4)–the next step is to determine Scripturally how to go about receiving forgiveness of his/her sins. This part of the process begins with the understanding of and belief in God’s grace. Grace can be defined as an undeserved blessing. We are all undeserving. No one has ever been forgiven, converted and set on the path to salvation because of one’s own merit.

In Ephesians 2:5-10 we (true saints) read that though we were once dead in our sins, we have been drawn to Christ through His grace. For it is by grace that we are (being) saved through faith–belief in God’s Word (Rom. 10:17)–it is the gift of God. We are not saved by works, but we are saved in order to do good works which God has commanded. Those works involve obedience to His Word. Many believe that grace nullifies His command to do good works, such as obeying His Ten Commandment Law. Works, we are told, equates to legalism. “Law” and “Legal” are synonymous. God’s Law is His legal standard by which we will all be judged in that it identifies sin and righteousness–sin if we disobey it and righteousness if we obey it.

Perhaps the ultimate fact concerning grace is the reality that Jesus “was made sin for us.” Let that sink in. He Who had no sin was made sin. Note that He was not made a sinner because of our sins; He was turned into sin itself. “For He (God) has made Him (Jesus) sin, Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” That is pure grace. Let us study this very important Scripture so as to glean every Scriptural nugget of Truth. 1) God placed the sins of the world on His Son to the end that He became the world’s sins. God cannot look upon sin. For this reason He turned His back on Jesus as He hung on the cross, prompting Him to cry out: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me” (Mat. 27:46)? As a man, this had to be the most painful part of the entire death process. 2) The purpose of God’s sacrifice of His Son through grace is so that we can become righteous. Note that righteousness can only come if we remain “in Him (Christ).” I direct your attention to 1 Thessalonians 4:16 where we are told that, upon Christ’s return to earth, the dead “in Christ” shall rise first to meet Him in the air. Note that only those “in Him”–those who obeyed His Word–will rise during the first resurrection. These are His true saints, His sheep, His very elect who will spend eternity with Him in the Kingdom of God where they will rule and reign with Him.

Let us now study the bloody side of the Lord’s grace in order to see what true grace looks like. In Isaiah 52:14 we read: “His visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.” No man has ever been beaten and wounded as was Jesus of Nazareth. Why? Grace. To be continued. L.J.