Grace from A – Z: Infinite Grace

We return today to Julia Johnston’s hymn “Grace Greater Than Our Sin”.  As we continue to alphabetize the various ways we can see grace, we come to the fourth stanza of this hymn:  “Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace!”  For today we will choose Infinite for the letter “I”.  Infinite grace is quite a grand thought.

The question has been asked by the world for many ages, “How big is God”.  Philosophers pose the question to ridicule Him.  Atheists insist that since He can’t be seen He must not be big enough to believe.  The hurting want to know if God is big enough to meet their needs.  The Bible answers the question with clarity.  The psalmist says there is no place we can go to escape Him.  That is just one place we see His omnipresence.  God challenges Job to match His ability to lay out all the heavens and control the affairs of all the earth.  That is just one place that teaches His omnipotence.  God tells Isaiah that He knows the end from the beginning.  That is just one place that teaches His omniscience.  The answer to the question, how big is God, is that He is big enough to be all present, all powerful and all knowing.  This is the God of grace.

Grace then is as big as God is.  God is infinite in scope.  Grace is infinite in scope.  There is not a place where God cannot extend His grace except hell.  Those who have rejected His grace will never have another chance.  God has elected to exclude hell from His grace, but He pours grace out freely so that no one need go to hell.  Grace is as infinite as His omnipresence.  There is no need so great that in omnipotent grace He cannot meet it.  Grace is as infinite as His omnipotence.  There is no need so deep or vague that in omniscient grace He cannot understand it and care for it.  Grace is as infinite as His omniscience. 

Stuart Hamblen’s country classic, “How Big is God” is a fine way to think of how big God’s grace really is.  Hamblen points out that God is big enough to do everything.  God is also “small enough to live within my heart”.  That is where we find God’s infinite grace so precious, “within my heart.”  Sing the praises of God’s infinite grace today.  

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Grace from A – Z: Holy Grace

When I grew up I thought the first song in every hymn book was Reginald Heber’s classic “Holy, Holy, Holy”.  There is such majesty in those few words.  The angels in glory cry, “Holy, Holy, Holy” and their eternal song is recorded for us in both Isaiah and Revelation.  God, the Lord God, the Triune God is holy, holy, holy.  The last lines of the first and fourth verses of this hymn also declare Him to be “merciful and mighty”.  Yes, the Holy God is the merciful and gracious God.  The grace of God is holy grace. 

Being a holy God, Our Father cannot tolerate sin.  Sin cannot remain in His presence.  It will be cast out and driven into everlasting hell.  All mankind are sinners.  Because of that mankind can not dwell with God.  His holiness demands that sin be removed.  But God is also merciful and gracious.  In His mercy and grace He devised a way that man could be accepted in His presence.  Man’s sin could be removed if there were to be a perfect sacrifice made to atone for it.  So our holy and gracious God sent His own Son, who is also perfectly holy and gracious, to come to this world and live a completely sinless life.  Then His Son died a merciless death on the cross of Calvary and God accepted that death as our own.  Instead of our sin He gave us the very righteousness of His own Son in order for us to live with Him.  That is holy grace.

Our permanent standing with God in heaven is the holiness of Christ.  God also wants us to live with a standard of holiness before men.  In Leviticus God charged the people to “be holy for I Am Holy.”  That same commandment is given to us again in the New Testament in the book of I Peter 1:15-16.  “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I Am Holy.’”  The holy grace of God that saved us calls upon us to walk in His grace by living a holy life.  After worshipping God today by singing “Holy, Holy, Holy”, add a little time of silent reflection while also singing William Longstaff’s well known consecration hymn “Take Time to Be Holy”.  Reflect on the holy grace of God today. 

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Grace from A – Z: Giving Grace

In Ira Wilson’s famous Gospel song “Make Me a Blessing” the third verse goes, “Give as ‘twas given to you in your need, love as the Master loved you.” In the fullness of the grace of God, our Master laid down his life for us.  Jesus said to his disciples at the Last Supper, “Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”  It was a bold challenge to them and to His church to lay down our lives as Christ laid down His.  He did not ask us to die in a physical sense, but to die through Him to our own selfishness that we might live through Him in effective service and care to others.  He asked us to take on the form of grace and give of ourselves as we have been given.

Grace gives. Grace is giving.  That is our “G” word for grace.  God loved the world and gave His Son.  By grace we are saved.  It is His gift of salvation to all who will believe.  When God tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9 that we are saved by grace through faith, He goes on in verse 10 and says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works that He has before ordained that we should walk in them.”  We were saved to manifest the grace of God to the world.  We were saved in order that we might give unto others as He has given unto us.  As Jesus told His disciples, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” 

We will never do a good work to save our soul.  Jesus blood has done all the saving that can be done.  God’s grace was given to make it happen for our eternal salvation.  Our good works are not done for us.  They are done for Him that He might magnify the hope of His salvation to a lost and dying world.  Paul exhorts us in Titus to be “zealous for good works” and twice to “maintain good works”. He says, “Let those who have believed” do this. 

Ira Wilson didn’t just write a “sweet” song; he set the clear command of Scripture to simple singable music.  “Make me a blessing, make me a blessing, out of my life, may Jesus shine.  Make me a blessing, O Savior I pray, make me a blessing to someone today.”  As grace has been given to you, go on in the giving of grace.  

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Grace from A – Z: Forgiving Grace

In Julia Johnston’s hymn “Grace Greater Than Our Sin” she writes in the chorus “Marvelous Grace, Infinite Grace” (those are the harmony part words), then in unison, “Grace that will pardon and cleanse within.”  Every day people become overcome with despair at the depravity of their own sin. Such guilt is manifest in many negative ways.  But there is a remedy and it is found in the theme of this song and the words of the chorus.  Grace and pardon can change despair to a life filled with hope, victory, joy and everlasting peace. 

If you have ever been pulled over by a police officer for some “minor” offense, and when we commit them they are always “minor”, what are you hoping when the officer approaches your car?  The most common response is that people hope the officer will be gracious and just let them off with a warning.  People don’t want a blot on their driving record.  After all, it wasn’t really serious; it was just momentary slip of responsible driving.  Don’t let my parents know; don’t let my wife know; don’t let my insurance company know that I had this “minor” mistake today.  That is how people feel and they really want the officer to extend them a little grace and pardon for their behavior. 

What about all the other “mistakes” we make in life?  What about our complete failure to keep the two great commandments to love God supremely and love our neighbor as ourselves?  This kind of law breaking isn’t just an occasional lapse; it is engrained in our nature.  We are sinners and there is just punishment for all our sins – death. Our sins are a real offense against a holy and pure God. Whether they are “minor” to us or not, they are ugly to a holy God. 

But God in grace sent His own Son to die for our sins!  In that horrible death, Jesus Christ shed His blood and that pure blood can wash away sin.  In that blood, and that blood alone, is the full atonement for all sin and the sole means to find forgiveness.  Forgiveness means that we will not be held accountable for that sin forever.  It means that God has chosen in His power to not only forgive our sin, but He also will forget our sin forever.  By faith in Jesus Christ we stand new and pure before God and it is a forever secured position granted by God’s grace through His Son’s sacrifice.  Indeed we can sing with joy the opening line of Julia Johnston’s hymn, “Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt! Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured – there where the blood of the lamb was spilt!”  Rejoice today in God’s great forgiving grace.  Live in the joy of His abundant grace.  

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Grace from A - Z: Eternal Grace

300 years after the Scottish Psalter printed “The Lord’s My Shepherd”, John Peterson wrote a newer version of the 23^rd Psalm.  “Surely Goodness and Mercy” has become a familiar Peterson classic.  The song actually has a double chorus.  The first one repeats the phrase, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”  The second chorus, to be sung after all the verses have been sung, begins with two power phrases sung with strong emphatic power notes, “And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever” and “I shall feast at the table spread for me”.  This chorus takes us beyond the gracious care of God in this life to the eternal promise of His grace – heaven with Him forever.

In I Corinthians 15:19 Paul says, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”  This verse is set in a chapter devoted to the triumphant truth that since Jesus lives, so too shall we.  The old Gospel chorus says, “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through; my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue; the angels beckon me from heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”  This world is a stopping point on the way to an eternal destiny.  If by faith we have embraced the grace of God in Christ then that eternal destiny is heaven.  Each day that we walk in this dim shadow of our hope, we have the presence and care of God’s daily grace.  But there is more, much more, to come. 

God’s grace will be fully seen as we enter heaven’s gate.  There we will see our beautiful Savior, the reflection and perfection of grace.  There we will receive the fullness of all the promises.  There will never be need or sorrow or sin or shame.  There will be the full beauty of eternal forgiveness. There will be the full embrace of eternal grace with nothing between us and our dear Savior.  As Charles Gabriel wrote in his beautiful hymn about heaven, “O that will be glory for me, glory for me, glory for me; when by His GRACE I shall look on His face, that will be glory, be glory for me.”  That is abundant grace for today and for eternity.  

The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

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Grace from A - Z: Delicious Grace

One of the oldest hymns originally composed in English and still used today is The 23^rd Psalm from the Scottish Psalter, “The Lord’s My Shepherd”.  Its graceful melody and well written meter add a rich cocoon of warmth to this most favorite of all psalms.  Some of the beautiful promises in this psalm surround a banquet we will enjoy with God in the future and of His presence with us as we feast with Him in the present.  Think for a moment how delicious the food is that is served by the Savior. 

Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good.”  No, we are not cannibals nibbling on God.  We are his children tasting the good things from His hand.  Those delicacies are the outpouring of His grace.  Certainly as we come to the Lord’s Table we find the great riches of His grace in the feast that is set before us there.  Consider the most costly food that you really REALLY enjoy.  The food set before us at communion is more costly and of far greater richness than anything we could have named.  How delicious is forgiveness?  How delectable is hope?  How scrumptious is the joy of being in Christ? 

But the feast that God prepares for us is also for everyday and every needful hunger in our lives.  Romans 8:32 poses a strong rhetorical question, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”  Psalm 23 points out many of these “all things”.  Count them.  Consider the tastiness of each and every morsel.  David can easily come to the point in his psalm where he says, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” 

“God,” David says, “you are good.  You satisfy me with good things abundant and overflowing.  You do it today and you promise it for eternity.  How great is your grace!” 

The Scottish Psalter, Psalm 23, Verse 4: “My table thou hast furnished in the presence of my foes.  My head Thou dost with oil anoint, and my cup overflows.”   God’s abundant grace is truly delicious.  

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Grace from A - Z: Convincing Grace

Daniel Whittle wrote another famous hymn “I Know Whom I Have Believed”.  He begins each line of this hymn with an honest statement regarding the unknown things of God.  He concludes each verse with the rousing chorus of what he does know: He is fully persuaded that Jesus Christ is able to keep whatever we have committed to Him unto eternity.  That is confidence of faith.  That is related to one of the things Whittle says he doesn’t know: “I know not how the spirit moves, convincing men of sin, revealing Jesus through the Word, creating faith within.”  The process of God is really not necessary for us to understand.  That the process has taken place, that is the issue in which we rejoice.

Whittle connects convincing of sin and producing faith in the same verse.  The first verse of this hymn speaks of grace.  All of these are really connected.  Ephesians chapter two gives us a wonderful commentary on these combined truths.  We were dead in sin. The Holy Spirit quickened us; He made us alive.  By Grace He Convinced us to place our Faith in Jesus Christ.  He awoke us from our stupor of sin and death to see and understand God’s love for us and respond in faith to the promise of forgiven sins and eternal life in Jesus Christ. 

The Greek root word for faith is a word meaning “to be convinced or persuaded”.  King Agrippa, in Acts 26:28, says to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”  It wasn’t Paul’s persuasion, however, that was needed to make Agrippa a Christian; it was God’s.  When God persuades us to believe, that is grace moving us to faith.  How the Holy Spirit works through the medium of His word to convince us of the truth regarding our need and His grace is not really our concern.  Our hope is in the effect of this convincing.  Our hope is faith in Him, His truth, His righteousness, His word and His promises.  By grace God has convinced us of saving truth.  By faith we respond.  We truly need to be thankful for convincing grace.  Then we need to sing with Daniel Whittle, “But I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able, to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day!” 

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