Sermon Cloud

Amazing Grace: (Part I)

WHY SAVE ME?

1 Timothy 1:12-17

12) I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.

13) Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.

14) The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

15) Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.

16) But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

17) Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

            The Lord is truly an amazing God. The process of how He has moved us from our old facility in Garfield to our new home in Randolph is just one of the visible ways that He has shown His greatness. That's the reason why our building dedication is appropriately entitled, "I'm Amazed." After all of us had experienced God's extra-ordinary movement in our midst, I hope we will be left with a deeper sense of awe towards the God we serve and love.

            Anticipating our building dedication theme and the celebration of the sufferings of Jesus on the cross this month, I have chosen the theme, "Amazing Grace" for our new Worship series. I believe that if there is an area where we should really be amazed with God, it is in His exercise of grace towards us. John Newton gave a wonderful testimony about this grace when he wrote the popular hymn, Amazing Grace. From his own account, he considered himself unworthy of any favor from the Lord because of his sinfulness. Prior to coming to know Jesus as his personal savior, he was a captain of a slave ship; he brought so many captured slaves from Africa who were sold in England. But by God's amazing grace, not only was he saved, he became one of the leading Anglican ministers of his time.

            Of course, he is not the only one who can testify about this grace. In the Old Testament, I'm sure you are familiar with David. An adulterer and a murderer, yet was forgiven and blessed by the Lord. He himself exclaimed 1 Chronicles 17:16-17:

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, O God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men, O Lord God.

            David asks, "Who am I?"Or in other words, why should a man like him receive such a magnificent grace? Have you ever wondered why God would save someone like you or me?

Our text in the New Testament records the same sentiment of the apostle Paul. Being an open persecutor of the early Christians, he was truly amazed that God would show him grace and save him. Looking at our passage, it is quite clear that his appreciation of God's grace had some effects on how he lived his Christian life. This is the reason I chose to bring this topic in our church this month. I believe with all my heart a better understanding about grace can lead us to a more committed and productive Christian living. So let's begin and re-examine God's amazing grace to all of us who know Jesus as Savior and Lord. Why would God give you grace? What does grace mean? Here are three important truths:

I           THE RECOGNITION OF GRACE (vs. 12-14)

            It is one thing to know that God is gracious, and it is another to recognize that He has been gracious to you personally. John Newton, David, and Paul all have a personal sense of God's graciousness to them as individuals. How did God show His grace to you?

            Well, it is hard to recognize it if we don't know exactly what it is. So let's first define what we mean. In his commentary on the book of Romans, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote:

There is no more wonderful word than grace. It means unmerited favor or kindness shown to anyone who is utterly undeserving, . . . It is not merely a free  gift, but a free gift to those who deserve the exact opposite, and it is given to us while we are without hope and without God in the world.

            I want to carefully notice the underlined phrases. With Paul's consciousness of who he was before He met Christ - blasphemer, persecutor, violent man. He knew exactly what he deserved. Instead, he said he received mercy (v.13), and grace (v.14).

            The word mercy has often been used as synonymous with grace. However, the slight difference can be perceived on this definition given by Dr. David Jeremiah:

Mercy is God withholding the punishment we rightfully deserve. Grace is God offering the most precious of  gifts instead.

            In other words, in mercy God is withholding punishment; while in grace, God is giving a free gift.  This is truly amazing! God should have punished Paul; instead, God gave him the privilege to receive forgiveness in Jesus Christ. This is exactly how God dealt with you and I according to His grace. 

Psalms 103:8, 10 (NIV)
⁸ The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.

II         THE RICHES OF GRACE (v14)

            The apostle Paul used the word abundantly to describe the grace he received. Someone has appropriately suggested a definition of grace through an acronym:

            G - God's

            R - Riches

            A - At

            C - Christ

            E - Expense    

            The truth is sin had made all of us spiritually bankrupt with debts we could not pay, and God took His one and only Son and made Him provide the payment for our debts. We all have received God's grace through Christ alone.

Romans 1:5 (NIV)
⁵ Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

            Now, if we can be more specific, how do we understand these riches we have received?

•A.     Unconditional  Devotion

Our special blessing did not begin when we received Jesus as our Savior, it begun when God purposed to love us even before the foundation of the world.

Ephesians 1:4-6 (NIV)
⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
⁵ he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--
⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

            Out of the billions of people who would live on earth, why would God give so much importance about me? Why choose to save me? Paul in his letter to the Ephesian church communicated that every believer should know that God's grace for them started even before the creation of the world. God has determined to love us not because we were attractive, smart, righteous, or with great potential. He saw us as sinners who need His kindness.

            I realize that some are apprehensive to highlight the fact that the  Bible teaches God chose some to salvation and left others according to their decision to disobey Him. Some are fearful that this would be  misunderstood as  unfairness on the part of God saying, "Why did He not choose everyone?" The best verse to use to establish balance is:             

John 6:37 (NIV)
³⁷ All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.

Remember, God loves everyone, but not everyone chooses to surrender to God. If anyone chooses God, there is no way he will be  rejected. To all of us who know Jesus today, we should bear in mind, grace started way ahead of our earthly existence.   

•B.     Unmerited Deliverance

Another important truth is the fact that our deliverance from the penalty of sin is not something we have worked for.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--
⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

                Our salvation is not by works because no matter what we do we cannot do enough. Only Jesus and what He has done can sufficiently meet the demands for salvation. We all should just accept the free gift. It is absolutely free so we cannot be prideful once we have it. Paul clearly declares - so that no one can boast.

•C.     Undeserved Destiny

Going back to our main text in verse 12, Paul made mention how God also through His grace has changed the course of his life - he was counted worthy to be a servant. From being a persecutor of Christ, he became a preacher for Christ. His life could have been forever worthless, but God in His grace turned it profitable for eternity. 

III        THE RESPONSE TO GRACE (v.17)  

            Lastly, for everyone who have experienced God's grace, the response is clearly seen in Paul's words - Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.

            When we acknowledge how undeserving we are, yet had been blessed abundantly, we cannot magnify self. We can only magnify God. On this basis, Paul makes his appeal for deeper consecration to God:

Romans 12:1 (NIV)
¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.

            The most worthy response to grace is a life of praise and gratitude expressed in deeper love and devotion for God. Without a doubt, the way you live your life show how much you understand God's grace.