A TESTIMONY OF THE GOSPEL OF GRACE
“To testify the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24)
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To testify of the Gospel of the Grace of God is a very wonderful privilege, but also a very humbling one, since we that have experienced it know and confess that that there is absolutely nothing in us and from us that can cause us to boast of anything that we have done in order for God to have mercy on us in salvation simply because ALL that He has done for us in Christ Jesus is “according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). In other words, beloved, God has done us the favor in saving us even though we don’t deserve to be saved! That is true in every aspect and in every area that consists in the whole of salvation. No matter from which point of view one looks at it, ALL you can see is “Grace, grace, grace!” Therefore, it is no wonder, then, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is also called “the gospel of the grace of God.”
But you know what is funny (and I don’t mean this in a laughing way), that there are so many professing Christians that claim to believe in the Grace of God; and that that is the only hope we have for salvation; yet at the same time they’ll turn around and tell you that salvation depends on YOU! By this they mean that you have the ability to do something about getting saved; or to put it in another way, that you have the “free will” to ‘make a decision for Christ’ anytime you want to; or it’s up to you to get saved since God has already done His part, now it corresponds to you to do yours! With such statements, beloved, they have done away with the Grace of God; for if it’s true that this is how you can be saved, in that case we have no testimony to give of “the gospel of the grace of God.” Not only do we contradict the inerrant Word of God, but it would be to call God (and I say this reverently) a liar; for He himself has said: “And there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:21, 22). But praise God in that we can truly testify to the glorious truth that “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9). Hallelujah!!!
Now with this, let us consider some things that are very important and also essential to an understanding of what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. Of course, all I would have to do is present the Scriptures that have reference to the points I will be making with respect to the testimony I will be giving. But I believe that by giving a personal testimony of what “the gospel of the grace of God” means to me, it will show that to believe the Gospel is not just simply an ‘intellectual assent’ to the truths of it, but that these glorious truths do have an effect in my faith and walk in my life. It has been said that doctrine is the foundation of the practice of what one believes; and how true this is as far as the Gospel of the Grace of God is concerned! It would be a contradiction for one to testify of the Grace of God; and yet that same Grace to be missing in the life of such a professing “Christian”! So as I share with you these wonderful truths, may it please “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10), to show us not only if we truly believe them, but also live by them “to the praise of the glory of his grace” (Ephesians 1:6). Amen.
So, the first thing I want to testify “of the gospel of the grace of God” is that if it wasn’t for the Grace of God that is magnified in the Gospel, there would have been no hope whatsoever for me! You see, beloved, Grace has to do with Sin! The benefits of the Gospel could not have been given to me apart from the Grace of God. The reason for that is that I am a totally depraved sinner and “am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which (he) hast shewed unto (me)” (Genesis 32:10); and as such, I have a total inability to save myself; or to do anything to save myself! The Holy Scriptures not only tells me what I am before God as a sinner, but also if God were to leave me alone to my sin, ALL I would do is “add sin to sin” (Isaiah 30:1). This has been true of my life without the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. But God was pleased to send “the Son of man” i.e. His beloved Son to “come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Why? Because as a totally depraved sinner, I wasn’t seeking the Lord, or even care to do so (“There is none that seeketh after God” – Romans 3:11), to be saved from my sins; for I was content in them. But oh, all praise be to my glorious Savior; for even though my sins are higher than Mt. Everest, yet His grace comes bounding over the mountains of my sins to reach me “in love to my soul to deliver it from the pit of corruption”, and “hast cast all my sins behind (his) back” (Isaiah 38:17); for “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20). Hallelujah!!!
Then, the second thing I want to testify “of the gospel of the grace of God” is for His “election of grace” (Romans 11:5), by which I was chosen to be a recipient of His grace! Otherwise, God would have passed over me and left me to perish in my sins. Of course, there was, or is, absolutely nothing in me and of me to recommend me or attract God to me other than His good pleasure that “from the beginning” to have “chosen (me) to salvation” (2 Thessalonians 2:13). If He hadn’t, there would be absolutely no hope whatsoever of salvation for me since in my total depravity I would never have had chosen God for my good! Yes, I can praise God knowing that He included me “according as he hath chosen (me) in (Christ) before the foundation of the world”; and this, beloved, “to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made (me) accepted in the beloved. In whom (I) have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:4, 6, 7); and oh, to know that this “grace, which was given (me) in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Timothy 1:9) in Election makes me with all joy and gratitude testify truly that the Gospel of salvation in Christ Jesus IS ‘the gospel of the grace of God”! Amen!
It follows that the third thing I want to testify “of the gospel of the grace of God” is that it includes God giving His beloved Son to die and to redeem me in particular. Christ DID NOT die on the Cross just to make it “possible” for me to be saved! He came with the purpose to save me in particular, which is true of everyone that is chosen by God for salvation. The apostle makes it clear that this is God’s plan: “Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2 Timothy 2:10). Therefore, I can say with ALL certainty based on “the gospel of the grace of God” that “the Son of God,…loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Not only that, but I also can testify that the reason I came to Jesus Christ for salvation is because the Father gave me in particular to His Son: The Lord Jesus Himself declares this: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). The certainty of my salvation is that on the Cross the Son of God died to atone for my sins since I was chosen in Him, even before Genesis 1:1, to be definitely saved by Him! That is the glorious Truth of “the gospel of the grace of God”. Amen.
But now, the fourth thing I can testify “of the gospel of the grace of God” is the certainty of my salvation DID NOT DEPEND on my so-called “free will”, as I was taught erroneously years ago! NO, the certainty of my salvation was because the power of God’s Free Grace would overcome the resistance of my Total Depravity and Total Inability that I inherently and naturally had due to my sinful nature, with which I was conceived and born with. I remember that when I was first witnessed to of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I had no desire for it and I didn’t care to be saved. But then I also made all kinds of excuses, trying to justify myself by claiming that I believe in God and that as far as I was concerned, I was OK with Him. But because I was one of God’s elect, He just wouldn’t leave me alone! Even though I was the chiefest of sinners, that wasn’t going to stop Him; especially since I was one of His elect and He had given His Son in order to save me, His grace was going to provide ALL that I needed for my salvation; and how do I know that? Well, I have been saved; I am being saved; and I will be saved! His mighty grace has made me “willing in the day of (his) power” (Psalm 110:3) because the Father has drawn me and given me to come to my Lord and my Savior Jesus Christ to be saved by Him (John 6:44, 65). HALLELUJAH!!!
Finally, the fifth thing I can testify “of the gospel of the grace of God” is that God didn’t saved me so that I could live any way that I wanted to; on the contrary, He was going to make sure that I would persevere in holiness because “without holiness,…no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14); and besides, “God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness” (1 Thessalonians 4:7); therefore, we are to be “holy in all manner of conversation (of living); Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15, 16); and so, “dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). Holiness in my life as God’s elect is the assurance that I have been “saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation” (Isaiah 45:17). Holiness means that I am “sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ” (Jude 1) and that He “is able to keep (me) from falling, and to present (me) faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (v.24). My eternal security in Jesus Christ, or as many call it today, “Once Saved, Always Saved”, guarantees that I will be saved forever in Christ Jesus because His grace will be more than sufficient to keep me saved in holiness. ONLY the saints of God will be assured to go to be with the most Holy God in Christ Jesus! Amen!
That, beloved, is the testimony “of the gospel of the grace of God”! Notice that it is ALL “grace, grace, grace”; from beginning to the end; and yet there is no end of grace for us; for it is said “that in the ages to come (God) might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7). Yes, throughout eternity we’ll see the grace that converted us from wickedness to holiness; the grace shown towards us in election; the grace given to us in the beloved Son who came to save us from our sins by dying for them; the grace that was more than sufficient to overcome our resistance to be saved; and of course, the grace that enabled us to persevere “to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:14). Anything less than this, oh people of God, is no Gospel at all; for as the apostle Paul warn the Galatians believers “that (they were) so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel” (1:6); and so any so-called “gospel” is “to pervert the gospel of Christ” (v.7), i.e. “the gospel of the grace of God”. Any professing “Christian” that receives “another gospel: Which is not another” (vv.6, 7) is to reject “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10) and to despise “the Spirit of grace” (Hebrews 10:29); and for sure, will not from the fullness of the Lord Jesus Christ receive “grace for (upon) grace” (John 1:16).
What about you, my dear friend, do YOU have A Testimony of the Grace of God; or can you “testify to the gospel of the grace of God”? Oh, I pray that after reading this testimony, you will be able to for the sake of your soul; and this is my prayer in the glorious Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
