A Testimony of the Gospel of Grace

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.

Sin Necessitates God's Sovereign Will

What would happen to lost sinners if it was left up to them to make a decision for salvation? In other words, what hope would anyone of us have of salvation if it depended on us to not only to desire to be saved, but to be able to do anything of our own to be saved from our sins? To put it simply there would absolutely be no hope whatsoever of salvation if in any way we had to save ourselves as shown in our previous post, Sin Necessitates Grace. The only hope we have is for God of His sovereign will to intervene in our behalf; otherwise, we would be lost forever!

Of course, man in his pride abhors the truth that God has to save us on the basis that it simply pleases Him to do so. Man is so in love with himself and his supposed abilities that to be told that if God doesn't save him from his sins, he would rather call God a liar than to admit that his salvation has to be totally of God's free and sovereign grace. Nevertheless, no matter what man says, we can assert without no doubt whatsoever, Sin Necessitates God's Sovereign Will in our salvation.

Now, the question that might arise is why does sin necessitate God's sovereign will if we are to have any hope of salvation? I believe that to answer this question we have to first consider what sin has done to mankind and how it has affected his relationship with God. Remember that God created the first man, i.e. Adam, sinless; in other words, he did not have a sinful nature. So also is it true of Eve. But as the inerrant Word of God tells us Adam disobeyed God; and in doing so, he died spiritually and became a sinner. At that moment his sinless nature became a sinful nature; and as consequence man by natural procreation is born as a sinner. What David said in Psalm 51 is true of every human being born from Adam and Eve, our first parents: "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me" (v.5). Therefore, from conception we are sinners and we come into this world as sinners "for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12); or as it can be translated, "in whom all have sinned", i.e. in Adam.

That being the case, sin has made us spiritually dead and totally unable to do anything of ourselves for our salvation, it now remains for God to intervene on our behalf if He so wills according to Romans 9:16-"So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy". That being the case, it remains, then, if anyone of us are to be saved, God has to be willing to save us; and simply because it pleased Him to do so. Otherwise, none of us would be saved if left to our own sinful nature.

Sin Necessitates Grace

Grace is the fountain from which flows all that the sinner needs for his salvation. Stop it up and there is absolutely no hope at all for them. In fact, grace has to do with sin. Apart from the grace of God, the sinner has no place where to go to obtain the forgiveness of sin and the salvation of his soul. Why? Because we are specifically told by the Word of God that "by grace are (we) saved through faith; and that not of (ourselves): it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8); for it is "the grace of God that bringeth salvation" (Titus 2:11).

Now, what is grace; and of course, we mean, the grace of God? I would believe that generally all professing Christians would agree that grace means the "unmerited favor" of God; and I also would think that they would agree this means that God does us the "favor" of saving us from our sins even though we do not "merit" it. But we will see that as we continue studying this subject, that even though it is a simple truth of "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24), yet it is a much more profound truth because it has to do with the eternal "God of all grace" (1 Peter 5:10), who would even consider to save the chiefest of sinners!

As I said, grace has to do with sin; and this is brought out very clearly in the doctrines of the Total Depravity and the Total Inability of Man. It is not that man is just simply a "sinner" that needs a little "push" from God to get started to move towards God for help; on the contrary, due to the spiritual deadness that he is in because of his "trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1), not only is he "totally unable" to do anything of his own, but is willing to die in his corruption; and what is worse, he loves it! That is what sin has done to ALL OF US, including you and I! There is no exception.

Therefore, that being our case because of sin, we can see why it necessitates the grace of God if we are to be saved, as Arthur Pink puts it, from the love of sin, from the penalty of sin, from the power of sin, and from the presence of sin (Fourfold Salvation), which is God's "so great salvation" (Hebrews 2:3).

Now, as God looks from heaven upon mankind, what does He see? Does He see persons that are holy and righteous that love Him so much that they seek Him with so such a fervent desire to be with Him? Or, does He see them actively involve in doing good to one another in order to bring Him glory in all that they do? What does the Word of God say? I tell you what: It's not a very pretty picture that we see of us! "The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Psalm 14:2,3). Compare this with Romans 3:10ff.

Besides that, we are so wicked that we want nothing to do with our Creator to the point we dare to tell Him so: (Job 21:14,15). "Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?" Yes, in our sinful nature that we are born with we can be classified as "haters of God" (Romans 1:30). Do we dare to think, then, that we are so lovable and attractive to God that He has no other choice but to love us and to save us because we deserve it? I definitely think not! We are so "totally depraved", my dear readers, that not only God cannot find anything in us to obligate Him to us, but He would even be just to cast each and every one of us into hell! But for the riches of His grace!!!

Furthermore, in our Total Depravity not only do we "add sin to sin" (Isaiah 30:1) because "the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment" (1:5,6), but also there is absolutely nothing that we can do about it!The following questions are true of the sinner: Can the dead give themselves life? Can the Ethiopian or leopard change the color of their skin? Can one give themselves a heart operation? Can a dead and lost sinner, who is slave of sin, Satan and of the world, deliver themselves from their power? The answer is a resounding NO!

Therefore, due to his Total Inability, which is a result of his Total Depravity, man finds himself in a very desperate and hopeless state if salvation in any way depended on him to do something about it. The Lord Jesus Himself makes it very clear: "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him"; and "no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father" (John 6:44,65). In other words, absolutely not one person has the power within themselves to even desire, much less to make a move towards the Lord Jesus to be saved by Him! Remember, man is spiritually "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1), that unless God of His grace gives him life and calls him out of his grave, he cannot pass "from death unto life" (John 5:24,25). Remember Lazarus - John 11:43,44.

We conclude, then, that Sin Necessitates Grace; in other words, our only hope for salvation rests in the Free and Sovereign Grace of God from the beginning to the end; from the first to the last; and that even the grace given to us has to be given to us "by Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:4); for it is "of his fulness" that we receive "grace for (upon) grace" (John 1:16), so that in God saving us, it is "according to the riches of his grace" (Ephesians 1:7). Hallelujah!!!

So, in closing let us warn ourselves about two things: Do not think that in any way we can add anything to the grace of God, no matter how minuscule it might be: Our salvation is ALL OF GRACE! PERIOD! Then, let us not think that God will save us simply because He is "the God of all grace" (1 Peter 5:10), which He is; but because He has "made us accepted (i.e. He has graced us) in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins..." (Ephesians 1:6,7). To put it this way: It is through , and by, and at Calvary that grace comes to us; and the proof that it saves with an everlasting salvation is that our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is ALIVE! Amen

Salvation - ALL OF GRACE!!!

Religion, and I mean, man's religion, has always been opposed to salvation being all of grace. Even within the Christian community, there are those that will try to find some way to make the salvation of sinners dependent on man doing something in order to gain or deserve their salvation. It makes no difference what it might be, at the minimum, they claim that God has to respect man's decision to be saved from their sins. Otherwise, they also claim, God would be interfering with their right of 'free will'.

It is my intention, by the grace of God, via this blog to magnify the Free and Sovereign Grace of God in the salvation of sinners. I know that there are more able and capable men of God that can and are doing a better job than I could ever do; nevertheless, I believe that the little bit that I do for the cause of "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24), my prayer is that "the God of all grace" (1 Peter 5:10) will be pleased to bless it, even if it is to just one person that "the Spirit of grace" (Hebrews 10:29) will direct here. In fact, if YOU are reading this article, YOU are that person!

Therefore, all of the articles that I will post, whether my own, or of any other servant of God, will be to emphasize that salvation is ALL OF GRACE, from the first to the last, from the beginning to the end; and that man has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with God's "so great salvation" (Hebrews 2:3) other than what He grants to the sinner "according to the riches of his grace" (Ephesians 1:7). Of course, in doing so, we will bring out the glorious truths of the Doctrines of Grace, which will prove why our salvation has to be ALL OF GRACE!

Rest assured, my dear readers, I do not intend to lift up any particular church or denomination, or the writings of man, but to glorify the only true and living God, to exalt His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to magnify His grace, and to proclaim all of the inerrant and infallible Word of God. In doing so, the goal of this blog will be proven to be true of salvation, It's ALL OF GRACE! Amen.