|
|
With all due respect to John Newton, the author of the world-renowned
hymn, Amazing Grace, grace is not amazing if God only
saves a wretch like me. Grace is only amazing grace if God saves all
mankind through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ,
whether men have faith in God or not. Now that is amazing grace!
Anything short of God's grace being extended to all the world is really
limited grace, restricted grace, performance-based grace, earned grace,
and in fact, woefully un-amazing grace. It's not even plain ol' grace,
let alone something we could consider amazing. The Christian religion has turned God's grace into
nothing more than an
amazing reward system. |
Christian churches, Christian books,
Christian message boards, Christian preaching, Christian bible studies,
Christian ministries, Christian websites, Christian chat rooms, and
individual Christians all speak of the amazing grace of God, but
very few believe that the cross of Christ is an actual testimony to
God's grace. When pressed on the issue of how amazing God's grace really is, most Christian
beliefs fall short of anything amazing other than the amazing notion
that the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ could not overcome
the sin of Adam and Eve. The verdict from most Christians on heaven and
hell is that an eternal heaven awaits those who do right, believe right,
and keep on doing and believing right, but a slow burn in hell for all
eternity is prepared for those who don't do right, don't believe right,
and keep on not doing and believing right. Did somebody say something
about God's grace being amazing?
Amazing Grace?
As you know, some Christian churches, Christian ministries, Christian
books, Christian message boards, Christian preaching, Christian bible
studies, Christian televangelist, et al even insist that those who
fall
from grace, or who are falling from grace, or who have committed the
unpardonable sin, or who sin too often, or who sin too badly, or who show no signs of
spiritual growth, or who have not confessed their sins, or who don't
attend a Christian church, or who fail to demonstrate appropriate
spiritual gifts, or who don't study the bible enough, or who cannot
quote bible verses, or who don't attend any bible studies, or who
haven't been baptized, or who don't speak in tongues, or who don't
understand their identity in Christ, or who don't sit under the correct
preaching, or who don't know who the
anti-Christ is, or who don't have a
spiritual enough testimony, or who don't regularly share the plan of
salvation with every one they meet, or who don't believe that God will
send sinners to burn in hell, or who don't tithe to a church, or who
don't have a church membership, or who don't have an accountability
partner, or who aren't part of a men's ministry, or who are aren't part
of a women's ministry, or who can't tell you the exact day, time, hour,
minute, and second that they "received Christ", or who don't
believe in this sort of amazing grace (?), are all teetering
between heaven and hell from one amazing grace moment to the next. I
don't know about you, but I've lost any sense that grace is amazing
given those endless
religious requirements?
God's
Amazing Grace!
I think it is time to put the amazing back in grace, don't you? After
all, God sent Jesus to be the Savior of the World (1 John 4:14), didn't
He? Doesn't it make sense
that He was successful in that mission? I mean, He is God and all. He
can do all things and nothing can keep God from accomplishing that which
He has determined to do, right?
God is sovereign,
God cannot lie, God is love,
and the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable, correct?. Is the power of
God and the mercy of God sufficient enough to eventually bring all men
to a saving knowledge of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Is God's
grace amazing grace or not? Gospel For
Today Ministries believes that it is. In fact, we are convinced that
God's love and God's grace will overwhelm all men. We believe that this
testimony of God's love, God's righteousness,
God's forgiveness,
God's
mercy, God's faithfulness, God's glory, and God's praise will one day be
on the lips of every man, woman, and child who has ever lived. One day
all mankind will be
right with God. That time
has not yet come, but when it does, every knee will bow, every tongue
will confess, that not only is Jesus Savior and Lord, but that all men
are the undeserving recipients of God's amazing grace!
Glory
to God!,
John
Moneypenny, President
Gospel For Today Ministries
GFT Christian Discussion Forum
|
