Amazing Grace Alone

Matthew 5:17-18 - Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

You hear me say this often: it’s not about a religion but a relationship. This relationship is with Jesus Christ. A church doesn’t save us. Our works don’t save us. Rituals don’t save us. Being what we think is good doesn’t save us. There is only one way we can be saved and that is through Jesus Christ. Not just knowing who He is. But having experienced a change within. An I know that I know that I know I have been touched by God experience. Being saved is one of God’s miracles. Anyone who has known this just plain knows. I still do as if it was yesterday and it’s been 20 years. 

He did all the work on the cross. He is the One who said it was finished. Our role in all this is believing what He did was sufficient and putting our trust in His accomplished work. 

I read or heard this the other day and it has stuck with me, though I’ve known this for some time: when children are small they trust their father (or parents) explicitly. It’s the same for us with God. He tells us we are to come to Him as little children. That means with total trust in our Heavenly Father. No questions asked. It is the same principle, which example I believe is God-inspired! He sure can use everyday life to reveal His nature. Praise Him!

You can look at a lot of the things in this world and see God’s hand on them. The seasons and how things are born, grow, age, die and return. The cycle of nature’s life. It mimics ours to some degree. In our life we die, but do not return to earth. But...in the cycle of life in Christ, we can live on after death. But only when we have put our trust in Jesus Christ alone for the remission of our sins.

This means allowing His grace (unmerited favor) of God toward mankind and mercy into our lives, not what man thinks we need to do to attain God’s love and acceptance. We all know the song: Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see. We have to be able to say we are a wretch! And we have to be able to admit we are lost and blind, but through Christ we are made to see the truth...of His Word, of what He has done, of our wretchedness and dark hearts...those things only He can change. 

It can be a difficult thing to understand and yet it is so simple. It’s the simplicity of Christ alone. No certain prayer or ritual prayers repeated. Those things we might do in hopes they will please God are like the Old Testament sacrifices being made constantly to atone for sin. When Christ came, and while those laws help us to understand rights and wrongs, He did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. His work on the cross did it. If we are in Christ, hidden in Christ, God sees only His Son standing before Him. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:3-4)

If anyone trusts that their rituals, church, goodness, or works will be pleasing to God, this is wrong. Give your life to Jesus and you will know the truth...and that is what will set you free. Honest.

Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.