Saved By Grace
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"One name stands out above all other in the BOOK OF ROMANS. It is the name "Jesus". The Apostle Paul described himself as "a servant of Jesus Christ called to be an Apostle, separated unto the gospel of God. Concerning His son Jesus Christ, our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from dead" ( Romans 1:4 ).
As we see here, this name is usually coupled with others such as "Jesus Christ" His Son, "Jesus Christ our Lord", " Son of God" and "the Lord Jesus Christ". The name "Jesus" is generally thought of as being His earthly name. The word "Christ" means the anointed One, the Messiah. Lord speaks to us of His administration of the universe, of His work in the lives of His people today, and of His ruling as King throughout all eternity. God’s redemption is through Jesus Christ. The Scriptures just quoted shows us that God sent His Son, who is eternally God, into the world that He might become a man, humble Himself and die the shameful death on the Cross. This now brings us to the word "grace", for by Jesus, "we have received grace". To many people, grace is some sort of blessing that they are unable to define. In reality, it is an attribute of God. It is that part of God which governs His attitude towards man. It is in the heart of God to do something for someone who is in need. Man is born with a need upon which God can exercise His grace. Grace, then, is God’s wanting to give to man that which he stands in need of. If we take the position that we are worthy of God’s grace we will find that we really are not. If anyone of us would come before God and say," I have lived a good life, Lord, and have a good character, and would, therefore, like to have Your all sufficient grace", it would be refused to us. God can not shower His grace on self-sufficient persons. On the other hand, when we stand before God acknowledging that we are sinners and justly condemned, and feeling our great need, then God’s grace will be released to supply that need. This is what God is telling us through Apostle Paul. Jesus Christ came in grace to save condemned sinners. He loved us while we were sinners and died for us while we were His enemies. Apostle Paul stated the theme of the Book of Romans in these words: "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth" to the Jew first and also to the Greek ( Romans 1:16 ). Paul knew that the gospel was not the same inferior thing. Neither was it untried, for it had been put to the test, and never once had it resulted in failure. The gospel can not be classified as part of a creed or a mere dogma. Paul says that here is something that is a proven fact, something that is real. It is good news for which he had no reason to be ashamed. It is good news concerning Christ and Christ is God. The scriptures say of Christ that He is "the imagine of the invisible God, the first born of every creature" ( Colosians 1:15 ). This verse tells us that Christ existed before any created things, in fact He always was. The passage continues "for by Him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers. All things were created by Him, and for Him, and He is before all things consist". The gospel concerns this Person. With such a Person as Christ to present. It is no wonder Paul was not ashamed , and for the same reason we do not need to be ashamed. We read in the Scriptures that Christ made the world and He upholds all things by the Word of His power…Ashamed of Him? Surely not! The Gospel of Christ is the demonstration of the power of God unto salvation. This is something man is desperately in need of. By nature we all come into this world spiritually dead to God. TO GOD BE THE GLORY! (to be continued)
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