T
ext: Psa. 103:8.
All of us have done things for which we are deeply ashamed, we may
think we have sinned so much more greatly than
others that God's grace is not sufficient to forgive us. There are at
least four ways in which God's grace is sufficient for us.
I. Grace to save us from sin
A. Christ died for us even though we did not deserve it
(Rom.5:6,8).
B. Salvation is a gift of grace (Eph.2:8).
C. No one is too far-gone in sin to be redeemed by Christ (1
Cor.6:9-11).
II. Grace to help us deal with hardship
A. God is faithful to protect us from what is too much for us
(1 Cor.10:13).
B. As for trials, sometimes God's will is for us to continue to endure a
hardship - at such times,
His "grace is sufficient" to help us deal with it
(2 Cor.12:7-10).
C. In every case, we may "come boldly to the throne of grace"
and "obtain mercy and find grace to help in
time of need" (Heb.4:16).
III. Grace to help us do the Lords work
A. Our sufficiency and adequacy to do His work is from God (2
Cor.3:4-5).
God is able "to make all grace abound"
toward us, causing us to "have an abundance for every good work"
(2 Cor.9:6-15; Eph.4:7).
B. The person who "labors more abundantly" is the person who
realizes that "by the grace of God" he is what he is (1
Cor.15:10).
IV. Grace to forgive us when we err as Christians
A. God's grace is, of course, conditioned upon our repentance, but
when we repent, God is gracious to forgive.
B. God is faithful and just to forgive us (1 Jn.1:9).
C. It is grace that teaches us to turn away from sin (Tit.2:11-12).
D. None of us deserve God's grace -- if we deserved it, it would not be
grace.
E. Wherever sin abounds, grace abounds much more -- there is no sin so
great that
God's grace cannot cover it (Rom.5:20,21)
Conclusion
A. When we come to see our own sins for what they really are in God's
sight, the "gospel" of God's saving grace becomes "good
news" indeed.
B. God is a God of grace to His people. (Num. 6:24-26)
1. "O God, our Father, as we read
your word, humble us at the sight of your holiness, and then comfort us
with the memory of your mercy. Humiliate us with the realization of our
sinfulness, and then uplift us at the sight of your love. Help us in
your word to know our sin and to find our Savior" (William
Barclay).
2. If we are tormented by fear of God, its
because we have not been "made perfect in love"(1Jn.4:17-19).
3. If not been made perfect in love, we have
not yet caught a vision of the depth of God's grace.
C. Christians have "tasted that the Lord is gracious"
(1 Pt. 2:3; Psa.84:10-12).
1. May we not "receive the grace of God in vain" (2
Cor.6:1).
2. May we not insult or do despite to "the Spirit of
grace" (Heb.10:29).
May we be "strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus"
(2 Tim. 2:1)
