TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER
Have you ever felt the weight of your mistakes, those things you wish you could take back? Imagine a debt so large you could never repay it. This is the situation we all find ourselves in when it comes to our wrongdoings, our sins, against God.
The good news is that there’s a solution, a way out that doesn’t depend on our ability to be “good enough.” It’s called grace, which means God’s undeserved kindness and favor towards us. It’s something freely given, even when we don’t deserve it.
Think about John Newton, the writer of the famous hymn “Amazing Grace”. Before becoming a pastor, he was involved in the slave trade, a life marked by recklessness and immorality. But when faced with death during a storm at sea, he cried out to God. As he came to understand the gospel, the message of forgiveness through Jesus Christ, he was overwhelmed by God’s grace in forgiving his terrible sins. It was this profound experience that led him to write the words, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!”. The realization of his own deep sinfulness made God’s grace all the more astonishing.
Sadly, it seems many lose this sense of amazement. Perhaps it’s because we lose sight of how serious our sins truly are to God. Our wrong thoughts and hidden actions are just as significant as the more visible sins we might judge in others. We tend to put ourselves on a pedestal, thinking we are better than others.
Jesus once told a story that helps illustrate this. A man had two people who owed him money – one a large sum (500 denarii) and the other a much smaller amount (50 denarii). Neither could pay back what they owed, so the man freely forgave both debts. Jesus then asked which one would love him more, and the answer was clear: the one who had been forgiven more.
This story demonstrates how God’s grace works. Some might think their sins are small and therefore God’s forgiveness is not a big deal. But whether the debt is large or small, it’s still a debt. True appreciation and love for God come when we recognize the enormity of our sin and the incredible grace it takes for God to forgive us.
In Luke chapter 7, we read about a woman known as a sinner (understood to be a prostitute) who came to Jesus while he was eating at the house of a self-righteous religious leader named Simon, a Pharisee. She wept at Jesus’ feet, washed them with her tears and her hair, kissed them, and poured expensive perfume on them. Simon was disgusted, thinking that if Jesus knew what kind of woman this was, he wouldn’t allow her to touch him.
But Jesus knew Simon’s thoughts and told him the story of the two debtors. Then, turning to the woman, Jesus pointed out how Simon had failed to show common courtesy, while this woman had shown extravagant love and humility. Jesus then declared, “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little” (Luke 7:47). He concluded by saying to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace” (Luke 7:50). It wasn’t her tears or the expensive oil that saved her, but her faith in Jesus.
Those who recognize their deep need for forgiveness are the ones who truly understand and appreciate God’s grace. The self-righteous, like Simon, feel little need for it.
The core message of the early followers of Jesus, like the Apostle Paul, was this incredible grace of God. When Paul first preached in places like Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra (cities in the region of Galatia), the message was clear: forgiveness of sins comes through Jesus, and by him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses (Acts 13:38-39). The Gentiles who heard this were glad and believed. In Iconium, Paul and Barnabas spoke boldly about the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands (Acts 14:1-3). Even after facing opposition and persecution, they returned to these cities, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:20-22). They had preached the gospel of God’s grace.
However, Paul was shocked to hear that these very churches in Galatia were turning away from this message. They were being influenced by others who taught that following the Jewish Law was necessary for salvation, adding works to God’s grace. This is a perversion of the true gospel.
Paul’s reaction was strong. He wrote in his letter to the Galatians: “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7). He even issued a stark warning: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8-9).
Paul was so firm because his understanding of the gospel didn’t come from human teaching but directly from Jesus Christ himself. He said, “But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11-12).
The danger of adding anything to God’s grace for salvation is that it diminishes the sufficiency of what Jesus Christ has already done. It suggests that His sacrifice alone wasn’t enough. The truth is, we have a debt we could never repay, the debt of our sins. Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, came and paid that debt for us through his death on the cross. He lived a perfect life so that His righteousness could be given to us. We have nothing to offer God to earn our forgiveness.
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 (Ephesians 2:8-9).
This doesn’t mean that good works are unimportant. In fact, the Bible goes on to say, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 – not explicitly cited but related concept). When we are truly saved by grace through faith, our lives will be transformed, and we will naturally want to do good works as a response to God’s love. But these works are a result of salvation, not the cause of it.
The message is clear: salvation is a free gift from God, received through faith in Jesus Christ. It is not earned by our efforts or good deeds. We cannot add anything to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus. Our focus should be on trusting in His grace alone. This amazing grace is what sets us free from the consequences of our sins and offers us eternal life. Let us never lose our amazement at this incredible gift.
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