Sharing Our Faith Together

Amazed By Grace

by Rev Greg Obong-Oshotse 4 December 2020

Reading: John 6:41-51, 60-66

Text: Ephesians 2:8-9 this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

John Newton (1725-1807) was rescued from the clutches of sin when he was miraculously saved in Christ. He went on to become an Anglican clergyman but never quite escaped the haunting probability that he could have missed his narrow escape. The horror of where he was headed, and the glory of the parallel world he found in Christ, left him in permanent amazement at the power of grace and the generosity of God. In his immortal Amazing Grace, he is awestruck at his radical transformation.

I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.

And in Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken, he rejoices to be in God’s Kingdom, the highest privilege possible to humanity.

Solid joys and lasting treasure, None but Zion’s children know.

Newton’s turn around is one of history’s most amazing. His sense of privilege was ever heightened by his understanding of it as a gift, totally undeserved, priceless beyond means. John says many disciples rejected Christ because they would rather earn their salvation. And Paul tells the Ephesians that they were not saved by merit. Salvation is not a debt God owes us. It is a mercy He shows us. If we ever feel we deserve salvation, we do not understand it. And until we understand how undeserving we are, we cannot fully appreciate it, let alone be amazed at God’s incredible generosity. It will also affect our sanctification in a most negative way, making growth into maturity a difficult thing.

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Prayer

Dear Father open our eyes that we may be truly amazed at the incomparable greatness of the gift of our salvation in Christ’s name, Amen