• Scripture: II Cor. 12:9
• Broadcast Date: 08/31/2015

Do you know what?  Of all the religions of the world, the Christian faith is the ONLY one who has the word “grace” in it!  All of the false gods and phony founders put together, never came up with a word as precious and beautiful as “grace”.  So the Christian Faith has grace, not just a little of it, but mountains of it.  And if anybody needed the grace of God, Paul did.  If you want a partial list of his sins, just listen to him enumerate some of them in his defense before King Agrippa.     He was so wicked that even the wicked king got sick to his stomach. (Acts 26: 9-12).  Paul admitted to young Timothy he was the worst sinner that ever lived, calling himself as the “chief of all the sinners” of the world!  (I Tim. 1:15).  So Paul’s sins were bad, bad and he was destined for hell, and rightly so.  But don’t forget, God is a God of Grace, and there is hope for even Paul. God tells him, “my grace is sufficient for thee” (II Cor. 12:9). The wondrous grace of God makes it possible for wicked old Saul to call upon the Name of the Lord for forgiveness, and lo and behold, because he repents and asks for salvation, it is granted forthwith.  Paul later said, “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”  (Rom. 5:20). About eighteen hundred years later, John Newton said the very same thing.  “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”.  Oh friend, that is why I love to preach, now for over 70 years!      I love to preach because there is always hope, hope that comes because God loves and gives grace.  But what IS grace, what does it mean.  It simply means, “unmerited favor”.  That is, we are all wicked sinners, enemies of God, who deserve hell.  But this wonderful God of Israel, loves us in our sin and makes it possible for us to be saved from the consequences of sin.  That is grace—-we deserve nothing but condemnation and God opens his arms and His heart, gives us His son to die for us, raises Him for our justification so that, instead of being His enemies, can become His children!  St. John puts it this way, “But as many as received Him to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”  (John 1:12).  The word ‘gospel’ means, ‘good news’.  Now isn’t that good news?  To be on the road to hell, burdened down with heavy, ugly sins.

And then comes the Savior, coming in love and grace, to redeem us, to save us from the torments of hell!  Friends, you won’t get news like that in the newspaper, or on television, unless you watch the Christian Worship Hour.  And, I hastily add, there are many good, gospel preachers on television and the radio, we are just one of many. So the news goes out, and the grace of God is offered to the whole world. We pray to God that many will enter in.  As Newton says, “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed!” Friend, if you haven’t availed yourself of that grace, do so immediately!