Saving Grace

Eph 2:8-9

The more you realize of greatly you have sinned against God, the more you appreciate the grace of God, the less you think your sins then less you see the grace of God, if you don’t think you are a sinner, then you don’t see grace of God at all.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of

God:

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

To the apostles, the New Testament writers, grace was a wonder. The reality of God’s wrath, his

justice due to sin is so strong and simply amazing that there should be such thing as grace of God.

Sending of His Son, which was so costly to God, but no cost to us. The hymn writers caught this

sense of wonder as they wrote amazing grace, amazing love. How can it be that thou my God

should die for me?

Grace is central to the New Testament, grace is the New Testament.

Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Centrality of grace is so strong in the New Testament as Paul’s letters open with the word of

‘grace’.

Ro 1:5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship.

Rom 1:7 Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Co 1:3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

2Co 1:2 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ga 1:3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,

Eph 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Php 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Col 1:2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse Grace be unto you, and

peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thes 1:1 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2Th 1:2 Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Ti 1:2 Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and

Jesus Christ our Lord.

2Ti 1:2 To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and

Christ Jesus our Lord.

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.

Phm 1:3 Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is said that the theme of the New Testament is salvation. Then why did Paul always begin his

letters with the word grace? Because the New Testament salvation is of grace alone. Apostle

Paul’s conversion is very personal to him as he was the enemy of God persecuting the Christians

hunting after them as he thought that righteousness could be obtained by keeping the law of God.

He was responsible for stoning God’s servant Stephen to death. Paul did not seek God but God

sought Paul, his salvation is grace alone without any works that he did which he can boast.

Also all New Testament theology is based on grace.

Ro 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive

abundance of GRACE and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

2Co 6:1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the GRACE of

God in vain.

Ga 2:21 I do not frustrate the GRACE of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is

dead in vain.

Ac 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his GRACE, which is able to

build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

Of all the wonders of the world, the wonders of science, the wonders of nature cannot be equal

with the wonder of God’s grace. No wonder apostle Paul said it is something unspeakable.

2Co 9:14 And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding GRACE of God in you.

15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

All evangelical churches believe that we are saved by grace but sad to say when it comes to their

teachings they believe a man is saved by grace plus works. The subject that is very unpopular

today is sin and wrath of God. Without sin and without the wrath of God the word grace has no

meaning, no wonder the evangelical churches today always speaks and teach on the love of God but

have hardly explain the true nature of sin and the wrath of God, as a result there is no value on

Grace.

For us to understand that believers are saved by grace alone we need to go to the very beginning

to the book of Genesis. God made Adam the fountainhead of the human race a perfect being, he

was totally innocent without sin, he did not have the inherent sin but absolutely a perfect being. He

did not know what sin was as a result he and his wife Eve stood before God naked without any

guilt.

God is the Creator and man is a Creature. Creator requires obedience from his Creatures .

God gave Adam a commandment.

Ge 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou

mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that

thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

God required from Adam obedience. Adam could have lived forever in paradise if was able to

perform works of obedience to God. It means even if Satan came and tempted Adam and Eve they

could have resisted all temptations from the enemy by their works of obedience. And they could

have lived forever with human works of righteousness. Adam and Eve were perfect yet we all know

the outcome that human works of righteousness failed. As God said, death and misery came to all

humanity.

Ro 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death

passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.

The fountainhead sinned out of that fountainhead flowed polluted water and spread to all

humanity. The result all were born sinners. Humanity have offended God and obeyed Satan, God’s

enemy.

If God wanted to he could have destroyed all humanity. Then later we see God gave man the law.

Again perfect obedience was required. Now this time man is not perfect like Adam but in his fallen

state, in his sinful state there is no way we can perform perfect obedience to God by keeping all

the commandments. The result is man is in double trouble. In Adam all men sinned then added to

that we have all violated all the commandments of God by thought and actions.

Now lets be reasonable. When one third of the Angels in heaven sinned with Lucifer did God

pardoned them? No. Instead they will be punished in the lake of fire for eternity. Now when man

sinned against God is God under any obligation to pardon mankind? Of course not. God is not

under any obligation to anyone as he is the most Highest God as the Creator he can dismantle and

destroy his creatures, as God is sovereign, he is not obligation to anyone. The fairest thing is that

we all deserve the wrath of God as we have offended God; hurt him deeply with our sins.

Now read Ephesians 2:8-9

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

The scripture is clear by grace you are saved. First of all you are saved from what? From the wrath

of God. As we all deserve the wrath of God. Let me show you first the wrath of God that is going to

come.

Lu 3:7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers,

who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Future tense)

Ro 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and

unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.

Ro 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day

of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. (There is a future Day of Judgment and

wrath going to come)

God’s righteous judgment is his wrath upon all sinners. Now salvation means to be saved from the

wrath of God.

Ro 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through

him.

Salvation is that a person is saved from God’s wrath unto him.

1Th 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which

delivered (past tense to the believer) us from the wrath to come. (Future tense to the believer)

Notice the word delivered is past tense. It was the work of Jesus on the cross that delivered us

from God’s wrath. Yes, my friend God required satisfaction as we have offended him and yet there

was no one that could satisfy God, we could not pay the debt we owed to God.

What is grace?

Grace is God’s undeserved favor. Which means we did not deserve salvation but the wrath of God.

Grace is God’s unmerited love. The word merit means something we earned and deserve. What

we really deserved was the judgment of God. But grace is God’s unmerited love, a love of God that

we never earned or deserved.

Grace comes from the very heart of God. He is the God of all grace. (1Pet 5:10) Grace is God’s

goodness to save sinners, God loving the unloving, pardoning their sins and accepting them,

revealing himself to them. Grace is his election love and covenant love, God’s grace saves from sin

brings ungodly humans to fellowship with their Creator.

Now let me tell you an illustration of God’s grace as given by Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse, which

will help us to understand the saving grace of God.

During the last century in the worst slum district of London there was a social worker by the name

of Henry Moorehouse. One evening when he was walking alone he saw a little girl coming out of a

little store carrying a pitcher of milk, (Not like today a cartoon or a plastic container but an earthen

vessel) taking home. Suddenly she slipped and fell, the pitcher fell on the sidewalk and broke the

milk ran all over. The little girl began to cry as her little heart would break. Moorehouse quickly

stepped to see if the girl was hurt, helped her to her feet saying, “Don’t cry little girl.” But there was

no stopping her tears.

She kept repeating, “My mom will whip me; my mom will whip me.” Moorehouse tried to

comfort her by saying, “No little girl, your mom won’t whip you. Look the pitcher is not broken in

many pieces.” He began to stoop down and picked up the pieces, began to work as he was putting

the pitcher back together, the little girl stop crying. But he knocked it apart again; once more she

began to cry. Moorehouse repeated. “Don’t cry little girl. I promise you that your mother won’t whip

you.”

Once more he began to restore the pitcher this time getting all together except for the handle.

Moorehouse gave to the little girl and she tried to attach it. But naturally, all she did was knock it

down again. This time there was no stopping of her tears. She would not even look at the broken

pieces lying on the sidewalk.

Finally Moorehouse picked up the little girl, carried her to the store bought her new pitcher bought

her the milk and the new pitcher was filled with milk. He asked her where she lived and carried her

to the house, set her down on the step, placed the full pitcher of milk in her hands. Then he

opened the door for her. As she stepped in, he asked one more question, “Now do you think your

mother will whip you?”

He was rewarded for his trouble a bright smile as she said to him, “Oh, no, sir, because it is a lot

better pitcher than we had before.”

What a great illustration of God’s grace in salvation. We were created in God’s image but that

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image was broken beyond repair due to sin. Like Moorehouse we tried to put the pieces together

with our own works of righteousness to please God, but it was a broken righteousness, there is no

way we can perform any works of righteousness due to our fallen nature, inherit sin in us as a

result we are sinners not because we sin but because we are sinners.

Dead in Sin

Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins…

Evil hearts.

Gen 8:21 for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth.

Heart is deceitful beyond cure.

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

We are sinners from birth.

Isa 48:8 Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not

opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from

the womb.

We have all gone astray.

Ro 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

Unprofitable and worthless to God

12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that

doeth good, no, not one.

We are slaves to sin

Ro 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

Enemies of God

Ro 5:10 For if, when we were enemies…

Powerless, without strength and ungodly

Ro 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

Captive to Satan in power of darkness

Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the

kingdom of his dear Son.

Corrupted mind and conscience

Tit 1:15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing

pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

Foolish, disobedient, lustful etc.,

Tit 3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts

and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

We were helpless, lost, cannot save ourselves.

Pr 20:9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?

Jer 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good,

that are accustomed to do evil.

Just like the little girl in Dr. Barnhouse story, she did not do anything to deserve Moorehouse favor.

She did not pay for her new pitcher and milk. She did not hire Moorehouse’s service. She did not

even ask him to help her but he did it as it pleased him to do it. He did not expect a reward from

the girl’s parents.

In the same way there was the wrath of God upon us, we did not deserve to be saved, we did not

ask God to help us but yet it pleased God to send his Son to this world the first Adam was

disobedient but the last Adam Christ was obedient to the Father as he did the will of God, he paid

the price, bought us from his own blood and set us free.

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There was no other good enough

To pay the price of sin;

He only could unlock the gates

Of Heaven, and let us in.

Lu 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

We are saved by the works of Jesus as Christ took our place and was subject to the Father, he

obeyed all of the law where we have broken, he loved the Father where we did not love, he took

the punishment on our behalf, yes, Christ did it all for us.

Amazing Grace

One of the greatest hymns of all time is ‘Amazing Grace.’

What made John Newton to write such a great hymn? Although John Newton was taught

Christianity in his early years by his mom, when she died he forgot all of Christianity and did his

own will followed the way of the world.

He was a son of a commander of a merchant ship. At 11

years of age he went to sea with his father and made six voyages with him before the elder Newton

retired. His Father was a strict man but did not care of religion. The conditions on board were

intolerable to him, so he deserted but was soon recaptured and publicly flogged and demoted from

midshipman to common seaman.

Finally, at his own request, Newton was exchanged into service

on a slave ship, which took him to the coast of Sierra Leone Africa. He then became the servant of a

slave trader and was brutally abused, for 15 months he lived as a slave in Africa half starved and ill

treaded. Early in 1748 he was rescued by a sea captain who had known John's father.

John Newton ultimately became captain of his own slave ship. And what kind of captain was he?

"It is reported that at times he was so wretched that even his crew regarded

him as little more than an animal.

Once he fell overboard and his ship's crew refused to drop a boat to him. Instead they threw a harpoon at him, with which they dragged him back into the ship."

John Newton had bad morals; he was noted for his profanity even some of the sailors were shocked. He was known as the great blasphemer.

But God intervened in Newton's life and got his attention through a violent storm. The gale was so

severe that all the livestock were washed overboard and the crew tied themselves to the ship to

keep from being swept overboard. As he was attempting to steer the ship through the violent

storm, he experienced what he was to refer to later as his "great deliverance."

He recorded in his journal that when all seemed lost and the ship would surely sink, he exclaimed, "Lord, have mercy

upon us." Later in his cabin he reflected on what he had said and began to believe that God had

addressed him through the storm and that grace had begun to work for him. May 10, 1748 as the

day of his conversion, a day of humiliation in which he subjected his will to a higher power. "Thro'

many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; 'tis grace has bro't me safe thus far, and

grace will lead me home."

At 82, Newton said, "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things, that I am a great

sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior." No wonder he understood so well grace--the completely

undeserved mercy and favor of God.

The love of God is greater far

Than tongue or pen can ever tell,

It goes beyond the highest star

And reaches to the lowest hell

Last week we saw an overview of the above scriptures, by grace alone we are saved. Today we

will see the significance of these two verses.

Conversion is the work of God. By the power of God we are delivered from sin and wrath. We are

saved by grace alone. The grace in context here is God’s unmerited favor in salvation,

underserved favor from a superior to an inferior, God’s divine grace to man.

It is different than Justice and Mercy. Justice is getting what we deserve. Mercy is not getting what

we deserve. Grace is getting what we do not deserve. Salvation by grace is which we do not

deserve. Grace is God's love and kindness manifested in Jesus on the Cross, we receive the great

blessing of redemption. Grace rules out all human merit. Grace is of God given by God, because of

who He is not because of who we are.

By grace you are saved through faith.

Eph 2:8 For by grace (charis) are ye saved through faith (pistis); and that (touto) not of yourselves:

it is the gift (doron) of God:

Now it is very important to understand the word faith has a broad meaning. But I want to stick to

our subject. When the scripture says, by grace you are saved through faith, many believe faith is a

feeling. There are many who does not believe what the Bible say and yet they that in their heart

that they are Christians as they go by the gut feeling.

Norman Vincent Peale in his best selling book, ‘The power of positive thinking’ a spiritual power

that is in man. Which he is really talking of the self confidence in man. He took many scriptures

out of context and taught this false teachings that was embraced by many churches. If you see

history it really came through Pelagian and people like Charles Finney.

Also there are many Christians who make faith a work itself. As they see the scripture, ‘By grace

you are saved through faith.’ We are speaking of saving faith. Is this faith comes from man or is it

from God?

Let us see in context in the book of Ephesians we studied that we were spiritually dead to God but

alive to sin but it was God who made us spiritually alive so regeneration or the new birth comes

first.

(Eph 2:1 and 2:5) Naturally spiritually dead do not have faith. (2 Thes 3:2; 1 Cor 2:14) Remember

we are speaking here only of saving faith.

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Ephesians 2:8 does not end when it says by grace you are saved through faith but continues with

the word and.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.

Faith is a gift

This faith is a gift from God, we are saved by grace through faith and it is not of ourselves. There is

no room left for us to boast and say it is my faith that I am a Christian.

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

So grace is not a work and saving faith is not a work.

Ro 11:6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be

of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

Yes, my friends faith is the means and the instrument or channel which the grace of God comes to

us. This faith is not the produce of man’s free will or man’s power but it is the free gift of God.

Robert Murray M’Cheyne (1813-1843) said the following:

When a man chooses an apple off a tree, he generally chooses the ripest, the one that promises

best. It is not so with God in choosing the soul He saves. He does not choose those that have

sinned least, those that are most willing to be saved; He often chooses the vilest of men, "to the

praise of the glory of his grace". This is proved by the instances given in the Bible of brands

plucked out of the burning. Why did God choose Manasseh, who "caused his children to pass

through the fire", set "a carved image in the house of God", and filled Jerusalem with the blood of

holy men, while many of his deluded people, who had sinned far less, perished? (2 Chronicles 33).

Why did God save Zaccheus the hoary-headed swindler, "the chief of the publicans"? (Luke 19:

1-10). Why did Jesus tell the Pharisees, "the publicans, and the harlots go into the kingdom of God

before you"? Why did Jesus enter into the pearly gates of paradise with a poor thief, who had

never done anything but sin up to his last hour? (Luke 23:43, comp. Matthew 27:44). Why did He

leave the other thief, who was no worse than his fellow (both were hell-deserving), to sink into

perdition within an arm's length of an Almighty Saviour? All these things happened unto them for

ensamples, to show us that God saves according to the good pleasure of His will, not for our

goodness, but to show His own free adorable grace.

There is an interesting story when Spurgeon was very young he was invited to preach in a country

town. He was very punctual and tardy when it came to appointments but railway delays and

breakdown of the train he reached the place of worship late and the congregation had proceeded

in their worship.

When he neared the chapel he saw someone from the pulpit preaching and to his amazement it

was his grandfather preaching. When he saw his grandson, at once he said, “Here comes my

grandson! He may preach the gospel better than I can, but he cannot preach a better gospel.” He

insisted that his grandson Charles should take the sermon but young Spurgeon refused as he said,

“You can preach better than I can.” But his grandfather insisted young Spurgeon to preach where

he left.

He told Spurgeon, “I was preaching on for by grace you are saved, I have shown the source and

the fountainhead of salvation and now I am showing the channel of it, through faith, now you can

take from here.”

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Spurgeon in his story tells that he was so much at home with these glorious truths, he did not feel

any difficulty in taking from his grandfather the thread of his message and joining my thread to it so

as to continue without a break.

Nobody will be saved if it was left for our free will, my decision to come to Christ. Because the

natural man in his fallen condition is not willing to come to Christ, just like Adam when he sinned

against God he was not willing to come to God but running away and hiding from the presence of

God.

But how many times you hear the evangelist or the pastor telling people now it is up to your

decision to accept Christ, they make the faith a work and tell people to raise their hands, come

forward and repeat a prayer. It is something you have to do to be saved. There is nothing in New

Testament this kind of teaching and the apostles never practiced this kind of teaching, this is new

teaching very strange to Historical biblical Christianity.

Let me give you some illustrations. Let’s think about a hungry lion and you make two different

plates for the Lion, one a nice green salad pour Ranch Dressing over it, then another plate just

raw meat. Which one will the Lion choose, yes the raw flesh. Why it is because of his nature, it is

the same with the fallen man. The fallen man loves darkness, the pleasures of sin rather than the

God of the Bible. Go to the streets and offer the drunkard a bottle of Whisky or the Bible which one

will he take? Offer man a delicious meal or the word of God, the fallen man is controlled by his

appetite, he is a slave to his own emotions, feelings and desires unless God give a new nature

then man will follow the will of God, God ways not his ways.

The carnal mind is enmity with God. (Rom 8:7) The fallen nature of man the unbeliever does not

want to come to Jesus on his own will.

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his

thoughts. Psalm 10:4

Joh 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

When the multitude saw how a demon possessed man was healed but Jesus they did not come to

Jesus for repentance and tell him to stay with them, no, they told him to leave from them. (Luke

8:37)

The gospel command is to repent and believe in Jesus addressed and invitation is to all but all will

not come to him.

Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise

him up at the last day.

So salvation is of grace but not by the power of man’s will.

Ro 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

It is not man’s will but salvation is from the will of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing of the

gospel. God is the one who opens the mind that is blinded, the heart to receive the gospel and for

us to understand the word of truth.

Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of

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his creatures.

I want to show you in scripture that Salvation is of God and from the beginning to the end he is the

author and the finisher of our faith. Let me show you briefly some scriptures.

1. God regenerates the spiritually dead man.(Eph 2:1;5 Ac 16:14)

2. When you are regenerated your mind is opened by God and trust in Jesus and repent of

your sins and in 2Co 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance. Ungodly man cannot repent. It

is that God grants repentance and faith to the regenerated man. (Acts 11:18; 2 Tim 2:25; Philp

1:29; Acts 13:48)

Repentance is a gift of God as much as saving faith is. Both the positive turning to Christ and

the negative turning from sin must be present in the mere Christian. You see this, for example,

in I Thessalonians 1:9: "you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God." The two

graces of faith and repentance together constitute real divine conversion.

2. We are saved by grace alone. (Eph 2:8-9)

Saving faith is a gift of God William Cowper said in one his hymns

"Of all the gifts Thine hand bestows,

Thou Giver of all good!

Not heaven itself a richer knows

Than my Redeemer's blood.

Faith too, the blood-receiving grace,

From the same hand we gain;

Else, sweetly as it suits our case,

The gift had been in vain."

Grace was given to the believer before the world began.

2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but

according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world

began.

Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should

be holy and without blame before him in love.

The elect were chosen and grace was given to them before the world began but yet they did not

have salvation, they too were born in sin and salvation comes in our time.

No wonder the gospel is called the gospel of grace.

Ac 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I

might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify

the gospel of the grace of God.

Yet many prominent evangelists and teachers have turned the gospel into a gospel of works, yes

their churches are packed who loves to hear the fleshly gospel that brings much feelings and pride

to the flesh but not profit the soul.

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When the Christian is ready to die the godly Christians cannot say that I was saved because of my

decision by my repentance by my righteousness, by my merit, by my works but all the glory goes to

God alone. As the man who wrote ‘amazing grace’ John Newton at 82, Newton said, "My memory

is nearly gone, but I remember two things, that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great

Savior."

Conclusion is that God does not save sinners by works so they can be saved. Adam was given a

commandment to obey and Adam failed, the human works failed so glory goes to God of his grace.

Faith is only the channel by which the grace comes to us. It is not a deserving action or an attitude

on our part, it is not from yourselves but the gift of God. It is not grace plus works but by grace

alone.

We are saved from the wrath of God, the dominion of sin. How are we saved from these things?

Through Christ and in Christ alone.

Augustus Toplady was only thirty-eight when he died on this day, august 11, 1778, but his short

life-span was enough to produce one of the most beloved of all hymns: Rock of Ages

Nothing in my hands I bring,

Simply to the cross I cling,

Naked come to thee for dress,

Helpless look to thee for grace,

Foul, I to the Fountain fly,

Wash me Savior, or I die.

Augustus Toplady said the following.

And thus it will be when God has accomplished the number of His elect, and

completely gathered in the fulness of His redeemed kingdom. What, do you think,

your song will be, when you come to heaven? "Blessed be God, that He gave me

free-will; and blessed be my own dear self, that made a good use of it"? O no, no.

Such a song as that was never heard in heaven yet, nor ever will, while God is God,

and heaven is heaven. Look into the Book of Revelation, and there you will find the

employ of the blessed, and the strains which they sing. They cast their crowns before

the throne, saying:

Thou art worthy, for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God, by

Thy Blood, out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation

(Revelation 9:10).

All the glory goes to God alone.

Ps 115:1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for

thy truth's sake.

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