Let Grace Be Grace - Part 3

Grace is free, in other words. Grace in election is absolutely free, unconditional, uncoerced, uncaused by anything in us. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace. The spring of grace in God's electing initiative, it is God's electing initiative, not our response. So bottom line in the argument, how can Paul be sure that in his day there will be a remnant who believe in the Messiah, and right on until Jesus comes, there will always be a remnant? And how can he be sure that this remnant might get its arms around the whole of Israel some day? Answer, sovereign, free, unconditional, electing. That's how he can be sure. If God saves 7,000 people sovereignly and keeps them for himself, he can save 7 million for himself any time he pleases, without compromising their accountability and personhood. Main point, God has not rejected his people, and no rejection of theirs can keep him from saving a remnant or saving a nation when he chooses to remove the hardness. Six implications for your life, number one, learn that you were saved by grace and be humbled. I was dead and you were dead in trespasses and sins. We were blind. We were rebellious. And then, by grace alone, you were awakened. And suddenly you saw sin as ugly and repulsive and hateful and undesirable. And you saw Christ as beautiful and attractive and satisfying and the only one who could meet your need. And you believed and were saved. When you get to heaven and the Lord of glory says, Give me an accounting of why you are here and not your brother, your sister, your mother, your father. Tell me why you're here and not them. Tell me why you believed in them and they didn't. You will not say, I guess I was more wise. I guess I was more spiritual. I guess I was smarter. You won't say that. You will say with tears running down your face and with trembling in your voice, Thank you. That's what you'll say. Thank you. Wouldn't it be a beautiful church where everyone's pride was broken and we all knew that we deserved nothing but the worst criticism, the worst gossip, the worst accusation. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be a part of a church where everybody was broken in half and felt utterly undeserving of anything good from God or anything good from people. Wives, husbands, children, colleagues, neighbors. So that there would be a real, deep, authentic, emotional sense in which everything bad that happened to us was expected and therefore not grumbled about. And everything good that happened to us was received as an absolutely amazing grace for which we would sing and shout thanksgiving to a gracious God. Wouldn't such a fellowship be wonderful? We are such huffers and puffers about our rights and what we deserve everywhere with everybody, me included. I hate that about myself. Don't you? I want to taste grace at a much more profound level emotionally than I have at age 57. And so I just ask you to pray for me. I want to wake up in the morning and go to bed at night and go to work and walk through the day feeling that every single breath I take, every single good news that crosses my path is stunningly undeserved and therefore causes me to spill over with a song of praise. And every bad thing that happens to me is nothing like I deserve and therefore can be embraced with quietness. Like it says in Lamentations, it was good for us that we bear the yoke of our youth. What a fellowship! What a glory divine! You want something to pray about for Bethlehem? Pray that. That's implication number one. At least pray it for me if you don't need it. I desperately need it. Number two, since God's grace can take for Himself anyone He chooses, pray with boldness and confidence that God is able to save the hardest sinner you love. I'll say it again. Since God is able to take for Himself a remnant of anybody He pleases because He is almighty and sovereign, pray with boldness and confidence for the hardest person you love. If you believe, let's put it this way, if God must wait and watch for hardened people to get soft, for the dead to rise, for the blind to see, for the deaf to hear, you may as well have it.