WHAT GRACE IS

by C. R. Stam

Never let the devil deceive you into supposing that God planned sin as "a gracious means to a glorious end," for then salvation from sin would be simple justice, not grace. No, you cannot legitimately charge God with your sin. It is to the guilty, the undeserving, far and wide, that God offers "the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace" (Eph. 1:7).

There are two significant phrases in Eph. 2 which shed clear light upon the character, the nature, of grace. They are found in Verses 2 and 3, which speak of the unsaved as "children [Gr., huiois, full-grown sons] of disobedience" and "children [Gr., tekna, born ones] of wrath."

Meditate for a moment on these phrases: "Children of disobedience" and "children of wrath." It is against this dark, black background of deserved wrath, that we read further:

"BUT GOD, who is RICH IN MERCY, for His GREAT LOVE wherewith He loved us, "Even when we were dead in sin, hath quickened us [given us life] together with Christ (BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED), "And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: "That in the ages to come He might show THE EXCEEDING RICHES OF HIS GRACE IN HIS KINDNESS TOWARD US THROUGH CHRIST JESUS" (Eph. 2:4-7).

Somehow it takes a load off one’s heart and mind to come to the end of his rope, as it were, and admit that he is a sinner, deserving God’s wrath. How sweet to the ears of such is the wonderful message of redemption by grace, through the finished work of Christ at Calvary. We were all the "children [full-grown sons] of disobedience": and therefore "by nature the children [born ones] of wrath": "But God!" When hope seemed gone, He intervened and now offers salvation to all by grace, through faith.

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31).

In The News:

72-Hour Ceasefire Holds as Israel and Hamas Undergo Negotiations

by Carrie Dedrick

Israel and Gaza are once again under a 72-hour ceasefire, as world leaders push for the opposing sides to negotiate a permanent peace agreement and end the month-long conflict. The ceasefire was issued Sunday night in order for the injured to seek medical treatment. 

 

Leaders of the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas planned to travel to Cairo for another round of negotiations Monday. Previous talks accomplished little, as Hamas said it wants to remove the Israeli and Egyptian blockade and Israel demands the destruction of Hamas’ weapons. It is believed that the militants still maintain an arsenal of several thousand rockets. 

 

Palestinian spokesman Qais Abdelkarim said that this round of negotiations have a “hope of reaching a lasting ceasefire.” 

 

An anonymous Palestinian negotiator said, “We might not get everything we want, particularly on freedom of movement. But we believe the Israelis and the world have gotten the point that Gazans should live normally and things should be much better than today.”

 

The negotiator said that a partial relief of the blockade would be acceptable, but Hamas has given no indication that the group would be willing to disarm. 

 

Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said, “"They want to get legitimacy as a terrorist organization without accepting the requirements of the international community.”

Publication date: August 11, 2014