Well this morning I am really excited to be able to share with you, the Word of God as we continue our journey through the wonderful book of Romans. I'm going to read to you in Romans, chapter 5. This is a beautiful passage of Scripture. Many theologians think that this is the central focus of the book of Romans. This is the pivot on which the whole book of Romans hinges upon. These are not easy verses, but I trust that God has a great message for you this morning, because it was a great message to my heart as I studied it in the past one or two weeks.

Romans 5:15-21, Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit said:

15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
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.
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

There was a group of Christians, gathering together, discussing this question. What is the most unique thing about Christianity, what is so special about the Christian faith? One man said "It is because God became man." But the others quickly reminded him that is not very unique, because, there are other religions that preach, that teach that God became man. Another man stood up and said "Well, I think what is unique about Christianity is that there is resurrection from the dead." Once again, the others contended and said "No, that is not true, because other religions also teach the resurrection from the dead." And so, there was a hot debate that went on.

It was near the tail end of debate when CS Lewis, stepped into that gathering, stepped into that discussion. He heard that question and he said "The answer is easy, what is unique about Christianity is grace."

Grace, what a beautiful word, what a sweet word. It is the word that is used in many of our names. I daresay that there are many of you, whose names are after the word grace. Some are literally called Grace. Some of you have names that have the root meaning in grace. If you're called John or Shaun or Ivan or Ian, your name is really Grace. In fact, I know, in our church, many young kids, Chinese kids, your name, the Chinese character, one of it would have grace or "En". My son is Hao En, I've said it many times, because I want him to know, experience and declare God's great grace. His name is Shaun, because I want him to again know God's grace.

Grace is the word that is used so often in our names because it is a sweet word. But then again, it is also a very confusing word to the world. Not many people understand the word "grace". It is used in many ways, you see. We use it as a prayer before our meals; say your grace. We use it even for credit card companies. If you fail to pay your bills they give you the grace period. And we use it even for tipping, the gratuity, in overseas, they call it gratuity; it's grace.

You see, grace is a word that is used in so many ways but we don't quite understand it.

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The Bible speaks a lot about grace. In Paul's epistles, he says "Grace to you." And if I say, there is a hymn that we all are very familiar with, you will immediately think of the hymn, Amazing Grace.

You know grace is a familiar word to us, but the depth of its meaning, the uniqueness of grace is often missing in our minds.

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And as you sing the song "Amazing Grace", you probably, are wondering in your hearts, what's so amazing about grace anyway. Yah, amazing grace, I sing those words, but what's so amazing about grace. Hey, I am excited about sharing with you, what is so amazing about grace this morning. I am really excited about the Word of God, because, it is so, so clear and impactful to my own life and I really want to share it with you.

Hey but friends, you've got to stay awake, and you've got to really, really understand the grace of God, because it is the concept that is so misunderstood today. And this is a beautiful theology that would change your life, I believe so. So let's see, what's so amazing about grace.

I say grace is amazing, because grace brings us a gift and this is an amazing grace, because it is an amazing gift.

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1. The Gift of Grace

I say grace is amazing, because grace brings us a gift and this is an amazing grace, because it is an amazing gift.

You see, Paul says in verse 15, the gift by grace, the gift of grace. Grace gives, our God is a gracious God and our God is a giving God. He gives to us freely.

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Ah! He gives to us freely. That's amazing.

Well, this week I was driving by Redhill and I wanted to get lunch for both my mother-in-law and myself and so, I parked the car and went to one of the shops and I saw a vegetarian bee hoon stall. Some Gospeliters would already know, but I stopped by a vegetarian bee hoon stall at Redhill and I stood there and wanted to order and one of the owners there, turned around, saw me and said "Hey, Pastor Jason." Wah, didn't know I know someone there, I didn't know it was the shop, but I, she said "Hey, pastor Jason." I said "Hi, do you work here." Of course, that's a stupid question, I thought to myself. (Laughter in the congregation)

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I said, "I didn't know you were here." She says "How many packets do you want." I said "Two packets." And she began to prepare the two packets of beautiful bee hoon, it looks something like this. Wah! This is not the actual picture. The actual one I got is better than this. She packed in a lot of "liao", a lot of stuff, it was beautiful. And then, I asked her "How much is it?" Wah! You are so smart (in response to a comment by someone in the congregation), she said, "Your first time, free, no need." There's something in me that cannot accept that, I said "No, no, no, I must pay for it." "No, it's free" she said. I said "No, I must pay for it." Then she told me, okay lah, two dollars for two packets. You know, immediately it came to my mind, if it is any of works, then it is no longer grace. And I said to myself, "Alright, I accept your wonderful gift this time, thank you very much, but next time please do make me pay."

It was a free gift, it was a beautiful meal. I brought it back to the office, I gobbled it up, it was beautiful. It was a gift of grace. I didn't deserve it, I didn't pay for it and it was given to me free.

You know something about God's gift? You can't pay God, it's a gift. He gives it to you freely when you don't deserve it. Ah!, what is the gift that God gives to you that he gave so freely, what is so special about His gift? It's special because we actually need it very much. The uniqueness, the significance of the gift is found in the fact that we have lost everything in Adam and now that God gives us His gift, He restores everything in Jesus Christ. You see, that's what Paul says,

The offence of one, that is Adam, many be dead.

15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

Because of Adam, we lost everything, because of Adam, we lost it all and that's why God's gift is amazing, He gave us all. When Adam lost it all, Jesus gave us all. When Adam lost it all, Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe and there is nothing, I can and really need to do to pay for that gift. You know, you can't pay that spiritual two dollars for the gift of God, you can't. It's a gift, it's freely given to us.

Suppose this morning, after the service, you got to a hawker center and you saw a beggar by the streets. You felt for the beggar, you were moved with compassion and so you took out your wallet and you gave the beggar $1000. Wow, that would be very, very gracious isn't it? I mean, he didn't look for it, he didn't earn it. But, you saw that he was a man in need and you give him $1000, that's very gracious. But, suppose, after the service this morning, you go down to the basement carpark and as you walked out the door, you saw a man, a very angry man, jumping on your car and using a huge sledgehammer, smashing the windows of the car and then he takes something to poke the tires of the car and he takes a big pail of paint and he splashes it on your car. And he starts to jump, and he gives you that face, he's trashing your car up. And after he's done, he stops and he waits for you. You very calmly walk up to him and give him a $1000 cheque. He says, "That's ridiculous, how, why would you do such a thing?" You know what that would be? That would be amazing grace.

Now, when you gave to the beggar, it was unmerited favor. That's great, that's beautiful, unmerited favor, you give to someone who did not deserve anything. But when you gave to that vandal, who destroyed your car, you are giving unmerited favor when wrath is deserved.

In the first case, there is no reason to give. In the second case, there is every reason not to give and yet you gave. You gave him the opposite of what he deserved and do you know that is the grace of God.

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When we were dead in sin, when we were trashing His Name, God not only did not send us to the punishment of death and hell, God gave us grace. He gave us life and that is why, grace is so amazing, it gives us the exact opposite of what we deserved. I think the definition of grace, should be unmerited favor when wrath is deserved. It's not unmerited favor alone.

I think that's what's amazing about grace. And you know what's amazing about grace. Grace gives us a beautiful gift, that we so need. When Adam sinned, he brought death, but when Jesus came, He gave us what? He gives us, life. You see, in 1 Cor 15:22

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

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And can I say to you, this life is no ordinary life, because in verse 21 of Romans 5, it tells us, this is eternal life. It's a life that will never end. Oh, it's beautiful. What good is it if you know that you will live for 10 billion years and at the end of it, you will be sent to hell. What good is it. You will be living 10 billion years of sheer agony. But you know something, God gives you, eternal life with Him, life, eternal life. It's being with God, forever more.

Some of you say, Wah, that's not very exciting, because, I do not want to spend eternity doing nothing. I am scared of eternal life because it's going to be so boring, looking at the sky, wondering what I can do. I can't play my tennis, I can't play my football, I can't do all these things, it's so boring. So, why eternal? Can I tell you why it's got to be eternal? Because in Romans 5:2, if you recall earlier messages, Paul says, "You have the hope of the, of what? You have the hope of... of the glory of God."

You know, eternal life, it's about the glory of God, it's about experiencing, knowing, tasting, admiring the inexhaustible glory of God. That's why it will never be boring and that's why it's got to be eternal, because, the gift that God gives to us is a God sized gift, it never runs dry, it never goes boring. At the right hand, there are pleasures for evermore, the Bible says. It will be ecstasy after ecstasy, joy after joy, of knowing, tasting, experiencing the immeasurable glory of God. It's going to be one joyride, that's why is got to be eternal.

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It's, it's, I almost said, Mooncake Festival. It's Mid Autumn Festival, I think, tomorrow, right? Am I right, it's tomorrow. And quite, uncannily, both my wife and I, bought a gift for our son. And we both bought lanterns. Nowadays, lanterns come in all shapes and sizes. This is what my wife bought, I didn't think it was very cool but she bought this and it was a fire, fire, fire, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat. You switch the battery on and it will be blinking and it has all the sounds and lights and fire, fire, bang, dang, dang , dat, dat, tat, fire, fire. It's irritating to me. But she was very proud of it, because she bought it for seven bucks, very cheap, she liked it.

Well, I thought something for Shaun, it's cheaper, six dollars and is just this (Laughter in the congregation), hey, why do you all laugh at my gift. It's from my heart. It's a cellophane kind of a, you know those wires and paper, it's six dollars for this thing. But I thought, Shaun loves both Barney and cars ? So what a potent combination. My son likes lights and sounds. So, the first gift, my wife was confident he would like it. My gift, we were confident son would like it. And so we gave Shaun both of our lanterns, on the same day. And I'll tell you, within one day, he got bored with it. He played with it for a while for that night and the next day, he didn't care about these two lanterns anymore. It's too boring. There's nothing he could do with it.

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Let me tell you something, when we go to heaven, you will never be bored and may I say, it's not about the toys, it's about us finding that glory of God, satisfying our needs, for ever and ever and ever. It's a God sized treasure that God is giving to us. You know why grace is amazing, grace is amazing because of its gift, that God gives to us, eternal life, glory with Him for evermore, when we actually deserve wrath. God's gift is given to us freely, fully and forever.

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My friends, if you are here today and you do not know Jesus Christ, can I say to you, you are in Adam. There are only two kinds of people in this world, by the way, two kinds, not male or female because there can be mixed and confusion today. But there are only two kinds of people today, those in Adam and those in Christ. Those in Adam, suffer in sin and death, but those in Christ are promised, eternal life when you couldn't pay for it, when you couldn't earn it, God out of His grace, gives you an amazing gift, a gift that we least deserved, a gift that lasts and satisfies for all eternity.

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Let me tell you a second thing I learned about why grace is so amazing.

2. The Greatness of Grace

Grace is so amazing also because of its greatness. The first, is what it manifests, what it results in, but secondly, Paul tells us grace is amazing because by itself, in and of itself, it is huge, it is immense, it is great. You know, the problem Adam left behind for us is a huge problem. Wouldn't you say so? The problem that Adam left behind for us, it's a huge problem, is a problem so deep that none of us today, no man could ever get the solution for, none. It's a deep problem and it is a widespread problem that there is no man today is spared from the repercussions of Adam's sin. It's a great problem, but it's a great problem that a greater grace could do. Grace is great, because it is greater than all our sins. We sing a song "Grace is greater than all our sins."

How do we know that grace is so great, is greater than our sins. Well, Paul says so. He says in verse 15, he uses this phrase "much more". He says "The offense of one, many be dead, much more the grace of God."

15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

He's saying the grace of God is greater than the offense that Adam has incurred. It's almost saying, where sin has gone, grace could go even further. Sin could never outrun grace. Sin is a big problem, let's not underestimate it. But grace is of a greater character and quality.

He says again, in verse 17, much more, that phrase repeats itself again.

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.)

Much more, there is a comparison between the work of Jesus, and then the work of Adam. It's a comparison between grace and sin.

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But again, he says in verse 20,

But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

By the way, these words are as such in the Greek. The first word is "pleonazo". it's a word that means to abound, to increase. It's correct. But the second word, which is translated into three words in our English, is the word "huperperisseuo". it is a word that means to exceedingly abound. It is s word that means to overflow. It is s word that means to multiply greatly. So Paul is saying, yes, sin has increased, it's abounded, it's gone to all men. But grace, much more abound, it exceeds abundantly, it overflows, where sin has gone, grace has gone even further.

In what way, you say. Several ways. Number one, Paul says in verse 16

Judgment was by one to condemnation.

16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

You know, all it took was Adam's one sin and he condemned the whole of humanity to condemnation. One sin, that's it. That's all it took for the whole world to be plunged into spiritual darkness. But you know grace, grace did not just cover for that one sin. Paul says, grace accounted for many offenses, not just the sin of Adam but the sins of all those who would believe in Jesus Christ. That's the amazing thing about grace. One sin from Adam infected the whole world. Grace from God covers not just Adam's sin and the repercussions there, but all our sins. This is a great verse, where sin abounds, grace much more abound.

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You know something, what does this speak to us ? There is no man today, that is beyond the grace of God, there is no one who is so sinful, God cannot save because, where sin abounds, grace much more abound. It's great grace, great grace. Moreover, the Bible tells us, grace results in what? Eternal life. Eternal means, never to end, it's unending life. Think about it, friends. Grace can reverse what sin did, but sin, can never reverse what grace did. Can I say that again, grace can reverse what sin did, but sin could never reverse what grace did, because grace results in unending, eternal, everlasting life.

That tells me today, the security of my salvation. I am saved, I am secure because I am not saved by my works, I am saved by grace. It is stronger, greater than sin.

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Grace is also great because grace not only restores to us what Adam lost, it gives us so much more. Grace gives us more than what Adam lost. Adam lost a lot for us, but grace gained back that plus some more. You see, the life in Christ is now of a greater position than what Adam used to be. You know that if you are in Christ, the Bible says, you are kings and priests. You don't look like it, but it is, you are kings and priests. You know that because of Jesus Christ, you today, though you're seated here in SIM auditorium, spiritually speaking, the Bible says, you are seated, where? You are seated with Christ in the heavenlies, Ephesians 2. Do you realize that, do you realize that you are now an heir and co-heirs with Jesus?

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All that He has, is yours. Adam didn't have these things, Adam didn't have the hope of beholding the full glory of God as we will have. Adam lost a lot, but grace, not only recovered for us what Adam lost, it gives us much more than was lost. My friends, we need to soak in and rejoice in the grace of God.

Ephesians 1 tells us, that God saves us that we may abound unto the praise of the glory of His grace. You know why we are going to praise God forever and ever? Because we are going to praise him for amazing grace. When we have been there, 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we have no less days, to sing God's praise, than when we had first begun. Even after 10,000 years, we will still be singing the grace of God, because it is an amazing great grace.

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When sin abounded, grace did much more abound.

Now, there is that little phrase here, you shouldn't miss and I am helped by commentators. It's a great little word that so often slips by us. Can I tickle your minds and ask "What is the word I am thinking about?" This will be fun, come, guess, guess, what is the interesting word in this statement ? Abound, okay, abound is a great word, but I have already explained it, it's to increase. Sorry, might, is it the word might ? But, no, not but. Clever, that's a good answer, because, often times, preachers like to go to the buts and the ands and the therefore. Something else, "more". More is actually, not really a word, because it is huperperisseuo, it is a word that is translated into three English words, not the word more. Law, law?, law is interesting, but it is not as interesting as this other word. Did, might, no, not those words. (Laughter in the congregation). Offense, good try but no. (Laughter in the congregation). Grace! I have been preaching on grace (Laughter in the congregation). Moreover! No, it's not. (Laughter in the congregation).

Abounded, abounded, is increased, no. You have virtually, I think the only word that is missing is, that and the lah but everything else is exhausted, except the word entered. You see, it is so obscure, that the word entered here it is a very, very unique word, in the Greek. Don't ask me to pronounce this....... (cannot make out what pastor a saying at Time stamp in audio 0:30:25.0.)

The word entered here, is a very precise word. It is the word that means to creep in secretly, to come in by the side stealthily, you know, like a ninja. He is very, very discreet, he is very secretive about it and that is the word that is used. Law, came into the picture. He crept in secretly.

A Bible commentator, named, FF Bruce, you might be familiar, said "The law has no eternal significance with regards to the plan of redemption."

Now that is a big statement to make "The law has no eternal significance with regards to the plan of redemption." It is not the main thing. The law has no eternal significance with regards to the plan of redemption. Let me try to explain this. There are only two main things according to the teachings of Paul so far with regards to salvation, redemption.

1. The act of Adam, which plunged the entire humanity into sin.

2. The obedience of Jesus that gave us eternal life.

These are the two main things and the law, is not the main thing. It crept in, it came in by the side, stealthily. Suppose today, we are going to film a GLCC film and it is about love and to have that scene, we have Bee Hin and Siew Shing as the stars, they are the Li NanXing and the Zheng Huiyu of our day and both of them are in this movie called love, GLCC or what ever you call it and the scene is a candle light dinner. And so, we arrange a table, chairs, some flowers, dimmed the lights, candles and both of them, enjoy a beautiful candle light dinner in this auditorium, we film them and the audience watches them. As they have the dinner, for the dinner to proceed smoothly, there must be someone called the waiter, who comes in, clears the plates, he goes out and after they have finished with the desserts, he comes back again, clears the plates and goes out. He comes in, by the side, quietly. He is there, he is needed to be there in a sense, but, our attention and our focus is not on the waiter, it's on Bee Hin and Siew Shing.

You know, that's the law, it's not the main thing. It's there, for a purpose, but it is not the main thing. You say, what's the purpose, pastor, what the purpose of the law? I know, I know, you say. The law is given, so that men will be restrained, so that he will not sin so much. Is that the case? No, the Bible says, "Moreover, the law crept in, stealthily, secretly, why? So that the offense might abound. In other words, the law came, so that our sinfulness will be made manifest to us.

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You see, the law crept in, it's not the main thing, why? Because, before the law was given through Moses, sin was already in the world and death, was already in the world, for thousands of years, people have been dying before the law was given. The Lord did not bring in sin and death. Who brought it in? The penetration of sin was through Adam. The law merely reflected, revealed, showed to us, how sinful we are. But the law really, is not the main thing, you've got to get that. The law, is like a mirror, that when you look at it, you can see all the spots on your face, it does, but the spots are not caused by the mirror. All right, you can stare at yourself in the mirror, a longtime, it would not result in many pimples. The pimples have existed, but the mirror helps you to see how dirty you are. Not dirty, but how, wrong word, censor, alright, censor. Is to see how pimply you are and as you see how pimply you are, you turn to the beautician that has the solution to your pimples. But it's not the main thing.

So, law crept in, why? Why does God allow the law to creep in? So that we may see how sinful we are and so that when we see how sinful we are, then we know how great his grace is. You see, the whole plan of salvation, is for the glory of His grace. My friends, you would never really know the grace of God, until you really know how sinful you are. That's the Gospel, the Gospel declares a very, very, very, very sinful people, loved by an amazing, great and gracious God. It is in the background in the darkness of sin that the brightness of grace is highlighted. That's why, Paul says, grace is amazing. It's amazing, because 1. The gift of God is given freely, fully, forever to those who don't deserve it. The gift of eternal life. Grace is amazing because, grace is great. It's greater than all our sins. Grace would never be defeated by sin. Grace, abounded because we saw how much sin abounded.

But, let me end, by telling you a third reason why grace is amazing.

I think, grace is amazing, because of its government, its rule, its reign. You see, there are people today who says, pastor, if you preach grace and if God gives us the teaching of grace, wouldn't it result in people living in sin even more. I mean, they would say to themselves, if I'm saved by the grace of God, not by my works, then, wouldn't that encourage me to sin, to continue to live in sin, since I am covered in grace. Wouldn't it result in people are living licentiously, recklessly and say, because I am saved by grace, I can live anyway I want. Wouldn't it result in that ? I say, yes, it will, if it is not true grace, because the real, rule and reign and government of grace, is that it always results in righteousness.

Can I be dogmatic, yes, I can, because the Bible says, grace would reign through righteousness. If there is true grace in your life, today, it would result in the life-changing reality. You used to live for sin, but because grace is ruling and reigning in your life, you would live for righteousness.

I think, is not just positional righteousness, but also practical righteousness. Why? Very simple, the Bible tells us, by one man's disobedience, by Adam's disobedience, we are made sinners. What do you mean? Well, we are sinners both in terms of guilt and in terms of our nature. Isn't it so? Because of Adam, we are all sinners in the eyes of God and we also sinners by nature. Correspondingly, because of the grace through the Lord Jesus Christ, we are made righteous. What does it mean? It means, I stand as a righteous man before God. I am holy, I am pure, because of the righteousness of Christ. But at the very same time, God gives me a righteous nature, a new nature. It corresponds and if grace has truly done its work in your life, it will result in the rule and reign of righteousness.

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A sneak preview to next week. Paul says in Romans 6:1-2, If there is really grace in your life, would you continue in sin, would you be just as what I have just described, what shall we say then, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound, I am covered in grace anyway. Paul says affirmatively, God forbid! No, how shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein.

What is amazing about Grace, it results in righteous living, that's amazing. That free gift, not only saves us from wrath, gives us eternal life, but it changes us today, giving me that ability to live in righteousness.

I want to draw something for you this morning and I think I would just use one board. Actually, I think I will be greedy, I will use two boards.

I want to illustrate for you, grace and what it does for us. What is it really all about, alright, this is copyrighted. Well, I have learned from other people, self modified a little, I hope it will be simple enough for you to see.

This is the story of life. Can everyone see it at the back. Well, thankfully, alright. This is the story of life. God-man. And ever since the beginning, man has been trying to do what, to reach God isn't it? That's what happens to the tower of Babel. Man has that tendency to want to reach God. Why? Because there is something called guilt, guilt in your hearts. They want to reach God, but they do it in our own strength and so we call this, it is self-righteousness. This is the story of man, man reaches out to God because there is guilt, there is a void in his life, he knows he is not right with the creator, but he seeks to do it in self-righteousness.

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But let me tell you the true story of life. The true story of life is God, man, same thing. But the true story of life does not start with man, because, there is none that really seeks God the right way. We have all gone astray, every man unto his own way, there is none that really seeketh after Him, the way He wants. So, the real life that begins, must start from God. Starts from God, and what God does for us is that He gives us grace. It is God's grace that reaches out to us. It is a gift from God and this grace results in God giving us, Christ's righteousness. Look at the contrast alright. This is me reaching God, this is self-righteousness. That is God reaching out to us, giving us Christ's righteousness. It is given to us freely, it is given to us fully, it is given to us forever. That's what we have been looking at, the grace that God has given to us. But, when man receives this grace, what will happen to him? There will be a response, what response? What's the response, what is the effect that grace produces in your life. You produce, you produce? Produce, righteousness.

Look at the verse, many shall be made, righteous. And this time, as you respond to God, you don't respond out of guilt, correct, because you have grace, you respond out of? Gratitude, you respond out of gratitude. Now, that is the little difference I want you to note. This is man receiving, Christ's righteousness, you received it because it is a gift, you receive it freely.

The other one is for us to, it's simply revealing, again, it's not my righteousness, even after I am saved, I have no righteousness of my own. Jesus, is made to me, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, wisdom. 1Cor.

Everything in my life, this cycle of grace, it's from Him, it's all of grace.

Why does the Christian today, live in righteousness? Because He has first given grace to you. I think, this is the cycle of grace you have got to grasp. I think, this is it about salvation, on this side, it's salvation, God reaching out to man, in His grace and giving us, the righteousness of Christ by His life, giving to us, freely, fully, forever. And because of that, we, man, respond to God in gratitude, by living righteously. But, the motivation of living righteously is now very different. I used to live, try to be a good guy because I am guilty, I try to earn favor with God, I try to match up to His standards, I try to be in this state of acceptance by myself. But now, no more, I am accepted, I am loved, I am favored, I am graced, I am as loved as Jesus is loved. I cannot be more righteous than what Jesus gives to me.

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He loves me with an everlasting love, His love will not stop. I don't have to be in a performance trap. I don't have to make myself worthy of God. I am already seen to be in Christ, fully. And it is in this position of security, acceptance and understanding I am in grace, I stand in grace that now I serve Him in righteousness.

You see, the Galatians error comes when man forgets about Grace. I am saying a Christian man. The Galatians error, or the problem in the early church and I think even in our day today, is when people forget grace, they revert to this model, and I daresay, many of us live in the state. Now you are a Christian, but you still feel so lousy about yourself and you feel that God would never love you again, because you have been disobedient, you have been living in sin, there are sins in your life and you say, God will never love you, God doesn't love me and you are, you are, struggling because of insecurity. Why? Because you forget that we are graced.

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The Bible tells us, in Galatians 2:21,

I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

You know, the Galatians, they have trusted in Jesus as their Savior, they have received the gift of righteousness by grace, but they now try to go back to God and instead of serving out of gratitude, they serve out of guilt, because they have forgotten grace. They are frustrating the grace of God. Again, he says, in Galatians 3:3

Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Are you made acceptable to God again by your flesh ? No. The righteousness of God is given to you freely.

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My friends, the motivation for Christian living dramatically changes when we understand grace. I'm not saying, you live a licentious life, no, you, you still live a righteous life, but you're not living a righteous life because you want to be accepted by God. You live a righteous life because you are already accepted by God and you say, Lord, I love you so much, for loving me so unconditionally. Isn't this what the Bible says, you love Him, why? Because He first loved us, and our love for God is reflected in our obedience. He that hath My Commandments and keepeth them, he is that loveth Me.

1John 4:19

We love him, because he first loved us.

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We love Him, we obey Him, why? Because He first loved us and in Luke 7

Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

Luke 7:47

Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

It's when we understand the grace of God, that we would live in gratitude towards God. My friends, you're called to live in liberty, but in absolute loyalty as well to Jesus Christ.

Righteousness, my friends, is now the goal of my life because I want to draw near to God. The goal of my life, because I delight in intimacy with Him. The goal of my life, because, God has given me so much.

There are some people today that may think, well, that means, the law is useless, lah. Is the law irrelevant now? Well, we know that the law was to show our sinfulness before we came to Christ, but after we come to Christ, there is still a beautiful function of the law and the function of the law is to point to us, what it means to live righteously. You see in Romans it is said

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

Rom 13:8,9

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

And the law is manifested as such, real righteous living is in conformity to the law of God. It is, it would never be against it, that's righteousness. But again I say, the motivation, the reason why you live righteously, it's not so that you will be gaining a ground of acceptance with God, but because you have already been blessed and graced and favored and accepted, you don't have to beat yourself down every time. You can repent of your sins and turn to Jesus and He draws you near to the Father. Intimacy, your position is secure. I think this is grace, I think this is the cycle of grace and I hope you will have a new awareness and grasp of why grace is amazing. So let us this morning, put the amazing back into Grace. Let's bow for a word of prayer.

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God is a mighty God. We know His might in the creation all around us. You see the Niagara Falls, you see the lightning, you hear the thunder. God is a God of power but, how are we to know the grace of God? My friends, the grace of God would not be known, until, the plan of redemption set in. The grace of God is supremely seen in the salvation of man and every life today that turns to Jesus Christ bears testimony of the riches of the glory of His grace, Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound. This morning, may the grace of God refresh your soul. Maybe you have come here, and you have yet known Jesus as your Savior. He is far away and you thought to yourself, you could probably earn your way to a righteous standing with God, self-righteousness. But my friends, you can't, you can't pay for your sins. Only Jesus can and Jesus did it all on the cross. Are you today in Adam or are you in Christ? Come to Christ, cry out to God to give Him your new life. Cry out today to God to have mercy on your soul. Look to Jesus and believe in Him for He promises you everlasting life. That is what God calls you to do today, obey His voice and turn to Jesus for salvation.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, have you pondered the greatness of the grace of God, are you today living in insecurity and fears? You say, God doesn't love me anymore. My friends, do you know that is the lie of the devil. Nothing shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ. Oh yes, we may lose our intimacy, we may lose all communion with God because of our sins, but do you know something, you are still that favored child, you are accepted in the beloved, that righteousness is given to you fully, forever.

Is there someone in your life, that you feel could never be saved? My friends, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound, there is no one too hard to be saved. Your grandma can be saved, your parents can be saved and no matter how sinful their lives have been, they can be saved because, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. And is grace really in your life? If grace is then it would be reflected in righteous living. Why, because you love Jesus, you love God, because your heart springs from a heart, from the basis of gratitude. Oh, my friends, the amazing grace of God, how sweet the sound. According to the Spirit working in your hearts today, would you make those commitments to Jesus, to God, quietly within your souls, turn your eyes to the riches of His grace. Father, we thank You today for amazing, amazing grace. Would You tune our hearts to listen, to ponder, to meditate and to do Your will. Lord, may our lives be full of the understanding of Your grace, that You will be praised. Lord, bless those who are here, again, our friends, I want to pray for their souls, I want to pray that they will not remain in Adam, but they will flee to Jesus, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. Bless God, Your Word to the hearts of each one, we praise You, we love You, because You first loved us, we ask these things in Jesus name, Amen.