Saved by Grace

Well, brethren, what one element is it going to take, more than any other, for you and me to be born into God's family? What one thing, more than any other, is it going to take for us to receive the gift of eternal life? Is it humility? Let's be sure we all understand that it is vitally important that we all have humility, that we learn humility. Without humility, surely we're not going to live forever.

Is it obedience? Let's be sure that we all understand that we do need to learn obedience. It's vitally important to strive to obey God and to follow His laws. Without obedience, we will no doubt not live forever. Is it faith? Let's be sure that we again understand that it is vitally important that we all have faith, that we believe in God, that we trust in Him and have faith in Him. It is essential to salvation.

Without faith, we're not going to live forever. As important and as essential as humility, obedience, and faith are, there is one element even more essential for you and I if we are to receive eternal salvation. Simply put, the most essential element of all is grace. Grace is misunderstood in large part in today's world, but we are clearly saved by grace.

It is God's graciousness that will ensure that we will all live forever in His kingdom. Just what is grace? Why is there so much confusion regarding the biblical fact that we are indeed saved by grace? Also, understanding the meaning of God's holy days and observing them will also help us understand more fully how we are saved by grace.

So today we're going to talk about grace. The true Church of God has often been characterized by others as having the belief that we may earn our salvation by doing works of the law. I'm sure you've heard people say that about us. We've been accused of being legalists, believing that we are saved by keeping God's law. That's why some people believe we're here on Saturday, because we're legalists and we believe that being here on the Sabbath will ensure that we'll be in God's kingdom. The true Church of God has never held this erroneous belief.

Some people, even a part of us, have claimed that at times, back many years ago or quite a few years ago. But this is fundamental and we should be very clear in our understanding regarding grace. We are saved by grace, as the Scripture tells us. We are in the process of being saved by grace and we will ultimately be born into God's family by grace, not by works of the law. So today I'd like to go through basically four main elements in the sermon.

Hopefully you'll understand more fully what grace is by the time I'm finished. Grace is clearly the gift of God. It is God's graciousness and love toward His children who desire to love Him and serve Him. Also, salvation comes only through God's grace. Thirdly, salvation comes only through accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and also upon true repentance of your sins and holding fast to the end. And then, number four, knowledge and understanding of God's holy days will give us the context that we need to understand salvation by grace more fully. Grace is God's unmerited free and spontaneous love for sinful mankind.

All men have sinned. Grace is God's basic nature. God is gracious. He is full of grace. God is love. We know that. God is willing to forgive every sin, no matter how heinous and despicable, if there is true repentance for those sins. He does have requirements in order to be forgiven. And the Bible talks about all of these issues. A person must be repentant and he must be willing to forgive others if he's going to be in the kingdom of God, if he's going to receive salvation.

A person won't be repentant and willing to forgive others unless they're also humble people, unless they learn humility. And a person isn't going to be humble if they're not learning the importance of obedience, humbling ourselves to obey God and to serve Him, to follow Him. A person won't be obedient unless they have faith. Faith is a gift also that comes from God. God gives us more and more faith as we turn to Him and learn to trust Him. And repentance is, of course, a gift of God. God looks on our heart. He sees our desires, our attitude, our approach toward life, toward Him.

So, repentance is a gift. Obedience is a choice to yield to God's Spirit, which is directing or leading a person to do that which is right and pleasing to God. It is a choice. Ultimately, in the final analysis, if we will be obedient, it will be Christ living in us, doing the works, as we yield to God's Spirit.

Let's go to Ephesians 2, some very, very important scriptures here in regard to grace and what it means. Ephesians 2, and we'll read several verses together here. Ephesians 2, verse 1. Paul says, "...and you he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins." We know the wages of sin is death, that we've all been dead in our trespasses and our sins because we've all sinned. We've come under that penalty, in which you once walked according to the chorus of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the Spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, also called the God of this world.

Satan is the God of this world, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh, and of the mind and were by nature children of wrath. He says we were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

All people, Jew or Gentile alike, all people. But God, who is rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. And it says, by grace you have been saved. And raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. It's speaking figuratively of a time to come. And in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. Yes, faith is essential. Faith is necessary. For you have been saved by grace through faith. And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Faith is God's gift. Salvation is God's gift. Eternal life. They're all God's gift. He says, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. And none of us have any right or reason to boast because of our righteousness, because of our goodness.

For we are His workmanship. Anything good that we're able to accomplish is because God is working in us. We do have to yield to God, so we do have to allow it to happen. But God is the one doing the works in us. Christ is the one doing the works in us. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, for good works. So we were created to accomplish good works. Good works are important.

The works of the law have not... You know, the law hasn't been done away. We were created for good works. You know, God wants us to keep His laws, keep His commandments. He wants us to do good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. In other words, that we should keep them, that we should observe His commandments and His laws. Now, that seems pretty clear, doesn't it? What I've just read. I mean, it's not that puzzling. What was written here, we are saved by grace through faith.

We do have to have faith in God who gives us the victory over sin. Our sins are forgiven through the shed blood of our sacrifice, Jesus Christ, through the Son of God. Let's read a little bit further in verse 11.

Therefore, remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh, He's talking to the Ephesian church here, mainly Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision made in the flesh by hands, that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. It is essential that Christ is accepted. There's no other name under heaven whereby we can be saved. The Gentiles must come to accept Jesus Christ, who was an Israelite, as their Savior.

Verse 13, But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

So again, our sins are forgiven once we accept Jesus Christ as our sacrifice, once we come under His blood and accept His sacrifice for us.

Now, the word that's translated grace in the verses that I've just read in chapter 2 of Ephesians is the Greek word, actually, it's the Greek word charis, c-h-a-r-i-s, it's Strongs, 54-85.

It comes from a different word, which I'll read in a moment.

It means graciousness of manner or act, especially the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life, including gratitude. You know, we are to be thankful, grateful people for all that God is doing for us, and His graciousness and His grace for us.

It means acceptable benefit favor. You know, it's God's favor that He grants us eternal life. We are in His favor. It's a gift. It's grace.

It also goes on to say joy, liberality, pleasure, and thank-worthy.

So that is what this word means, grace. It's not rocket science.

It's God being gracious to us. It's God showing His favor toward us, whom He loves.

Now, this word is from another Greek word, Strong's 5463, which is kairo, C-H-A-I-R-O.

It's a primary verb to be full of cheer that is calmly happy or well off.

Impersonal, especially as a salutation. Be well, be glad, Godspeed. Rejoice.

So grace is a wonderful thing to be under God's grace and to have His grace.

In Acts 4, and I think I mentioned this already, it shows that salvation comes only through Christ.

In the teen Bible studies, we're talking about other religions of the world, but salvation comes only through Christ. So these other religions who certainly don't believe in Christ are in vain.

Acts 4, verse 10, people are deceived. Satan has deceived the whole world.

So there is tremendous confusion in various religions in the world.

Acts 4, verse 10, Let it be known to you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by whom this man stands there before you whole, this was after Peter and John, through the power of God's Spirit, raised up a crippled man, one who had been crippled from the womb all his entire life.

He had been crippled, and he was restored to health. He stood up. He walked. He ran. He jumped.

Because he was healed. This man stands before you whole.

Speaking of Christ, it says, This is the stone which was rejected by you builders. Because, of course, they gave Christ credit for this. It was Christ living in them through the power of the Holy Spirit that raised this man up. Just as Jesus Christ, when he walked the earth, was able to heal. He was continuing to heal after his death and his resurrection.

This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone, the foundation stone, nor is there salvation in any other. Okay, that's very dogmatic. Nor is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. We are only saved by accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior. Our personal Savior, one that we truly believe in, that we have faith in, that we have confidence in. Salvation comes through Jesus Christ.

I'm sure some of you saw the film Amazing Grace.

This film chronicles William Wilberforce, who was played by Ion or Yoann. I looked at it. I actually googled it to see how to pronounce this, and even they have.

It's spelled I-O-A-N. Ion or Yoann or Eon.

Gruff-ed is his last name. That's probably mispronounced as well.

Anyway, he played William Wilberforce as he endeavored to end the British Transatlantic slave trade in the 19th century, in the late 1800s. Wilberforce has made an earlier visit to his old pastor and friend John Newton.

Newton himself was a former captain of a slave ship prior to his conversion, as he understood it. He didn't have full understanding of who Christ truly is, but he certainly changed his life because of the person that he believed to be the Savior of mankind.

And I believe that he has a lot more to learn in the future, and God will show him more fully who Jesus Christ is, and in one day in the future, he will be resurrected, and God will give him a fuller understanding of who Christ is and what salvation is all about, because I have no doubt he wasn't called, but he did have some understanding.

He did read the Bible evidently.

So he was a former slave ship owner, and Wilberforce was hopeful that Newton would give an account of his slave ship days, of what happened during the time when he was captain of the slave ship. He was hoping he would tell everyone what it was like, how horrible it was to be the captain of a slave ship. Newton, however, refused to do so at this time, because the experience and the 20,000 ghosts that he referred to haunted him too greatly. It was just too difficult for him to talk about.

Later on, now near success in ending the slave trade, Wilberforce visits Newton again and discovers that he has recorded his account. He's been writing down this account. His eyesight now gone. Newton says to Wilberforce, You must use it. You must use this account. Names, records, ship records, parts, people, everything. I'm sorry, ports. Ports where they stopped with the slaves. Everything I remember is in here. Although my memory is fading, I remember two things very clearly.

I am a great sinner. I am a great sinner. And Christ is a great savior.

In John chapter 1, it speaks about the Word.

And I know we're familiar with John 1, but let's go read just this verse here. In John chapter 1, John chapter 1, verse 14, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace, full of truth, full of graciousness, just like his Father, Jesus Christ had never sinned.

As Mr. Ephamoth talked about in the sermon at, he laid his life down for us.

Jesus Christ is the perfect sacrifice. We are to be living sacrifices as well.

Christ was full of grace and truth.

It is through Jesus Christ that our sins are forgiven. It's through his shed blood that we've accepted, that our sins are washed away. Now, I would imagine that John Newton, being on those slave ships, coming to some understanding of a Savior, it would have a dramatic effect upon him to just think about all the suffering that he brought upon fellow human beings. The Scripture says that we are all one in Christ. We are all one in Christ. Slave, free, black, white, doesn't matter the color.

We are all one in Christ. Male and female, we are one in Christ.

So it had a huge impact upon John Newton. He's the one that wrote Amazing Grace that we sing.

Now, in Ephesians chapter 1, again, speaking of Jesus Christ, speaking of our Savior, Ephesians chapter 1, let's go back to Ephesians.

And really, there isn't a more important subject than this subject that we're talking about today. You know, this is the most important subject.

We are saved by grace.

We're saved because God loves us. He loves all of us, and He's willing to forgive our sins if we're willing to confess our sins.

If we're willing to admit our sins and go before Him and strive to overcome, strive to do better, and when we fall short, we again seek repentance, and God grants us repentance. So there is no more important topic that you'll ever hear anywhere. Now, this is as important as it gets. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 5, Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, it is God the Father who calls us, who draws us to Him.

He draws us to Jesus Christ. He draws us to Jesus Christ. It says, To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood. It is in Christ that we are redeemed. He is our Redeemer.

Of course, the Father is our Redeemer as well, as they work together in tandem. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

We are saved by His grace, by His graciousness toward us, which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself.

It is His will that all people come to repentance. It is His desire that all people receive His kingdom.

But He is not going to force anyone.

It will be a choice that we will all make.

But it is His good pleasure that we all receive the kingdom of God.

So we should take great comfort in understanding that. If we understand what this sermon is all about, and we believe it, then we need not fear at all.

We need not fear at all. We are secure.

Our faith is in our Father and in Jesus Christ.

They will give us victory over sin, over anything that is our enemy, over death.

So I hope we fully understand this wonderful calling that we have. We are very blessed to be among the first fruits as well. To be those who are called first, who have an understanding of what this is all about. It makes sense of this world, because otherwise it's very, very confusing.

I can understand why so many people are turned off to God, and they're turned off to religion.

It's very easy to see why that is.

People are blinded, and when you're blind, and you can't see clearly, it's very confusing.

Now, let's go to Romans 6.

Romans 6. I mean, I feel so blessed to have known God's truth for so many years, to be led by the Spirit of God and by the truth of God all these years. I mean, it's so priceless.

There's no way to overemphasize the magnitude of that wonderful gift of God's truth. The comfort that it brings, you know, that you have experienced yourself, it's really a gift that we should all want to share with others, and as quickly as possible, we should pray fervently for God's kingdom to come so that all people will have a knowledge of His truth and will come to understand what we've been so blessed to know for many, many years.

So in Romans 6, and we're going to read a number of verses here again, it's good to read this in context to get a fuller grasp and understanding of what God is doing. In verse 10 of chapter 6, and this is what I call the baptismal chapter, it talks about baptism.

Verse 10, for the death that He died, He died to sin once for all. Christ died one time for all of us because He was the perfect sacrifice. He didn't have to die over and over. He had to die only once for all of mankind and for all of mankind's sins. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all, but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

Likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus the Lord, our Lord. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies. Now, why don't people, why don't they read that?

Why don't they read that? Don't let sin reign in your mortal bodies. They say, well, sin's done away. You don't have to worry about sin. That's not what the Scripture says.

Do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in its lusts.

And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead.

Knowing the truth of God and bringing every thought into subjection to the obedience of Christ, I mean, that's our goal, but none of us have gotten there yet. No, I've been at this a long time and I'm not there.

And you're not there. None of us are there. But that's what we strive for, to bring every thought into captivity, unto the obedience of our Savior, Jesus Christ. That's what he was able to do.

None of us are there. So it is something for us to strive for, understanding we will never get there in the flesh.

But that is part of that wonderful gift that we'll have forever, is that we will no longer sin.

Do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead.

You know, just being so grateful that your sins are forgiven.

That you came out of that watery grave and your sins were forgiven. You were baptized. Your sins were washed away. Christ accepted you. You accepted him as your Savior.

And anytime you sin, from then on, if you are, if you truly are repentant, and you seek repentance, and you admit that you have sinned, you will be forgiven. You will have another opportunity to walk in newness of life.

And that's the renewal that comes in understanding the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and knowing that you are saved by grace. It's God's graciousness on a daily basis.

Not just one time, but all the time.

For sin shall not have dominion over you. No, we must not allow sin to have dominion over us. Last time, when I talked about my brother's keeper, I talked about how Cain slew Abel, and that sin, you know, God said, if you do well, will you not be accepted?

Of course you'll be accepted if you do well.

If you're not doing well, then sin lies at the door, and it wants to rule over you. You must not allow it to rule over you. You have to fight back, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

That's what it's talking about. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Admit that you are a sinner, and you need forgiveness. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but you're under grace. You're not under the penalty of that law. The penalty is death, eternal death, unless those sins are forgiven. But because of Jesus Christ who died for you, and you accepted Him as your Savior, and you repented of your sins, you are now under grace.

God is very forgiving. God is loving. God is gracious.

What then shall we sin? Because we're not under law, but under grace.

The law is not done away. That makes no sense whatsoever. There's no sense whatever in that concept that the law was done away.

No, our sins were forgiven, but the law is not done away.

He says, certainly not. Sin still exists. Sin is still the transgression of God's holy and righteous law. Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey? You are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin, which leads to death.

If you continue in sin and you aren't repentant, then you're heading for the lake of fire.

You're heading for eternal death.

On the other hand, if you are a slave to obedience, as it says here, striving to obey God, then that will lead to righteousness and you will overcome. God says, to he who overcomes will I grant to grant to sit with me? He doesn't say you have to be perfect. He just says you have to be overcoming. You have to be growing spiritually. You have to continue to fight that good fight that Paul talks about. And you must never give in and you must never give up and continue to fight the good fight. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I guess I skipped a verse. Verse 17, but God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine in which you were entrusted. God has entrusted the truth to us and we are held accountable to that truth.

He says, I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh, for just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness, and we've all done that, we've all sinned, leading to more lawlessness. And the more a person sins, the more they will continue to sin unless they repent. Sin leads to more sin, leading to more lawlessness. So now present your members as slaves of righteousness. So it is time to change, to repent, to go the other way, to turn around.

For holiness, become you holy, therefore be there for holy as I am holy, says God.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. You were not being righteous. You were a sinner going down that path. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? All of us have been ashamed of our past conduct, right?

That's what led us to baptism. We were ashamed of the sins that we had committed.

For the end of those things is death. But now, having been set free from sin because of Christ's sacrifice, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness. And the end is everlasting life.

That's what it all leads to if we've accepted Christ as our Savior. For the wages of sin is death, and that's what every one of us deserves. We all understand that we're we've all sinned. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Yes, we are saved by grace, not by lawkeeping, not by a long shot. We've all blown that. We've all sinned, and we deserve death. Thankfully, God is gracious, and He does not want to give us the second death. He will allow a lot of us to die the first death, but He does not want us to have the second death. He wants us to live eternally with Him forever in His family. Now, let's go back to Romans chapter 3 and read a few verses here. Romans chapter 3 verse 23. For all have sinned and fall short. Let's go up to verse 21. But now the righteousness of God, apart from the law, is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, who all and on all who believe, for there is no difference. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. We are justified freely by His grace, whom God set forth as a propitiation, as a mercy seat, as the sacrifice for us. God set forth His Son as a sacrifice by His blood through faith. You still have to have faith in that sacrifice, don't you? You have to believe that Jesus Christ was indeed God, that He never sinned, that He did die, and that He was resurrected, and He's now at the right hand of God the Father, making intercession for us. Our High Priest, to demonstrate His righteousness because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

So, all of us have sinned. We've all fallen short of God's glory, but we all have a Savior who died for our sins, made it possible for our sins to be forgiven. I'm not going to spend much time in the Old Testament, but I just want to read a verse or two. There's a couple hundred verses that use the word grace in the Old Testament. It's mainly talking about God's favor toward someone, oftentimes not talking about salvation, but just God's grace toward people in general. Psalm 84 verse 11. Let's read that. Psalm 84. Psalm 84 verse 11. Psalm 84 verse 11. For the Lord God is a son and shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. The eternal will give grace and glory. No good thing will be withheld from those who walk uprightly. So the Old Testament, it obviously talks about the need to keep God's commandments, to obey God, to walk uprightly. The Lord will give grace and glory to those who walk uprightly. God does want us to learn to walk uprightly, to learn to obey Him. This word grace is the Hebrew word c-h-e-n. It means graciousness, and it is talking about kindness and favor. God's kindness and God's favor toward us. God does bless those who walk in righteousness. There are many blessings that come for those who walk in righteousness. There are curses as well for those who choose not to. We reap what we sow and be sure your sins will find you out. You know all about that. You know that God's law is wonderful. You know, it makes perfect sense when you understand it.

It's a beautiful thing.

This word c-h-e-n for grace, translated grace here, is from a primitive root, which means... this is interesting because it's talking about stooping in kindness to an inferior or bending toward an inferior. You know, God shows favor to all of us who are truly inferior to Him, but that's the kind of God we serve. You know, God loves us. He's willing to serve us. You know, that's what God's all about, serving His people. He has a wonderful plan of salvation for His children, and He's created all things for us. The beauty of this universe is for us.

The angels were created for us to minister to us.

And so God shows favor even though we are inferior.

He shows mercy upon us. That's another meaning of these of these words in the Old Testament for grace. God is very merciful. He's slow to anger, but He's quick to have mercy upon us.

In James chapter 4, it talks here about how God resists the proud.

I talked about the importance of being humble. You know, God does want us to learn humility. That was Lucifer's biggest problem, is that he lacked humility. He was swollen up in pride.

James chapter 4, James chapter 4 verse 6.

But He gives more grace. God gives more grace. Therefore, He says, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. God resists the proud. He gives grace to the humble. Therefore, submit to God, resist the devil, and He will flee from you. We don't need to fear the devil. We don't need to fear Satan the devil. We have God on our side. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. And then in 1 Peter chapter 5, in verse 5, Likewise, you younger people submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility.

And then he quotes, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves unto the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. It is God's desire to exalt you by changing you to spirit, by giving you, again, victory over all things, by welcoming you into his family.

He will exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you. He is gracious. He cares for you. Be sober. Be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Resist him steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. All mankind is under Satan's thumb. Satan is the God of this world.

No one is exempt of the harshness of Satan the devil. Everyone on the earth pays a price, because Satan is the God of this world.

But may the God of all grace, verse 10, may the God of all grace. We are saved by grace, who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after you have suffered a while perfect, perfect, established, strengthen, and settle you. To him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. So God will resist the proud, but he will give grace to the humble. So we should continue to humbly seek God's will for us, to know his will, to humble ourselves before him, to strive to keep his commandments, to love him with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind, to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, to treat one another with love and respect. I'd like to share an observation from a fellow named Van Morris from Mount Washington, Kentucky. He says, during a recent visit to the zoo with my daughter and grandchildren, we visited the orangutan exhibit. Perhaps you've been to the orangutan exhibit. I have been to the orangutan exhibit. Always interesting. The only thing separating us from these awesome creatures that possess the strength of at least five men were panes of thick glass, each 20 feet tall. My two-year-old grandson, Trevor, was amused at first by the orangutan's antics.

He was amused of the hairy beast, until the hairy beast suddenly began to beat on the glass. They can be pretty intimidating, too. Trevor leapt into the arms of his mother, crying, I scared, I scared. His mother tenderly took him, placed his little hand on the glass, and showed him that the glass shielded him from the animal, that it was thick, that the animal could not get to him because of the glass. So there was nothing to fear.

Afterwards, any time Trevor seemed uncertain, his mom would simply say, remember the glass. Remember the glass. He can't get to you. He can't hurt you.

Van Morris goes on to write, the first century church faced persecution at the hands of a powerful government bent on snuffing out the message and their influence. The fact that some had been beaten, imprisoned, even killed for their faith, made them feel as though there was nothing at all that stood between them and the enemies of God's kingdom. Into these trying times, the apostle Peter wrote, he wrote them with a reminder that though it might not seem to be true at times, they were ultimately shielded by the eternal power of God that surpasses the temporary power of any other powers and principalities, that the God of all grace, and I just read this in Peter, that the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ after you have suffered a little while will himself restore you and make you strong firm and steadfast. It was Peter's way of saying, Remember the glass.

Now, Satan can't touch us because God is our shield. God is our refuge. We need not fear anything. We need not fear man. We need not fear Satan the devil. Because God is giving us victory. So remember the glass. Know that you are protected. Know that you are shielded. Know that the orangutans of life cannot touch you. And God is much stronger than any glass. I would put a whole lot more faith in God than I would that glass. Let's go to Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5.

God does give grace to those who have faith.

It is important. The Bible continually talks about the importance of faith, of believing in God and trusting in Him. Verse 1 of chapter 5 of the book of Romans, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations. We glory in tribulations. I know that that's still a hard concept for us to really grasp, but tribulations are good for us. In the final analysis, if we face them with courage, if we face them with faith, our courage and our faith will grow.

So, that's why we have trials. And that's the way we need to look at our trials, is that we will be made stronger on the other side. But we must face them with courage.

And if that means getting down on your knees and praying a whole lot more than you normally do, for that strength and for that courage, because that's where courage comes from, courage comes from God. It doesn't come from within. It comes from God in us, yes.

Learning to surrender to God is supreme. You know, learning to let God fight our battles.

You know, God will fight your battles for you, but if you let trials overcome you, instead of you overcoming them, then you will continue to struggle.

But if you face all of your trials with God's strength and God's help, then God will be with you and you won't worry so much about your trials.

Verse 3, and not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, perseverance, character, character, hope.

Now, hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit that was given to us. For when we were still without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Much more than having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him, for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. So He's saying that you know, God, Christ died for us. You know, He died for us when we were still in our sins.

He, you know, we are all sinners. We are all sinners. We all have sinned.

Now we have changed. We're growing. We're overcoming. How much more will God work with you? How much more will He continue to forgive you? Because you're on the right path now.

You're moving in the right direction. And God is pleased with your efforts and with with your love toward Him. So we should take great comfort in understanding these words. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. So again, we need not fear anything. Christ has already died for us.

He's already paid the penalty for our sins. We've already accepted Him as our Savior. Now we need to walk in that assurance.

I'm not going to go to Ephesians 6, but in verse 24 it says, Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ. Insincerity. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ. Insincerity. If you sincerely love your Lord Jesus Christ, God's grace is upon you. That's Ephesians 6, 24. Romans 11, 32 says, For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that so that He may have mercy on them all. It just means that God has allowed the vast majority of mankind to be blinded. Satan serves a purpose. Satan is the God of this world, who has blinded this world. We know that God's Holy Days picture His wonderful plan of salvation.

So, think about this for a moment. The Passover, obviously the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It starts there with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf. We accept Him as our Savior. We accept the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

You know, we strive to put sin out of our lives. You know, even before we're baptized, we strive to put sin out. The Days of Unleavened Bread picture becoming unleavened. They picture putting Christ in, allowing Christ to live in us, becoming unleavened and putting sin out of our lives. The Day of Pentecost pictures the giving of God's Holy Spirit to give us strength, to give us courage, to help us overcome, to help us grow. It also pictures the establishment of the New Testament Church of God, that we are a part of God's Church called now at this time among the first fruits, Jesus Christ being the first of the first fruits. And then the Feast of Trumpets. Those days are the spring Holy Days. In a sense, those days have been fulfilled. No, Christ has paid the penalty for us. The Holy Spirit has been given. God's Church has been raised up. Trumpets looks to a time to come. The blowing of the seventh trumpet, Christ will return.

Christ's Kingdom will be established upon the earth. We will rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years upon the earth. The times that were talked about or that were sung about in the special music will come to pass. The whole world will change. Christ will be leading the way.

And then, of course, that pictures the Feast of Tabernacles. The Day of Atonement, of course, first when Satan is going to be bound for that thousand-year period. When we will be at one with God and with Christ, we'll be drawn closer to them as Satan will be bound. We will again understand the atoning sacrifice of Christ for us. The Feast of Tabernacles, of course, pictures that millennial reign of Christ. And then, the last great day or the eighth-day feast pictures a wonderful future, the great white throne judgment period, when all people will come to a knowledge of the truth about grace, what grace really is, what God wants of His people.

All people will come to know and understand God's plan of salvation in time, the great white throne judgment period where billions of people will have an opportunity for the very first time to really know God and to know Christ and to know His plan of salvation and to know what the gospel, the good news, what it's really all about.

You know, Acts chapter 20 does talk about this. Let's go to Acts chapter 20 for a moment. Just read a couple verses here. Acts 20 verse 24.

Acts 20 verse 24. But none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. You know, Paul knew that he would die, that Christ was not coming in his lifetime as he once thought.

The preaching of the kingdom of God by grace. You know, that's what this gospel message is all about.

So it is important, again, that we understand that we are saved by grace.

Going back to the film Amazing Grace, it chronicles the efforts of William Wilberforce to end the British slave trade in the 19th century. There's a particular scene in the movie where Wilberforce attempts to awaken the consciousness of the public to the horrible practice of the slave trade by arranging for a ship carrying members of Parliament and their wives to stop alongside a slave ship, a very moving part of the film. As Wilberforce appears, one man asks, what's he doing up there on the boat, on the ship? Ladies and gentlemen, Wilberforce greets them. This is a slave ship, the Madagascar. It is just returned from the Indies, where it delivered 200 men, women, and children to Jamaica. When it left Africa, there were 600 on board. 400 of them, they threw overboard. 400 of them died on the journey. One-third of them even survived the journey. The others were in horrible shape. By the time they made it to Jamaica, you can imagine the suffering that went on in that ship, where two-thirds of them died. There were 600 on board. The rest died of disease and despair. By now, some people are raising handkerchiefs to their noses to block the stench that is now coming from the slave ship. Wilberforce continues, that smell is the smell of death, slow, painful death. A few people begin to cry. Wilberforce says, breathe it in! Breathe it in! Breathe it deeply! Take these handkerchiefs away from your noses. There now, remember that smell. That's the world we live in today, in many respects. Now, you may not like to hear this. I know it's not pleasant, but we live in a country, but we live in a society, and we're spoiled.

We have it made, but millions of people suffer daily.

Remember that smell. Remember the Madagascar. Remember that God made man equal. God made man equal. What man has done to other men, that's why we need God's kingdom. That's why we need to pray fervently for God's kingdom. That's why we need to know that we're saved by grace, because there's very little grace on the earth today. I mean, there's grace. I mean, we can be gracious to one another, and look, I enjoy my life, and I'm glad I don't have to put up with slave ships every day. You know, I'm grateful for that. I'm thankful that, you know, that I have it made. You know, I have a wonderful life, but I long for God's kingdom, because I know it's not the case for many people on the earth. And I don't want any of us to ever be lulled into complacency, and to think that we don't need God's kingdom right now. We need it. We need it for each other. We need it for all people. God's Holy Days picture, God's wonderful plan of salvation for all people. For those 400 people that were thrown overboard, that were eaten by sharks, whatever, God can resurrect them all. God can bring them all back to life.

They'll come up in a world where they won't be treated that way.

What a glorious day that will be. What amazing grace will be shown to those people at that time.

Jesus said he died so that all people would receive the grace of God. He was beaten and crucified. It wasn't pretty then either, was it? Now, that wasn't a pretty crucifixion by a long shot.

Christ knows what suffering is all about.

Thankfully, God tells us His grace is universal and that His grace is extended to all people who are willing to accept it. But the fact is, many people, most people have not been given the truth. They haven't had what you and I have. We should be so grateful for what we've been given for the truth, the knowledge, the understanding that we have. It rounds out our lives. It gives meaning to our lives. So, brethren, the truth teaches us a great deal.

Truth teaches us that, for most, grace is not revealed until the age to come. It's not here yet. Most people don't understand this message. They don't know what they don't understand. They don't believe what you've just heard about grace. Truth teaches us that most people will receive the true gospel message in time, in their own order. Satan is blinded nearly the whole world from the truth of the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. Truth teaches us that grace is not revealed to all until the kingdom of God, until God establishes his kingdom. And truth goes out from Zion at that time. Truth teaches us that salvation and grace begin to come to all people only after Christ returns. The truth teaches us that only when people hear and can be open to the gospel can they receive grace. And for most, that happens in an age yet to come.

Not this day. This is our day of salvation. For most people, that is not the case. That is not the truth. For us, it is the truth, and we should be truly grateful for that. The Church of God, sincere Christians, do believe in salvation by grace, not by law keeping.

Grace is what God's plan of salvation is all about.

Now, the fall festivals will be here before long. They're coming quickly. In September this year, one of the things that we can reflect upon is that these holy days teach us about the fulfillment of God's grace when it will be made available to all people. The spring holy days are not enough.

They're not enough. The fall holy days need to be fulfilled.

They need to come to pass the fall holy days. The feasts are not just there to make us happy.

They're not just there for us to celebrate and to understand, but they're there eventually for all people to know and understand. I had a conversation with a person two days ago that doesn't really believe it's important to keep the annual holy days.

He believes in keeping the Sabbath, but the annual holy days are not that important to him.

To me, they're vitally important, and they are revealed in the Bible, and they were kept long after Christ died. I believe they're for all people. It says that the Feast of Tabernacles is going to be kept during the millennium. If it's good enough for them in the millennium, I think it's good enough for us today. These days are very meaningful, these holy days, so it won't be long and we'll be there. But let's think about that as we draw closer to God's ultimate holy days. Again, they're not there just to make us happy. They foretell when the entire world will be happy, when the entire world will rejoice, and finally be given the grace that only God and Christ can give. All who turn to God will be saved by grace.