Amazing Grace!

2 John 7-11 "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. [8] Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. [9]  Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. [10] If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: [11]  For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds."

These are harsh words from the Apostle, yet often harsh words are required to get at the truth. Deceivers are all around us today, just as in the days of the early Church. Deceivers are in our schools, our government, sometimes, even in our Churches. The deceiver teaches compromise of the Christian faith. "Surely Jesus didn't come in the flesh. Surely this is only a myth, an allegory, a symbolic thing that shows a higher truth". Such deceptions are dangerous, for these deceptions destroy the message of the Gospel.

As I looked through the Old Testament I discovered an amazing thing: throughout all its writings, God the Father is never referred to as "the Father". He is referred to as Yahweh, Jehovah, Lord, Creator, Elohim ... by dozens of names that each describe various facets of His glory and power. Yet only in Isaiah 9.6, a Messianic prophecy, a prophecy about our Saviour who was coming, do we ever see the word "Father" and "God" tied together.

For God could not be Father to mankind in the Old Testament era. Though man was created in the image of God, man lowered himself into the darkness of sin in the Garden. When God said, "Thou shalt not", man said, "Oh, but I shalt", and partook of that which was forbidden, and was separated from the Fatherhood of God.

Mankind continued on the pathway of sin, growing in evil to the point where darkness cloaked the whole earth. And God, who is light, looked at the darkness that man wrought and said:

Genesis 6:5-8 "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. [6] And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. [7]  And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. [8] But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD."

Noah alone found Amazing Grace in the eyes of the Lord, and preached 120 years following his calling to build and Ark. No one heeded the message of salvation, all thought Noah was insane, yet he preached, and redeemed his family out of the flood. Out of the darkness of Sin God's Grace shined into Noah's life - yet, Noah never called God "Father".

Though God knew Moses, Abraham, David, and all the prophets of the Old Testament, though they had all found God's Amazing Grace, none called Him "Father", for none could be so intimate with the Lord Creator of all. Yet in the New Testament Jesus gave us a new title for our Creator: we call Him "Father". We are able to call our God "Father" because:

2 John 7 ".. Jesus Christ is come in the flesh .."

Amazing Grace, in order that it be completed, required that the Son literally come in the flesh. Jesus Christ came in the flesh to fulfill God's prophecies of the coming Messiah:

Isaiah 9:6-7 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. [7]  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."

Many people had risen up prior to Christ's coming, and many have risen up after that pure Christ came declaring that they are the Messiah, that they are the one Saviour of the world. Yet Jesus and Jesus alone came down from Heaven, took on Himself the shroud of humanity through Virgin Birth, walked this earth and proved Himself to be the Messiah that we had long waited for.

Many have imitated Christ, but in their imitations have stood out as cheap smoked mirrors, dime store novelties, silly bits of fluff that had no power to save even themselves. Look at the Darwanists who preach man descended from ape, the evolutionists that change their "theories" each and every year as their old theories are proved to be lies. Look at the Occultists who promise peace and serenity if you only call the "network" and, of course, leave an ample supply of money before you depart. Look at the Ecologists who proclaim doom because of industrial pollution, the Abortionists who commend a woman's right to her own body regardless of the sanctity of life. None bring peace and fulfillment, only darkness.

Hebrews 10:10-12 "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. [11]  And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: [12] But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;"

Jesus, when He came in the flesh, came as sinless man. He came to mankind when all were trying to relieve their sins by the sacrifice of animals, by following the Law, by being good enough to get into Heaven.

But the daily offerings could not take away sins. The acts of righteousness could never bring us to the point where we could call Jehovah "Father". We could call Him "God", or "Elohim", or "Yahweh" in recognition of who He was and is, but could never call Him Father because we had no intimate relationship with Him.

Abraham knew God, David knew God, Moses knew God - but addressed Him as the Creator, one apart from themselves. They had a relationship with God, but it was a relationship of servant to Master, employee to Employer. For until the Son had come and "offered one sacrifice for sins for ever", son ship was not available to these great men. Until Christ became the bridge of Amazing Grace we were not members of the Family of God.

The deceivers would have you think Christ was only a figure of our imagination, a myth. Or, perhaps, only a good man who was wrongfully martyred for His beliefs. Yet the Scripture teaches us that Christ had to come in the flesh, suffer, die, and rise again for us. When He did this, this horrible undertaking, this glorious sacrifice, we who believe in Him become more than just "Church goers", more than just "good people", we become members of the Family of God. For, as we read:

2 John 9  "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son."

Read this verse with me. No, read this verse to me.

John 3:16  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

This Son came in the flesh, given by God the Father to the world. Imagine the Father's agony at having to give His Son. Imagine the sacrifice the Son had to endure for each and every one of us. Imagine that last lonely mile as he walked down that dusty road, dragging a bloody tree, drops of His own blood speckling the ground behind Him as He walked. Imagine the shock as the great nails were pounded through His flesh and into the tree, and as He bore our sins, in the flesh, so that we could call Jehovah "Father". Imagine, and realize, the facts of the Cross.
 
 

There is an old story, one I heard long ago. Perhaps you've heard it, but it never fails to bring a tear to my eyes. A young homeless boy was standing, shivering, in the cold Chicago night. As he sat in the corner, trying to dodge the wind, covered with newspapers, he began to be afraid that he was going to freeze to death. A policeman walked past the child, saw him, and asked "Are you all right, Son?". The boy said, "You wouldn't happen to know where I can find a warm place to sleep tonight?" The policeman told the child, "Go to the big white house on the corner and knock on the door. When the lady answers, just tell her 'John 3:16'. She'll take care of you. So the child did as the policeman said, and went to the house, knocked, and when the lady answered said "John 3:16".  The Lady said "Please come in", sat the child in front of a roaring fire, and wrapped him in blankets. The boy thought to himself, "John 3:16 - I don't know what it means, but it sure makes a cold boy warm!" Later the Lady brought the child some warm soup and sandwiches, and he ate until he couldn't eat anymore. The child thought to himself, "John 3:16 - I don't know what it means, but it sure makes a hungry boy full!" After he had eaten, the Lady took the child up to a huge tub filled with hot soapy water, and laid out clean clothes for the child to wear. As he sat soaking in the tub, the child thought, "John 3:16 -  don't know what it means, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean. The last bath I had was on the street, standing in front of the fire hydrant they were flushing out." Then the Lady came and got him, clothed him in new pajamas, and put the child in bed. The little boy looked out the window at the snow falling and thought to himself, "John 3:16 - I don't understand it, but it sure makes a tired boy rested." The next day after another great big breakfast the Lady asked the child, "Do you understand John 3:16?". The child said, "No, I never heard it, until the policeman told me to use it".  The Lady pulled out her old Bible and opened it to John 3:16 and began to explain how Jesus, God of Eternity, came down from Heaven through the Virgin Mary. How He suffered and died for the sins of the world, and how He rose again on the third day to ever sit on the right hand of God the Father. She explained how we, as lowly humans, can accept what Jesus did for us, and have life everlasting. And the child gave his life to Christ, but, after he did so, he said, "John 3:16 - I still don't understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy feel saved".

You may not understand John 3:16 yourself, and I have to confess, I really don't understand it myself. I don't understand why God could give His precious Son to die in my place, die and resurrect so I could call Him Father. Yet its true, and the peace that I feel as a Child of God has been with me now for 24 years.

Will you accept the Son?

God's Son, who came in the flesh, came to become the bridge for all men, a bridge to God. John Newton, a man who specialized in the torturous trade of slave trading, one night was confronted by John 3:16. Out of the darkness of his life John reached toward the Saviour and, after giving his life to Christ, forsook the slave trade to preach the Gospel. John later wrote that beautiful song, "Amazing Grace", for he discovered:

Do you know Jesus? If not, believe with me now, and you will understand the Amazing Grace that we sing of each Sunday.
 

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