“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (Hebrews 9:12)
THE FREE GRACE OF GOD Tune to “THERE IS A FOUNTAIN” CM/DOUBLE Words by JIM BYRD
1. I praise Thee Father, Lord of all, For grace so rich and free; That fixed itself on this poor soul, Back in eternity. O matchless, wondrous grace of God, That destined me to live; That chose to save me in Thy Son, And all my sins forgive.
2. Sure never was a nobler theme, On which my heart could dwell; Than grace divine which saved my soul, From sin and death and hell. Behold the fulness of God’s grace, In Christ whose sacrifice, Brought in eternal righteousness, And paid my ransom price.
3. Praise God for His revealing grace That brought me to believe, The gospel of redeeming grace, And Christ the Lord receive. The grace of God shall keep me till My life on earth is done; Then take me into paradise To dwell with God the Son.
“JUSTIFIED FREELY” “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:24) All who are justified, that is, graciously declared righteous by God because of the redemptive work of Christ Jesus, are said to have been justified “freely.” “Freely” is translated “without a cause” in John 15:25, where our Lord said to His disciples, “They hated me without a cause.” Our Lord Jesus was hated by His enemies though there was no reason in Him as to why He should be despised. Even so, those whom God justified are declared righteous though there is no reason in them as to why He should justify them. This declaration of righteousness was therefore done without any consideration of anything in them or anything done by them. They are accepted by God without any cause in them at all, the sole reason being found outside of themselves, “the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” All of those sinners in whose stead Christ died and arose are declared by God to be justified based upon the completed redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ as their Substitute and Savior. Justification is, therefore, a blessing of pure grace. –Pastor Jim Byrd
DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY By divine sovereignty we mean God reigns supreme in creation, providence and salvation. This is the clear declaration of Scripture. “Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did He in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places” (Psalm 135:6). “But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased” (Psalm 115:3). “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:10). “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Romans 9:16). How utterly foolish for man to contend with God for exercising His right to do what He wills with His property? Did He not make all things by His power and for His pleasure and glory? Is He not free, therefore, to dispose of all things according to the good pleasure of His will? “Is it not lawful for Me to do what I will with Mine own?” (Matthew 20:15) What arrogance and audacity to deny God the very freedom men hold precious, the privilege to do as He pleases with His own! Let every rebel be warned: to take issue with the Lord over His absolute authority and sovereignty is to put yourself on a collision course with God Almighty. Those who choose to fight against this most basic of Bible truths do so to their everlasting destruction. “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?” (Isaiah 45:9). What a glorious doctrine this is to the people of God. We are delighted to know that our heavenly Father has ordained our salvation, our lives, and all things that happen in this world. But, while we rejoice in divine sovereignty, there is no truth against which the enemies of God have sneered at and hated as much as this one, but that changes nothing. It is still written, “He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth” (Daniel 4:35). He “worketh all things after the counsel of His own will” (Ephesians 1:11). –Pastor Jim Byrd
“The only cure for imputed sin is imputed righteousness.”
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