SAVING GRACE
“A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
“And when he came to himself , he said…I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee…and he arose and came to his father.
“But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again: he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.” Luke 15:11-24
The parable of the prodigal son tells of the great love of a father for his wayward son. It shows how human love can be so strong that it overlooks all transgression. This is the kind of love that we as Christians should have toward the unsaved.
An even greater love was manifest for us by God the Father. He did not simply overlook our sins. He took them away before He accepted us unto Himself. This was saving grace.
Lewis Sperry Chafer said: “Saving grace is the limitless, unrestrained love of God for the lost, acting in compliance with the exact and unchangeable demands of His own righteousness through the sacrificial death of Christ.” Simply stated, we can say that God did the impossible. His righteous character forbade Him from allowing the sinner into His presence. Yet his great love for us caused Him to provide a means of access without impairing His divinity. This provision was Jesus Christ, the perfect payment for sin. And so perfect was Christ’s sacrificial death that anyone who now believes on Him as Savior is justified completely from all sin.
“A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
“And when he came to himself , he said…I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee…and he arose and came to his father.
“But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again: he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.” Luke 15:11-24
The parable of the prodigal son tells of the great love of a father for his wayward son. It shows how human love can be so strong that it overlooks all transgression. This is the kind of love that we as Christians should have toward the unsaved.
An even greater love was manifest for us by God the Father. He did not simply overlook our sins. He took them away before He accepted us unto Himself. This was saving grace.
Lewis Sperry Chafer said: “Saving grace is the limitless, unrestrained love of God for the lost, acting in compliance with the exact and unchangeable demands of His own righteousness through the sacrificial death of Christ.” Simply stated, we can say that God did the impossible. His righteous character forbade Him from allowing the sinner into His presence. Yet his great love for us caused Him to provide a means of access without impairing His divinity. This provision was Jesus Christ, the perfect payment for sin. And so perfect was Christ’s sacrificial death that anyone who now believes on Him as Savior is justified completely from all sin.
