Thursday, April 28, 2016

There is no one outside the bounds of God's grace...

“There is no one outside the bounds of God’s grace.”

Think about that for just a moment. It has been bouncing around in my brain all week after I heard it during our Sunday Morning Class. We’re doing a study by Andy Stanley called Why in the World and when he said this, I had to write it down. I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it and so, here it is written down so that I, and I hope you, can understand how significant it really is.

There IS no one outside the bounds of God’s grace.
Right now, at this very minute, no matter where you are or what you’re doing or what you’ve done, you ARE NOT outside the bounds of God’s grace. His grace reaches to the depths of the universe.

There is NO ONE outside the bounds of God’s grace.
NO ONE is too far gone. That’s huge! No one...not the worst of the worst. Think about the worst thing a person could ever do. Even though they may be hopeless and unforgivable in our eyes, that person is not hopeless or unforgivable in God’s eyes. Romans 8:1 says “There is, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Therefore, ANYONE that chooses can be forgiven and saved.

There is no one OUTSIDE the bounds of God’s grace.
Romans 10:9 says “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”  This should give you hope! No matter what it is you’ve done, it is not unforgivable! You do not fall outside of God’s grace! We as humans may find it impossible to forgive something horrendous, but the God who made each of us and loves each of us as His children, can and will forgive anything. It doesn’t mean we won’t have to face the consequences of our sin here on earth, but He will forgive it and remember it no more.

There is no one outside the BOUNDS of God’s grace.
We tend to put boundaries on God. We think that in order for God to love us we have to already be good. If we’re kind and compassionate and follow the rules, etc. We’ve all got a set of rules in our heads that must be followed, in our opinions, to be worthy of receiving God’s love, forgiveness, and grace. We put God in our little box and think that if someone won’t fit within our little box of rules then it cannot be worthy of God’s love, forgiveness or grace. The fact of the matter is, God’s love, forgiveness, and grace are BOUNDLESS! It has no limits!! Psalm 86:5 says, “O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for ALL who ask for your help.” It doesn't say for “some”. It doesn’t say for a “few”. It doesn’t say if you’re “good” or “sinless” or “perfect” or “white, black, blue, green, purple, male, female, young or old.” It says ALL. That means...EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON.

There is no one outside the bounds of GOD’s grace.
If we had to depend on the grace of our fellow man, we’d be in serious trouble. There are some things we find beyond forgiveness. Isaiah 1:8 says, “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord.”Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson they shall be white as wool.” Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” We may not get forgiveness from our fellow man, although that would be nice in this lifetime, the only forgiveness that truly matters is the eternal forgiveness of our creator God.

There is no one outside the bounds of God’s GRACE.
Grace is the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings. It is something good that is given but is not deserved. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.” His grace has brought us salvation. We didn’t deserve it. We didn’t earn it. We are given it as a gift because of His boundless love for each one of us. He offers it to Every. Single. Person. No matter our past or our present, we are each precious to our creator. We are his precious children whom He loves beyond all measure. Whether you consider yourself the worst of the worst or think you’re doing alright, God wants a relationship with you. One day this earthly life will be over for you and you will enter into eternity. Your soul will go somewhere. Either you will spend eternity in hell, hopelessly separated from the love of God, or you will spend your eternity in paradise surrounded by the love of God. I don’t know about you, but that’s a no-brainer for me.

You may be someone who doesn’t believe in intelligent design, a creator, a God of the universe. You may believe that we evolved from some slime in a primordial lake. You may believe that once your life is over, that’s it, you’re dead and gone forever. In order to have this opinion you have to believe that this whole thing started by accident, that every living thing adapted perfectly to its environment by accident, that our intricate bodies are knit together in our mother’s womb by accident, that the moon is the perfect distance from earth to provide tides to keep our oceans from going stagnant and killing everything in them is by accident, that the sun is the perfect distance away to give us survivable seasons is by accident, that all of nature is stunningly beautiful and complex and depends on millions of things happening in synchrony in order to live is all by accident. I’m sorry, but that is more far-fetched than believing in a loving, intelligent God who created us and everything in our universe. I don’t care who you are or what you’ve done, God loves you, even if you refuse to believe in Him. My prayer is if you’ve gotten this far, that you will sit down and read the Bible, and do your best to prove to yourself one way or another the truth about God. I’d rather live believing there is a God who loves me than to die without Him and find out He does exist after all. It is worth your eternity to find out!  

Ephesians 3:14-21

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”