Revelation 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Thus the Bible closes with blessing. In this prayer we have the summing-up of all the blessings which the Word of God has uttered. Man is simply the receiver and the enjoyer of a love as boundless as it is unbought. I. WHAT IS THIS GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST? Free love! Divine favour, unbought, unsolicited, and undeserved! Return to your Father's house, and be blest! Come, and be forgiven! Look, and be saved! Touch, and be healed! Ask, and it shall be given! II. HOW IT HAS BEEN SHOWN. In many ways, but chiefly in the Cross. The words of Christ were grace; the doings of Christ were grace; but at the Cross it came forth most fully. The "it is finished" of Golgotha was the throwing down of the barriers that stood between the sinner and the grace. The grace itself was uncreated and eternal; it did not originate in the purpose, but in the nature of God. Still its outflow to sinners was hemmed in by righteousness; and until this was satisfied at the Cross the grace was like forbidden fruit to man. Divine displeasure against sin and Divine love of holiness found their complete satisfaction at the altar, where the "consuming fire" devoured the great burnt-offering, and gave full vent to the pent-up stores of grace. III. HOW WE GET IT. Simply by taking it as it is, and as we are; by letting it flow into us; by believing God's testimony con-earning it. Grace supposes no preparation whatsoever in him who receives it, save that of worthlessness and guilt, whether these be felt or unfelt. The dryness of the ground is that which fits it for the rain; the poverty of the beggar is that which fits him for the aims; so the sin of the sinner is that which fits him for the grace of Christ. If anything else were needed, grace would be no more grace, but would become work or merit. Where sin abounds there it is that grace much more abounds. IV. WHAT IT DOES FOR US. 1. It pardons. 2. It pacifies. 3. It liberates. 4. It enlightens. 5. It strengthens. 6. It purifies. V. HOW LONG IT LASTS: For ever. (H. Bonar, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.WEB: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints. Amen. |
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