Grace by Niki Shepherd, Jonny Robinson, Rich Thompson, 2016.

Verse 1:

Your grace that leads this sinner home, From death to life forever.

And sings the song of righteousness, By blood and not by merit.

Verse 2:

Your grace that reaches far and wide, To every tribe and nation.

Has called my heart to enter in, The joy of Your salvation.

Observe: Like the gospel call, this song moves from individual to universal. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. ..unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3, 5, ESV).

Unless one is born again. Unless one is born of water and Sprit. The focus is on God saving an individual. That is the “grace that leads sinners home, from death to life forever.” But this grace also reaches far and wide. Quoting Isaiah and Jeremiah, Jesus said, they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. (John 6:45)

They all will be taught. Everyone who has heard. The focus is universal. The call goes to people from every ethnicity, gender, location, vocation, and social and economic position. The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16). Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. (T)he same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:11, 13).

The gospel is good news because it is by grace alone that we believe. Where we were once hostile to God, suddenly, God becomes our greatest desire. That is pure, unadulterated grace.

Chorus:

By grace I am redeemed, By grace I am restored.

And now I freely walk Into the arms of Christ my Lord.

Where once my sin enslaved will continually made free, but self-centered choices, now my choice is to “freely walk into the arms of Christ my Lord” because my will is alive to God. His grace is greater than my sin. But that truth is another song which we’ll look at next week.

This bondage of our seemingly “free” will puzzled Martin Luther and is puzzling still.

Verse 3:

Your grace that I cannot explain, Not by my earthly wisdom.

The prince of life, without a stain, Was traded for this sinner.

God alone receives the glory for redemption. The journey of Jesus the eternal Son from heaven to earth to lay aside his infinite majesty in ultimate humility and trade is unstained life for sinners is something that no human can truly understand. The beauty of this means Christianity is a relationship, not a religious system. God is just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:26b).

How should we respond?

Verse 4:

Let praise rise up and overflow, My song resound forever.

For grace will see me welcomed home, To walk beside my Savior.

I encourage you to meditate on the truths presented in this song closely tied to the doctrines of grace presented in Scripture.

By grace I am redeemed

By grace I am restored

And now I freely walk into

The arms of Christ my Lord.

Until Monday.

Blessings, Pastor Don.