THE WORD OF HIS GRACE

 EVENING DEVOTION

NOVEMBER 20

 

Acts 14:3

…the word of his grace,

 
This is one of the titles of the blessed gospel.
 
It is God’s gracious word.
 
His gracious word to graceless sinners.
 
It originates in grace, and was once a mighty thought hid in the depths of the mind of God.
 
It was introduced into our world by grace, and by grace alone it has been continued until now.
 
It publishes grace, or a free pardon to all sinners who believe in Jesus: a hearty welcome to the Lord’s throne: a fulness opened in the Redeemer’s person to supply all our wants; and a legal title to heaven by faith in Christ Jesus.
 
It is made effectual by grace, and is the instrument by which the Lord produces the work of grace in our hearts.
 
It is essentially different from law, or legal requirement; for it speaks of favour shown, it presents blessings of inestimable value, and proclaims everlasting liberty as an act of sovereign grace.
 
Beloved, beware lest you legalize the gospel, or turn it into a law requiring, rather than what it is, the joyful sound of the Jubilee, proclaiming pardon, peace, liberty, and restoration to an everlasting inheritance.
 
It is the good news of God’s favour, the glad tidings of a full salvation for the poor, lost, and degraded children of men.
 

O Lord! the treasures of thy love

Are everlasting mines;

Deep as our helpless miseries are,

And boundless as our sins!

 
James Smith