John 1:17 (KJV)
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

When God desired to reveal how sinful we were and our inability to do right He sent the law giver Moses to us.

When God desired to reveal His love for us and His power to deliver us He came Himself in Jesus Christ.

What is God like when we fail Him? Perhaps the best word to describe God in the midst of human failure is grace. The Bible uses grace in four different contexts.
1.Grace is kindness to those who do not deserve it.
2.Grace is kindness to those who are unable to earn it.
3.Grace is enablement to do something we are unable to do.
4.Grace is the love, favor, and blessings of God He has chosen to bestow upon us by the generosity of His nature not according to our worthiness.

POINT 1
Grace is kindness to those who do not deserve it.

The Bible clearly reveals man as a sinner by nature and by choice. We sin because we are sinful by nature. Sin was passed from Adam and Eve to every generation. We sin because we choose to. Sin is a choice we all make knowing it is wrong and denying the eventual consequences. Sin is selfishness and rebellion against God. God responds to our sinfulness with grace. God by His grace has decided to extend pardon and forgiveness when we deserve judgment and punishment. God is arranging forgiveness when we deserve His anger. We need to respond to grace. We need to receive God’s forgiveness. We need to repent of our selfishness and rebellion. We need to receive God’s gift of a pardon.

POINT2
Grace is kindness to those who are unable to earn it.

The Bible makes it abundantly clear we are enslaved to sin by our desire for its pleasures. We love to sin. We enjoy sin. It is this universal love for sin and the pleasure it brings that keeps humanity from God. God by His law tries to reveal right and wrong to us. We do not keep the law because we love to sin we enjoy it. We break God’s laws so frequently that we will never be able to earn our pardon. We break God’s laws so seriously the penalty far outweighs what we could offer God for forgiveness. God’s penalty is death separation from Him and His kingdom for all eternity. Jesus came because only He could satisfy God’s justice for sin. Temptations to sin abound. God is trying to reveal to us sin has separated us from Him.

We must be forgiven and restored to God. The alternative is God’s punishment, anger, and judgment. Sin has DECEIVED us into thinking there are no evil consequences to ourselves and others. Sin has DECEIVED us into thinking we are not bad people. We believe there is no evil done to ourselves, God, other people, and the creation. We break God’s laws and cause evil to grow in the world and in others. This makes us guilty of breaking God’s laws and causing a vast injustice to those we have injured. We don’t just sin against God we sin against others. We break the law of love that governs the universe.

It seems like we cannot help our evil desires. God reveals to us that real happiness is in Him. Sin is destructive. The battle is in faith. Can we believe God enough to deliver ourselves from the DECEPTION that sin is GOOD and beneficial?

How can we save ourselves when we are bound by our nature, desire, and deception? The answer is God’s love. The answer is truth; the answer is a new birth. The answer is the power of God in us as we receive God’s work in Christ. We are born again given power to overcome the evil within. God’s love reveals we can be better through His power giving us new desires to succeed in His love. His truth reveals we must turn from desires that will only destroy us.

POINT 3
Grace is enablement to do something we are unable to do.
The secret to the mystery of sin is grace.

1.God desire is to forgive us not to condemn us.
2.God’s desire is to provide a way for our pardon to be real and sufficient for the evil done to God, His kingdom, and others.
3.God’s grace must enable us to see the evil within us so we choose to do good and break free of sins deceptions.
4.Grace is God living in us giving us the ability to receive from Him new desires and power over sin.

POINT 4
Grace is the love, favor, and blessings of God He has chosen to bestow upon us by the generosity of His nature not according to our worthiness.

How much of God and His love are we entitled to? God has established that we would become His people, His very own children. God has chosen He will lavish His love upon us. God has determined He will not withhold any of His love from us. We will be loved by God to the full measure of His ability. Apostle Paul prayed this great prayer.

Ephes. 3:14-19 (KJV)
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, [15] Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, [16] That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; [17] That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, [18] May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; [19] And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

At the end of an ER segment mark a resident surgeon is dying of cancer. He is in Hawaii with His daughter and wife. His daughter comes to visit Him as he is dying in bed. He tells her he has been asking himself over and over again, what is the one thing I would want to tell my daughter before I die? His one eye patched and he can barely see out of his other eye. He is shaking and can hardly speak. The drama is unbearable as he leans close to His daughter to speak. He tells her live generously. Love, give, laugh, enjoy, and live generously. This is precisely what our God has done with us. He has been generous beyond anything we can imagine. He has forgiven us and paid the price. He has created a place for us to spend eternity with Him. He has prepared eternity for us in His presence. He will supply every need for happiness. Only one other thing is missing. We must live generously towards God obeying, loving, worshipping and serving Him just as He has been generous with us.