The Very Heart Of Grace

At the very heart of grace is MERCY!

At the very heart of salvation is the obedience of Christ even to the point of death!

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4–6)

You were dead in sin and by mercy Christ redeemed you.

Or either you are still dead in sin if you have turned your back on Christ!

Those are the only choices man has.

God demands payment for sin but you have nothing with which you can pay that debt.

It took blood!

Sinless blood!

You were born in sin, so from the start you were doomed!

21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.

22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. - 1 Corinthians 15:21-22

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned- - Romans 5:12

But praise be to God, who is rich in mercy.

He sent His obedient Son to make things right!

19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Romans 5:19-21

How can we ignore such a great gift?

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.

17 For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. - Romans 5:15-17

This God-Man, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, became a lowly servant!
Bow at His throne of grace while the gift is still offered.

6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. - Philippians 2:6-11