This Wonderful Time of Grace Series
By Rick Combs
What Amazing Grace we have been given during this time in history. This is most definitely very Good News!
The word Gospel means good news, or glad tidings! The American soldiers captured during the Vietnam war received good news when the allies were coming to free them. While Israel was in bondage to Roman occupation, they were told the good news/glad tidings when their King was born in Bethlehem and would set them free. And then good news was further proclaimed by John the Baptist that the Kingdom of God was “at hand” and Jesus was the one who would bring it to Israel. What Good News that was for those believing Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah; the Son of the Living God.
Today, we have wonderful good news; the gospel of the grace of God that has been unleashed upon the whole world for anyone who would believe. Before the Apostle Paul’s conversion and the revelation of the mystery by the Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, Gentiles were excluded. We had no hope and were without God in the world. We were at that time without Christ, being aliens from Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise. Without God in this world, Gentiles were far away and considered dogs (Ephesians 2:12-13; Matthew 15:26-27). In Genesis chapter 11, God concluded all Gentiles in unbelief (Romans 11:32).
But now, we have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace with God, and has made Jew and Gentile both one. Christ has broken down the middle wall of partition that once separated us. Gentiles were once enemies of God. But God who is rich in mercy had great love for us wherewith He loved us. (Ephesians 2:4-6, 13-15) Praise God!
No longer does the world need to fear judgment from God as long as the world is in this current dispensation. The Gospel of the Grace of God is going forth to reconcile anyone who will hear… believe… and trust unto salvation, and be sealed by the Holy Spirit. When we were dead in sins and trespasses, God quickened us (made us alive) and seated us together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:5-6). This wonderful promise is available to all!
In this series, we will look at many of the wonderful promises we have in Christ. In order to do this effectively, we will endeavor to compare the promises of the old with that of the new. Hopefully, this will increase our appreciation of what we have today in Christ. Things are dramatically different from the Gospel of the Kingdom as well as the Gospel of the Circumcision. The old testament was but a foretaste, and not even on the horizon of what our privilege is today.
We should be most grateful, but most are not because we do not see this bright light as contrasted with the dimness of life under the Law. Grace and peace.