The God Who Is Gracious

We all know what it’s like to screw up. To go somewhere we shouldn’t have gone and done something we shouldn’t have done. When we do, we wonder, “Will anybody come and set things right?”

It’s this longing that is answered in the attribute of God we’re going to look at today.

God is gracious. Full of grace. From the Greek word charis, grace means helpfulness toward someone in need without receiving anything in return; generosity merely for the sake of another.

The scarlet thread of grace runs all through the Bible. 

·      Rahab: 

A prostitute living in Jericho, she risked her life to save two Hebrew spies. They made a promise to her that if she would hang a scarlet cord from the window of her home when the Israelite army attacked, she and her family would be spared. She trusted in that scarlet cord and by grace, she was given a new life.  

·      Adam and Eve

The scarlet thread begins in the opening pages of the Bible. Having committed the first sin, they now experienced guilt, shame, and brokenness. Yet God made garments of animal skin to cover their guilt and shame. But the covering came at a price. Death has now entered the world. Innocent blood has been shed. And a message has been sent: Your sin is covered because a sacrifice has been accepted on your behalf.

·      Passover

Thousands of years later, God’s people were trapped in slavery in Egypt. But God had a plan to free them from their bondage and the judgment that was coming. They must take the blood of a flawless lamb and spread it on the doorposts of their homes. Then when the Death Angel moved through the land, he would see the blood and pass over their homes. 

Grace was offered, but that grace came at a cost.  A sinless substitute paid the price that justice required.  

·      Day of Atonement

It is the satisfaction of the demands of justice so that oneness can be restored. On the Day of Atonement, two goats would be chosen. One of the goats would be sacrificed and the blood sprinkled over the Ark of the Covenant. But the chief priest would lay his hands on the remaining living goat and confess all the sins the people had committed. This goat would then be led out of the camp and into the wilderness, symbolically carrying away the sins of the people. This goat was called…the scapegoat.

·      Jesus

The scarlet thread is woven throughout Jesus' life and ultimately leads to a hill called Calvary where the Lamb was sacrificed for the sins of all mankind. 

Here is the message of the scarlet thread, as clear as I know how to make it. God is not willing that any should perish, but He gives to everyone a choice. Who are you trusting to set things right between you and God?  

There are two options. You can say, “I’m trusting myself,” and God will allow that – for now. But the Bible is real clear that if you do, when the time comes that you face the righteous God, there will be an accounting. And it’s then that the issue of atoning for your sin will have to be dealt with by you and you alone.  

OR… you can take advantage of the grace that God offers through His Son. You can ask that the Lamb of God, Jesus, atone for your sin.

 

Text: Joshua 2:1-21; Is. 53

Originally recorded on October 31, 2010, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN