Amazing Grace Part Two: Grace Transforms Us

-Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear. 

And Grace my fears relieved.

How precious did that Grace appear

  The hour I first believed.-

     “Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear.” So God's Grace finds us lost, blind, deaf, sick and dead. Sounds pretty hopeless and indeed it is hopeless from the standpoint of our own abilities. We are oblivious to the threatenings of God and careless of His righteousness and holiness and are not only indifferent to His loving kindness, but are His enemies; actively against Him and His works and He against us. (Romans 5:10) We don't see our own sinfulness and we can't hear His call to repent. We are dead to God. We are sold to our dark master, sin, whom we love, and we love his kingdom of darkness where we carry out our sinful deeds. If we could see the light, we wouldn't want anything to do with it. We love the darkness and hate the light. (John 3:19-21)

     God tells Jeremiah over and over again of His plans to punish His people and condemns them for their rebellious hearts and sinful acts and declares many times that they have no fear of God, no trembling for their crimes and His holiness. Jeremiah 5:3 “O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth? You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent.” And again in verse 21 “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not. 22 Do you not fear me? declares the LORD. Do you not tremble before me?” and again in verse 24 ”They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God,” In 6:15 he states, “they didn't even know how to blush” then in 8:6 they continue in their evil, relentlessly, saying, “what have I done?” All the while their false prophets are speaking peace to them, saying, “God is not angry with you.” (6:14) (Sound familiar?) Apart from the work of God's Grace in our heart, we don't know fear. Indeed, it has to be taught and the only Teacher capable is the Holy Spirit. (John 16:8) God has to take out our stony, unfeeling heart and replace it with one of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26) Then we learn to fear and blush and be ashamed for our sins. (Ezekiel 36:31)

     “And Grace my fears relieved” The end, the intent of this awakening is not to leave us in shame and despair. Temporarily, for just a moment, it seems as though we must be crushed, so great is the burden suddenly realized to be upon us, but then we see the cross! What relief! What Good News! I just found out I have this horrible debt, this crushing load of sin and now you tell me there's someone who has paid that debt? Someone else has been crushed in my place? It's the same relief believers feel every time we hear the Gospel message today, and remember what Christ has done for us. How He has taken our shame and our wrath and carried them to the cross and paid the debt to the Righteous Holy Judge. “How precious did that Grace appear the hour I first believed.” Amen!