Page 12 - TH200 Abundant Life A4 Final

Abundant Life in the Son: A Study of Salvation

Salvation Proceeds from the Grace of God

As we begin our focus on salvation, we must accept one very basic
fact: the God of the universe for no logical reason decided to extend
mercy toward undeserving people and forgive their sins. In this act of
forgiveness God expressed what we call grace.

To illustrate this concept, let’s consider the story of an orphan boy who
attended school in a one-room village school. As the children entered the
building, they left their lunches in the entryway, where they could pick
them up at lunchtime. One day, however, one student’s lunch was missing.
The headmaster sternly asked, “Who took the lunch?” After a few
moments, a thin, underfed orphan boy slowly raised his hand. The
headmaster took a leather whip from his desk and told the lad to come
forward to take his punishment. In slow, halting steps, the orphan boy
went to the headmaster and stood before him. As he stood there with his
head bowed, weeping silently, he was alone, guilty, and condemned. The
other students waited in fearful suspense for the judgment to fall. The
silence was broken as a large boy went to the front of the room and said
to the headmaster, “I’ll take the punishment in his place.” So, in front of
the class, he stripped off his shirt and exposed his back for the whipping
in place of the guilty orphan boy. In doing so, he paid the penalty for the
broken rule. Sympathy and compassion moved him to suffer the
punishment of the hungry, pathetic, and unloved orphan boy. It was a far
greater love that moved God to give His Son to suffer punishment for
people. Paying the penalty by taking the punishment of someone else is
a way of showing what the Bible calls grace.

We may define grace simply
as unmerited favor. In salvation,

Paying the penalty by grace is God’s goodness that
moves Him to extend favor to
taking the punishment undeserving people. All who have

of someone else is a sinned deserve only judgment and
punishment; they don’t deserve
way of showing what pardon for their disobedience to

the Bible calls grace. God. However, God revealed His
love for them by sending His Son
to die in their place. In love, He

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