(Romans 16:21-27)…..21 Timothy, my fellow worker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my countrymen, greet you. 22 I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord. 23 Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, and Quartus, a brother. 24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. 25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began 26 but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith 27 to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.
As I preached this last Sunday from (Psalm 103), I was struck by the Psalmist opening words, “Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is in me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. It is as if David was trying to stir his soul up to praise the LORD, and he was worried that he might forget all that God had done for him if he didn’t do so. Praise for our God that comes from our deepest parts (bosom) is so very important for the believer, daily, minute by minute.
As Paul concludes his letter to Rome he is filled with praises to the Lord. True praise, true worship, comes from the heart. It is a result of devotion that wells up inside the worshiper and bursts forth to the glory of God. It is as if you can’t hold back, it just flows from your most inner being. The Bible is full of this kind of praise and worship. Go ahead, take a look (Psalm 41;13) (Psalm 72: 18-19) (Psalm 89:52) (Psalm 106:48) (Psalm 150:1-6) (Romans 11:33-36) (Ephesians 3:20-21) (Hebrews 13:20-21).
Sometimes we can be so overcome with love for our Lord that we simply have to praise Him. We have to shout! We have to dance! There is nothing wrong with this at all! We just have to express it in a way that brings our LORD glory. But the question is, “Is your heart filled with praise for your Lord this morning?” Notice the word “grace” in (v.24). That word gives us a good reason to praise the Lord, not just this morning, but every morning.mThere may be no sweeter word known to mankind. It is by Grace that God has granted us His merciful kindness, turning us to Christ, keeping us, strengthening us, and giving us the ability to grow in the grace and knowledge of Himself. Simply said, grace is the unmerited love and favor of God for you a sinner.
It Is Sovereign Grace. Notice (v.24) says that it is “The grace of our Lord” Grace is something that begins and ends with the Sovereign Lord. Man does not initiate salvation, God does! God sought us, God bought us, so salvation was all His doing and all according the good pleasure of His will (Ephesians 1:4-6). Think about it, He refused to allow His own to go to Hell, so He intervened and saved us by His Grace. Just the thought of that truth ought to make the born again child of God rejoice! Remember, the sole reason Jesus came into this world was to become the Savior of fallen humanity and bear witness to the truth (Luke 19:10) (John 18:37). He came to this world to shed His blood to save fallen men/women (Philippians 2:5-8).
Man does not provide the means of salvation, God did (Romans 5:6-11). God alone provided a Savior to cleanse us, a Spirit to draw us, and a plan to save us. The innocent came to die for the guilty so that the guilty might be made righteous, that is grace! Thank God for His grace! Will you praise Him for that never-ending grace this morning?