October 23, 2009 THE APOSTLE OF GRACE by Cornelius R. Stam Printer Friendly Version Did you know that St. Paul was chosen by God as the apostle of grace? He was God's great example of grace, the "chief of sinners" saved by grace (1 Tim. 1:12-16). To him was committed "the dispensation of the grace of God" (Eph. 3:2). He was sent forth to proclaim "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24). Paul wrote far more about grace than any other Bible writer. All his epistles open or close (or both) with the salutation "Grace be to you." He declares: "We have redemption through [Christ's] blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace" (Eph. 1:7). He shows how this grace was planned for believers in ages past: "Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and [His own] grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (II Tim. 1:9). He shows how this grace will be ours in ages to come: "That in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:7). He shows how this grace is greater than all our sins: "Where sin abounded grace did much more abound" (Rom. 5:20). He shows how grace gives us a righteous standing before God: "Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24). He shows how God's grace has given believers a position in heaven: "[He] hath... made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus... for by grace are ye saved, through faith...." (Eph. 2:6,8). He shows how God's grace is sufficient for our difficulties and can help us to live consistent Christian lives: "My grace is sufficient for thee" (II Cor. 12:9). "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (II Cor. 9:8). Accept salvation "by grace, through faith" as "the gift of God" (Eph. 2:8,9), and eternal life is yours. To the Reader: Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface: "It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles." We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.