God's amazing grace is the central theme, emphasizing that salvation is a gift received through faith, not earned by works. The sermon illustrates this through parables of a factory worker receiving unearned pay and a missionary's daughter showing compassion to her attacker, highlighting that grace is undeserved favor. It further explains that grace is God's unmerited kindness, exemplified by Christ's sacrifice, which covers all sins, even those of a thief on the cross or a backslider. Ultimately, the sermon concludes that in the ages to come, God will display the exceeding riches of His grace by showcasing believers as His workmanship, glorifying Him eternally.
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and he tried to keep a record over the years of where and what we preached on. I have no record of ever speaking on this text in Greensboro. If I have, why, it's a case of lapse of memory. Nevertheless, if you have heard this before, you sit and pray for those who haven't. But I'm sure you have. Ephesians chapter two. But God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace are ye saved, that hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. You'll notice in these verses we have the word grace mentioned three times. showing the importance God attaches to that amazing word. My subject tonight is, in the ages to come, what connection has God's amazing grace shown to poor sinners in this life with the ages to come and the glory that shall be His in that glorious day?
And so we have in this passage... this wonderful word, but there are six other wonderful words in this passage, and I want to dwell on each one of them. For first of all, grace. What is grace? Can any man coin word, can any man sow praise this word as to bring out its true value, its true depth, its true height, and its true breadth? Grace, the marvelous grace of God. how God so holy, so righteous, so just, could make possible a salvation at his own expense to make poor sinner eternally acceptable in his life through enjoying his presence and rejoicing his love forever without the poor sinner doing one thing deserving of recognition.
What great on God! By grace are we saved today? I think you might illustrate it this way. You're working in a certain factory, and the busiest week of the year comes around in the Lord. The boss gets all the workers together, and he says, now, folks, we're going to be really proud of next week. We're going to be rushed. The pressure's going to be on. And we've got to do so and so within that one week. I want every one of you to give every hour you possibly can, let no one lose any time. Well, Monday morning, as you awaken, it's a beautiful morning, why you think yourself the fish ought to be biting today.
And so you turn it over in your mind. And you go fishing. You haven't forgotten what the boss said, but you went fishing. Tuesday was another good day because they fit well on Monday. So you went back on Tuesday. In fact, you took a whole week off. Went fishing. It's a wonderful week. Well, now the big catch is coming. Monday morning you get up. Are you going to work? Can you face the boss? Can you face the boys that you let down? Well, you'll go anywhere. Why, as you enter the entrance to the factory, you pass the boss, and he bid you good morning with a smile, and boy, I didn't expect that.
You go in, and some of the other fellas start ribbing in, and depending on what they think of you, because you do more work on them. The whole week passes, when the boss comes and goes, he never says a word to you. A day, Father. And to your added surprise, you got paid for that money. Now that was great. You didn't work for that money. You certainly didn't deserve that money. Yet you got it. That's great. Grace is something you receive. You don't deserve it. You cannot work for it.
It's absolutely free. Great. That's it. Another illustration of a missionary telling this story many years ago. He said there was a certain family, the head of a tribe, they had a lovely daughter, but there was a man who had a spite against the chief of that tribe. I thought I'm going to get back at him. and he caught the little girl out in the field one day and he brutally chopped off both her hands and then vanished into the swamp and left the little girl go screaming back home with no head of course there was a great search for the man but no one was able to apprehend him or know even where he went but he knew where he was he was a very unhappy man feeling any moment to be caught, then he knew the price he'd have to pay.
It was so many years past. One day he was so hungry, he wanted something to eat, he was afraid to go into the public, but he thought to himself, I've got to, or I'll tell him, I've been doing this for months, after months, year after year, trying to keep out of sight, keeping out of living. No one yet has detected me. So he sees this big beautiful home and He goes up to the door. Very uneasily he knocked. The young lady appears at the door. He said, what do you want? He said, ma'am, could you give me something to eat?
I'm starved. And she recognized him. First of all, her face flushed. She had her handless arms under her apron. He didn't see that. her face flushed. Would she call her father, would she call someone, or would she take them out in her own hands? Oh, she looked at her. She could get them in. Sit down. She went in the kitchen and she told the maid to prepare a meal, and the maid did. After a while, she came in with that play on...
her endless arms under the apron, and she put it down in front of him and pulled her arms out. And he didn't see then that she didn't have any hands. She sat and watched him eat. And he was very nervous. Just as he was getting up to leave, he said, thank you, ma'am, I enjoy that very much. He said, just a minute. Do you know me? He said, no, I don't. Maybe you do. and he showed her her armless his her armless hand the man turned pale as she showed him that she had no hands and immediately she recalled the deed he was pale he was about to run she said don't run maybe you're wondering why i didn't call one of the men or call someone and have you apprehended?
You need to be killed. Yes, I might know I should. But you know why I showed you grace and gave you that meal? No, why? She says, since you did this to me, I found Christ. I listened to the missionary. I found the Lord Jesus as my Savior. And I realized that I did more to Jesus Christ with my sins than you did to me. And he loved me. He gave himself for me. He forgave me my debt. When I first saw you, I recognized you. Then I thought, well, God showed grace and love to me.
I'm going to show grace to this man. The man slumped back in the chair. The missionary doesn't know the one who told the incident whether that man ever found Christ or not. But certainly he had a lesson, an illustration before him. Yet he deserved that meal. No, he didn't. He deserved punishment swift and severe. But it was grace shown to him by that young woman. Friend, let me tell you tonight, if you want an illustration of grace, I can easily give it to you. Look at the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are not severed from his wrists or his arms.
But there are scars in them. There are scars in his feet. There's a scar in his side. There's a set of thorns around his head. And you did it. Just like that man chopped off the hands of that girl. Your sins nailed Jesus Christ to the cross. Your sins occasioned that agonizing death. You did it. And tonight, instead of the Son of God waving you from before his throne into everlasting punishment, with that hand that your sins helped us fight to the tree, he's holding out those hands to you.
And just as that girl begged that man that had chopped off her hands the Son of God to seek to feed you, he's seeking to meet your need. Satisfy your hungry heart. Oh, what great. the amazing grace of God. All you have to do was look at Jesus Christ to see the full display of his amazing grace to sinners like you and me. John R. Scotland, a doctor died and this Scottish doctor was a lovely old doctor. Everyone loved him. His wife was of a different nature. After her husband died, she went through all his account books.
She noticed a lot of bills on page. She thought, I'm going to collect them. She took the matter to court, and the judge was handed the book to record. She said, Mrs. So-and-so, is this your husband's handwriting on these bills on page? She said, yes. Well, he said, there's not a court in the land that will enable you to collect one penny. for he said it reads on each one of these bills, Forgiven, too poor to pay. That's great. We were forgiven, too poor to pay.
By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. The second word, is saved. By grace are ye saved. That word really has a meaning. For instance, you hear on a train, tragedy, a wreck, and your loved one was traveling on that train. You know what you do, or maybe there's a plane crash, and your loved one was to go on that flight.
Maybe a ship is going down at sea, and you know your loved one was to be on that vessel. I know how you would sit and glue your eyes and ears to that TV as the announcers were announcing those who were rescued. And as they were constantly breaking in on programs to give the report of that accident, you're waiting for one name. There you sit, you can't do anything else. You're waiting for one name. Finally, more rescue, and here are the names. And the name of your loved one is announced.
Say, my what a thrill is yours. Say, that word takes on new meaning. My, my loved one says, and you burst into tears. Oh, how thankful you are, my loved one is saved. Well, if it thrills you to be saved, to see or have a loved one saved, how do you think it affects the one who got saved? Why, that loved one of yours would be more thrilled than you. Yes, you were happy and glad, but when your loved one was pulled from those icy waters, my... He or she was far happier than you ever could be.
We use the word save. When a Christian or a person becomes a Christian, save, how wonderful is that word? I never could or never want to forget the night I got saved. How wonderful do we say, save from your sin, save from going down to hell, save through everlasting life, everlasting reunion with Jesus Christ. Save to all the glories of heaven. Save. How wonderful it is to be saved. I have an unsaved brother. He prayed for him for many years.
If I were to receive a letter tonight or tomorrow or a telegram for I ensure it would be a telegram or a phone call if he got saved. Friend, I know one thing. I would break under it. I would rejoice. I certainly would. I'm not a man given to emotion, but I know I'd rejoice and I'd weep with joy. I received a phone call tonight from my brother George at Pound, the Savior. But if I would rejoice, his joy is greater still. And you know, there's something else here.
Do you know who has the greatest joy when a soul is saved? The Lord Jesus Christ. Who has the greater joy when the prodigal returns? The father. Oh yes, we talk about this son, the prodigal returning. There's joy in the presence of the angel of God who are one sinner that repented and the father who is the happiest of all. For this my son was dead. And he's alive again. He was lost and found. And he began to be married. It's true that if you would have trust Christ tonight, loved ones would rejoice. You would rejoice.
But friend, heaven would rejoice. Because a soul is saved. By grace, without money, without any merit, by grace are you saved. Now you can't be hasty. If that announced there were to say, three hundred people have been saved. Two hundred are lost. Fifteen either saved or lost. I wonder what he was talking about. You're either saved or you're lost. There's no such thing as being in between. You're either saved and going to heaven and you know it or you're lost.
That's the word. How wonderful, oh grand did he say? By grace are he saved? Now the third word, through faith. Grace only responds to faith. Grace will not respond to work. You can work all you like, friends. You may do the best you can. You may join the church to be active in the church. You may give a tenth of your income. But grace will not respond. to work. Grace is unmerited faith, giving to someone who doesn't deserve anything. In fact, he deserves the very opposite of what he gets.
Grace only responds to faith. Faith complements God. You can't pay God a greater compliment than to believe what he says and accept his sum on the basis of grace. Why, grace, are ye saved through faith? How wonderful it is to exercise this faith of honor strong. Then he says, and not of yourselves. It's not of yourselves. In other words, it's not your morality. It's not your honesty. It's not your sincerity. It's not your goodness.
It's not what you do. It's not your character. It's not of yourself. And then he goes on to say, not of work. It's not what you do. It's not what you are. And it's not what you do, the Savior. That sweeps out from under you every standing you have. Because if you put away from before your thoughts what you are as to your character, your moral, respectable, honest, and so on, And what you do, what you've tried to do in the way of good work, take those two things out of the picture, and there you stand, a poor, lost, guilty sinner.
And this marvelous grace is shown to those who are lost. And in themselves, they stand sinful and vile and empty. It's not what you are. You may be the most honest person in dreams. the most sincere man in North Carolina, the most liberal person. Then he makes notice, it's not what you are and it's not what you do that takes you to heaven. And then he goes on, it's a gift. My grace are you saved through faith and not of yourselves.
It is a gift of God, not a work, lest any man should vote. It's a gift. fact that it's a gift, speaks away all that you are and all that you do. Lest any man should vote. If salvation were by your good doings and your good life, then you could vote. Why, you could say, I am going to heaven because I am a good man. I live a good life. I do the best I can. I'm going to heaven because of all the money I've given to the good cause. I'm going to heaven because of what I am and what I do.
Then, then, you'll have a right to glory when you get there. Because you'll say, I got here, I worked well lately. But there'll be no one that will have that jarring note in heaven. They'll all be there saved by sovereign grace alone. By grace are ye saved in faith and not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not a work that any man should do. The big difference, then, you're paid for something, and you're given something for nothing. Well, I wasn't any angel when I was a boy, but I never had a birthday pass without my parents giving me a nice gift.
Neither did a Christmas pass without me getting some nice gifts from my parents. I wouldn't have gotten one if they'd have given me those gifts on the basis of my being good and behaving. I'd forfeited every one of them. Nevertheless, my parents always gave me a birthday gift. Now, I don't mean by that. I was a gangster. I just mean I was kind of rebellious. But if I... had to earn those gifts I never would have wanted. They were given three of them. I know I earned many a good with me. I deserved every one of them.
But I didn't deserve or earn one of those gifts. It was spring of gift. Friend, the night I got saved, it was sovereign grace that gave me. Lord, if I got what I deserved, you'd gift me. Instead of that, you're going to save me. on the basis of the work of Christ, and I receive it as my personal favor. By grace are ye saved through Satan, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Now why is it that this is the only way God saves sinners? Well, I think it tells us that in the ages to come, in verse seven, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus God is going to do something in the ages to come and it's going to be wonderful in the ages to come what's he going to show us he's going to show us his son He will show who is the only potentate, the king of kings and lord of lords.
Won't that be wonderful when God shows up his trust? Then in Revelation four one, he showed John things to come. Now we're going to be shown things to come. Then later on, John is called aside and God says, I'll show you the great fall. But sit it upon many waters, the scarlet woman. Then John sees something else. The Lord said, I'll show you the bride, the Lamb's wife. My wonderful thing, God is going to show it. But I think this is going to be God's greatest display. This is going to be God's greatest exhibit.
What is that? As one by one he puts on parade every sinner saved by sovereign grace. We are His workmanship, God's workmanship, not our own workmanship. We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus. Untrue good work. Good work. Follow salvation, not deceitful. Created in Christ Jesus. Let me ask you, friend, can you take credit for the universe? You say, no, that would be a foolish thought. Certainly you can't take credit for the universe.
God takes credit for that. He created the universe. And it's just as foolish for you to try and take credit for your salvation. Because that too is a work of God's creation. Created in Christ Jesus unto good work. It's God who creates you. It's God who puts a new life in you. Created in Christ Jesus unto good work. Just as you cannot take credit. For the creation of the universe, you cannot take credit for the salvation of more souls. We are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto.
Good work. O to think that God has got to do with all. You can no more save yourself and call a world into existence. that same mighty magnificent majestic power that called this planet into existence along with other planets and throws them out into their sockets of blue and has them whirling in the respective spheres, that same power operates when a sinner trusts Christ. That God has to do it. We have his workmanship created in Christ Jesus on to good work. And in the ages to come, God is going to put on display His workmanship.
We're going to look at what God has done. We're going to look at the vast universe, His material universe. We'll look at all the angels. My God will have plenty to show us. There'll be a long time and plenty of time to do it for the ages to come. God's grandest, most glorious exhibit. the one he thrills in the most, is when he can set before an astonished and happy throng, a sinner saved by grace. God says this glorifies me more than all the planets on the whirling constellation. This honors me.
This glorifies me more than ever yet. Because this sinner saved by grace, tells the story of my love and the gift of my son and his willingness to die on the cross for this fool, says. Thus God will be glorified through eternity. He and his beloved son, for every soul that will be in heaven. God will get all the glory. In Revelation chapter five, there again you see the glory going to the person to whom it is due. Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals that are for thou was slain and hath redeemed with God by thy blood, out of every tongue and tender and people and nation.
Ah, yes, how wonderful the glory is given. And only the challenge has been cast out who is worthy to take this book and open the seals. Anyone in heaven, any among all the angels, the various... changes of angels, the various order of angels. Michael, can you qualify? Gabriel, can you qualify? No, we can't qualify. The voice of God fenders into hell and the regions of the damned. Is there anyone down there who could step up and say, I am worthy, I'm deserving to take that seal, take that book, and break the seals and execute the contents?
No. Anyone on earth, any pope, any dictator, any king, worthy and deserving to take the book and open the seal and execute the judgments of God as given in the resurrection. John says, I wept because there was no one worthy. He told the driest tears, the Lamb is worthy. And Jesus Christ steps to the throne and receives from the Father that book, the title deeds of earth. What is his claim to that title deed? His womb. Jesus Christ purchased, and he purchased you, and he purchased me.
He paid the price for our redemption. And to God, and to Christ will be all the glory through us all eternity. We are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus. Under the good work. Look at the thief on the cross. What had he done? The only sin, that's all he did. He's at the end of his road. He's soon to die. Well, his life can't save him. And he has no future life to point to to say, well, I'll do better in the future than I've done in the past. He had no money to give.
His hands were nailed to the cross. He couldn't get baptized. He couldn't join the church. There he hung the sinner, naked and helpless before God, only a pile of sins to his credit. God saved him. Jesus Christ saved him at the last minute. Wasn't that grace? That's why a poor backslider can go to heaven. Here's one who's really born again, and he gets tripped up. He gets into sin. Then finally death bed comes. What are you going to do now?
Anyone has come back to the Lord on the death bed. But possibly some have gone into eternity so quick they didn't have time to get restored. But do you know that backslider will go to heaven? Does he desire to? No. But he's there by grace. Grace saves him. Grace takes him. Backslider will go to heaven. Does he deserve to? No. But he's there by grace. Grace saves him. And grace takes him to heaven that his life is raised, is burned up at the judgment seat of Christ. Oh, the marvelous grace of God.
In the ages that come, God will put on display on his dinner. all those who may have saved by sovereign grace, he will show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. You know, we as Christians would be a lot happier if we had our sights set on the age to come. Whenever you get a little moody and depressed, don't tell me that you don't. You can't live in this world without it. Well, the nice thing to do is just get down, get your Bible, turn over to some of the chapters in the Revelation, especially the latter chapters, or John XIV and read about the ages to come.
What's going to go on there? The things God's going to do, the things he's going to show you, the things we're going to enjoy, to the ages to come. My, that will make you forget the present. that lift you above your present circumstances. I am here but a little while, as the Apostle says, that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed enough. O the eternal glory! I don't know as I read many books when I was a young man. In fact, I think I only read three right through, and that was Jesse James' book, and the time I left school at the age of thirteen and the time I was saved at nineteen.
But I think I did, as I reflect now, read a book, a little novel. I didn't want to read the Bible, although there was plenty around the house. But I used to listen to my mother and dad, if it speak to me about her soul, I'd go to meeting, but I wasn't ready to be saved. I was ready when I was nineteen. I remember reading a book and it was about the, you know, the old story, the hero and the heroine and the villain. Well, you start to read it. And here it is, this young man sits in this young woman. And it's a third party.
And he's going to try and dispose of this young woman. And he apprehends her, and he takes her out with a straight railroad track, and then expresses to come down there in about twenty minutes. And he ties that young woman across the road. By longer in the distance, you can hear the whistle. And the train comes. Oh, I just draw on to my fingers. Is she going to get killed? I couldn't wait. I turned over at the end of the church. And they lived happily ever after. Oh. Well, that's it. Why, that just lifted all my fears and worries when I found out she didn't get killed after all.
They lived happily ever after. You know, we as Christians, we're constantly living by their fingernails, but something we think is going to happen and never does. If only we get into the book and read the end of the story, Revelation, the ages to come. I would certainly relieve us of a lot of worries and a lot of worries. In the ages to come, God will show us the exceeding riches of His grace, in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. I want to ask you who are not saved tonight, what about you?
We'd like to say more about the Christians eternity, but that takes too much time. You could talk on it for weeks and still run out of time. What about you who are not Christians? The dark story, just as that one is bright for the Christian Lord is God. The same blessed book that speaks of the ages to come when God will have his church on parade. Sinners saved by grace, exhibiting his marvelous loving kindness to us, just so sure will he lost the inhales, reaping and veiling and gnashing their teeth, an eternal exhibit of Satan's cunning and your cowardice.
You would like to have gotten saved, but you would have prayed to what your friends would say. Pray to the more. You're proud of it. The Bible says the fearful and the unbelieving shall have their pot in the lake with corn of the fire and brimstone to the second day. Oh, yes. That's why you're not saved tonight. Satan is setting the snares and you're stepping right into them. you'll be an eternal exhibit of your own folly and foolishness, and Satan's coming in power, you didn't receive Jesus Christ. There you'll be in the ages that comes entirely up to you.
Maybe you've heard about the Greek legend. The man was called the oracle. This man lived in a cave. He said that no one had ever stumped him. He answered every question that was put to him. It was supposed to be a great article, knowing everything. Many had gone to the mouth of the cave and asked questions and got an answer back and it came true. So the legend says. Two boys were playing one day. One boy says, You know, I'm going to fool the old man. I'm going to catch him.
No one has yet, but I'm going to get the old article. Why, how are you going to do it, everybody says? I'm going to do it. How are you going to do it? How is it, try? He said, I'm going to do it. He said, I'm going to catch a bird. He said, I'm going to go at the mouth of that cave, and I'm going to call in there, and he answers me. and ask me what I want and will say, I got a bird in my head. Well, what about it? Well, I want to ask you a question. Is that bird dead or alive?
And if he says the bird is dead, he said, I'll show him the life of the earth. If he says the bird is alive, he shall sweep the dead. I'll show you what. But I'll fool him. Well, he caught his word and away he went. And he stood at the mouth of the cave. And he called in and he got his answer back. What do you want? Boy says, I've got a bird in my head. Is that bird dead or alive? Then, Mrs. Smith, finally the voice came back. Whether that bird is dead or alive is entirely up to you.
Friend, whether you will be in heaven or in hell for eternity is entirely up to you. Absolutely up to you. Whether you will be in heaven in the ages that come, a monument of the grace of God, the biggest praises forever and ever. whether you'll be in the place of the dams and entirely up to you. The choice is yours. God out of love to you has given his son, the Lord Jesus. And in sovereign grace, he'll blot out your every sin. He'll make you a new creature in his son, in Christ Jesus.
Not only will he save you, he'll keep you, till traveling days are to us, or till he comes to the air and catches up his own to be forever with his death. Friend, I want to ask you tonight, will you trust this one? He died to save you, who lives to keep you, who will come to glorify you, and he's coming soon. Things in the world, national and internationally, indicate he's coming to you. Oh, I'll tell you, the child of God longs for his return. Longs for his coming.
For that quiet day when he'll take us up. Then in the age to come, he and I in that bright glory one deep joy shall share. My joy to be forever with him is joy that I am there. A monument of his grace. He'll display us through our eternity as those upon whom He showed kindness, love, and grace from the moment of their conversion to make us from home to heaven. There will not be one soul in heaven who will talk like this. I'm here because I was an honest man. I'm here because I was a mortal woman.
I'm here because I gave so much money to the church. I'm here because I was a deacon or I was a steward. Friend, there'll be no such jarring note as that in heaven. Everyone in heaven will be singing one song, all in happy unison, unto him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, to him who honor and glory forever and forever and forever. Yes, the age is to come. He has showed the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ.