"More AMAZING GRACE" Pt 2

When I formally launched a full time preaching career nearly a half century ago, my actual knowledge of God's word was minimal at best. Most of my preaching was simply repeating what I had learned up to that point, which wasn't a bad thing, but God was taking me on a long journey that continues even now. However I will always carry with me a sense of sadness over much of what I sincerely taught during most of those early years.
One of my greatest omissions during at least the first 20 or so years, was the subject of GRACE. Growing up under the constant influence of "performance based" Christianity, I rarely taught on grace and love because I had been trained to believe in God's absolute expectation of perfect obedience to his words. In those years I also encountered the exact opposite theology that we humans are saved by grace plus nothing. I gradually learned that both interpretations are seriously flawed.
Sometime in the middle part of my career I began to lay aside all the commentaries, magazines, sermon outlines and books written from the very narrow performance based perspective. For the first time probably ever, I finally began to truly study and meditate on the words revealed in the Bible by the Spirit of God.
For the next 17 years I studied the Bible exclusively for an average of 3 hours every day using only a few aids such as lexicons, concordances,dictionaries and word studies.
Today I praise my Father for the way he has patiently educated me through all those years of intense study and interaction with a lot of very good men and women, including my Dad who was my most trusted adviser. He always listened and offered guidance that taught me to attain a balance that has given me absolute freedom to just trust the Holy Spirit and the love of God always, in everything. In fact, when we moved to Dallas, Tx in 1977, for the first eight months I ministered at the Hawn Freeway Church of Christ, I preached exclusively on the love of God and how that plays out in the life of his family on earth.
"Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this GRACE in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
"The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, GRACE increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also GRACE might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 5:1-2, 20-21 NIV
The word "ACCESS" in the above passage is from the Greek word "prosagoge" which contains at least two powerful images. The word actually means "introduction". It was the common word for introducing someone into the presence of royalty. It was also used commonly for the harbor where ships at sea could come into a safe harbor from a dangerous storm. Because of Jesus and in him, we have been introduced into the royal presence of the King, the absolute Ruler of all that is; and through him we have gained entry into the safe haven of God's grace.
I no longer hesitate to teach, talk, encourage and praise my Father and Jesus the Son for the free gift given to us all that is always greater than our sin, AMAZING GRACE.
More to come. HALLELUJAH!