"Salvation is of the LORD." -Jonah 2:9

It is no wonder that the religious voices of our day speak of a "grace" that is not very amazing at all. It is because the true condition of all people by nature is denied. In R OMANS 5 , the apostle Paul speaks of abundant and abounding grace. He tells of the true grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ as it meets the true condition and need of sinful men. What is the true condition that grace meets? Grace meets those who are "without strength" [vs . 6 ] . They have no ability to save themselves, no ability to perform works of perfect righteousness and no ability to come to Christ that they might have life. Grace meets those who are "ungodl y " [ vs. 6 ] . They are "without God" and therefore without hope in this world. They do not love God, desire God, serve God, worship God, praise God, believe God, come to God or submit to God. They are ungodly! Grace meets those who are "sinners" [ vs. 8 ] . Those who must be s

"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." -G ALATIANS 2:21 [KJV] It would be a miserable thing indeed, and sadly frustrating, and making void, the riches of God's grace, to join anything of the work of the creature, in whole, or in part, as in the least contributing to justification before God. For if righteousness come by the law: if any of the fallen race of Adam, could be supposed capable of working out for themselves a righteousness of their own; yea, could perform a single deed, or exercise a single thought of purity, to recommend themselves to the great searcher of hearts: in this case, it would set aside, the necessity of redemption. For this would at once show, that the creature hath a capability of somewhat, be that somewhat ever so little; and by improvement, more might then be expected from him. And then, the consequences which would follow, would be, that there could have been no cause

"That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world." -E PHESIANS 2:12 [KJV]   The Apostle here tells the Ephesians that in their natural state, before divinely quickened and made alive unto God, they were "without Christ," that is, without manifest union and communion with Him. Though in the purposes of God, and by their eternal election in Christ, they were members of His mystical body, they had not been baptized into Christ by the Spirit so as to be made living members of His spiritual body, the Church [I CORINTHIANS 12:13 ] , and therefore had not "put on Christ" [GALATIANS 3:27 ] .   And as they were, such were we. We were "without Christ" in our Gentile days. He had no place in our thoughts. We knew nothing of His Person and work, blood and righteousness, beauty and blessedness, grace and glor