Grace is the scarlet thread woven throughout all of Scripture. From the beginning in Genesis when God offered the first sacrifice for Adam and Eve’s sin, to the ending of Revelation when Jesus promises to return for His own, God provides portraits of His never-ending grace.
Dr. Henry Morris III’s feature article points out that Noah found grace—he received specific instructions from God for an unfamiliar task, endured the ridicule of a wicked world, and stepped into an uncertain future because the grace of God led him to save his family from judgment (see page 5). And as Dr. John Morris illustrates on page 13, the Ark was perfectly suited for this task because “God was in full control.”
In grace, God promised childless Abraham that he would become the father of a great nation. An angel seized Lot by the hand and pulled him from destruction, demonstrating how God’s grace is bestowed even on the most reluctant of followers. Jacob experienced grace at Bethel when a rock was his pillow, and he saw angels ascending and descending from heaven to earth on a ladder.
By grace, God snatched Moses from the Nile, protected him in the midst of a hostile kingdom, and eventually confronted him with truth at a burning bush. The Israelites witnessed the grace of God through the parting of the Red Sea and through God’s steadfast presence even when His children forsook Him.
Rahab the harlot tied a scarlet thread in her window as a sign of her faith in salvation through the God of Israel, and she found grace. Ruth found grace in the fields of Boaz, and Hannah found grace at an altar bathed in tears. Abigail found grace when she interceded for an evil husband.
David experienced grace when he acknowledged his sin with a broken and contrite heart.
In grace, God heard Hezekiah’s prayer for healing from a mortal illness. God granted grace to captive Nehemiah—cupbearer to the king of a foreign land—when he petitioned the king to allow him to leave, rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and serve his people and his God. Esther experienced God’s grace when she interceded on behalf of her people before King Ahasuerus. Job endured many sufferings by the grace of God, and the prophets of old spoke God’s truth by His grace.
The virgin Mary became the mother of baby Jesus, and lived in a world that didn’t understand the miraculous conception, all by God’s grace. And by grace, John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus’ public ministry and endured a martyr’s death.
Christ’s disciples left everything to follow Him, trusting the grace of God rather than the traditions of men for their salvation. Christ called Zacchaeus down from a tree, and the little publican joyfully embraced the grace Jesus offered him that day. The Samaritan woman at the well experienced grace despite her lengthy list of husbands, and the adulteress received forgiveness rather than a stoning.
The apostles faithfully proclaimed truth in a hostile world, enduring torture and death, and built the early church through the message of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The New Testament ends, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (Revelation 22:21).
As Dr. Henry Morris III reminds us on page 7, “God’s grace is always available.” Even today, we experience abundant life, eternal life, because the scarlet thread ties us to Him—our God who has bestowed life on us through His son Jesus Christ. None of us deserves to live in His presence eternally. But He grants it because, like Noah, we found grace.
* Jayme Durant is Executive Editor at the Institute for Creation Research.
Cite this article: Durant, J. 2013. Grace from Beginning to End. Acts & Facts. 42 (1): 4.
