Have you ever considered why jewelers show diamonds against a black cloth? Six years ago when God, in His great kindness, convinced Emily to marry me, I went shopping for her engagement ring. So my cousin, RUF campus minister, and I head on down to a jewelry store in downtown Atlanta. After telling him what I’m there for, the jeweler escorts us to his diamond case. All I can say is “wow!” I mean, these things are magnificent, each one sparkling brightly when the light strikes it at just the right angle. Picking out a few to take a closer look, he does something really interesting and places them on a black velvet cloth. This allows each diamond to not only sparkle all the brighter but gives us a chance to really catch all the detailed intricacies of what makes it so captivating.

It’s kind of like that with the Gospel. How beautiful is the good news that sinners can be reconciled to a holy God through the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ? But when seen against the black stark backdrop of sin, the beauty of the Gospel shines all the brighter!

You begin to see all the detailed intricacies of what it means that Christ gave His life for us. You can truly appreciate and glory in the grace of God to even allow sinners to approach a holy God through our great Savior. And you come to realize that Salvation is only ever by grace alone through faith alone, and not by anything you could ever do to earn it. In fact, you learn how inwardly (and often outwardly) you were running from God, and all along, it was God who moved you, by His Spirit, to believe and trust in Jesus. More personally, you learn how the Gospel can be applied to each aspect of your life, like a healing balm on your darkest areas of sin, and empower you to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.

We must talk about sin because it makes the cross of Christ appear all the more glorious. And we must talk about grace because it increases all the more our view of God’s glory and sovereignty.

How much theology can be packed into a single song? In Grace Alone, Dustin Kensrue helps us look at the beauty of the Gospel against the backdrop of our sin. Notice the Father, Son, and Spirit progression as we explore the sweet doctrine of Salvation by grace alone.

Grace Alone

Written by Dustin Kensrue

Lyrics:

I was an orphan lost at the fall
Running away when I'd hear you call
But Father you worked your will
I had no righteousness of my own
I had no right to draw near your throne
But Father you loved me still

And in love before you laid the world's foundation
You predestined to adopt me as your own
You have raised me up so high above my station
I'm a child of God by grace and grace alone

You left your home to seek out the lost
You knew the great and terrible cost
But Jesus your face was set
I worked my fingers down to the bone
But nothing I did could ever atone
But Jesus you paid my debt

By Your blood I have redemption and salvation
Lord you died that I might reap what you have sown
And you rose that I might be a new creation
I am born again by grace and grace alone

I was in darkness all of my life
I never knew the day from the night
But Spirit you made me see
I thought I knew the way on my own
Head full of rocks a heart made of stone
But Spirit you moved in me

And at your touch my sleeping spirit was awakened
On my darkened heart the light of Christ has shone
Called into a kingdom that cannot be shaken
Heaven's citizen by grace and grace alone

So I'll stand in faith by grace and grace alone
I will run the race by grace and grace alone
I will slay my sin by grace and grace alone
I will reach the end by grace and grace alone