So grace is God's disposition to choose and bless his people without respect to their works. It is God's free goodness toward people who have no rightful claim on him at all. We were chosen by grace, called by grace, brought to faith by grace, sanctified by grace, and will be glorified by grace. Therefore, the great spring and fountain of all our hope is the free and sovereign grace of God. But last week we emphasized that the grace of God does not just sweep sin under the rug in order to give hope to sinners.
Grace gives hope by creating the gospel.
Or we can change the image to help us move into today's message. Let's say that grace is the eagerness of a world class heart surgeon to save the lives of desperately ill heart patients. Grace is his willingness and eagerness to heal. And let's say that the gospel is the new surgical instrument that this doctor developed on Good Friday and Easter. Let's call the death and resurrection of Jesus God's invention of a surgical instrument, the gospel.