Grace Classics: Escape to Reality Greatest Hits, Volume 2 by Paul Ellis Page B

message, namely, the gospel of God’s grace
(Acts 20:24). And it is this message that I write about on my blog Escape to
Reality (a.k.a. E2R).
    A few
months ago I released Volume 1 of E2R’s Greatest Hits. Welcome to Volume 2.
It’s great to have you here. The first book was called Grace Disco. You
may be wondering why this one is called Grace Classics .
    A
classic is something that has stood the test of time and has been judged to be
of the highest quality. If this book comes within a million miles of that
standard it is because it proclaims the eternal gospel, which is the best news
and the most thrilling of announcements.
    A
classic is something that resonates within and fills us with divine beauty.
Think of a classic piece of music—Beethoven’s Ode to Joy comes to mind,
so does the hymn Amazing Grace —and how it makes you feel when you listen
to it. The gospel of grace has the same effect. When we hear it in all its
unblemished glory, something within us stirs to life and we lift our eyes to heaven.
Our hearts fill with joy and our minds bend with wonder. Who is this God who
loves me like this?
    How can
I say that the chapters in this book are—dare I say it—classics? Because each
conveys the good news of Jesus and it is this message—not my rough versions
of it—that has stood the test of time and continues to move those who hear it.
I write so that you may rejoice in the Lord who is the embodiment of the
Father’s love and grace toward us.
    The
best, most classic bits in this book are not original—I stole them from the
Bible. And all the other bits I lifted straight from the blog. But even though
you may have read them before, it is no trouble for me to write the same things
to you again. Like Paul, I have just one message to preach.
    Some of
the material on E2R has gone on to shape chapters in my various gospel books.
However, most of the articles in this collection of greatest hits have not been
published anywhere else. I have taken this opportunity to give them a bit of
spit and polish. After each you will find some reflections and stories about how
they came to be and how they were received.
    If the
articles on the blog are the rehearsal, this book is the concert performance.
So as the lights go down and the curtain goes up why don’t you sit back, relax,
and allow the music of God’s grace to soothe your soul.
     
     

1. By Which Gospel Are You Saved?
     
    Read the New Testament and you
might come away thinking that there is more than one gospel. The first words of
the New Testament in the King James Bible are, “The Gospel According to
Matthew.” Read on and you will also find the gospels according to Mark, Luke
and John. Keep reading and you will come across Paul telling the Romans about
“my gospel” before warning the Corinthians to hold firm to the gospel that “I
preached to you” (Romans 16:25, 1 Corinthians 15:1). Read all the way to the
end and you will also encounter the “gospel of your salvation” (Ephesians
1:13), the “gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15), the “glorious gospel of the
blessed God” (1 Timothy 1:11), before finally reaching the “eternal gospel”
proclaimed by the angel (Revelation 14:6).
    Of
course, these are all labels for one and the same gospel. There is only one
gospel in the Bible and that is the gospel which was known to Paul as the
gospel of grace:
     
    I
consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and
complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the
gospel of God’s grace. (Acts 20:24)
     
    The gospel of grace is the gospel and there is no other. This gospel is not built on a doctrine or a
theology, but on Jesus Christ himself:
     
    The Word
became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory
of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth… Out
of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For
the law was