For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:16, 17
I love grace. I need it. We all need it. The Good News is God loves to give grace to all who would receive it.
We need grace because we’re not perfect. (Romans 3:23) The Gospels makes it clear that Jesus came to be our savior. We can access God’s grace because Jesus took the punishment for our sin. Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross was the purpose for which He came. Along with the above verses from John, look at Jesus’ purpose verses in the Synoptic Gospels.
Matthew 1:21 - “And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Mark 10:45 - “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Luke 19:10 - “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Grace is available because of Christ’s work on the cross. I love what Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” No condemnation! All grace! I love it! We all need grace, but who gets it? “Those who are in Christ Jesus.” Is your life “in” Jesus today? Simply put, “No Jesus. No Grace. Know Jesus. Know Grace.”
Click here to listen to a sermon Romans 8:1.
I’m getting tired of hearing about grace. (I know this post is going to get me in trouble.) Recently I have been listening to people share their testimonies and watching a variety of TV preachers talk about the grace of God and instead of rejoicing I find myself getting haggard of hearing the message of grace. This really troubled me. I mean grace is the ultimate gift of God, right? Grace always wins (Romans 5:20). I love grace. I’ve experienced God’s grace. I preach God’s grace. Grace is essential to the Christian experience. Grace is unique to Christianity, the distinguishing mark among world religions. So why this feeling?
When I took the time to meditate on my trouble with grace I realized the issue was that too often we glamorize grace instead of focusing our attention on the giver of the gift of grace, God. Grace is simply a gift. Grace (charis) is commonly defined as “unmerited favor.” Grace is the ultimate expression of God’s love and generosity to those in relationship with Him. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God...” Ephesians 2:8
So why my angst? Grace is a big deal! But it is a result of a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Every gift has a giver. It’s the gift that follows the relationship. I hear a lot of people talking about grace and other amazing gifts of God but they talk very little about an ongoing intimate relationship with the Lord. I love receiving gifts, it’s one of my “Love Languages,” but if my wife Leslie gave me a gift and I was more excited about the gift than our relationship, there would be trouble.
This is more than mere semantics. The giver is always greater than the gift. Without the giver there is no gift. While we celebrate the gift let’s not neglect the giver. It is my contention that we glamorize the Giver and then let Him offer the gift. In other words, seek (and preach) Jesus first and His grace will follow.
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow...”
Isaiah 1:18
I thought after our blizzard this would be an appropriate verse for this weekend’s Bible Blog. It also got me thinking about my favorite quotes concerning God’s grace.
Our heart is a Dixie Cup and God's grace is Niagra. We simply can't contain it all.
MaxLucado
Disobedience happens, not when we think too much of grace, but when we think too little of grace.
Tullian Tchividjian
The law detects, grace alone conquers sin.
Augustine
Let the scandalous grace of God offend your pride and restore your joy.
Darrin Patrick
Grace is given to heal the spiritually sick, not to decorate spiritual heroes.
Martin Luther
Grace is but glory begun, and glory is but grace perfected.
Jonathan Edwards
Grace is free sovereign favor to the ill-deserving.
Benjamin B. Warfield
Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue.
Eugene Gladstone O'Neil
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
John Newton
