Grace is Awesome!

God's given a gift to the world in the person of Jesus. All who believe in Him are given eternal life.

This free gift of salvation is:

• -motivated by the love of God,
• -an expression of God's mercy,
• -a manifestation of His grace,
• -and is received through faith.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, but it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Eph 2:8-9)

The idea that we're saved by grace is familiar to most Christians, but some overlook the equally important truth that we are empowered by grace as we pursue God's design for our lives. By grace God gives us His power to experience peace and joy in the face of any challenge.

"And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me," (2 Corinthians 12:9)

God's grace saves us and empowers us! As we walk in the Spirit we're blessed with God's Riches At Christ's Expense. Grace is awesome!

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"So what exactly is 'saving faith'?"

Have you ever found yourself in that discussion? It begins innocently enough but it always seems to turn into an attempt to quantify or qualify someone's (usually someone else's) faith. "Do they have enough faith?" "Do they have true faith?" "Do they have as much faith as you?" Right away we should notice that this is an exercise of exclusion rather than inclusion. If Jesus died so that the world might be saved we should look carefully at teaching that results in exclusion.

"I don't wanna keep anybody out, and I know they believe... but do they really, really believe, or just kinda?" Sigh. Still the 'saving faith' debates rage on.

It's interesting that so many believers have spent so much time and energy arguing what is or isn't saving faith when God's word clearly says that we are saved by grace. Read what Paul says below in his letter to Christians in Ephesus.

"For by grace you have been saved.." (Ephesians 2:8)

That's another one of those verses that's not ambiguous. Do you remember the old Johnny Cash song, "I Saw The Light"? That's how you were saved by grace, you saw the light. God quickened your spirit with His and you responded to His truth persuasion. This was a Spirit thing. It happened through faith.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith,.." (Ephesians 2:8)

We see that salvation is spiritual because it takes place "through faith" but salvation is accomplished by grace, the of God. Saved by grace means something different than saved by faith. Furthermore, saved by faith is not the same as saved by grace through faith. It may sound like we're splitting hairs here, but the difference is important.

If we are saved by faith we make the salvation experience about our own effort. God specifically has chosen this method of grace because it involves no effort on our part.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

If you had anything at all to do with your salvation you might have reason to boast but God has made this a free gift. Paul could have used any one of three Greek words for 'gift'. He chose the word with the greatest possible emphasis on the fact that the gift is free.

Thank you Lord for saving grace.

Not Just Grace for Salvation, Grace for Power in the Christian Life

And thank you for grace that is sufficient for our daily need. Repeating 2 Corinthians,

"And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”" (2 Corinthians 12:9)

We can't boast about that either, unless, like Paul, we boast in our weakness and God's strength.

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)

"And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:16)

"And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all." (Acts 4:33)

"But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they." (Acts 15:11)

"And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace;" (Acts 18:27)

"But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." (Acts 20:24)

Notice again Paul is not testifying to the 'gospel of faith', but rather the 'gospel of grace'. In his letters Paul testifies to the 'good news' that God's grace is abundant;

• -we're saved by grace,
• -grace is sufficient for power,
• -and grace builds us up.

"So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified." (Acts 20:32)

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," (Romans 3:23-24)

"But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many." (Romans 5:15)

"For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." (Romans 6:14)

"And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work." (Romans 11:6)

"Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them:" (Romans 12:6)

"I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge," (1 Corinthians 1:4-5)

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (1 Corinthians 15:10)

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9)

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work." (2 Corinthians 9:8)

"I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." (Galatians 2:21)

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us " (Ephesians 1:7-8)

"But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift." (Ephesians 4:7)

"..is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;" (Colossians 1:6)

When we are living grace it looks like this:

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (Colossians 3:16)

"Let your speech always be with grace," (Colossians 4:6)

"Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work." (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)

"And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 1:14)

"..according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began," (2 Timothy 1:9)

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men," (Titus 2:11)

"..having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:7)

"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone." (Hebrews 2:9)

"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)

"Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with (more law) foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them." (Hebrews 13:9)

"Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;" (1 Peter 1:13)

"As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." (1 Peter 4:10)

And of course the last words written in the New Testament are a prayer for you to have the grace of Jesus with you.

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be withall the saints. Amen." (Revelation 22:21)

 

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