WHAT’S SO AMAZING ABOUT GRACE? – Part 2

“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit.”  (1 Peter 3:18 RSV)

“But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved.”  (Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV)

Grace is God as a heart surgeon, cracking open your chest, removing your heart -- poisoned as it is with pride and pain -- and replacing it with His own. Rather than tell you to change, He creates the change. Do you clean up so that He can accept you? God accepts you and then begins cleaning up. His dream isn’t just to get you into heaven but to get heaven into you. What a difference this makes! Can’t forgive your enemy? Can’t face tomorrow? Can’t forgive your past? Christ can, and He is on the move, aggressively budging you from graceless to grace-shaped living. The gift-given giving gifts. Forgiven people forgiving people. Deep sighs of relief. Stumbles aplenty but despair seldom.

Grace is everything Jesus. Grace lives because He does, works because He works, and matters because He matters. He placed a term-limit on sin and danced a victory jig in a graveyard. To be saved by grace is to be saved by Him -- not by an idea, doctrine, creed, or church membership, but by Jesus Himself, who will sweep into heaven anyone who so much as gives Him the nod. 

-- Max Lucado in “Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine”

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WHAT’S SO AMAZING ABOUT GRACE? – Part 1

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast.”  (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV)

It is commonplace in all the churches to call Christianity a religion of grace… It is a staple diet in the Sunday School that grace is “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.” And yet, despite these facts, there do not seem to be many in our churches who actually believe in grace… They may pay lip service to the idea of grace, but there they stop. Their conception of grace is not so much debased as non-existent. The thought means nothing to them; it does not touch there experience at all. Talk to them about the church’s heating, or last year’s accounts, and they are with you at once; but speak to them about the realities to which the word “grace” points, and their attitude is one of differential blankness. They do not accuse you of talking nonsense; they do not doubt that your words have meaning; but they feel that, whatever it is you are talking about, it is beyond them, and the longer they have lived without it the surer they are that at their stage of life they do not really need it. 

-- J. I. Packer in “Knowing God”

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THE GOSPEL IN COMMUNITY

In the wake of Paul’s travels throughout the Mediterranean, Christian communities sprang up, consolidated and began to multiply. This was the outcome of a deliberate policy on his part. He not only proclaimed the message of Christ and brought people into an intimate relationship with God, but drew the consequences of that message for the life of his converts and led them into a personal relationship with one another… For Paul the gospel bound men and women to one another as well as to God.

Acceptance by Christ necessitated acceptance of those who He had already welcomed (Romans 15:7); reconciliation with God entailed reconciliation with others that exhibited the character of the gospel preaching (Philippians 4:2-3); union in the Spirit involved union with one another, for the Spirit was primarily a shared, not individual experience (2 Corinthians 13:14; Philippians 2:1; Ephesians 4:3). The gospel is not a purely personal matter. It has a social dimension. It is a communal affair. 

-- Robert Banks in “Paul’s Idea of Community: Early House Churches in their Historical Settings”

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LIVING BY GRACE

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."  (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)

Grace is something you can never get but can only be given.  There's no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks or bring about your own birth.

A good sleep is grace and so are good dreams.  The smell of rain is grace.   Somebody loving you is grace.  Loving somebody is grace.  Have you ever tried to love somebody?

A crucial eccentricity of the Christian faith is the assertion that people are saved by grace.  There's nothing you HAVE to do.  There's nothing you have to DO.

The grace of God means something like: Here is your life.  You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn't have been complete without you.  Here is the world.  Beautiful and terrible things will happen.  Don't be afraid.  I am with you.  Nothing can ever separate us.  It's for you I created the universe.  I love you. 

-- Frederick Buechner

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CASCADING GRACE

Cascading grace. Isn’t this how God works? He starts the process. He doesn’t just love; He lavishes us with love (1 John 3:1 NIV). He doesn’t dole out wisdom; He “gives generously to all without finding fault” (James 1:5 NIV). He is rich in “kindness, tolerance and patience” (Romans 2:4 NIV). His grace is “exceedingly abundant” (1 Timothy 1:14) and “indescribable” (2 Corinthians 9:14-15).

He overflowed the table of the prodigal with a banquet, the vats at the wedding with wine, the boat of Peter with fish, twice. He healed all who sought health, taught all who wanted instruction, and saved all who accepted the gift of salvation.

God “supplies seed to the sower and bread for food” (2 Corinthians 9:10 NIV)… When God gives, He dances for joy. He strikes up the band and leads the parade. He loves to give.

-- Max Lucado in “Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine”


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THE SECRET TO LASTING JOY - Part 1

Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you.”  (John 15:4a NKJV)

The verb “abide” in Greek… means “to take up permanent residence, to settle in, rest.” To abide in Christ means to stop trying to earn His acceptance or to work to justify our right to be His person. We are to relax and receive His grace. That becomes very practical in dealing with our problems. Each day’s problems become opportunities to trust Him and receive renewed grace. We do not need to be strong, clever, or resourceful to abide. Instead, we are to abandon ourselves to Christ, trusting Him with our problems, and accept His assurance that He will assume responsibility for us and our problems.

I like the way J. C. Ryle [in his “Expository Thoughts on the Bible”] interpreted the meaning of Jesus’ command to abide in Him: “Abide in Me. Cling to Me. Stick fast to Me. Live the life of close and immediate communion with Me. Get nearer and nearer to Me. Roll every burden on Me. Cast your whole weight on Me. Never let go your hold on Me for a moment. Be as it were rooted and planted in Me. Do this, and I will never fail you.”

-- Lloyd J. Ogilvie in “If God Cares, Why Do I Still Have Problems”


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LIVING BY GRACE

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”  (Matthew 6:26 NIV)

Though it is a wonderful truth to know that we are saved by grace, it is equally wonderful to know that we live by it as well.  Though we labor, just as the birds of the air labor, we do not need to grasp and grab frantically, because we have One who cares for us just as He cares for the birds of the air.

-- Richard J. Foster


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BY GRACE

“But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God --  not by works, so that no one can boast.”  (Ephesians 2:4-9 NIV)

This is the amazing story of God’s grace. God comes to us in the first place by His grace, God saves us by His grace, and God transforms us more and more into the likeness of His Son by His grace. In all our trials and afflictions, He sustains and strengthens us by His grace. He calls us by grace to perform our own unique function within the Body of Christ. Then, again by grace, He gives to each of us the spiritual gifts necessary to fulfill our calling. As we serve Him, He makes that service acceptable to Himself by grace, and then rewards us a hundredfold by grace.

-- Adapted from Jerry Bridges


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GOD’S GRACE AND FORGIVENESS

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”  (Romans 6:1-2 NIV)

Grace is no license to sin. God's mercy does not mean we can turn our back on the commands and decrees of our Lord. God's mercy and forgiveness is indeed blessed and deep but if we want to enhance our relationship with Jesus we do well to learn how to please Him and to put Him first in our lives -- no matter what happens.

-- Pastor Gary Stone 

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ASH WEDNESDAY: SIN, REPENTANCE AND ETERNAL LIFE

“Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions… But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life.”  (Romans 6:12,22)

Apparently, some of the early Christians interpreted the new freedom that Paul talked about in a way that permitted them to do whatever they wished -- as long as they said they had faith. Paul practically accuses them of deliberately sinning in order to see how much grace God will bestow to counteract the sin. He asks, “Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound?” (Romans 6:1)

The apostle quickly answers his own question. “By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?” (Romans 6:2) While the Christian is free of the ceremonial laws, there is no freedom for immorality or license. Such attitude and behaviors are inappropriate to the new life in Christ, just as they were to the old covenant. Sins are still acts to be avoided, dangers to be fought.

Paul maintains that justification has cleared the decks of a Christian’s past sins; these are no longer held against the faithful. But he has no sympathy for the notion that Christians are therefore free to do anything. Sin is still sin. Morality is still morality. God expects the best of those who claim the promise. 

-- William Carter in “Good News for God’s People: A Study of Romans” published by Abington Press


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IDENTIFIED WITH GOD’S NATURE

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”  (Colossians 4:6 NIV)

If the majesty, grace, and power of God are not being exhibited in us, God holds us responsible…

Be marked and identified with God’s nature, and His blessing will flow through you all the time. 

-- Oswald Chambers


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AN INTERESTING WORD

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,… For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our LORD.”  (Romans  3:23, 6:23 NIV)

An interesting word, sin. A century ago, our vocabulary was rich in synonyms for sin. Words like iniquity. Transgression. Turpitude. Depravity. Reprobation. And my personal favorite: peccancy. New Testament Greek had thirty-three different words for sin. Apparently we once knew our way around the concept.

You can learn a lot about a society by digging through their heap of discarded words. These days you don’t hear people worrying about their turpitude at the water cooler or sharing about their depravity during prayer request time…

We can wipe sin out of our dictionaries. If only we could wipe it out of our souls. As a culture, we can try to rub out the definition of sin, but the condition isn’t going anywhere. It cracks the whip on just as many slaves -- the entire population of the world -- as it ever did. If we fail to acknowledge its reality, there can be no mourning. And without mourning there can be no confession. And without confession we miss the richest blessing of God’s forgiveness and grace. 

-- Kyle Idleman in “The End of Me”


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SPIRITUAL FORMATION

It’s tempting to describe spiritual formation in terms we can really master or regulate, like a check list or a huddle or listening to a series of recorded teachings. Such schemes can too readily become perfunctory, another sort of legalism, a way to avoid exploration and mystery, or little more than formulaic.

Being a Christian is not about us; it’s about Jesus! Spiritual formation is about the life of Jesus being made visible in our bodies; it’s about engaging the Spirit because we are hungry for God; it’s about becoming disciples so that Jesus can pour His life into us. It’s about learning to love God with our heart, mind, body, and soul. It’s about having the courage to actually follow Jesus -- to place one foot in front of the other, to dare to live a life of grace.

Paul summed it up well: “I am confident in this, that the One who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). 

-- Derek Maul in “Get Real: A Spiritual Journey for Men”


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