Why do so many, especially in the church, have difficulty with grace? It seems it scares so many to speak about being saved by grace and grace alone because we don't understand what it means. We understand the Lord's Supper and baptism but grace is not so accommodative. We define the word as "unmerited favor" but that's about as far as it goes.
Do you realize that at the end of every one of Paul's God inspired letters, he ends with "grace be with you"? The New Testament is filled with the word grace. While it is true that we cannot earn grace and we do not deserve it but that's only a part of it. Paul spoke "But by the grace of God I am what I am and His grace toward me did not prove in vain..." (I Cor. 15:10) The power of saving grace produced in Paul all his efforts and works! "...but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me." (I Cor. 15:10)
Maybe the reason the church is so weak while we lead so few to Christ is because we have been trying to do the work of God with our own strength and works? The absence of grace in our preaching/teaching and in our daily living has led us to a human effort and law system. That human effort and law system beats people over the head, condemns if things aren't done in an exact fashion and if your not winning souls, you're lost!!! Grace is so wonderful it leads people to wanting their families saved, their friends reached and their neighbors to hear a the word of the cross in which grace is expressed. Grace is what produces freedom! "You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." (Gal. 5:4)
It seems as I travel more and more that few really grasp the grace/faith concept. I'm trying to learn myself. In all this, that is why there are so many wide ranges in the church. It seems we swing from one extreme to another while understanding the grace of God would keep our feet planted firmly and lives wrapped around the love of Christ. We firmly teach against the concept of "faith alone" which is unbiblical. There have been debates held on this yet when it comes to the biblical approach of grace, we run to the other extreme and make sure we can't earn it but it must be a salvation of works throwing James 2 in the mix with little insight to what James 2 is speaking! That is just as destructive. As we renounce "once saved always saved" concept we have pushed lives into believing "once saved barely saved or might be saved or you can't really know you're saved" at best!
When will we hear the teachings of Paul that rang in the ears of the Ephesians: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Eph. 2:8-9)? Baptism is where the grace of God does His work (Col. 2:12). Baptism is nothing but faith responding to the call of the gospel of Jesus Christ to us, the lost sinful soul. The conclusion: it is all by grace and grace alone!
2 comments:
Are there different types of grace? For example - before I was in Christ and cleansed of my sins God didn't treat me the way I deserved. In Matthew Jesus talks about how the Father lets the sun shine on the evil and the good - is that also considered grace? It isn't the grace that saves, but is it still called grace or something else?
God was patient when you were in your sins. You were still under death and the penalty (I Pet. 3:20). The condemnation was still yours to the fullest. In Matt. 5 Jesus uses love (agape) in regard to God. It is a love that sacrifices despite how someone acts. I appreciate your thinking through all this. Hope that helps a little!
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