Post date: Aug 16, 2011 12:37:08 AM
A View Of Grace
1. Grace - What is it?
2. A Three-laned Freeway!
3. Deep and Wide!
4. The Circle of Grace
5. The Center of the Circle
Conclusion / Application
Introduction
I am aware of many great books which have been written on the subject of grace. Many of those writings and my own study and meditation of God's word has given me my own grace awakening in recent years. I had known of God's grace, I have sung about it, and even taught Bible studies about it, but like all of God's truth, we all need the supernatural enlightenment of the Holy Spirit to make what was only head-knowledge into a life-changing, living reality in our daily lives!
I have no delusions of presenting new hidden truths to impress anyone, but at the same time, this study is not by any means just a re-hashing of the grace books I have read. While admitting to the influence and help of many men and women of God, the boundless, incredible scriptures themselves, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, have been, and by His grace, will continue to be my main source of inspiration.
I believe as someone once said, "Grace cannot be taught, it can only be lived." With that in mind, this study is not to be taken just as a collection of facts and information about grace to increase your knowledge and impress your friends! Hopefully, God will use these few words to spark a grace awakening in your life. But beware, once that happens, your life will never be the same!
Chapter One
Grace - What is it?
The most basic and common definition of grace is "unmerited favor". While that is true, it is only a limited, crude description of something far more vast! To say that God's grace is just unmerited favor could be compared to saying that Niagara Falls is just a trickle! The Grand Canyon is just a crack! The Oceans are just a puddle! The sun is just a light in the sky! Grace is far more!
We run a risk in trying to define grace because as Phillip Yancey says, "As soon as we define grace, it is like dissecting a frog. You can find out all about a frog by dissecting it, but in order to do that kind of detailed study you must first kill it! I don't want to kill grace by attempting to define it, but in this study I have found it helpful to liken it to a coin.
The Currency of the Kingdom
It is scriptural to liken grace to currency based on the parable of the talents given by Jesus in Matthew 25:14-30. In that parable certain servants were each given talents, some were given up to five talents. These "talents" were not, as we interpret in our modern English, skills or abilities. Rather, an ancient talent was simply a monetary amount. Scholars have debated the exact amount of a talent, but that is irrelevant, it is clear that it was currency. If you read the parable carefully, you will find that these talents are likened here not to some natural ability, but rather to a God-given gift of grace. All this to say, that the grace of God can be thought of as kingdom currency and the most common form of currency in Jesus' day was a coin!
The Two Sides of a Coin
One side of the grace coin could be likened to the most common grace definition: unmerited favor. The other side of the coin is a facet of God's grace, clearly revealed in scripture, but not as well known: God's operational power in our lives. To help clarify these two aspects of grace, here are some important characteristics of each in comparison:...
Many believers in Christ, having first received God's saving grace through faith, stop there. It is the first step into an incredible journey that God desires all of us to move through, step by step, all by and through His grace.
When a believer has both sides of this grace coin picture as a living, growing reality in his/her life, then they can flow in the third aspect of grace, serving grace, which we will examine in context of all three in the next chapter.
Manna Grace
The Israelites, after crossing the Red Sea, were in a wilderness with no food or water, and God miraculously provided for them. In addition to water from a rock, and quail meat, God also rained manna from heaven upon them every morning! When they first saw this strange bread, they couldn't figure out what it was, so they gave it a name: manna, which translates as "what is it?"
They saw, gathered, and ate it, but they couldn't understand what it actually was! While I can't say exactly what manna was either, I wholeheartedly believe that it is an awesome illustration of God's grace to His people! I also believe that ancient manna has many lessons of what God's grace is to us, today. Consider what the Bible reveals about this mysterious substance, all gleaned from Exodus chapter sixteen:
Manna Characteristics
1. Supernatural
2. Sufficient
3. Satisfying
4. Supplied from an inexhaustible Source
5. Sent daily
6. Sovereignly given to the undeserved
7. Seen but indescribable
Please look again at the seven Manna Characteristics, but this time, instead of thinking of the ancient bread, think of God's Grace! Do they not share the same qualities? To answer the age-old question that the word "manna" asks "What is it?" We can simply reply "Manna was God's grace!" It came to them in the form of this strange bread, but without it they would have died, and it came as favor to a very undeserving people.
Manna & Jesus
Another reason why I love the manna and grace connection is because of Jesus' own words about it. Even though the Israelites didn't really know what manna was, they knew its source and called it Bread from heaven" accordingly. (Exodus 16:4) That same phrase describing manna is also found in Psalm 78:24. When that phrase was quoted to Jesus, however, to manipulate Him into performing another miracle, Jesus replied: "Most assuredly I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world." John 6:32-33 NKJ Two verses later, Jesus makes it perfectly clear that He is God's true bread from heaven, when He says: "I am the bread of life." (John 6:35)
What does this mean for us today? Simply put, it means that just as that ancient bread called manna gave natural life to an undeserving people, Jesus, who is all of God's grace, today gives life spiritually to us, also an undeserving people, if we believe and allow Him to!
Ancient manna is a type/shadow of living, powerful, active grace today in the twenty-first century! Hopefully, this first chapter will give you a better grasp on the nature of grace and what it actually is. Although I conclude again by stating that grace is more a life lived than a lesson thought, Lets live it!
Perhaps the best definition of grace is actually two words that describe it well and require some meditation to really sink-in: Grace is young glory. Please take a few moments to ponder that thought before continuing on to the next chapter.
Chapter 2
A The Three-Laned Freeway
The Greek word that is translated "grace" or "favor" in our English Bibles is "charis", pronounced Karees". This word is found 156 times throughout the New Testament. We also see in many passages of the New Testament that there is a three-fold aspect to God's grace, and it clearly pertains to God's operating in our lives.
1. Saving grace to us
2. Sanctifying grace in us
3. Serving grace through us
Interestingly, the 156 occurrences of grace divide up almost equally into thirds: one third dealing with saving grace, one third dealing with sanctifying grace, and the other third relating to serving grace!
Joyce Meyer said in one of her books on Grace "There is no way to travel from the state of sinfulness to the state of holiness except by the "Highway of Grace". That is very true, and I wish to add that the Highway of Grace is
1. A Freeway - not a toll way!
2. A Three-laned freeway! Yes, it is a very costly freeway, but the price was paid completely by Jesus Christ, we don't have to pay for it! God's grace is free, but it is not cheap, just paid for with a high price by the Son of God. This freeway has three lanes, all going the same direction, one lane is Saving Grace to us, one is Sanctifying Grace in us, and one is Serving Grace through us.
I will go into more detail on these three aspects of grace in chapter four, "The Circle of Grace", but for now let's look at one verse that clearly reveals this beautiful triadic truth.
Scripture Picture
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." Titus 2:11-14 (NIV)
As you can see this text begins with "the Grace of God", that is the focus of this discourse by the Apostle Paul to Titus. We see that also this grace is both a noun and a verb in this text. Who appeared to all men and brought salvation? When Jesus was born in Bethlehem we can easily say that it was the grace of God wrapped in swaddling clothes! John said that Jesus came "full of grace and truth" (John 1:17)
Jesus is the grace of God personified! Then we see grace also as a verb in this text, because it does something, it teaches us to literally say "no" to sin and "yes" to God! The Greek word for teach here means much more that just verbally teaching about something, but rather an involved, lengthy process both by word and example, such as a parent teaching and raising a child.
The scripture picture of the three-laned highway is seen in verse 14 of this text:
"...who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness... (Saving Grace)
and to purify for himself a people that are his very own...(Sanctifying Grace)
eager to do what is good."( Serving Grace)
Chapter 3
Deep and Wide
There's an old children's Sunday School chorus that I remember singing: "Deep and wide, deep and wide, there's a fountain flowing deep and wide." It's a good chorus to sing, imparting the idea of the bigness of God! I regret that it took me over thirty-five years to finally realize just what that fountain is: God's grace!
Grace Upon Grace
In many ways God's grace can be thought of as a deep, wide, flowing fountain - I believe Zech 13:1 is speaking of Christ's first coming and his work on the cross: "In that day a fountain shall be opened for the House of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and uncleanness..." NKJ
Also, Jesus, the personification of grace, said, "If anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
I want to focus on one verse that truly implies this deep and wide flowing water, the bigness of God's grace, and to help see it better, let's look at it in translations. The Scripture is John 1:16.
"And of his fullness we have all received, and grace for grace." (NKJ)
"We all live off his generous bounty, gift after gift after gift." (The Message)
"From the fullness of his grace we all have received one blessing after another." (NIV)
One excellent commentator, William Hendrickson, translated it "Grace upon Grace". He wrote: "The meaning is that believers are constantly receiving grace in the place of grace! One manifestation of the unmerited favor of God in Christ is hardly gone when another arrives; hence grace upon grace."
Jerry Bridges, in his masterpiece Transforming Grace says, "The idea portrayed here is analogous to the ocean waves crashing upon the beach. One wave has hardly disappeared before another arrives. They keep coming from an inexhaustible supply. So it is with the grace of God through Christ. He is full of grace and truth, and it is from his inexhaustible fullness that we receive one blessing after another.
I challenge you to begin to think of God's grace like the ocean, but far deeper and far wider. Regardless of our limited understanding we can experience a grace-awakened life!
Super-abounding Grace
Continuing on the subject of the bigness of God's grace, let's focus on another verse that portrays this aspect. In Romans 5:20, Paul, in context of speaking of the law of God and our inability to obey it because of our sin states: "...but where sin abounded, grace abounded much more." (NKJ)
Noted Bible commentators, R.C.H. Lenski and John Murray both use the term "super abounding" rather than "abounded much more". In their words, "but where sin abounded, grace super abounded!'
I remember a popular slogan from years ago in the church, "God is bigger that any problem I have." While that is very true, let me give my own version for today with God's grace in mind, "God's grace is bigger than any sin in the universe!" You can never out-sin the grace of God it is always bigger, because it super abounds!
Now, I anticipate what some people may think while reading those words, "Well, since the more I sin the more God's grace abounds, I'll just sin more so I can have more grace!" There is always the danger of that kind of anti-scriptural, ill-logic when speaking of the freedom of God's grace. The Apostle Paul also anticipated this response from the Romans, here is his reply to them in Romans 6:12: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" Enough said, let's move on...
The Balance of Grace
God's grace is deep, wide, flowing, super abounding, and lastly we discuss in this chapter, it is balanced! Twice in Proverbs we are told that a false weight or balance is an abomination to the Lord. (Prov. 11:1, & 20:23) In Proverbs 16:11 we see that "A just weight and balance are the Lord's, all the weights in the bag are his work."
What are the things that are to be balanced? The Bible is not specific in these and other passages. However, it would not be too radical or out of line to literally link all things to God's balance! We see a very enlightening verse in Ecc 7:18 in the NIV stating, "...the man of God avoids all extremes!" Including the extremes of grace living! Simply stated, on one side, to the extreme, we have legalism, and on the opposite end to the other extreme we have license. There are many believers, including those in leadership positions in many churches, operating in legalism, with a basic definition of "your own work, efforts, and rules, to attain the blessing and favor of God; rather that God's presence, power, and grace.." As a former legalist myself, I know what I'm writing about! The problem arises when people allow God's grace in to burn away their legalism, many while enjoying their new found freedom, swing to the other extreme of license. License is simply an abuse of the freedom we have in Christ, it's "everything is okay, no rules, no authority, do whatever you like." This is also a grave mistake, just as bad as remaining a legalist! The Apostle Paul alludes to license when speaking of grace when he says "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!" (Romans 6:1,2) So where is that middle ground, and how do we get there? Let me introduce another word also starting with the letter "L" - "Love".
God's love is his grace, and his grace is his love. It's where we need to live, work, serve, and breathe daily! We all can easily get into legalism and license all by ourselves, but to flow in grace and love. It is impossible to do naturally by our own effort; it takes a child-like trust and faith in a supernatural, living God everyday.
Legalism Love/Grace License
Religion Relationship Rebellion
Achieving & Abiding in Christ Anarchy
Attaining
So, how deep and wide is God's grace? It is an immeasurable depth and width, far beyond our comprehension! There is no depth deeper that God's love (Romans 8:39), and as for width, North and South will always meet, but East and West never do, they go on in infinity, this is how far and wide God's love and grace must be to cast our sins away! (Psalm 103:12)
"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38, 39)
"As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:12)
Chapter Four
The Circle of Grace
God's three-lane freeway as seen from a heavenly perspective
"It's important to look at things from God's point of view." That is Eugene Peterson's interpretation of 1Corinthians 4:6 in the Message. The principal truth of that statement is accurate and scripturally sound! The Psalmist, Asaph, may have had that in mind when speaking of the prosperity of the wicked - he said "Until I went to the sanctuary of God, then I understood their end." Psalm 73:17 NKJ The message reads, "Until I entered the sanctuary of God, then I saw the whole picture." Psalm 73:17.
Let's proceed further into the sanctuary of God's grace, and prayerfully, humbly, seek to view another perspective, a larger, more panoramic view of God's three-lane freeway of grace as discussed in chapter two.
It's a Circle!
For review, here are the three lanes of grace:
Saving grace to us
Sanctifying grace in us
Serving grace through us
In the last chapter we saw how we can compare God's grace to the ocean - its depth and vastness, but the ocean has another quality and that is movement! I believe that God's freeway of grace is not a long and winding road, and it is not a dead-end street! God's grace flows in a circle! Although I believe it is a three-lane circular freeway, in no way do I want to limit God by saying that His amazing grace is only three lanes. In fact 1Peter 4:10 speaks of "the manifold grace of God" suggesting that God's grace to us could have thousands upon thousands of different aspects, functions or lanes. But from the light of scripture that the Lord has so graciously provided at this time, we are on solid scriptural ground if we continue with the primary three lanes.
Again, God's grace is nearly impossible to define or describe, except to state these truths:
It is three-fold
It is moving
It flows in a circle
Saving grace begins at the top of the circle. Because it is completely all God's work and totally begins with Him! Now if we move clockwise, at some point, if we continue to grow in grace, we move into the entrance ramp of sanctifying grace. Then as we continue to grow and flow into all that God has for us, we move into the entrance ramp of serving grace, and begin to flow more serving others with our God-given gifts. But it doesn't stop there! Continuing moving clockwise in the circle, our grace-driven service returns to God in praise & worship! In essence, our destination is our starting point! Since we were born-again from above, we will return to our point of origin: above.
Three-in-One and One-in-Three
Now I must insert a word of caution not to miss-understand this concept. Please do not think that upon receiving initial grace, that is all you get, and you must wait until some future date to be sanctified and wait even longer to serve! Even though I believe God's grace is three-laned, it is helpful to picture all of those lanes flowing in a circle at all times. Each lane has both an entrance and and exit ramp. some people flow in all three upon initial salvation. Others, more in serving but have a long way to go in allowing God's sanctifying grace to flow. It is very helpful to compare this three-laned concept to the concept of the trinity. Each person of the God-head has specific functions towards us, but they are all one. Three distinct personalities, but one God - or as someone once said: "Three in one and one in three." Both the triune Godhead and the beautiful, circular three-lane freeway of Grace!
Scripture Pictures
So far, this concept of grace as a circle may seem far-fetched and the result of a vivid imagination, but I ask you to explore with me a few scriptures, that, with a little digging, do indeed portray this concept.
"His Own Special People" Titus 2:14 NKJ
In Titus 2:14, in the context of grace, we find a very interesting and enlightening phrase, "His own special people" or in the NIV, "People that are His very own", or you may prefer the King James translation, "A peculiar people." These are translations of one Greek word that is only found here on this text in the whole Bible, that Greek word is: "periousios" pronounced "pear-ee-oh-see-ohs". It is made up of two words which basically mean 1. around and 2. to be. The Greek idea is of a dot within a circle, the dot being us, the circle being God's love and grace! We are placed there in the center of the circle by God's grace, and kept there, surrounded by His love and also by His grace, nothing can touch us inside that circle unless God allows it, and it has to go through Him to get to us! We are the dot, and God's love and grace is the circle around us making us His very own!
For the Love of Christ Constrains Us 2 Cor. 5:14
Here in this verse we see another example of the circle of God's love and grace. In the translation, "constrains" or "compels" is the Greek word "synecho", which comes from two Greek words meaning 1. together and 2. holding tight. Its actual meaning is to intensely hold and press together from all sides, to encircle or hem in! Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest writes on this word, "It presses on me from all sides, holding me to one and prohibiting me from considering any other, wrapping itself around me in tenderness.." That is what God's love does for us! Again it encircles us!
More "Circle" Verses
"I'm leaping and singing in the circle of your love." Psalm 31:7 The Message
"God's angel sets up a circle of protection around us while we pray." Psalm 34:7 The Message
"For from Him , through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever, amen. Rom. 11:36 NIV (emphasis added)
"And there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones..." Rev. 4:3,4
Chapter Five
The Center of the Circle
In the last chapter we looked at how grace can be scripturally understood as a circle in its flow. While it is flowing as a three-lane freeway, it has exit and entrance ramps at three points for us: 1. Saving grace to us 2. Sanctifying grace in us and 2. Serving grace through us.
God's saving grace to us is always completely 100 percent vertical, from God to us. We are saved by His doing, not ours, we simply respond by faith to His grace. Then both sanctifying and serving grace, while still initiated and empowered by God, involves horizontal living on this earth. Sanctification is a life-long process combining our surrender, yielding, and trusting in dealing with people and things. While living in the horizontal life on this earth, serving grace involves serving God, but how do we serve God? By serving and loving other people! Again, it involves the horizontal living.
Now, I want to explore two things that this diagram of connecting the dots brings out for us to understand.
God's Bull's Eye
The first aspect of the circle's center is that it is a bull's eye, a target, the exact center of the mark being where the two lines intersect in the middle of the circle, what does this bull's eye target within God's circle of grace represent? Answer: The Law of God. The Hebrew word for "law" is "torah", which comes from the root Hebrew word "yarah" which means "to shoot at a target" or similarly "shooting an arrow at the bull's eye!"
The psalmist understood this when he said, "My question: what are worshipper's like? Your answer: Arrow's aimed at God's bull's eye." Psalm 25:12 The Message. God's law, namely the Ten Commandments, are the standard by which we can not only enter heaven, but have relationship with God now in this life. Furthermore, these commandments must be kept perfectly, completely, every day in both word and spirit! In other words, if you think you are obeying the commandment to not steal, but you covet things in your heart, you fail. If you don't commit adultery but ever lust in your heart, you fail! God is perfect and demands perfection! None of us can ever obey or even hope to obey His law, which is the bull's eye, the target we must hit.
The Problem
The reason we cannot hit the mark of God's bull's eye is due to one thing: sin. Now remember God's law is the bull's eye target by its very definition, so let's now look at defining the problem further. The Hebrew word for "sin" is "chet" and you shouldn't be surprised at its basic meaning which is "to miss the mark"! All of us have missed God's mark of obeying His law! All of us are guilty! We see God's law is the perfect demand, sin is the present problem, and next we will look at the all-sufficient solution!
The Solution
The second aspect of the center of the circle is that it also represents the cross! This is the powerful, all-sufficient solution to our problem, not only of initial salvation by grace, but every step along the way, every day. We need to go the Way of the cross, by the Working of the cross, so the Wonder of the cross will be seen in our lives. "The message of the cross is the power of God." (1 Cor.1:18) What is that specific message that is the power of God? It wasn't just the cross, but its message. I believe that the message of the cross is Grace. That's the power of God! Remember the two-sided coin? Grace is unmerited favor and God's operational power. I believe the cross is where mercy met truth and in God's mathematics, mercy + truth = grace. Psalm 85:10. That is what empowers this amazing circle of grace, the source of all power and grace itself, at the very center - the cross!
God's Perfection
So we see that to flow in God's circle of grace, or to even start in it, we need the power of the cross: grace, every step of the way. God's perfection in us is the only thing that will satisfy and meet His own demands. God demands perfection in both Old and New Testaments. (Genesis 17:1 and Matthew 5:48)
The cross is truly God's perfection! This statement is more than just some biblical principal or my opinion, it is an eternal truth spoken by the Lord Jesus Himself. In John 19:30, while Jesus was on the cross, he spoke His last few words, "It is finished." The word "finished" in the Greek text is "teleo" which along with finished, means completed, brought to and end, grand summary, or "to be perfect". In fact, this is how the same Greek word is translated in 2Corinthians 12:9, where Paul is quoting Jesus saying, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." (emphasis added) You can inter-change these to fit by also saying "My strength is finished in weakness" and from Jesus' last words, "It is perfect."
The cross is both the curse and the cure, both terrible and beautiful, it's the only way we can enter on to the three-lane freeway of grace, and it's the only way we go on through sanctifying and serving grace! It's not only the center of the circle, God's bull's eye, it's the center of everything in God's plan for us. It is the powerful, all-sufficient solution to God's demand for perfection, and our present problem of sin. But again, I stress the fact that God's cross-empowered grace circle is not just for beginners! It is how we start, and how we continue, and how we are eventually brought home to glory. So no matter where you are in your relationship with God, you need to allow God to immerse you in His grace, whether it's initial saving grace or sanctifying or serving grace, and it's all based on His work, free to us, and it's all focused on and from His center bull's eye: the cross!
Conclusion/Application
My hope and prayer is that these few words on God's amazing grace will be used by the Lord to spark a grace-awakening in your life. But where do we go from here? How do we begin to apply some of these truths in our lives? Before I list a few suggestions, I want to restate and summarize just what grace living is and what it isn't.
Grace Living
1. It is an exchanged life - not just a changed life.
As someone once said, "We don't need to turn over a new leaf, we need a new life!" We must understand that to truly living in the circle of grace begins with a total transformation! God doesn't just change us, He exchanges His life for ours; we get the much better deal! That doesn't mean we won't still have struggles and sin issues, but it does mean that it's not us just trying to get enough strength and will power to resist, but rather, we admit we are helpless to overcome in our own strength, and trust, by faith, in God's power, grace, and new inner spirit that He gave us! That is living victoriously and by grace.
2. It is a Gift - Not a Reward
We must always remember that God's three-lane circle of grace is a freeway not a toll way! There is nothing we can do to earn or merit His grace to us. I realize that it says in James 4:6, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." So the question arises, "Don't we have to be humble to receive God's grace, and isn't that a condition?" We must be very careful to balance scripture with scripture. Yes, we must be humble, but humility is not measured by external, outward acts of piety. Furthermore, any humility we have that God knows and sees, comes by His grace anyway! God does not owe us anything no matter what we do for Him!
3. It is Obtained - Not Attained
Again, we must never think that God's grace is something that He gives to us once we have attained some higher level, or done something to be worthy of it. No, it is obtained by the finished work of Christ on the cross, the very center of the power of grace. What did Paul do to attain God's grace? He was an enemy of God murdering Christians when he encountered the life-changing grace of God. What did the thief on the cross do to attain God's grace? He did receive it because Jesus told him that he would join Him in paradise that day, but he was a criminal and sinner deserving his punishment. He obtained God's free gift of grace by faith, just like we all do and countless others as we embark into the incredible journey of the circle of grace!
4. It is an Expression - Not Suppression
Yes, part of grace-living involves us saying "no" to sin and unrighteousness, but that is only part of it. It also involves us saying "yes" to living soberly, justly, and righteously. (See Titus 2;11-14) If all you know is the suppression part, it becomes a closed system of rules and regulations which hinders expression and creativity and breeds disappointment, despair, and frustration. God is the most creative artist, musician, tradesman in the universe, and if He lives inside us by His grace, we should be abounding in creativity in every area that He has gifted us! True grace living will enable you to flow in inspiration and creativity like you've never before dreamed possible.
5. It is Free - but not Cheap
I have spoken much on how God's grace is free and unmerited to us, but we must also understand that in no way is it cheap. We often label anything that is free as having little value. There must be a reason why it's free because no one would pay to have it! But God's grace is not like that! It is very expensive and the price was paid in full by Jesus Christ on the cross! There's an old chorus that says it well:
He paid a debt He did not owe
I owed a debt I could not pay
I needed someone to wash my sins away
And now I sing a brand new song
Amazing grace
Christ Jesus paid a debt, that I could never pay
Once we understand this great debt that Christ paid for us, we will never begin to take it for granted or think lightly of it.
Final Practical Suggestions
1. Get in the Flow of Grace!
The first step that needs to happen is to simply jump into the circle of grace by faith! It's also called being born-again or getting saved, but don't be turned off by those terms and assume you know all about it. Trying to move into anything in God's grace apart from this first step is like trying to work a computer without plugging it into the electrical outlet! There are no magic formulas for getting into the flow, we simply come to God by faith, admit and confess that we are sinners unable to save ourselves, then ask Him to save us and embrace His awesome grace!
2. Begin to Grow in Grace
This next step is essential for all of us, after we've first entered into the flow of grace, no matter where we are at in our spiritual journey in Christ. From the brand-new believer to the oldest, seasoned saint, everyone needs to continually be growing in grace. It is commanded in scripture (2 Peter 3:18) and even Jesus, the holy Son of God needed to grow in grace while in His earthly body! "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." (Luke 2:52) The word translated "favor" is the Greek word "charis" which means grace.
Remember, God's grace is always moving, and if we're in the flow, and allowing God to lead us, so will we be moving! It is a sad reality to know that most believers only know and flow in one avenue of grace (saving) but there's also sanctifying and serving grace that we need to move into, and no one wants us there more than God Himself - let's let Him lead us!
3. Ask God for Your Daily Portion of Grace
In what is commonly called "The Lord's Prayer", one of the petitions to God that Jesus taught us to use is "Give us this day our daily bread". As I pointed out in chapter one, manna=grace, therefore it is in line with scripture to ask God for our daily portion that we need! God knows how much grace we need, which differs from day to day. Some days we only need common grace for common, ordinary things, other times we need sudden grace for surprise-filled days, or even catastrophic grace for those days when we encounter catastrophes. I sincerely believe that God has portioned for each of us the exact amount we need each day to live, cope, and abound in our lives. Jerry Bridges said it well, "On your best day you are never good enough to be out of need of God's grace, and on your worst day you are never bad enough to be out of reach of God's grace." "Not a day goes by without His unfolding grace." 2Corinthians 4:16 The Message. Ask Him for it every day, I do, we need it!
4. Allow God's Grace to Alter or Prioritize Your Identity
Many people, and sadly, many Christ followers, have their identity wrapped up in a variety of things. It could be a career, hobby, money or the lack there of, houses, cars, sports, family, kids. None of these things are wrong in themselves, but to have your identity intertwined with something or someone other than God is very dangerous because if that thing is taken away, or that person lets you down, your world can be shaken and your faith may be built on sinking sand. The ancient biblical character Job is an example of one whose identity is in God. When nearly everything he had, including all his children, were taken in one day, he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, naked I will return to the womb of the earth. God gives, God takes, God's name be evermore blessed." Job 1:20 The Message..
Could we say the same? What is your identity in? If it's not in God, ask Him to transform your mind by His grace so your whole person and identity is in God, who never changes! The apostle John also understood this principal well. He allowed God's love and grace to transform him so much that he only refers to himself as "the one whom Jesus loved." You can start allowing God to change you in this area by meditating on this truth that you also are the one whom Jesus loves!
Pray Right Now
If you are sincere about moving on in God's awesome grace, and if you've already taken the initial step of faith into saving grace, please pray this brief prayer with me:
"Lord, I am willing to receive what You give,
To lack what you withhold,
To let go of what you take,
To suffer what you allow,
To be what you require,
And to move on and grow in Your grace,
Starting right now,
Thank you Lord!
Now simply trust God by faith to begin a deeper work of grace in your life, trust Him everyday, practice His presence by knowing He's there with you and cares for your every need no matter how large or small.
Grace and Peace be Yours,
John Boda