Understanding & Appreciating Grace

Romans 3:22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for who we all believe.  For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God , 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.  This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

The concept of God's gift of grace is very strange to most people who are not Christian, and there are several Christians who do not truly appreciate what a magnificent gift grace is or who miss it all together.  In order to properly understand grace you must first understand why you need it in the first place.  The reason that you need grace is because without it you stand zero chance of getting into heaven.  This is because heaven cannot be earned by anyone  therefore we need to have grace given to us in order to have eternal life.  Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Why can't we earn heaven?  You may be thinking that you are pretty much a good person and do not need grace because God will see that on your Judgment Day and overlook the "small" crimes that you are guilty of.  Let's look at a modern courtroom and see how this defense would hold up.  For the sake of argument let's say that you are texting and driving.  While you are doing this you do not see that the light has turned red and you drive straight through the intersection slamming into another vehicle and killing the driver.  You are arrested, you are taken to trial, and you are found guilty.  The judge asks if you would like to say anything before you are sentenced and you reply, "Yes Judge, I would like to point out that I know what I did was wrong, but I am really a good person.  I don't drink. I donate money and time to all of these charities.  This is the only time I have ever broken the law.  Because of this and because I know that you are a good man, I know that you will commute my sentence." After your answer the Judge pauses a moment before replying, "All that you said it true. This is the only time you have broken the law. However, I am a good man and because of that I must see that justice is served." He then proceeds to punish you to the fullest extent of the law.

Now you may be saying to yourself, "Well that's a bad example. I would never do something that bad."  Wouldn't you? Matthew 5:21 You have heard it said to those of old, "You shall not murder; whoever murders will be liable to judgment." 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to council; and whoever says, "You Fool!" will be liable to the hell of fire.  Now are you guilty of that?  I have yet to meet anybody who isn't.  And that isn't the only crime you are going to be held accountable for.  Matthew 5:27 You have heard it said, "You shall not commit adultery." 28 But I say to you that everyone who has looked at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  So now you may realize that you are a murdering adulterer.  Well I'm sorry to say that we are not done yet.  Have you ever lied or stolen something? (Exodus 20:15-16)  Have you ever used God's name in vain? (Exodus 20:7, Matthew 12:36) I don't know of anyone who has not done all of these things.  If you are honest with yourself then you should know that you are guilty of all these crimes against God.  My dear friends, this why heaven cannot be earned.  We have been given the standard for entering heaven but we cannot maintain it because we are sinful by our very nature.  Romans 3:20 For by the works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through knowledge of the law comes knowledge of sin.

Now this is where grace comes into play.  God wants us to be in heaven with Him.  Just because He might have to send us to Hell because of our sin does not mean He takes any joy in it.  So what did God do to save us?  He took on a mortal body in the form of Jesus.  He lived a sinless life.  And because He loved us He gave Himself over to death so that He might bear the punishment for our sins.  Then to further show His power over death, Jesus rose from the dead after three days.  This is the gift of grace.  Jesus died so that you might be saved from your just and deserved sentence of Hell.  We didn't do anything to earn this.  The only thing in this life that we earn is Hell.  That is why grace is a gift.  God has given it to us although we didn't deserve it.  All we have to do is accept it and that is a very easy thing to do.  You have to acknowledge the fact that you are a lawbreaker (sinner).  You have to willfully turn your back on sinful things.  This won't stop you from sinning because you are a sinful creature, but it is an important mindset to have.  Romans 7:19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.  The process of turning your back on sin, (no longer willfully sinning) is called repentance.  Now you are ready to receive the gift of grace.  Romans 10:9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  There you have it.  After you have repented all you have to do is believe and confess that you know Jesus is God and was raised from the dead.  It is that simple.  It's like accepting a million dollar gift because someone showed you the receipt proving it was legally paid for.  Why wouldn't you take it?  Especially now that you know you need it.  I hope grace makes more sense to you now. It's us being given a gift that wasn't earned, and cannot be repaid.  If you haven't accepted it then I sincerely pray that you do.  If you have, then I hope this has helped you to understand just how wonderful a gift grace is and that you never stop giving thanks and praises to our loving God.

Good News

Romans 5:8 but God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

What is the Gospel? If asked what the word gospel means most people who have been raised in the church can tell you that it means, "Good news."  Well, what is this good news? It is incredibly sad that in today's world most people do not even know what the good news of the Bible is.  They know that you get "saved" and then you go to church because Jesus loved them and died for them.  But even then they don't truly grasp why God would send His Son to die for us.  Unfortunately a lot of people today believe that God sent Jesus to die so that they might have a better life here on earth and then one day they will die and go to heaven.  This "prosperity" preaching is really confusing people as to why they need Jesus in the first place.  People do not even realize what it is that they need to be "saved" from.  They know that if they do not get "saved" then they won't get into heaven but they don't realize why they won't get into heaven.  They don't realize that Jesus's sacrifice wasn't to save us from the devil, it wasn't to save us from poverty, it wasn't so we could have a better home life, it wasn't so that we could quit smoking, or be rid of any other vice.  Jesus was sacrificed so that we might be spared the wrath of His Father who is a Mighty and Just God.

You might be asking yourself, "Why would God set his wrath against me? I'm a good person who tries to do what is right." Romans 3:20 For by the works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. What is the law? The law is what was given to Moses in Exodus 20 which we know as the Ten Commandments.  Most people have heard the Ten Commandments but when asked, they would still say that they are a good person. So if you think that you are a good person, I would like you to take this little test and please be honest.  No one knows the answers to these except you and God.

Have you ever told a lie?

Have you ever taken anything that didn't belong to you?

Have you ever looked at another person in lust? Jesus says in Matthew 5:28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Have you ever taken God's name in vain? Think about what you say whenever someone cut you off when you are driving.  God's very name is Holy and He will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.  Matthew 12:36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give an account for every careless word they speak. 

If most of you were honest with yourselves then you came to the same conclusion that I did. We are lying, thieving, blaspheming, adulterers.  So if you stood before a righteous God on your Judgment Day, would he send you to Heaven or to Hell?  You might think that you should still get to go to heaven because, after all, you didn't actually hurt anyone when you did those things.  If a cop pulls you over for going 20 mph over the limit, he is still going to give you a hefty fine at the very least, even if no one was hurt.  Why? Because you went against the decrees of the governing body and therefore the crime must be paid for.  Sin isn't just a crime against your fellow man; it is primarily a sin against God.  Since God is an infinite being then punishment for a crime against him is also infinite.  You and I, we deserve to be condemned to Hell.

I will be expanding on God's Justice in the near future.  Now though I want to tell you about how our sin debt to God has already been paid.  It was paid for when God sent his only Son to earth, to be born from a virgin and to be raised as a man, and not just any man but one to grow up to lead a perfect, sinless life.  He never committed a single sin, and you may think that was impossible for a man to do.  It is, but this wasn't just any man. He was Jesus, the Son of God.  He was able to do this because He wasn't just a man but He was also God.  So what happened when God took on human form and came to earth.  We killed Him.  We hung Him up to die a traitor’s death.  Why did God allow this to happen? Because in His omniscience God knew we would never be able to live up to the standards that are required for entry into Heaven.  So God sent his Son to earth to die as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. But then God showed his true power when he raised Jesus from the grave after three days so that He might show His power and that we might trust in His strength.  Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

What do you have to do to be a recipient of the gift of eternal life? First, you have to acknowledge that you are a sinful creature who has done wrong in the eyes of God and deserves to be sent to Hell as a punishment.  Then you must renounce sin and ask for God's forgiveness of your sinful ways.  Does this mean that if you ever sin again then you won't be saved? No.  What this means is to turn away from willfully sinning.  In short if you know that what you are doing is wrong, then don't do it.  And once God shows you an area in your life where you have been sinning and had not realized that your actions were sinful, then you must acknowledge it, ask forgiveness and turn from it. After you have acknowledged and then renounced your sin, then you must recognize Jesus for who He is and what He did for you.  Romans 10:9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  All you have to do then is believe in the saving power of God who sent His son as a sacrifice and then raised Him from the dead on the third day, and then make an open confession about it. Turn from your iniquity. Believe in Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection. Believe in His Lordship and also confess these things openly to others then you will be saved.  And then on your Judgment Day instead of facing an angry, and wrath-filled Judge, you will be welcomed home with the open arms of a Father who is filled with unimaginable love and grace.

John 3: 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.  17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.