For much of my life, I've known the God who loves me and has a plan for my life, who sent his son Jesus to die for my sins. But over the past couple of years, God has been teaching me about his grace, about the seriousness of sinfulness and the power of his love.
Growing up, grace was something I knew how to define, but, for me, grace was a churchy word and not much more. I cognitively understood grace as a component of the Gospel, but not as an element of everyday life. I knew that grace ultimately affected my eternity, but I did not understand that grace also had implications for my day-to-day living.
I was going to write one blog post about what I've been learning about grace, but I soon realized that was impossible. So, welcome to the first post in a series of posts about God's grace.
Recently, I've been learning about the relationship between grace and the law. These two are sometimes seen as enemies, though actually, they can be great friends. Furthermore, I'm learning that one's deep settled beliefs concerning the relationship between grace and the law actually have a great impact on how one lives. Therefore, in my next few posts, I want to present a few of the different lifestyles that result from skewed perspectives of grace and the law. I'll also talk about the relationship between grace and the law. Then, I'll discuss how a proper understanding (and resulting deep settled belief) of grace and the law affects the life of the believer.
Jeremiah says that our hearts are desperately wicked. Paul tells us that our sins sentence us to death. But wait. Jesus tells us that if we believe in him we will have eternal life. We deserve death, but Jesus gives us life. This is grace. Unmerited favor. Eternal life for those who deserve eternal death. This is unbelievable love. No strings attached. He loves us, and he wants us to come to him.
More to come. May God awaken your heart to his incomprehensible grace.
Growing up, grace was something I knew how to define, but, for me, grace was a churchy word and not much more. I cognitively understood grace as a component of the Gospel, but not as an element of everyday life. I knew that grace ultimately affected my eternity, but I did not understand that grace also had implications for my day-to-day living.
I was going to write one blog post about what I've been learning about grace, but I soon realized that was impossible. So, welcome to the first post in a series of posts about God's grace.
Recently, I've been learning about the relationship between grace and the law. These two are sometimes seen as enemies, though actually, they can be great friends. Furthermore, I'm learning that one's deep settled beliefs concerning the relationship between grace and the law actually have a great impact on how one lives. Therefore, in my next few posts, I want to present a few of the different lifestyles that result from skewed perspectives of grace and the law. I'll also talk about the relationship between grace and the law. Then, I'll discuss how a proper understanding (and resulting deep settled belief) of grace and the law affects the life of the believer.
Jeremiah says that our hearts are desperately wicked. Paul tells us that our sins sentence us to death. But wait. Jesus tells us that if we believe in him we will have eternal life. We deserve death, but Jesus gives us life. This is grace. Unmerited favor. Eternal life for those who deserve eternal death. This is unbelievable love. No strings attached. He loves us, and he wants us to come to him.
More to come. May God awaken your heart to his incomprehensible grace.
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