The Ramifications of Grace
Oct 31st, 2007 by Larry
I’ve been ignorant for most of my life to this point. I was raised in a Christian home and became a child of God at around age 12. If you asked me I would have told you then, as I’d tell you now, that it is by grace we are saved, through faith, and that not of itself, it is the gift of God lest any man should boast. I would have told you that there was nothing you or I could do to make ourselves righteous in God’s sight.
Although I had this strong doctrinal base firmly rooted in my heart, I still didn’t really understand it. I spent many years thinking that somehow the way I was acting at a given point in time affected my relationship with God. If I was “misbehaving” He was upset with me and withheld His blessings, but if I could only purify myself by holding my behavior to a very high standard He would once again make His face to shine upon me and give me peace.
This was a sad roller-coaster of a way to live the life of a disciple. Sometimes I was doing well and God was pleased with me, and other times–most times–I was messing up and He was upset and had to punish me.
For the life of me I could not grasp how the writers of books and hymns could have actually experienced all the freedom, peace, and joy their writings claimed.
Grace is the Good News! Grace is the secret that God had kept hidden for ages and generations, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Now I want to try to write about Grace and what it means in practical terms. I’ll be making some statements that will shock some good God-fearing Christian people, and I hope the shock causes them to search the Scriptures to see if what I say is taught there or not. I’ll be making a lot of statements that will seem risky or scary too. Some will be deeply concerned that people will take advantage of what I write and use it as license to live in the flesh, to sin.
This will be challenging for many, refreshing for others, revelatory for those interested and willing to hear what the Word of God actually says.
Intrigued? Watch for the next installment entitled “The Message of Grace”