UNDERSTANDING THE MYSTERY OF GRACE

It is not enough to hear, learn or even sing about Grace. Knowing about grace without understanding the multi-faceted uniqueness of Grace will lead to spiritual frustration. The bible teaches us this truth encompassed in grace.

[John 1:14-17 KJV] "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ".

Romans 9:10-16 teaches that this grace is free, by election, and calling and not by works. The Bible tells us that "it is not of him that runs nor of him that wills but it is the Lord that shows mercy and compassion". It is the Lord that determines who he will favor and show kindness to. Grace comes for grace. This grace is unmerited favor. God gives it to those He calls to compensate for their shortfalls and weaknesses.

Romans 5:1-2, talks about having access to this grace by faith through Jesus Christ.

You and I can access this grace by faith in Jesus Christ.

We are called in the grace of Christ.

Paul refers to the grace of Christ as the gospel of Christ.

Acts 20:24 (ESV)

24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

The gospel and grace are used interchangeably in scripture. The gospel of Christ is the grace of God. And the gospel of grace is this: Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins forever; he died on the cross and took your sins past, present, and future. The gospel of grace is over the top good news that your sins have been done away with on the cross.

Grace is God's unmerited, unearned, and undeserved favor.

Sin had to be judged so Jesus went to the cross and took our place. The condemnation went on Him for our sins.

Hebrews 10:10-14 (ESV)

On the cross, Jesus offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins. His work on the cross was good for all time. That means your past, present, and future sins have already been forgiven. God judged Jesus for the sins of the whole world forever. Sin is no longer an issue. God is not judging the unbelievers for their sins. Sin has already been judged. People do not go to hell because of sin, but rather because of rejecting Jesus who is the solution to the sin problem. Even after you are saved, sin is no longer an issue. After we are born again, God does not judge the believer for his sins.

God is not punishing you for your sins. He is not mad at you when you make a mistake. He already punished Jesus for all the sins that you will ever commit. They have already been judged.

Beware of the devil who will try to condemn you because you did something wrong. He tries to bring people under condemnation because they make a mistake and tells them that God will not answer their prayers because they did not pray today, or because they have not been to church for two weeks, or they did not read their Bible all week.

That is the law, and we are not under the law. That is performance-based living and God does not relate to us anymore based on our performance. He does not bless us or answer our prayers because of what we do, but because of what Jesus did for us on the cross.

God loves you as much as He loves Jesus (John 17:23), and when He sees you, He sees His son Jesus. As Jesus is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). We are in Christ Jesus and God sees us in Him.