#466: Portraits of Grace

The 5 Minute Discipleship Podcast

Episode 466 - Show Notes

• Grace is often defined as the unmerited, unearned, and undeserved kindness of God. Grace is "the love and mercy given to us by God because God desires us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it.”
• At 50 years old, I’m still trying to understand God’s grace. My natural tendency is to think I need to work for or earn the goodness of God. Show me what to do, and I’ll do it. I’m still trying to understand why God would love me as he does. What would compel him to give me so much grace, mercy, and kindness?
• Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more—no amount of spiritual disciplines, no amount of Bible knowledge gained, no amount of serving or helping the poor.
• And grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us less. Grace means that God already loves us as much as an infinite God can possibly love. When we were at our worst, Jesus loved us the most. Paul said in Romans…While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
• To say that someone deserves grace would be a conflict of terms.
• Grace is the offer of exactly what we do not deserve. It cannot be recognized or received until we are aware of how undeserving we really are.
• So, how do we receive God’s grace? Grace is received as we acknowledge Jesus as God’s Son. It begins with faith. Grace is activated in our life when we place our faith in Jesus Christ – a decision to believe that Jesus is who he says he is. Grace begins with a decision to trust in his death on the cross for the payment of our sins.

John 1:16 says “Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 - “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

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