All About Grace
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.”—Galatians 6:18
Grace. There is a great deal involved in our walk with Christ—faith, love, hope, joy, peace, patience, kindness, obedience, etc. But after all is said and done, it’s about grace. It all comes back to grace—God’s unmerited favor made available to us in Christ (Titus 2:11-14).
It’s amazing that every letter Paul wrote began with a bestowal of grace (Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, 1 Timothy 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:4, Philemon 1:3). And he did the same thing with the ending of almost all of his letters (1 Corinthians 16:23, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Galatians 6:18, Ephesians 6:24, Philippians 4:23, Colossians 4:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:28, 2 Thessalonians 3:18, 1 Timothy 6:21, 2 Timothy 4:22, Titus 3:15, Philemon 1:25). And Paul wasn’t the only one to end or begin his letters with bestowing grace. Peter did in his two letters (1 Peter 1:2, 2 Peter 1:2), as did the author of Hebrews (Hebrews 13:25), and John (2 John 1:3). The question is why? Why did almost every New Testament letter begin and end with the concept of grace? God wanted us all to know that no matter what happens in our walk with Christ, we can fall back on grace. Which is why the apostle Paul penned some of the most precious and life-giving truths in all of scripture,
“Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”—Romans 5:20-21.
No matter how much we sin, mess up, or fall short—God’s grace is available to us, where “sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Grace is how God saved us (Ephesians 2:8-9), and how God sanctifies us (Titus 2:11-14). And it is grace, as the old hymn says, that will “lead me home.” Amen.
Grace. There is a great deal involved in our walk with Christ—faith, love, hope, joy, peace, patience, kindness, obedience, etc. But after all is said and done, it’s about grace. It all comes back to grace—God’s unmerited favor made available to us in Christ (Titus 2:11-14).
It’s amazing that every letter Paul wrote began with a bestowal of grace (Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, 1 Timothy 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:4, Philemon 1:3). And he did the same thing with the ending of almost all of his letters (1 Corinthians 16:23, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Galatians 6:18, Ephesians 6:24, Philippians 4:23, Colossians 4:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:28, 2 Thessalonians 3:18, 1 Timothy 6:21, 2 Timothy 4:22, Titus 3:15, Philemon 1:25). And Paul wasn’t the only one to end or begin his letters with bestowing grace. Peter did in his two letters (1 Peter 1:2, 2 Peter 1:2), as did the author of Hebrews (Hebrews 13:25), and John (2 John 1:3). The question is why? Why did almost every New Testament letter begin and end with the concept of grace? God wanted us all to know that no matter what happens in our walk with Christ, we can fall back on grace. Which is why the apostle Paul penned some of the most precious and life-giving truths in all of scripture,
“Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”—Romans 5:20-21.
No matter how much we sin, mess up, or fall short—God’s grace is available to us, where “sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Grace is how God saved us (Ephesians 2:8-9), and how God sanctifies us (Titus 2:11-14). And it is grace, as the old hymn says, that will “lead me home.” Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment