21 Jan Free Grace
This is the first in a series of six articles based on my book, The Guilty Soul’s Guide to Grace. It is based on Chapter 1 in the book, which is entitled “Free Grace.”
The biblical passage below teaches us that God offers us salvation through the blood of his Son, Jesus. God loved us so much that he sent Jesus to die on the cross and save us. Jesus loved God, and us, so much that he sacrificed his life so that we might be forgiven. All of this is God’s grace at work!
But now, a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. (Romans 3:21-25)
By our own attitudes and efforts, we cannot earn the forgiveness of our sins or pay the price for them. Instead, we receive grace freely through the death and resurrection of Christ. As we will see in the passage below, we arecalled to do “good works” for God, not out of pressure to earn our salvation, but out of gratitude, because we are already saved and want to honor God with our lives.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not of works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:4-10)
Consider some of the beautiful phrases Paul uses to describe God’s grace: God is “rich in mercy,” and he has “incomparable riches” of grace. God’s grace is abundant—he has more to give than we could ever use! And best of all, it is free.
Brothers and sisters, may we all grow to understand, celebrate, and enjoy the amazing grace of God and Jesus.As we experience the beauty of grace, we grow and serve and love, not out of guilt and shame, but as a holy offering of gratitude from a joyful heart. God and Jesus love and forgive us, and through their grace, they fill us with peace and joy!
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