We have been given the greatest gift and power the world has ever known. The gospel of the grace of God has not only been given so that we may enter that covenant with God but has also been given so that we can offer this same gift from God to anyone who will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The power and scope of this gospel bring the complete transformation of life from one state of being into another. This transformation begins within our hearts and minds and ends with us being in the image of Christ Himself. This gift is offered to all. This gift can change the child and the elderly, the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak. No one is outside of the reach of the power of this gospel. The benefits and fruit of embracing this gospel and claiming it for your own are too many to list. John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Freedom is among those benefits. But freedom from what? As Paul describes, we are free from the power and penalty of sin. We have freedom from our flesh nature. We are free from the judgment of nothing but pure holiness on our sinful souls. Jesus Christ took our punishment and gave us refuge. He took our sins and gave us His righteousness. He took our judgment and gave us mercy. He took our weakness and gave us power. Paul stated in Romans 1:16, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to every one who believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Such marvelous power is given to those who have no right or authority to that power outside of Christ. All this and so much more are attributed to the gospel of the grace of God.
Now, we live in a world where we fight and battle over the very elements of that gospel. Foundational to this gospel is forgiveness to those who don’t deserve it. Our sins are never to be remembered against us by the most Holy God because of the blood of Jesus. The question is, why would we give up anything the gospel provides, and which element or benefit of that gospel could we live without? We never regain any part of our faith if we give up. The secular world is unified in attempting to destroy this gospel. The academic world is unified in destroying this gospel message. Unfortunately, even the religious world is becoming unified in destroying this gospel message. We cannot add anything to the message of God’s grace. We cannot take anything away from the message of this gospel. It’s grace, plus nothing and minus nothing, that we must have to make this journey.
In every application of any relationship, the gospel of the grace of God must reign supreme, or else that relationship cannot last. Any life situation can be overcome by appropriating God’s grace into it. Every life situation is lost, and we are left with no hope if the message of God’s grace is not applied. I think the Church must decide if we will offer grace as we have received it or if we will allow the principles of God’s grace to go by the wayside and live our lives based on the works of our own hands. As Jude said, we must earnestly contend for the faith.
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