God’s Grace

After going through Peter’s letter, we see his description of God’s grace that is unique.  Not only what that grace is, but in our role as stewards of God’s grace.  In we are told to be faithful stewards of God’s grace because each of our own gifts are conduits of grace in every situation we are in.  We are equipped with God’s power in grace as we serve others.

Then in , we see that it is God’s grace that equips, restores and gives us a solid foundation in the midst of being shaken.  We will all be shaken, but will we stand on God’s foundation?

Finally Peter confirms in that God’s grace works.  It isn’t just some wishful thinking, but Peter provides himself as an example that God’s grace is true.  That we can all be encouraged by the examples of God’s grace both found in the Bible, but also those examples in the Christian lives around us.

So we are going to take a look at grace itself.  Grace means “unmerited favor”, but can be thought of as gifts.  But we also see grace described as the God-given desire and power to do His will.

As we look at Paul’s writing to the people of Ephesus, we see him laying out the truth of God’s salvation.  The people there are coming out of some deep, dark culture there.  So Paul has to remind them of where they were coming from, and then bring them to the truth that what defines you is what you do with Jesus Christ.

Be says that we are dead TO our transgressions and sins, not dead FROM our transgressions and sins.

Paul emphasizes that when we live without Jesus, we all deserve God’s wrath.  That we cannot save ourselves, and we will fall to the primal without God.

It is important to realize that even in our filth, God loves us where we are.  That while we are committed to ourselves in a spiritually dead state, God loved me right there.  And through that love he sacrificed Jesus to provide us a way to be alive.  This is God’s grace.  The precious, undeserving gift.

This is why we stress that there are no good works that can get us into right standing with God.  That grace is not something to be earned, or to be found.  But it is a gift given without merit.  Getting back into God’s “good graces” is not reality.  That it is a gift offered, that we only need to accept.

The world is going to witness God’s grace through his work in each of us.  But it is through faith in God’s truth, that grace is given and we are saved.  And what we believe is not something we have created ourselves by some thought or works, but from God.  But we are created by God, given his power to do his will (grace), that will then be lived out through us as good works that was prepared by God for us to do.

So as we look at those who don’t believe, we cannot get caught up in having them change some sinful action, life situation, or unwanted mindset.  We need to lead them to Jesus knowing that God will given them grace in spite of those unfavorable things.  God absolutely wants people to have a cleaned up life, but he isn’t going to require that before the gift is given. His greatest desire is for someone to accept that gift in faith and then to walk with them as the begin to change their lives to live out that grace.