Grace – the Word has been spoken about and tossed around like it is something that gives us a licence to do whatever we want without suffering any consequences. God’s grace is so much more than that and if we understand the amazing gift it is, we won’t treat it lightly but with a seriousness that it is. Remember, grace cost Jesus His life. Without the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, there would be no grace.
There was no grace in the Old Testament, only the law and the covenants God made. Many times in the Old Testament, God referred to hImself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God was remembering His people through covenant but not through grace. Covenant is where two people or tribes or God and man agree to certain terms and conditions. It is cemented by the shedding of blood and obligations must be met for covenant to remain in force. These obligations will be ongoing through the generations, it never ceases (except through the death of one of the parties, for example, the entire tribe).
Grace on the other hand is God’s unmerited favour on us for doing nothing but accepting Jesus as our Saviour and Lord. It is not binding – we can leave grace if we want and we bring nothing to this arrangement except our sins. We have no strengths to offer God, only our weaknesses. But God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to form covenant in our place with God so that grace may be given to us.
Grace cost Jesus everything but costs us nothing. We can accept the gift if we want to. If we don’t then there are consequences but there is still a choice. Grace also keeps on giving through the generations.
Grace also allows us to do and be things that we are not capable of doing and being. The unmerited favour of God that enables us to walk with Him and gives us the power to change to become like Him. It is such a gift. We can’t do it in our own strength but only through grace.
This shows us that grace is not to be tossed around to do whatever we like. Jesus told the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more. Grace allowed her to do this and Jesus moved time forward for this lady. It was impossible before Jesus died on the cross to sin no more. So time moved ahead for her.
Jesus is saying the same to us today. I gave you the gift of grace not to sin more but so you would have the strength to sin less. As we walk through this week with God, remember the amazing gift of grace we have been given. Keep living the life God intended for you through grace.
Living the life God intended 