Amazing what?

What's so amazing about grace? I've heard that Philip Yancey's book is intriguing. But I haven't read it, so I wouldn't know.

John Newton wrote a song hundreds of years ago. Maybe you've heard it. It's the most recorded song ever. Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound.

It saved a wretch like me.

It's true. Grace saved me.

Yes, God's grace saves us (Ephesians 2:8). But what is it? And why is it so amazing?

First, let's define grace. The best way I can think of to describe it, is it's a free gift from God to you (and me and those who choose to accept it). You don't have to earn it. But the condition is that you have to receive it. It's not a gift to you unless you accept it. God has it to offer us, but unless we choose to accept it we have not yet completed the acceptance of this gift.

Don't mistake grace for mercy. Mercy is just as great and just as important to understanding who our God is and being joyous for our salvation. Mercy means not receiving the punishment you rightly deserve. If you get pulled over for a speeding and the police officer chooses not to give you a ticket or throw you in jail, he just gave you mercy. You deserved the ticket because you broke the law. And the law requires that you must pay money (or go to jail if you were driving super fast) to satisfy the justice system. But the police officer decided that you don't receive that punishment and lets you go. God's mercy says we don't receive the death sentence and suffer His wrath because Jesus took care of it for us. Mercy. Just as amazing.

And now, don't misunderstand grace for justification. Justification means that if we're in Christ, God sees us just as if we never sinned. Oh justice was served (through Jesus' death on the cross). I just didn't have to serve the justice myself. Huh. Also amazing!

But how can a gift be for free? Or even undeserved? Well, we get gifts for our birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, Easter and various other holidays and celebrations. Do you really deserve them? Really? It's interesting how sometimes gifts for certain occasions are viewed as a right rather than a favor or privilege. Yes, I said it. Those gifts you receive are not your right to get them (1 Opinions 1:2). No one owes it to you to give you a gift, especially when it's at their expense. People choose to give them to you because they want to bless you. And you accept them because you want to. Grace. Amazing.

And that's what God does too! It's interesting that He is the best and most abundant gift giver. And grace is just one of the sprinkles on the proverbial frosted cake.

Jesus saved Peter from drowning, well, from dying (Matthew 14:22-21). He didn't have to. Peter asked Jesus to save his life. And Jesus responded. He did it freely. Peter didn't earn it. Jesus didn't ask for anything in return other than Peter's decision to accept His help. Grace. A free gift from God. For Peter, this meant his life. Mercy meant that Peter didn't have to suffer any of the consequences of walking on water (drowning, death, potential illness). Jesus didn't delay. Grace was immediate. There was no need for a complete change of circumstances at the moment (but that came naturally anyways). No complicated formula or requirement. Amazing.

"What good thing must I do to get eternal life?" a rich young man once asked Jesus. The man knew he didn't have it and wanted to "work" to earn it. (Matt. 19:16)

Right after His discussion with the man, Jesus describes what the kingdom of heaven is like. A landowner pays workers in His vineyard the same wage even though they worked different amounts of time. Some have worked longer and harder than others, but received the same wage. And they were outraged. (Matt. 20:1-15) Huh. Maybe I would be too because that's not fair.

But God's generosity is fair. And God kept his promise to the workers. He paid them what they agreed on before they started working. They already knew what to expect, but they wanted more. While some may be faithful Christians from an early age, they still get the same grace and mercy that God gives to the ones who weren't faithful Christians very long before they died. God's gifts are the same for all of us. And that's still generous.

Do we really want what we deserve (aka justice)? I know, I know, it's not that we want justice for our sins. But maybe you want more from God than what others get. We all get the same things. God is God and He is fair and generous because He wants to, not because we deserve it.

If grace is the free gift, what are the gifts?

• Justification. (Romans 6:22)
• Mercy. (Rm. 6:22)
• Eternal Life. (Romans 3:23)
• Forgiven Sins. (Acts 2:38)
• The Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)
• God's wrath is appeased (John 3:36)
• Reconciliation-- I am God's friend. (Romans 5:10-11)
• While we were yet enemies with God, Jesus saved us. (Romans 5:9-11)
• I can come to God with confidence. (Hebrews 4:16)

Oh, and these gifts did come at a price--Jesus' life. But is it really a price to give up something for someone you love? I don't know. Maybe. But since Jesus was raised to life and is alive still, His death was worth it. We've won because He's won (defeated death--2 Tim 1:10).

While working with the AIM program we often heard that the AIM staff give up a lot, that we sacrificed our time to work with AIM and the students. Put things on hold like careers. I never viewed my role as a sacrifice because I loved what I did for God and His kingdom. Giving up my time and energy wasn't a sacrifice to me because I didn't care that I "lost" them. Oh, don't get me wrong, being a normal selfish human being, there were times I didn't want to do things. I'm still learning to be generous with a gracious attitude. But when I did, the reward was far greater to me than not having done it at all. And I will never truly know how God has used me to impact others for His kingdom. And that's fine with me. I don't care for the credit. Just for people to be saved and be faithful followers of Jesus. And I feel the same about being involved with West Coast Missions. But I digress.

These gifts are not based on our "good" works in any way. We don't have to earn our place with God (Ephesians 2:8). And we don't get to (meaning we can't make God let us earn our place in relationship with Him). We do have to believe. Not just believe that there is one God. Even the demons believed that and shudder (James 2:19). The demons even believed that Jesus is the Son of God (Mark 1:34). We have to believe that this grace is for us--for you. It's a free gift for you to enjoy! It's meant to bring us joy and share with others.

But it's a weird gift to receive. Ok, I think so. It just doesn't make sense to me. Some people give gifts so that others will give gifts in return. Other may give gifts to manipulate others (also called guilting someone). Oh, there are many who give gifts with no expectations of gifts in return, no strings attached. And those are good. And that's what God does. Oh, and there's a reason He does that--because He wants to. Uh-mazing!

It saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found. Was blind but now I see. (John Newton) And now because of God's grace, I am set free from the slavery of sin. (Romans 6:18,22)

I don't know about you, but I've enjoyed most of my gifts I've ever received. They were thoughtful and sometimes what I needed. And since I'm practical, I like gifts that I can use to make a difference. Grace can do that. Since I can't earn my way to heaven and into God's presence, I accept that Jesus lived perfectly (sinless-Hebrews 4:15), died, was buried and brought back to life so that I can have that relationship with my Father. Amazing. And since I've messed up, I've sinned and I can't forgive my own sins and appease God. Jesus' death on the cross did that. And practically speaking, that's amazing. Grace.

What do I do with it? It means that I can be joyful in my salvation and relationship with God. I am set free! And I can enjoy the peace that comes with that. If you've ever been held a prisoner or in slavery then you get this more than the rest of us. But spiritually speaking, my sins are forgiven so I am no longer separated from God! And I don't have to suffer His wrath! God gives me grace just because He loves me. The condition is to accept it. It's not a gift to you until you accept it. And that's worth being excited about!

A Cause Worth Dying For

Why would anyone want to follow Jesus?

He was homeless, penniless, without "family" (they thought He was crazy--Mark 3:21). He had nothing to His name. Nothing to call His own. He touched people with transferable diseases. He ate with the worst of the worst of peoples. He spoke against the leaders of His day. People were tring to kill Him. Why in the world would anyone want to follow Him?!

Logic says that we wouldn't. Self-preservation dictates that we shouldn't follow Jesus. But the God-side of logic says we must.

Twelve men had the idea that Jesus was going to be a political king to "set things right" in the Roman world for the Jews. They had it all wrong, and they didn't even know it--not until later anyways, much later. And even when Jesus' followers understood His focus (and realized they were wrong) they still followed Him. They followed Him until they died for the Faith, for Jesus.

What was so important about this Jesus that they chose to live and die for what He taught and for what they believed? It all seemed illogical and dare I say, even crazy!

Jesus had nothing to offer by way of material possessions or a "better world", so to speak. He offered so much more--a relationship with His Father. Your Father. With our God. And that offer to you and me meant His death by the most cruel execution method at the known time. We see the cross as a message of hope--and it is. And so did Jesus. But anyone in Jesus' time saw the cross as a means of shame, humiliation and death. And they were right, too. That's what it was meant to be. But Jesus saw a cause worth dying for, that is, for you. And me. And for those we love. And for those we don't even know.

The message of the cross is a message of hope for everyone. But it's a message of hope first to you and me.

We are the cause worth dying for. Are we worth it? God thought so. Am I unlovable? I think so, but only at times and not all the time. But God doesn't see us that way. He sees us as completely loveable--all the time. Worthy to be saved. Worthy to be in a relationship with Him--no matter what we've done. No matter what you've done. No matter how ugly the things we've done--Jesus died and was raised back to life to save us. We are the cause worth dying for.

But save us from what? What hope does this event and message offer to us?

Jesus became sin to appease God's wrath. Sin had to be "taken care of". The consequence of sin is being eternally separated from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). Jesus' death and resurrection give us hope because when we're in Christ, God now sees us just as if I've never sin (aka justification) [Romans 5:16-18]. We now have the hope of being "right" with God (aka righteous) and brought back into relationship with God (aka reconciliation) [2 Cor 5:19]. We have grace (a generous undeserving gift) from God and we have received mercy (not getting the punishment I deserve for my sins). Oh, sin still has consequences that God may allow us to suffer. But one of the consequences we don't have to suffer is God's wrath. If we've been baptized into Christ's possession, we've been forgiven of our sins (Acts 2:38). If we do what the first hearers of the first preached gospel sermon did, then we have received forgiveness of sins and received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Do what they did, get what they got. I want that.

If we're still trying to live according to the Bible's direction and we mess up (i.e. sin), Jesus is our advocate before God still cleansing us from our sins. (1 John 1:7) I want that, too.

Who cares? Well, we should. Sin, any sin, no matter how "bad", separates us from God. And God wants us back. He wants you back. And Jesus is the way back to God. Jesus, who had no sin, became sin (2 Cor 5:21) so that we don't have to suffer God's wrath (Romans 5:9). So that we don't have to be separated from God. So that we can have eternal life. This is a cause worth dying for. This should be a message of hope worth being excited for!

And this is our cause worth living for.

How does the message of the cross and Jesus' resurrection impact your life? Does it?

Do you live like this is a cause worth dying and living for? Contradictory, I know. Hard to make sense. Yep. But what does that message of hope look like in your life?

Do you share Jesus and His message of hope with others? I don't as often as I know I should. I let other things get in the way.

So, how do we change that? How do we allow Jesus' message of hope through His death, burial and resurrection affect our lives? How does it change me?

First, I have to know what the message of hope is. Once I get that, what do I do with that information? Understand that the gospel message is for you, but it's not all about you. It's ultimately about God, bring glory to Him. Serving Him. Honoring Him. The gospel message of hope is about bringing you up out of sin's darkness and into God's light. It's about a relationship with God through Jesus--not just about obeying the "rules". God was always and is always about the relationship with you. It's a cause worth dying for. He came to earth as one of us--as a human with the purpose of dying for you. For me. Oh, there's more to it than that. But it's where we start with understanding this message of hope.

I think next I have to believe it. I mean BELIEVE it. You know, actually accept it as truth. There are so many lies that get in the way of us fully believing and accepting this message of hope as real and impacting to my life. I have filters that I need to remove. I have my life to re-prioritize.

Then I need to allow this message to change me. Oh boy. Here comes the hard part. Pride gets in the way of this one. I like the comfort bubble of my life.

Step out of my comfort zone.

Speak out and share this hope with others.

Live it out like I believe it's worth dying for.

Ugh. That's hard.

Yep.

But Jesus did it. And look what He did for you. Were you worth it? You betcha. But don't take my word for it. Read it for yourself in the Bible.

It starts with a decision. A decision to DO something with this message. A choice to believe. A determination to accept it as truth.

Will you allow this message of hope to change you? Never mind me for now. I know where I need to let this message change me. And I'm working on it.

Will you live your life to serve Jesus as something worth dying for? Do you believe this message of hope can change you? Has it changed you?

Then share it with others! (1 Thess 4:13-18) And be excited about it!