INSTRUCTIVE GRACE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.

Titus 2:11-14

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Grace, grace, God’s grace

Grace that will pardon and cleanse within

Grace, grace, God’s grace

Grace that is greater than all our sin

This is the chorus of one of my most beloved old hymns, Grace Greater Than Our Sin, a hymn that was written by Julia H. Johnson and has been sung in churches since the early 1900’s.

The message at the heart of the hymn itself is that no matter how sinful a person may have been in life, that sin cannot overcome the overriding gift of grace that was granted by God when His Son Jesus purchased the sinner’s pardon by dying on Calvary’s cross.

As I’ve written many times before, I have always liked to look at the word “grace” as an acrostic poem that looks like this:

God’s

Reward

At

Christ’s

Expense

When we understand grace, our heart and mind is taken to the cross where Jesus died the death he didn’t deserve to bring us a salvation we didn’t deserve. In other words, grace instructs us to remember the depth of sacrifice that Jesus went through to save all people, no matter their gender, color, or nationality.  

Indeed, without a redeeming Savior to believe in, no one would have hope and believing is all that God asks for to gain everlasting life. It’s a decision that is not only meant to rescue us from Hell and sure eternal damnation but to transform us, to make us a new creation through committing to model the life of Jesus as we carry on the work He started, the work to make disciples of all nations.

Instructive grace exhorts us “to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions” while striving “to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” all the while waiting “for the blessed hope” which is “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” who has promised to return. When He does, the scriptures assure us that He will “redeem us from all wickedness” and “purify” us as “His very own” for by receiving Jesus as Savior, we become co-heirs with Him to the Kingdom of God (Romans 8:17).

Grace instructs and reminds us that we are saved through our belief in Jesus as Savior. It leads us into Christ-like living every day that we are blessed with in this worldly existence, a life that rejects a sinful subscription to the desires of this world while displaying self-control and a devotion to righteousness.

Yes, grace is greater than all our sin and it teaches us to be greater, a people who behave in ways pleasing to the Lord, when we allow ourselves to be taught.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.