Week 6 Scripture: Galatians 2:19-21
Grace is a gift! In fact, grace is
a divine gift from God. Grace is God’s underserved favor towards us,
Christians. God pours out His grace and declares His people holy and righteous
before Himself. That favor is declared over us not based on what we do—good or
bad—but what Christ has already done. It is our faith in what Jesus has done
that causes God to lavish us with grace. I have seen grace used by Christians
in a number of different ways. There are two main forms: a negative and
positive use of grace. Negatively, some Christians see grace as a “get out of
jail free card.” So what happens is they think to themselves, “Well, it doesn’t
matter if I sin because God I know will forgive me anyhow.” This is in fact,
what Paul’s opponents accused Paul of preaching—they said Paul was making Jesus
“an agent of sin” (Gal 2:17)! It is true that grace covers us even when we
knowingly get ourselves into sin intentionally, however, this is not the
primary function of grace. In fact, this understanding abuses grace, and
reverts the Christian back to a lifestyle of law. The primary function of grace
is to empower. Grace is supposed to empower us to live holy and Jesus-like
lives, not JUST to help us "manage" sin. However, when we abuse grace
by using it to manage our sins we actually find ourselves trapped again by
choosing to live under the Law and not by faith/freedom in Jesus. The purpose
of grace has always been that we can love greater, live holier, forgive better,
and look more like Jesus than ever before. It amazes me that the church uses
grace in its negative function so often. Our minds need to be shifted to
understand grace not as a “get out of jail free card,” but as an empowerment to
never go to jail in the first place.
Questions To Ponder:
1.
Do you recognize grace as a gift or something
you must earn? How so?
2.
Do you live in negative or positive grace?
Explain.
3.
How do you think the church would change if we
began to view grace in its positive sense? How so?
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