Grace Is Now In Charge!

Within the spectrum of belief and non-belief systems that one may observe, one of the toughest concepts that people seem to face is the whole idea of grace, God's unmerited favor. Perhaps this concept is challenging because grace is something that is God's own choice, not ours. Despite what any religious group may claim, nobody can control grace, or decide who's worthy of receiving it.

To understand what grace means, one must begin with a premise that God is sovereign; God can do what God wants to do, when He wants to, how He wants to, and to whomever He wants to. Grace is God's choice to bless His people not because we deserve it, but instead because God values His relationship with us enough to bless us.

That premise may be understood more easily by one whose perspective is already established in a monotheistic tradition. However, for anyone whose history is unconnected to a tradition of that type, any discussion regarding accountability to an unseen God may be somewhat perplexing.

Perhaps even more challenging is an offer of freedom from a system that one fails to recognize as being oppressive in the first place. God's grace is intimately connected to one's struggle against that oppressive system.

Many of us may miss the key principle in God's grace. Indeed, the abundant blessings that God provides as a sign of His relationship to us are an important benefit of one's everyday connection to grace. However, a more profound expression of that relationship is justification, God's method of declaring His people innocent.

The highest expression of that grace is the death of God's only begotten son, Jesus. That kind of grace is what allows a believer to have victory over sin, as it eliminates all accusation and condemnation.

Because sin existed before there was ever any law, the benefit of God's law is to expose that sin, allowing one to mitigate its harmful effects through atonement and repentance. However, in contrast to God's law, the effect of grace is God's full cancellation of any penalty that a believer must pay for having transgressed that law.

As the apostle Paul explained to the Church at Rome: “where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” In declaring us not to be guilty of the sin in this world, God has set in motion benefits for which Jesus has paid all the costs.

By faith in the risen Savior, anyone can be acceptable to God, moving from sin's estrangement, to peace with God. With this peace comes access to a favor from God that none of us deserves.

Our God has promised to answer our cries, but we have to be ready for the grace that He has for us. With God's grace, we no longer have an excuse to cop out by saying things like: “well, this is just me being me – that's just how I am.” Adam's seed may be just you being you, but Jesus' Spirit is ready to take you higher and higher.

God's gift in Christ has made it possible for us to be acceptable to Him, even though we have sinned many times. It doesn't matter how many times before that one has sinned – whatever trait one has inherited from Adam is no match for what one can have from Christ. Whatever Adam did to disobey God, and whatever the rest of us did with the same nature, Jesus overcame that by obeying God so that now God accepts us.

Because of the sacrifice that Jesus has made for the sin in each of us, God not only accepts us, but also His plan is for us to live and rule like kings. The rule of death is over! Grace is forever more in charge!