Good News Today

God’s Grace is Free

Grace is a churchy word that we often use but sometimes misunderstand.

Maybe you’ve heard the old song “Amazing Grace” but what exactly is it? 

Imagine driving a car and being pulled over for driving way too fast.

The police officer comes to your window,

and instead of issuing you a ticket (that you very much deserve) he simply gives you $1000 and sends you on your way.

As silly as that is, it’s a glimpse of what God’s grace is like.

There is enough bad news in the world Today, we need Good News that doesn’t just help our future but changes today!

Good News Today!

God’s grace is a free gift that we don’t deserve.

It is often paralleled with forgiveness, but it’s so much more than that.

Grace offers us forgiveness, but it also clears the history of guilt and shame that comes with the mistakes of our past.

Grace offers us freedom and sends us on our way to live differently, and with a new mindset.

It doesn’t mean that we go on to keep doing what we were doing before, but grace changes us.

We can overcomplicate grace, but it really is simple.

God loves us so much that He gave us the best gift we could ever receive.

He sent his only son Jesus to take the punishment we deserve by dying on a cross so that we don’t have to.

Because of that, we get the opportunity to receive His grace and walk in freedom.

Good News Today

When we choose to believe in Jesus, that grace is ours for the taking, and there is no end to it. 

You cannot sin too much to receive God’s grace; it doesn’t have limits or boundaries.

God is that good and kind and He loves you that much.

Grace is offered to you through Jesus if you choose to believe in Him, and it really is that amazing.

Good News Today.

God’s Grace is For All

Who deserves grace? 

Think of one of the meanest and hateful people you know.

That’s probably not what you expected to be thinking about in a message called “Good News Today”.

Who is someone you just can’t stand? 

Now think about why you can’t stand them.

Most likely it’s because of something they’ve done to you or someone else that you care about.

What is that specific reason?

Do you think they deserve grace for what they’ve done?

Do they deserve to be forgiven and receive compassion even though they were so wrong to you and/or others?

Most likely your answer to that question is “no”. And if it is, you’d actually be right.

They don’t deserve grace. But here’s the thing… neither do you.

I know you might say, “Well I haven’t done anything near as bad as they have,”

but we have all sinned, and because of that, none of us deserve grace.

But here’s the good news for today… God offers grace to ALL of us. 

The Apostle Paul wrote a lot about grace in the beginning chapters of Ephesians.

He explains that for those of us who follow Christ, God has lavished his grace upon us, even though we used to live in sin.

At one time we were far away from Christ, living in sin and without hope.

For those of us who have put our faith in Christ, God has brought us near to Him, forgave us, and gave us a new identity as His son or daughter,

all because He is a God of grace. THAT is good news.

Ephesians 2:4-5 KJV

[4] But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

[5] even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

https://bible.com/bible/1/eph.2.4.KJV

Good News Today!

Who Gets God’s Grace? 

Earlier, we’ve talked about what grace is and also established that no one deserves it,

but let’s talk now about who actually gets grace.

Although grace is offered to everyone, not everyone chooses to actually receive it.

That can sound crazy, but it’s the truth.

When Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus about grace, he said to them “It is by grace you have been saved through faith.”

So, although grace is a gift, faith is the way we receive it.

It’s kind of like a water pipe.

Think of our faith as the pipe and grace as the water.

For the water to flow where it’s supposed to go, it has to go through the pipe and the pipe directs and holds it.

Without the pipe, the water won’t hold, but without the water the pipe is useless.

We must have faith in God to be able to truly receive His grace. 

That doesn’t mean you have to muster up the faith on your own. You don’t have the strength to.

Jesus is known in the book of Hebrews as the “author and perfecter” of our faith.

He is the one who begins and grows our faith, but we can still be like Jesus’ friends in Luke 17 and show a desire to grow our faith.

You can even pray the simple prayer they did when they said to Jesus, Increase our faith!”

Good News Today!

If you haven’t received His grace yet, the invitation is open!

Talk to someone else who is following Jesus about how you too can have a relationship with Him.  

And if you have received His grace before but have since messed up,

then find hope in knowing that God’s grace is not just a one-time deal.

For those who are truly surrendered to Christ, God offers us grace in abundance.

Every single time we mess up we can repent (which means to turn back to God) and be forgiven.

So, who gets grace? Everyone that receives it by faith!

Good News Today.

God’s Grace Changes You

As we learned earlier in this message, when we receive grace, it doesn’t mean we keep living the same way we lived before.

God’s grace changes us.

When we see the kindness and goodness of God, it will transform our hearts and ultimately the way we live.

It makes us want to live in such a way that imitates His character and kindness.

Sometimes we get caught striving for good behavior because we think we need to earn God’s grace.

It’s important to remember that God’s grace cannot be earned.

The only way to receive it is to humbly accept it through faith and trust in Jesus.

We cannot be “good enough” or “smart enough” to receive God’s grace.

We aren’t expected to keep “trying hard” in order to receive grace. 

God’s kindness helps us see the ways we have messed up and sinned, which leads us to have a repentant heart.

Remember, repentance means we turn away from our sinful choices and turn back to God.

Living with grace means living freely.

We are no longer chained to our past, and we are no longer chained to a “try hard” kind of life.

We get to live in partnership with God and join him on the adventure He has set before us. 

It’s inevitable that we will still mess up, but God’s grace is still there for us.

He doesn’t remove it or take it back.

Instead,

He is patient with us and lavishes His grace on us so that we’re freed up to fulfill His purpose – which is to imitate Him.

Good News Today

Also Read: The Reality of Trials – Diademng (thediademng.org)