Why Is Grace Important?

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SUMMARY:

The Apostle Paul said that those who grasp the abundance of God’s favor toward them and how truly righteousness He has made them shall REIGN in life.

DETAILS:

First, what is grace, anyway?

VERY simply, it is favor. More specifically, it is God’s favor, His love in action. If God is unconditional love, then by default His favor is also unconditional. This is not something understood by the intellect, but by the heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you believe.

We know that God is a God of judgment, which by definition means making wrong things right. Right now the Father is actively working so all mankind will come to know what He knows. He’s not going to give up. Remember that God does not hold grudges, and love never fails.

So, God favors you unconditionally, which means limitlessly. What does that mean? Romans 5:17 gives us a small hint.

“For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” (KJV) Sounds really good, right? But, what does it really mean?

My translation/paraphrase may be a little clearer since I have written it in today’s English. “For, if by the wrongdoing of just one man (Adam) The Death reigned as a tyrannical, absolute despot over all of mankind, – much, much more shall God’s children reign supremely in life. This will be because they have grasped, with their hearts, the abundance of God’s limitless favor toward them and the abundance of the gift of being truly righteous and thus right with God. And this ability to reign in life will not be by means of their determination but by means of just One Man, Jesus Christ. He is the One Who conquered death and now lives His victory in them.”

Wow! Do you get it? Ponder those words. They describe what happens to a person when they grasp the significance of being favored by God. When you realize that God has made you righteous by exchanging the life of His Son for you and that He favors you with a delight beyond your ability to figure it out, then you realize why Paul can shout, “We are more than conquerors by means of Him who loves us.” (Romans 8:37)

Oh, you think you’ve done something so bad that it can actually change the nature of God Who is love? Remember, God doesn’t have love as though it is something He can give away. He IS love. By giving you love He is giving you Himself. It doesn’t get better, and there is nothing you can do to stop Him from giving Himself to you. Of course, you can refuse the gift until you feel you are worthy enough. But that doesn’t please Him and He doesn’t stop giving Himself to you. Even though you probably can’t feel it, He is offering you the gift of Himself and His favor right now. And, as much as you take, there is always more following it. His love goes beyond our ability to express it. But, the Holy Spirit is showing it to you in the simple words written here.

If you don’t know how to grasp the abundance of His favor then try this. Just say “Amen.” That means, “So be it according to Your will.” This means you are saying to God, “Let Your will be done in my life.” He wants you to grasp His favor toward you and He won’t give up until you do.

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