Today, we return to our four part series on Free Gifts. Part 2 is dedicated to the gift of grace. My favorite! (So, we might be here a while.)
If we misunderstand grace, we misunderstand everything about Jesus and what His death and resurrection meant for all of us. That may seem like either a bold or very narrowly focused statement. But, the statement comes from my own personal story of both misunderstanding and misusing grace. That is, until the day it suddenly clicked for me – right time, right place, right words, right heart posture. That click was the key that set me free. That is the power of grace. I pray He and His grace meet you right where you are today!
The Basics1
Because of Adam and Eve, sin entered the world (Genesis 3, Romans 5:12). This wasn’t God’s design for humanity, but it is the consequence of their disobedience. We continue to live with these consequences today, both as a result of their choices as well as our own.
Not many like to hear it (much less admit it), but we are all sinners in need of a savior. God knew (and knows) this, and He had a plan all along (Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6-7, for example). In His infinite wisdom and love for humanity, He sent His son Jesus to be that savior for you, me, everyone, in order to reconcile us back to Himself. (Romans 5:8-11, Ephesians 2:1-10).
Binary truths are offensive these days, but feelings about or toward truth don’t make the truth any less true. So while many say differently, the binary truth is reconciliation with God (and all that it entails, including eternal life) comes only through His Son Jesus (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). Jesus alone died to forgive our sins and save us from eternal death by God’s gift of grace.
The Gift of Grace
There are two types of grace discussed in the Bible. Like the above passages, there is the gift of saving grace through Jesus (Romans 5:15). There is also sanctifying grace, which follows saving grace.
Saving Grace
When we repent and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we receive the gift of grace by faith. It is our faith in Jesus, what He did on the cross, and what He did through His resurrection that makes the gift of grace available to us. It is a beautiful exchange – we put faith in Jesus, we receive grace from Jesus. Saving grace says we have eternal life (salvation) through Jesus and all of our past sins have been forgiven and removed from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).
It’s important to emphasize that grace is a free gift we receive through faith in Jesus. It’s all about Jesus. He did the work. He paid the debt we owe (Colossians 2:14 ESV). It has nothing to do with us.
Sometimes though we get into a performance mindset, usually because of religion, and we think we can earn salvation or forgiveness through being a good person or doing good works or deeds. This is simply not true, and it’s also where we get into the place of misunderstanding and/or misusing grace.
We could never be good enough, and we could never do enough good to earn grace. As for being a good person, even Jesus who was perfect would not call Himself good. He said only God His Father is good (Mark 10:18). As for good works, we are not saved by our good works, but rather saved by Jesus’ grace for good works. It is only because of Him that we can be saved, forgiven, and do good works:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
That’s pretty great news in my book. I am thankful for the free gift of grace.
Sanctifying Grace
When we repent and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). The Holy Spirit comes to live in us, and He helps us become more like Jesus every day. Sanctifying grace is a supernatural process of empowerment through our yielding to the Holy Spirit that transforms our souls to make us holy and pleasing to God. In our human weakness, His grace is all we need:
9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV
When I first got saved, I did not understand this. I was gung-ho and ready- to-go, so to speak. I remember asking God to make me His vessel and use me mightily and powerfully for His glory. And … well … while I am sure He appreciated my enthusiasm, He had other plans. We had to go backwards before we could ever move forward.
So, in order for God honor my prayer to be a vessel for Him and also get the most glory as possible for Himself, we had to go to work on my heart. Yes, I was saved, but I was still very messy. There were many issues in my life that required the power of Holy Spirit to overcome through deliverance and healing – addictions, mental illness, trauma, sin and oppression from that sin.
Even after we’re saved and forgiven, we will still have a sin struggle. This necessitates a lifestyle of repentance (change) as the Holy Spirit convicts us and shows us our hearts. We are complex beings, and there are many layers to our healing and sanctification. The good news is we can’t “out-sin” God’s grace. He says where sin abounds, grace abounds much more (Romans 5;20).
I often say the heart work is the hard work. I wish the minute we got saved, we were also all at once healed, delivered, purified, and made holy, which is what sanctification is. However, this is just not the case. It’s a process, and a lifelong one at that. Through it, we often have to face some really harsh realities about ourselves, our mess, and others and their own messes because their messes have impacted us. The process is necessary, though, so we can be all God is calling us to be, and minister to others from God’s pure heart rather than our own impure heart.
And God is so good to promise us that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8), and the Holy Spirit living inside of us is proof of that promise (Ephesians 1:14). He is therefore with us through the sanctification process – helping, guiding, directing, empowering. When we are weak, He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).
Free Gift Opportunity!
If you have read this far, thank you and congratulations! In the spirit of giving and free gifts, I’d like to send you a free copy of the Born to Win Anthology. You can read more about this book project in my Shop.
The first person to email me at kamypuett@gmail.com with their full name and complete shipping address will get the free copy (shipping included) – my gift of Jesus to you. Your personal information will be kept private, safe and secure and will not be used for any purpose other than to send you your gift. **Free gift offer expires 25-Dec-24**.
Footnotes
- This is an extremely abbreviated version of events, not exhaustive by any means. I encourage you study this on your own. ↩︎
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