Author of the book What's So Amazing About Grace?, Philip Yancey, took an informal survey asking people, "what is the first word you think of when you hear the word Christian?" He said that most of the responses were "anti-something." Anti-abortion, anti-homosexuality, etc. He said never once did someone respond with the word grace. While I must admit I was not surprised, it was like a knife to my chest. Yes, as Christ followers we should stand as examples and supporters of God's truth and standard, but I believe we are called to show the grace we have received from God to those around us.
I have done NOTHING to deserve my salvation in Christ; the faith I have is a gift from Him: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" Ephesians 2:8
The way Yancey phrased it was this: "we should be grace dispensers, not moral exterminators." I couldn't agree more. You can't expect people to have a desire to live by God's law, if they don't love Him! As Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey what I command." John 14:15
I highly recommend this book. It greatly changed my perspective on the world around me and opened my eyes to the magnitude of God's grace. Yancey proposes the best way to change the world is not from the top down, by protesting government and forcing laws on people (which I understand some of this has it's place). Instead, try to change things from the bottom up, one person at a time. Change things by sharing the Gospel with your neighbor so they will have a new heart for Christ.
We have a job to spread the message of grace! "So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders." Acts 14:3
PS I confess that when I was a baby Christian I failed greatly in this area. I did not show grace. I showed legalism, which does not lead people to the Lord (in my opinion). For those who experienced this from me, I apologize and ask your forgiveness. Even today, I fail at this and ask God's help continually to show grace to others. How about you?
We are supposed to live our lives to be more like Christ. Jesus walked this earth and lived life with us. He taught us through example and parables. Jesus exemplified exactly what you are talking about. He seldom went into the Temple to preach “law” to the Rabbis, but often was found in a crowd of people teaching them a message of love and grace.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite explanations of Grace from Randall D. Hughes:
You work 40 hours this week and you get paid $1000.00. After you get your check you have to go to the bank. Maybe you have to drive 10 miles to get there. After you get there on a Friday evening around 5:00 p.m., the place is swamped. You then wait in line for 45 minutes to get to the teller. She requires you to endorse the check and provide her with some form of photo ID before she will cash your check. After all that effort, don’t you think the check should be worth more? Look at all the effort you put forth to get it cashed. Probably at least an hour’s worth of your time, maybe spent in a hot car, waiting in the drive through. What if she decided you didn’t look enough like your gorgeous picture on your drivers license and refuses to cash your check unless you came back during lobby hours? It still doesn’t increase the value of your check does it? No matter how many banks you go to, how many lines you wait in, how many times you sign your name and show your ID the check will never increase in value, regardless of the amount of work you put forth to cash it. The work to obtain that check has already been expended.