The Grace of God.

Jesus said “you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). It’s not truth that sets you free; it’s the truth you KNOW that sets you free. So here goes…

Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:16-17)

Grace is undeserved, unearned, unmerited favor. Jesus is the face of Grace. For he died sins he didn’t commit for a people who absolutely deserved death but didn’t get it- Grace was the end of the old and the beginning of the new covenant. The old covenant of “you do this, and I will do that” is gone, what we have now is God saying “I have done this and that- you just receive” This new way of living under Grace.

In this new covenant, the **law has changed, and so has the way we do things. We might still do the same things as we did before we believed, but the intentions and the attitude behind our acts has changed. E.g in Kenya the law of drinking alcohol was changed to only after 5pm- people still drink, but now only after 5. Likewise smoking in public was banned, people still smoke, but only from smoking zones. Also the law changed in that when you co-habit with your partner, you are deemed man and wife after 6 months- couples still date but probably would now not co-habit so readily or if they do it is till 5.5 months (lol)…point is, when the law changes, the acts might remain, but the way of doing them changes.

Back to the new covenant- it is no longer give 10%, but give as your heart leads, it is no more he who prays longer and louder gets heard, but we are told to pray in secret, it is no more that when you sin you should offer a lamb as a sacrifice, but receive the forgiveness already offered; God is no longer YHWH (a name that cannot be spoken) but we now call him “Abba Father” (Daddy)! And so much more.

In Grace, because it is undeserved, there is nothing we can do to make God love us more or hate us, because when Christ rose, God now sees Him instead of us. Our bad deeds are hid in Christ. Grace is all about receiving, by faith, what Christ has already given us. Grace is a guarantee “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be BY GRACE and may be GUARANTEED to all Abraham’s offspring.

(Romans 4:16.) Things are easier for we do not have to do anything to get from God, we simply need to believe and receive. “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, BELIEVE that you HAVE RECEIVED it, and it will be yours” (Mk 11:24)
In summary, Grace is the essence of the Gospel, it is the Jesus in the flesh. For us to continue to understand and live the life Christ died to give us, knowing Grace (and faith) are of paramount importance.

** The old law is not just the 10 commandments, it is all the 613 rules and regulations in Leviticus that were given to the Israelites.