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Transformed by Grace

Transformed by Grace
 

 
For over 50 years the Lord has given Trans World Radio the enormous privilege of speaking words that bring His grace to the nations. For many of those years, we’ve enjoyed the wonderful partnership of Insight for Living - two ministries transformed by grace, speaking grace and sharing grace.

Grace can be defined as an unmerited gift of God to us. Salvation, of course, is the greatest gift God has given to us, but it is not the only gift we receive from God. The grace of God is unlimited.

I’ve never forgotten the mnemonics I was taught as a new Christian – God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense and God’s Ready Assistance Coming Ever – and I’ve never ceased to wonder that God loves me so much that He reaches out to me at all times with His grace. Doesn’t that just make you want to burst out in praise?

However bad you’ve been in the past – God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense! However needy you are today – God’s Ready Assistance Coming Ever! How wonderfully transformational it is to receive God’s undeserved mercy, God’s amazing grace!

In the early years of the “Jesus Movement” the Church was flourishing, and this fact brought about increased persecution by the Jewish religious leaders, culminating in the death of Stephen, known to us as the “first martyr.”

A fanatical Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus spearheaded some of this persecution. Scripture tells us that he went from house to house arresting those who were followers of the “Way.” Saul, an “obsessive compulsive,” when it came to the Law, was unwilling to let Christianity spread anywhere, which led to his decision to go to Damascus.

It was on this obsessive mission that he was intercepted by God’s grace. Saul was one who had no idea that he even needed grace. He had worked hard to cultivate his pedigree and position. Born into an observant Jewish home, he grew into a faithful and enterprising Pharisee, and was an ardent defender of his faith. By all appearances he was a righteous man doing just fine meeting the requirements of the Law, and living as a shining example of purity and justice in his community … so why would Saul need grace?

The question could be asked, “why do we need grace?” If we’ve lived a pretty good life, kept all the rules, raised nice kids, gone to church regularly and never had any major slip-ups, do we really need grace? The answer is a resounding “YES.” God’s grace is an essential part of our life, without that grace, we would all be lost for eternity!

And grace brings us a “light” to live by. It has, if you like, a “moral imperative.” We need to live grace-ously! As God has been gracious to us, so we must be gracious to others.

In Victor Hugo’s classic novel Les Misérables, a heartless felon named Jean Valjean is caught stealing from the priest who offered him a meal and a bed for the night after his release from prison. When the police capture Valjean again, rather than being accused by the priest, he is forgiven. This encounter with grace serves as the transformational event in the thief’s life. Valjean is redeemed … reborn!

Each one of us has – in Christ – been reborn to new life. God’s grace brings about our forgiveness: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ” says Saul, who also, incidentally, describes himself as the worst of sinners. But with such grace comes a responsibility. As we have been greatly forgiven, so we must be willing to greatly forgive.

I’m convinced that relationships are built upon our willingness to extend forgiveness. This in turn involves our ability to ask for forgiveness. In other words, grace is the key that unlocks every relationship we know.