You know those areas in your life in which you never seem to get any lasting victory? I think you know what I mean. You know they don’t represent the “abundant life” that Jesus promised in John 10:10. You have made serious attempts at change, possibly with some success, but it never seems to last. Then it becomes tempting to take the attitude that these will always be there so you’ll just have to learn to live with ‘em. Is there anything that can take on these problem areas and transform them into the life you know God wants for you? Yes! It’s called grace!
I think that grace is another one of those biblical concepts that Christians really don’t understand. We think we do – especially those of us who consider ourselves as Bible teachers – but the grandeur of it escapes us many times.
Scripture tells us that it’s by GRACE that we’re saved, through faith. [Ephesians 2:8] The definition most commonly given of this grace is that it is God making something available to us that we don’t deserve. While there is a ring of truth to that definition, the scope of grace is much wider than that. In Bible College we learned the acronym for grace: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. That adds some important information to our understanding! Later a friend of mine shared this “grace tidbit”: “Grace is God’s ability in us to do what we couldn’t do on our own.” Now we’re getting somewhere!
My wife and I are about to undertake the teaching of a course of study on grace. We’re using a book from Dr. James Richards titled “Grace, the Power to Change.” We’re not offering this merely to fill some time on our church calendar. No, we’re endeavoring to share information and application that we have been receiving and walking out in our own lives. Has it made a difference? Yes! We’re finding that this information, when applied diligently to one’s life, leads to transformation!
If you’re interested, the class is on Thursday nights at 7. But even if you can’t get here for the course, make a point to study out grace for yourselves. It’s worth the effort.