Grace Has Come | Northstar Church

“For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News.” – 1 Corinthians 15:10

Grace is defined as “the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.” Grace is a crazy concept and yet another component of God that is hard to fully grasp. I doubt there is one person on this earth that could know everything about you: weaknesses, sins, addictions, flaws, habits, and still love you more than ever. God knows everything about you and still gives us the incredible, replaceable gift of His love and grace.

Grace is an amazing gift. It provides us with everything we need to live in freedom: pardon for our sins, healing for our heart, the companionship of God’s indwelling Holy Spirit, and the ability to cultivate an ongoing relationship with Him. God’s grace, should motivate, energize, and empower us. It is active and dynamic. Grace is not simply leniency when we have sinned. Grace is the enabling gift and power of God not to sin. Grace is power, not just pardon. “ So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.” ( 2 Thessalonians 1:11–12)

God’s grace is not something we need to earn. That thought alone is so humbling. Everything else in life we need to earn in some form or another; we need to earn that job, the love of a spouse, a GPA or a sports trophy. But when we live our life for God and learn to accept His grace, we are set free of meeting standards. God doesn’t determine whether or not we’re worthy of it because we are. No matter how many times we sin, how many times we doubt, give up, or lose sight of our purpose, God took away the punishment and guilt that we deserved and replaced it with love.

Grace never ends. God’s grace for us is eternal, continuous. No matter our circumstances God’s grace is sufficient.

God’s grace is truly indescribable. I hope that each day we see, understand and are overwhelmed by His grace And I hope we not only understand God’s grace but live it and give it to others.

Discussion Questions:

How can grace be summarized?
How can God’s overcoming, or irresistible grace be part of our lives this week?