The Grace of God
Romans 5:1-11
Grace is God's goodness and kindness to those who do not deserve it and
cannot earn it. Its benefits are available to everyone.
Each day God causes hearts to beat, bodies to heal, and love to be given and
received, regardless of peoples' opinions of Him. He offers forgiveness to
the rebellious, freedom to sinners, and intimacy with Himself to all who
trust Christ as Savior. Through Jesus, He offers access to the throne of
grace
(Hebrews 4:16), where the Savior serves as high priest, interceding for His
own (Hebrews 7:25). We know we can approach God confidently because there is
no condemnation for those who belong to Him (Romans 8:1). What amazing
grace!
It was not always so. Israel, God's chosen people, lived under the Law, not
under grace. They, like us, were a disobedient people; God in His mercy
established
the sacrificial system to symbolically provide a way for them to be forgiven
of their wrongdoing. However, Jesus gives us permanent forgiveness because
He died once for all sins (Hebrews 7:27). It was humanly impossible to obey
every aspect of all 613 commandments God handed down through Moses, but
Jesus
fulfilled the Law for us, and grace makes it count on our behalf. Because
our Savior sacrificed His life for us, we can approach God's throne
directly.
As believers, we stand upon the immovable foundation of God's grace. It is
over us like a canopy and surrounds like a protective wall. As the truth of
it
permeates our hearts and minds, we become expressions of the Lord's love,
kindness, and goodness to others.
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