4/12/2008 - God's Grace Over the last 22 years
God's Grace Removes My Guilt: "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
I was born and raised in a Christian home. This factor alone was part of God's grace in my life, but it was not the final answer to my problem. Very early on in life, I became stricken with the sense of my sin. I didn't know all the terms, but I felt very guilty for what I had done to offend God. I remember only being able to think in terms of joy and sadness. In other words, I knew that the bad things I did made God sad, but I also felt that the good things I did made God sad. One day during some special meetings, an evangelist's wife presented the story of Jesus' death to a large group of children. Suddenly I realized that my sin didn't just make God sad, it made Jesus die. Also, I understood that God could now be happy with me no matter what because Jesus died for me. All I had to do was believe that Jesus died for me and nothing else!
God's Grace Gives Me a Task: "Freely ye have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:8)
Shortly after this encounter with grace, I began to learn much about the Bible and it seemed very real to me. I sensed a heavy burden to tell everyone I could about what happened to me when I believed that Jesus died for me. I didn't have to feel bad that God was unhappy with me any more and I didn't want other people to feel that way either. Motivated out of a sense of urgency, I began to hand out literature that included information about the work of Jesus in the place of sinners to anyone I met. Eventually this sense of urgency to declare the Good News overflowed into, what I have come to call, a calling, or a mission for my life. I believe that God wants me to spread this message in every venue of my life
God's Grace Overcomes My Doubts: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
After sensing this calling from God, I began to study my Bible to find out more about God. I also began to study different theological works such as Charles Ryrie's Basic Theology. The more I learned about God, salvation, and the Bible, the more I realized that my initial belief in Christ was very simple. I did not fully understand everything that was going on in the big picture. This realization generated a great amount of fear in my life. During times of sin or depression I would begin to wonder about my salvation from sin. Did I have enough faith? Did I say the right things? After merely trying to ignore these thoughts and pretend that they didn't exist (after all, nobody else has struggle feelings like these...right?), I heard a message that was preached by my current pastor concerning the belief of an individual in Luke's Gospel. Whether he said these words or not, I'll never be sure, but suddenly I was struck with this meaning: To believe in the amount of faith I possessed or the quality of the prayer I prayed is the same as legalism. My faith, however small, was placed in Christ. Furthermore, whether or not I had faith then, and I am certain that I did, I know for sure that I believe now. Finally, my belief is not placed in belief itself, but in Christ alone to save me from my sins and he will never fail me (II Tim. 1:12). God's grace provided me fresh assurance of my salvation. Even though doubts still come my way at times (especially when I am not living as close to God as I should), I return my mind to these things and I feel calmed before the onslaught of Satan.
