Here are some excerpts from Paul Ellis' new book, "The Gospel in Twenty Questions":
"Those who say grace is one of God's blessing show their ignorance, for grace is not one blessing, but all of them together. Grace is heaven's cure for the world's woes. It's the power of God that turns sinners into saints and haters into lovers. Grace raises the dead and heals the broken. Grace gives strength to the weary and wings to the feeble. Grace is divine...in three words, grace is God with us."
"I am often struck by the things Jesus didn't say as much as the things he did. For instance, Jesus never said the word grace. Not once. Since Jesus is grace personified, this is remarkable. It's as if Mozart never said the word music or Picasso never said paint. Jesus may not have said it, but he surely showed it. His sacrifice on the cross was the greatest demonstration of love and grace the world has ever seen."
Among the many ways Jesus revealed grace, one way was by showing unconditional forgiveness.
Some men brought him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus say their faith, he said to the man, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." (Matthew 9:2)
"Jesus seems to contradict himself. Didn't Jesus say we would be forgiven only if we first forgave others? Yet the paralytic forgave no one. There is no record of him forgiving those who had sinned against him. Yet Jesus forgave him anyway. That's unexpected. That's undeserved favor. That's grace.
It's as if Jesus came to show us two ways to live. 'You can live under the law where you reap what you sow, or you can live under grace where you reap what you I sow. Your choice.' To the religious and self-righteous, Jesus emphasized the law. 'You want to go that route? Fine. But go the whole way and be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.' But to sinners and the sick, Jesus revealed grace. 'You're healed. You're forgiven. Peace be with you.'"
"The grace of Jesus does not sit well with our religious urge for self-improvement. Our innate desire to impress God with our goodness collides with his desire to impress us with his. Religion demands that we try, but grace inspires us to trust."
Grace=Peace,
Jeremy
Love these clear distinctions between the law and grace! Thanks man!
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