Thursday, November 27, 2008,8:09 AM
[G]od's [R]iches [A]t [C]hrist's [E]xpense
I have been reading a book by Philip Yancey called "What's so amazing about Grace" ( from Chao yuan) and yup, since i am pretty free in camp. i have decided to share what i have learnt. And first, let me start of with "What's Grace".
GRACE: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.
Grace is the bounty that God offers us and the payment is not delayed but been covered – entirely – by Jesus Christ.
An honest and careful search of our heart will reveal the guilt, shame and emptiness in our heart. And many of the times, people including christians tend to turn towards worldly ways and desires to overcome that barrier, in hope to fill the emptiness within us .By indulging in worldly and sinful desires to satisfy our craving. Such as drinking, smoking or even drugs, or turning towards less sinful and destructive alternatives such as counselling or deceiving ourself to finding self esteem. And usually , at the end of the day, we seldom find the comfort we are all looking for, even if we do, its never lasting.
To be frank, all of us are imperfect and there is no way we can be called fit to enter the kingdom of God, by doing good alone. ((Romans 3:20 ), for if we were to look, and work according to the law alone, we can never enter the kingdom of God, for we are all sinners . But, its through God's mercy and Grace that we are saved. And if we were to compare Christianity with all the other religions in the world, its Grace alone that makes us Christians stand out from the others, and most importantly, its Grace that saves us. (Romans 11:6)
So then, what is Grace? As seen from the acronym above, Grace is God's Riches At the Christ's Expense. Grace is the bounty that God offers us and the payment is not delayed but been covered – entirely – by Jesus Christ as seen in Ephesians 2:8. There is no need to search for it, but by knowing and believing in God alone, Grace have been showered on us. "T'was Grace that taught...my heart to fear.And Grace, my fears relieved.How precious did that Grace appear...the hour I first believed". The means of grace are those things, like prayer or reading the Bible, which appropriate God’s grace into our lives.
In context to the topic bout the shame, guilt and the emptiness within us, (which is inevitable, for we are all sinners). These are actually good things if it leads us to repentance. We have no more ability to pay our debt that it does its debt. Thus, if we try to solve our guilt on our own it will only lead to more guilt and ultimately death and hell but if we turn to Jesus for our help and salvation (saving from the debt) we can lose our hopelessness. When we return God to His rightful place in our hearts then, believe me, our hearts are no longer empty. ( Acts 20:32, 2 Corinthian 9:8).
"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,That saved a wretch like me.I once was lost but now am found,Was blind, but now I see"
This is pretty much what i have learnt ,and know about Grace :) Hope u guys learn something from it too. And remember, always turn towards God, for his grace is far more than sufficient, and since it is God's richness, its something so majestic and rich, and far beyond what we can comprehend. (John 1:16) And heres the mega good news! IT HAS ALL BEEN PAID FOR. But with one conditon, FAITH. and that is simply to believe in God :) (Ephesians 2:8-9)
P.S: haha i know there are quite a few bible verses, but please do take the time to read them =)
-Adrian.
>>and i live just for you my lord.
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