Motivated by Grace

Matthew 21:28 - 32

In our Christian lives there are many things that we do - worship, engage in private devotions, serve, share our faith, read the bible, act in particular ways. Why do you do what you do? For some it may be obligation, duty, routine, guilt. But none of these are an authentic life lived in grace.

As we've explored over the past weeks, we are made right with God not on the basis of anything we do or don't do, but purely and solely because of the work of God. Therefore our worship, witness and service is to be motivated by a response of gratitude and reverence for a God who draws us near.

This motivation should actually move us to action. In James 1:22 he writes, "do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." Similarly, in the book Discipleship, David Watson writes "Christians in the west have largely neglected what it means to be a disciple of Christ. The vast majority of Western Christians are church members, pew fillers, hymn singers, sermon tasters, Bible readers, even born again believers or spirit filled charismatics - but not true disciples of Jesus". (pg 16)

How are you motivated by grace to act in this world. In what ways does your service for God and others reflect the grace you have received? More importantly, is the life you are living one that is a reflection of the grace you have been received? Does God's grace in your life cause you to act for justice for others and to pursue fairness and equity? Is your life one that reflects the values of Jesus? Do you seek the best for others?

Grace abuse

Romans 6:1 - 10

It is possible to both understand and misunderstand the message of God's grace. The grace is God is such that it washes over anything that we have done or will do, to the extent that it is possible to say, as people have, "I don't need to be good and avoid sin, God will forgive me anyway."

But that is to miss the point of the new creation we become in Jesus Christ as we are dead to sin and alive in Christ. The grace of God changes the very people that we are that sin is no longer attractive to us. We have the ability to sin, and indeed being fallible humans we will sin, but we will not be caught by it, nor desire to engage in it.

It is through our partnership with the Holy Spirit that we are able to grow in holiness. By allowing him to work in us, we will put more of the sinful nature behind us and express more of the spiritual nature in us.

Being transformed by grace

Romans 12:9 - 21

The words that Paul writes in this passage are not simply another list of things for us to be guilty about not doing. In his letter, they come after a long build up of explaining the nature of grace, and a challenge at the beginning of chapter 12 to be transformed by the Holy Spirit. The words that Paul writes here, are therefore a description of a life lived in grace.

I summarise them into two categories:

- be generous with your possessions, your approach to other people, and your life in Christ.
- be reconcilers with your enemies.

It is about living a life big and large in the grace of God, and reflecting the very nature of Jesus in our world.

How different would this world be if we lived in the state of continual transformation by the Holy Spirit to be people who were overwhelmingly generous and who actively sought to be nice to our enemies? Where would you see differences in your approach to others? What would your home, church, workplace, world be like if we were always taking a further step into God's good, pleasing and perfect will as we lived in a state of grace?