Grace Can Teach
It’s not beneficial to go through life ignorant about things that matter. This is especially true when it comes to grace. Did you know that grace can teach?
Grace is wonderful. It brings hope, blessing, and promise and is powerfully transformative. But I have encountered some who think of grace as something it is not. They morph it into being something they wish it were while ignoring what Scripture reveals it truly is. Twisting and morphing happen when grace is made out to be about or to do something that it was never intended to be about or to do. It can also happen if passages that offer a different point of view on grace are ignored.
Sadly, grace is sometimes either not viewed as having the depth of reach it is meant to have or as going so far in its reach that nothing we do matters anymore. I believe in grace that is so powerful that it can be seen as scandalous while also being transformative.
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, 13 At the same time, we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. 15 These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
Grace appeared when Jesus arrived on the scene and went to the cross to pay the penalty for the sin of the world. Your sin and my sin. That act of grace offers salvation to anyone who believes and receives it. This is because grace personified is Jesus. Grace is revealed in Christ!
Grace revealed in Christ teaches us something. It is a tiny but powerful two-letter word, “No.” Grace empowers us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions because of grace and what it teaches us.
But more than teaching us to say no to those things, grace teaches us how to live! We get to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives. Grace reveals to us a broader scope of purpose to the death of Christ on the cross than just saving us from the penalty of our sin.
Grace reveals that Jesus died to save us from all wickedness and purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good. New Creation DNA is designed in this way. Jesus did not go to the cross so that if someone wanted to continue in wicked behavior, they could do so without threat of consequence.
The purpose of the cross was to redeem and transform. It is the gateway to becoming a New Creation in Christ filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered to live as a changed person who knows they are loved greatly.
This is what grace teaches us. It lets us know that as we seek to live as who He says we are and we find we miss the mark, we haven’t lost His love, and we still have His favor, and we are not left in the spot where we fell. He is there with us to help us get back on our feet again and live as the person He says we are.
It is essential to be taught by grace, not just be fascinated with it. I encourage you to embrace all the lessons Grace desires to teach you.
