Gospel of Grace

Albert Bogle June 11, 2023 2 3

Playlists

Add to Favourites

Save for later

Listen to this daily worship

Ephesians 2: 8-10 (NRSVA)

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— 9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

The first aspect of the Gospel we must share in, and with others, is the Gospel of grace. Grace has a unique place in Christianity compared to other world religions. It is neither a cheap thing to give or receive. My friend, had a neighbouring farmer who had an old tractor for which it was difficult to buy tyres. He  noticed he had a tyre lying in his yard that would fit his neighbour’s tractor. He put it on the trailer and took it over to his neighbour.

“How much do you want for it?” the neighbour asked.

“Nothing” he replied.

His neighbour held up his hands and said, “I can’t accept it — if I can’t pay for it.”

“Why not?” my friend asked.

“Because I don’t want to be beholden to you.”

The Gospel of Grace leaves us beholden to God and to one another. When we have been graced we have a debt of gratitude to live out. We live a different way. The way of humble service and thankfulness. The Gospel of Grace is the free gift that is never deserved. If we are owed it there is no grace in it. The gospel we proclaim is one that cannot be bought or sold or earned. It can only be lived out in gratitude. My will becomes “Thy will”. For those who have reached the end of their tether “grace” is truly amazing. For those who feel self-sufficient they are untouched by the power of grace.

PRAYER:

Lord

I’m sorry

We’re sorry

For the wrong attitudes

That stopped love in its tracks

That turned us away from gratitude

To sing another song

Of self admiration

A Sinatra rhythm

Full of self-importance

But short on humility

A lonely ghost

An empty boast

That leaves a trail of broken lines

And sings ”I did it my way”

Lord

I want to live

We want to live

Another way

That turns the lyric in the song

To sing of love

That joins the lines and heals the rhythm

To sing

We did it “Thy way”

A Question — Do I believe the gospel of grace but live beholden to none?