Grace

Victoria Ruvolo was driving home in November 2004 when a 20-pound frozen turkey smashed through her windshield and almost killed her. The impact was so intense that EMTs could not tell if she was a man or a woman. Victoria was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Nearly every bone in her face was broken, her esophagus was caved in, one eye socket was fractured, and she suffered brain damage. Victoria had to be put in a medically-induced coma, and she spent almost a month in the hospital. Her face had to be completely reconstructed. Victoria’s doctors described her survival as a “miracle.”

A teenager named Ryan Cushing was responsible for the senseless crime. He was driving around with some of his friends and the frozen turkey, which they had purchased with a stolen credit card, when Victoria’s vehicle approached in the opposite direction. Ryan then hurled the turkey at her car. It was a moment that changed both of their lives.

Ryan could have faced 25 years in prison for the offense. He probably deserved even more than that. After all, he randomly attacked an innocent woman with no regard for her life. The injuries she suffered were extremely serious. She had to undergo hours of surgery to rebuild her face and endure months of painful rehabilitation. Surprisingly, however, Ryan ended up receiving only six months in jail and five years probation.

The prosecutor wanted to seek a harsher sentence for Ryan, as did members of Victoria’s family. The crime certainly called for far more than six months in jail. Yet that is what the victim wanted. It was Victoria who insisted that Ryan be shown leniency. She had been given a second chance at life and wanted him to get one, too. When Victoria finally met her attacker, she hugged him and said, “I just want you to make your life the best it can be.” That’s grace.

Ryan should have spent decades in prison to pay for what he had done. That’s what his actions demanded. The lighter sentence does not seem fitting or fair. Clearly, Ryan did not receive what he deserved and did not deserve what he received. That’s grace.

“Grace” is unmerited favor or undeserved blessing. It is goodwill extended to someone who has done nothing to warrant it. “Grace” comes from the Greek word charis, and is often used in the New Testament of the favor God bestows on sinners through Jesus Christ. He made a way of salvation possible to us, despite our absolute unworthiness. He acted freely and without expectation of receiving anything in return. It was unearned kindness!

Grace can be hard to comprehend in our world of earning. We are used to students earning their grades, scouts earning their badges, players earning their positions, soldiers earning their ranks, and workers earning their paychecks. It is all about getting what is “rightfully yours” based on some form of achievement. That is the opposite of grace. It is not merit-based, but mercy-based.

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the older brother struggled to comprehend grace. He felt that since he had put in more time, exerted more energy, done more good, and been more reliable than his younger brother, the party should be for him. He earned it. His score was higher. His credentials were greater. What the older brother failed to realize, however, is that he didn’t deserve his father’s goodness either. He may have worked harder outwardly, but he was harboring animosity, jealousy, and pride inwardly. So rather than resenting his father for extending goodness to someone so undeserving, he should have rejoiced in it.

This is not to say that obedience is unnecessary. Jesus declared, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one whodoes the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). John added, “…whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). There are many other passages that make the same point. We must be obedient to please God. However, our obedience constitutes a yearning, not an earning. We are calling out, not cashing in. We should never trust that our own actions merit salvation.

Grace is better experienced than explained. Perhaps that is why the Gospels do not define grace, but rather demonstrate it through the various stories of Jesus Christ. His life was a constant outpouring of divine favor upon an underserving world. The grace He extended to people was practical yet profound. It met them where they were, but never left them as they came.

Love Feasts

There have been many suggestions made about the “love feasts” in Jude 12. Some say they were meals eaten by Christians in the assembly. Others say they were meals eaten by Christians outside the assembly. Still others say that Jude’s expression refers to the Lord’s Supper or is merely figurative. The text itself provides no additional details.

I was surprised to see how many reputable sources say that “love feasts” were meals eaten by Christians in the assembly, usually in connection with the Lord’s Supper. Here is a sampling.

Thayer: “…feasts expressing and fostering mutual love which used to be held by Christians before the celebration of the Lord’s supper, and at which the poorer Christians mingled with the wealthier and partook in common with the rest of food provided at the expense of the wealthy” (p. 4).

Arndt and Gingrich: “…a common meal eaten by early Christians in connection w. their church services, for the purpose of fostering and expressing brotherly love” (p. 6).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: “In the opinion of the great majority of scholars the Agape was a meal at which not only bread and wine but all kinds of viands were used, a meal which had the double purpose of satisfying hunger and thirst and giving expression to the sense of Christian brotherhood. At the end of this feast, bread and wine were taken according to the Lord’s command… The Agape was thus related to the Eucharist as Christ’s last Passover to the Christian rite which He grafted upon it. It preceded and led up to the Eucharist, and was quite distinct from it” (Vol. 1, p. 70).

AMG’s Comprehensive Dictionary of New Testament Words: “Meal expressing and nurturing mutual affection eaten together by early Christians… At the beginning of the church, the Lord’s supper was celebrated during those feasts” (p. 641).

History of the Christian Church: “In the apostolic period the eucharist was celebrated… in connection with a simple meal of brotherly love (agape), in which the Christians, in communion with their common Redeemer, forgot all distinctions of rank, wealth, and culture, and felt themselves to be members of one family of God” (Vol. 1, p. 473).

Evangelical Dictionary of Theology: “Certainly by the time of Paul’s writing to the Corinthians (ca. AD 55) it is evident that that church observed the practice of meeting together for a common meal before partaking of the Lord’s Supper... The situation described here is possible only in the context of a meal more substantial than, and preceding the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper” (p. 660).

Tertullian (200 AD) went into some detail about “love feasts” in his Apology 39, though there is no indication they were connected to the Lord’s Supper.

“Yet about the modest supper-room of the Christians alone a great ado is made. Our feast explains itself by its name. The Greeks call it agape, i.e., affection. Whatever it costs, our outlay in the name of piety is gain, since with the good things of the feast we benefit the needy… If the object of our feast be good, in the light of that consider its further regulations. As it is an act of religious service, it permits no vileness or immodesty. The participants, before reclining, taste first of prayer to God. As much is eaten as satisfies the cravings of hunger; as much is drunk as befits the chaste… As the feast commenced with prayer, so with prayer it is closed. We go from it, not like troops of mischief-doers, nor bands of vagabonds, nor to break out into licentious acts, but to have as much care of our modesty and chastity as if we had been at a school of virtue rather than a banquet.”

Ignatius (110 AD) discussed when to “celebrate a love feast” in his letter to the Smyrnaeans (8:2), and Pliny the Younger (112 AD) reported to Trajan that “on a fixed day” Christians would assemble “to partake of food, ordinary and innocent food” (97).

The Didache (100 A.D.) gives instruction for a Eucharistic prayer “after you are satisfied with food” (10:1), which may imply that a meal was eaten before the Lord’s Supper was observed. It also says to come together on the Lord’s day to “break bread and hold Eucharist” (14:1), apparently making a distinction between the two acts.

Hippolytus’ Apostolic Tradition (215 AD) links the Lord’s Supper to a broader meal. It says, “When they dine, the faithful shall take from the hand of the bishop a small piece of bread before taking their own bread, because it is blessed. Yet it is not the eucharist, like the body of the Lord” (26:1). It also encourages Christians to “eat and drink in moderation” (28:1) and to keep some food as “leftovers of the saints, so that the one to whom it is sent may rejoice” (28:3). Moreover, it specifies that the Eucharistic bread and wine should be taken "before eating anything else” (36:1).

We know that the Council of Laodicea outlawed “love feasts” in the fourth century (Canon 28). This legislation was later reiterated by the Third Council of Carthage and the Second Council of Orleans.

All of this made me wonder if there are any passages in the New Testament to support the idea that Christians shared a meal when they gathered together. The answer is “yes.”

According to 1 Corinthians 11, the church at Corinth ate meals prior to their worship service. These meals not only provided a good opportunity for fellowship, but they gave the wealthy members a chance to share their abundance with the poor. (That might have been the best meal the slaves had to eat all week). However, the rich got tired of waiting for the poor to arrive and ate without them. This left the poor with very little or no food.

“For in eating, each goes on ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk” (v. 21).

Paul rebuked this outrageous behavior. It not only missed the point of the meal, but embarrassed the latecomers. Therefore, he told those who were too selfish to wait for others to go home and eat.

“What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not” (v. 22).

The Voice translation renders the first part of that verse this way: “What is going on? If a self-centered meal is what you want, can’t you eat and drink at home?” That seems to be the point.

Paul then launched into a discussion about the Lord’s Supper, which apparently followed the meal (vv. 23-32). This was because their treatment of one another while dining was incompatible with the selflessness of Christ and unity of believers reflected in the observance of communion done afterwards. He even gave this warning, "If you eat and drink without paying attention to those who are the Lord’s body, your eating and drinking will cause you to be judged guilty" (1 Corinthians 11:29, ERV). He concluded his remarks with this instruction:

“So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another — if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home — so that when you come together it will not be for judgment” (vv. 33-34).

For a long time, I thought they were waiting to “eat” the Lord’s Supper. I was wrong. It actually refers to the broader meal that was eaten before the Lord’s Supper. How do I know? Because whatever they were going to “eat” in verse 33 could be eaten “at home” in verse 34. That excludes communion.

Paul was saying that when you come together to eat this meal, which is capable of satisfying hunger and getting you drunk (v. 21), wait for one another. Those who are too hungry to wait should eat at home. This is brought out in certain translations/paraphrases.

ERV: “If some are too hungry to wait, they should eat at home."
NCV: “Anyone who is too hungry should eat at home.”
Voice: “If someone is hungry and can’t wait, he should go home and eat.”
Amplified: “If anyone is too hungry [to wait], let him eat at home.”
The Message: “If you’re so hungry that you can’t wait to be served, go home and get a sandwich.”

Brethren who oppose the so-called “second serving” of the Lord’s Supper argue that Paul said to “wait for one another.” Yes, he did; but that is not in reference to the communion. It refers to the eating of a meal that left some “hungry” and others “drunk” (v. 21) and could be eaten “at home” (v. 34).

Paul was not condemning the Corinthians for eating a meal. He was rebuking them for not eating that meal the right way. They needed to wait patiently for one another so that none would be neglected or embarrassed. The fact that he said “when you come together to eat” assumes that he supported the idea of the meal, but they were to “wait for one another” before they partook of it.

The Lord’s Supper was instituted in the context of a meal. “Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread…” (Matthew 26:26, emp. mine). That may explain why there would have been a “meal setting” in the early church. Moreover, the word "supper" is from the Greek deipnon and refers to "a formal meal usually held at the evening" (Thayer). This was the main meal of the day where people not only satisfied their hunger, but enjoyed one another's company with no sense of hurry. Yet in churches today, we use the word much differently. We try to have a "supper" without a meal setting at all!

Those who deny the necessity of baptism often reference two verses in 1 Corinthians 1 to prove their point (“I thank God that I baptized none of you” and “Christ did not send me to baptize”). However, the surrounding context actually makes one of the strongest arguments for baptism. Likewise, brethren who oppose eating a meal when gathered together often reference two verses in 1 Corinthians 11 to prove their point (“Do you not have houses to eat and drink in” and “If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home”), when the surrounding context actually authorizes eating together.

The evidence indicates that 1 Corinthians 11 is describing an abuse of the “love feast” mentioned in Jude 12. It was a meal eaten in the assembly which expressed the love and devotion that Christians share. And as Dyron Daughrity said in his book on church history, "Something was lost when the Eucharist lost its original association with a fellowship gathering where like-minded people enjoyed food together" (Roots: Uncovering Why We Do What We Do In Church, p. 103).

"There can be no doubt that the Eucharist at this period (shortly after Pentecost) was preceded uniformly by a common repast, as when the ordinance was instituted. Most scholars hold that this was the prevailing usage in the first centuries after Christ; and we have traces of this practice in 1 Corinthians 11:20ff.”

— Alexander Campbell

Gate of Grace

Two crowds collided at the gate. One was entering while the other was exiting. The group entering was full of excitement, still buzzing from the miracle Jesus performed 20 miles up the road in Capernaum. The group exiting was full of sorrow, escorting a body to be buried. It was a funeral procession.

Though there were many people in the procession, one woman stood out from the others. She was nearest the stretcher. Her despair was deeper. Her sobbing was stronger. Her tears were thicker. This woman was not mourning the loss of her grandpa or great uncle. It was not the corpse of her father or friend, either. It was the corpse of her son — her one and only son.

“Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her” (Luke 7:11-12).

This was a double tragedy. Not only had this woman lost her son, she was a widow. One would be hard pressed to find someone more pitiful than that. Her husband was gone, her son was gone, her means of support was gone, her family line was gone… can you imagine? When Jesus saw the woman, He felt compassion and uttered three words:

“Do not weep” (Luke 7:13).

Coming from any other person, those three words would have seemed inappropriate. This woman had lost everything. Her world was turned upside down. Parents are not supposed to bury their children. The most precious person in her life had been snatched away, and she was about to place his body next to the other most precious person in her life, who had also been taken. Furthermore, she had to worry about her future in a society that was not exactly “widow friendly.” If anybody had a reason to weep, it was her!

But Jesus was not any other person. He was the Son of God. He was the Creator walking among the created. He knew her thoughts and felt her pain. Her broken heart broke His heart. Those three words (“Do not weep”) stood for another three words (“I love you”). Then, in dramatic fashion, He approached the body.

“Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, arise.’ And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother” (vv. 15-16).

Wow! Jesus halted the funeral procession by walking over to the stretcher and touching it. This would have made Him ceremonially unclean according to the Law (Numbers 19:11-16) and been incredibly shocking to the onlookers. The pallbearers stood still. The crowd fell silent. All eyes were on Jesus. A nervous anticipation overtook the sorrow. “What is He about to do?”

There are three recorded cases of Jesus raising the dead in the Gospel accounts. All of them involved Him issuing a command: To the widow’s son: “Young man, arise” (Luke 7:14); To Jarius’ daughter: “Child, arise” (Luke 8:54); To Lazarus: “Lazarus, come out” (John 11:43). And every time the gates of Hades swung open, life swooped back into the body, and the person immediately obeyed His voice. Interestingly, the same voice that raised these people will one day raise all people from the dead (John 5:28-29).

Jesus never used the word grace, yet no one has ever defined it better. He was grace personified. He was a walking, talking, living manifestation of God’s unmerited favor bestowed on an unworthy world. He was a place of refuge for the weary, teary, and leery. Certainly, we can see His grace at the gate of Nain.

Conclusion

The gate of Nain took on new significance for the widow. It became the gate of grace. It was the place where life was restored, hope was renewed, and tears were wiped away. It was the place she met Jesus, and her life was never the same after that. Have you met Jesus at the gate of grace?

Arrival of Grace

“Are we there yet?” That is an all-too-familiar question on many road trips. You know it’s coming when the kids start growing restless in the backseat. They can’t get comfortable. They can’t get along with one another. They can’t get why dad has to sing along to the radio. It is an irritating inquiry from an irritated inquirer, and once the words come out they have a tendency to reappear.

Though she may not have verbalized it, I can imagine that Mary probably felt like asking that question on the long trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem. After all, it was about an 80 mile journey over bumpy and hilly terrain, she was riding on a donkey, and she was pregnant. Nine months pregnant! If anybody had a right to cry out “Are we there yet?” it was Mary.

Can you even imagine how Mary must have felt being jostled around on a donkey for nearly a week while pregnant? She wasn’t reclining comfortably in a cushioned seat of a spacious SUV. Her ride didn’t have any high-performance tires or power steering, either. It was a rough-riding, slow-moving, fierce-smelling, animal.

There was also the threat of bandits and beasts. Jesus mentioned the reality of roadside robbers in one of His parables (Luke 10:30), and lions, bears, and wild boars were lurking in the woods nearby. In fact, archaeologists have unearthed documents warning travelers of the forest's dangers. That is why people usually traveled in groups.

Octavian was ruling, but God was in charge. He used the edict to move Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem in time for the birth of Christ. This was to fulfill Micah’s prophecy:

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days” (5:2).

Other prophecies were fulfilled in the birth of Christ as well, including Genesis 49:10 (tribe of Judah), Isaiah 7:14 (born of a virgin), and Jeremiah 23:5 (descendant of David).

As if the arduous journey were not enough, when Joseph and Mary finally reach their destination there was no place to stay. The town was packed with people for the enrollment and the inn was full. Therefore, Mary was forced to give birth where the animals were kept.

“And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn” (vv. 6-7).

Since shepherds were out in the fields (Luke 2:8), it is likely that Christ was born sometime between spring and early fall. They would not have been in the fields during the cold and rainy month of December. It is also likely that Christ was born in a cave rather than the traditional wooden structure we see today.

“But when the Child was born in Bethlehem, since Joseph could not find a lodging in that village, he took up his quarters in a certain cave near the village; and while they were there Mary brought forth the Christ and placed Him in a manger, and here the Magi who came from Arabia found Him” (Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, 78, 304).

In the second century, Emperor Hadrian built a pagan temple over the cave identified as the birthplace of Christ. Constantine the Great later tore down that temple and built a church over the cave. Today, the Church of the Nativity stands over the cave.

The most significant event in human history up to that point unfolded in a seemingly insignificant fashion: an obscure cave, in an obscure village, to obscure people. There was no pomp or pageantry. There was no celebration in the streets. While it certainly garnered all of heaven’s attention (Luke 2:13-14), few on earth seemed to notice. Yet in a wonderful display of grace, the Creator was born as a creature. God became man. Messiah arrived. Bethlehem, which means “house of bread,” brought forth the Bread of Life (John 6). How fitting!

Jesus the Lamb

There have been many stories of amazing animals who saved lives. These remarkable creatures behaved in extraordinary ways to rescue someone in danger. Here are a few examples.

Mila the Whale. When a 26-year-old woman experienced leg cramps during a diving competition without breathing equipment and was unable to reach the surface, Mila the Whale gently grabbed her leg and pushed her to the top of the pool.

Willie the Parrot. When a 2-year-old girl began choking on a Pop-Tart while her babysitter was in the bathroom, Willie the Parrot started screaming, flapping his wings, and saying things like, “Mama! Baby! Mama! Baby!” The babysitter ran out of the bathroom and found the girl gasping for air. Her face and lips were blue. The babysitter was able to successfully perform the Heimlich maneuver on the child.

Lulu the Pig. When JoAnn Altsman had a heart attack and collapsed to the ground, Lulu, her daughter’s pot-bellied pig, ran out of the house and laid down in the street to stop traffic. Finally, one person stopped and followed the determined pig back to the house, where they found Altsman in pain on the floor. She was immediately rushed to a hospital.

Mandy the Goat. When Austrian farmer Noel Osborne fell in a remote area and was severely injured, his goat Mandy huddled beside him for five days, keeping him warm. She even fed the man with her milk. Eventually, his friends found him.

These stories of animals “coming to the rescue” are impressive and heartwarming. They show that heroes come in all shapes, sizes, and smells. However, my favorite story involves “Jesus the Lamb.”

When mankind fell into sin and was in danger of eternal death, Jesus the Lamb knew just what to do. He left the comfortable confines of heaven and wrapped Himself in the womb of a woman. Nine months later he emerged as an infant in the tiny town of Bethlehem.

“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn” (Luke 2:4-7).

Jesus the Lamb was on a rescue mission, though you would not have known it by looking at Him. As He was growing up, Jesus appeared to be just like everybody else. He had a mom, dad, brothers, sisters, and cousins. He played in the streets, attended synagogue services, and helped his dad in the family business. There was that one occasion in Jerusalem, however, that must have raised some eyebrows.

“Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers” (Luke 2:41-47).

Jesus the Lamb started garnering more attention when His ministry began at age 30. He was a powerful preacher who spoke with authority and offered hope, help, and healing to the people. He also performed miracles. It was not long, though, before envious enemies tried to destroy Him.

Jesus the Lamb attracted those who weren’t very attractive. He was a friend to the despised and downtrodden. In fact, one of the most memorable chapters of the Bible, Luke 15, came in response to the self-righteous ranting of the religious leaders about Jesus’ associations.

“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’ So he told them this parable” (Luke 15:1-3).

Jesus the Lamb knew this rescue mission would require bloodshed. He knew that in order to save man’s life, He had to lay down His own life. It was not a surprise. He even told the apostles exactly what was going to happen.

“And taking the twelve, he said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise’” (Luke 18:31-33).

Jesus the Lamb voluntarily went to the cross to save man. He was “lifted up” to lift us up!

“Crucifixion” was the worst form of execution in the Roman Empire. It was a particularly prolonged, painful, and public way to die. In fact, the word “excruciating” means “out of crucifying.” The person usually lingered for hours before finally succumbing to heart failure, shock, asphyxia, or dehydration. The ISBE says, “The victim of crucifixion literally died a thousand deaths” (Vol. 2, p. 761).

Mila the Whale saved a woman from drowning, and Willie the Parrot saved a child from choking; but only Jesus the Lamb could save mankind from eternal death. The question is, do our actions demonstrate that we truly appreciate what He did? Do we pray fervently, talk graciously, help willingly, give generously, evangelize eagerly, and attend services regularly? Are we growing in grace and knowledge, and letting our light shine before others? Jesus the Lamb died for you, are you living for Him?

Amazing Grace

Few songs are more recognizable to Christians than “Amazing Grace.” It is a fixture in many worship services and funerals. But what exactly is grace, and why is it so amazing? Sadly, some Christians struggle to answer those questions. All they seem to know about grace is that it is something they can fall from. Therefore, it is important that we study this precious biblical concept.

Christianity is a religion of grace. Our God is “the God of grace” (1 Peter 5:10), His throne is “the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16), His Spirit is “the Spirit of grace” (Hebrews 10:29), His word is “the word of grace” (Acts 20:32) and His Son is “full of grace” (John 1:14). Furthermore, grace saves (Ephesians 2:8), calls (2 Timothy 1:9), justifies (Titus 3:7), trains (Titus 2:12), strengthens (Hebrews 13:9), etc. We stand in grace (1 Peter 5:12).

Amazing Grace: WHAT?

“Grace” is unmerited favor or undeserved blessing. It comes from the Greek word charis, and is often used in the New Testament of the favor God bestows on sinners through Jesus Christ. Perhaps the biblical concept of grace can be summed up as “not receiving what we deserve and not deserving what we receive.”

By grace, God did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He made a way of salvation through Christ (Romans 3:24-25; John 3:16; 1 John 4:9-10). This is what makes grace so amazing! God’s goodness toward us was not based on any goodness we had done or would do in the future. He acted freely and without expectation of receiving anything of equitable value in return. It was unearned kindness!

Before we can truly appreciate grace, we must come to grips with the depth of our sins. Our sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). Paul said that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This means that each of us deserve eternal separation from God in hell. It is the appropriate “payoff” (NET). Yet God graciously made provisions to rid us of the horrifying clutches of sin and save us from such misery (Romans 5:8).

Amazing Grace: HOW?

Though salvation is by grace, it is not by grace alone. Paul said that we are saved “by grace…through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). Grace is God’s part; faith is man’s part. If salvation were by grace alone, then all would be saved since “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people” (Titus 2:11). Yet we know that not all will be saved (Matthew 7:13-14). Hence, grace is appropriated conditionally.

There are many examples of grace being appropriated conditionally in Scripture. For instance, Noah was saved from the flood by grace when he built the ark (Genesis 6), the Israelites were healed of snakebite by grace when they looked at the bronze serpent (Numbers 21), the Israelites conquered Jericho by grace when they marched around the walls (Joshua 6), Naaman was healed of leprosy by grace when he dipped in the Jordan (2 Kings 5), and the Jews on Pentecost were forgiven of their sins by grace when they repented and were baptized (Acts 2). In each of these cases, a lack of human cooperation would have thwarted God’s grace.

The household of Cornelius heard, believed, repented, and were baptized (Acts 15:7; 11:18; 10:48). Then Peter said they were saved by grace (Acts 15:11). The same is true with the Ephesians. They heard, believed, repented, and were baptized (Ephesians 1:13; Acts 20:31; 19:5). Then Paul said they were saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8). Thus we see that salvation by grace involves an obedient faith on the part of man.

Amazing Grace: WHO?

By grace, Jesus died “for all” (2 Corinthians 5:14). He tasted death “for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9). He is the propitiation “for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). This means that all can benefit from what God has done through Christ. None are beyond reach! Perhaps this is best seen in the life of Paul. He said to King Agrippa,

“I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities” (Acts 26:9-11).

Yet he was later saved. If Paul could receive grace when judgment was long overdue, anyone can (1 Timothy 1:16)!

Another example is much more recent. Jeffrey Dahmer was one of the most notorious serial killers in American history. He was sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms for the rape, murder, and dismemberment of 17 males between 1978 and 1991. Some of the murders involved cannibalism. Yet he learned the truth and was baptized into Christ shortly before he was beaten to death on November 28, 1994. Below is an excerpt from Roy Ratcliff, the preacher who did the baptism:

“Nearly everyone raises the question about Jeff's sincerity. But I was there, and these questioners weren't…I cannot know the condition of another person's heart unless I listen to his or her words. I listened to Jeff's words, and I watched his eyes and his body language. I listened to the tone of his voice and observed his mannerisms, and I am convinced that he was totally sincere in his desire…Jeff had nothing to gain in this life by being baptized; he had everything to gain in the next life. He was baptized for the same reason anyone else is baptized. In the light of the Bible, he surveyed his life and concluded that he needed to be saved.”

If Paul was the “foremost” sinner of the first century (1 Timothy 1:15), Jeffrey Dahmer was certainly among the “foremost” sinners of the twentieth century. However, neither man was beyond the scope of God’s grace!

David once declared, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the sons of man that you care for him” (Psalm 8:3-4)? It is truly amazing to know that God is interested in us, as weak and wretched as we are, and that He cared enough to send His Son into the world to die as a sacrifice for sin. Who then are we to arbitrarily choose who is and is not “worthy” of such grace? If God extended His grace to all who will accept it, shouldn’t we do the same?

Jailhouse Rock

Back in 2012, a lifeguard named Tomas Lopez was on duty at a beach in Florida when someone rushed over to his post and said that a man had gone out too far and was drowning. Without hesitation, Lopez swam out and pulled the man to shore with the help of some other beachgoers. There, they gave the man CPR until paramedics arrived and he ended up surviving.

Rather than being heralded as a hero, however, Lopez was fired from his position. His company informed him that the drowning man was “out of the protected area” and said that anyone who swam there did so at their own risk. In other words, the dying man was not in Lopez’s jurisdiction. Two other lifeguards were also fired for saying that they would have done the exact same thing.

Penalized for doing good. Punished for helping another person. That was certainly something the apostle Paul could relate with. He too had been treated badly for doing good and would have known exactly how Lopez felt in that moment. Paul once helped someone get their life back by freeing them from a demon, yet he was severely persecuted for doing so. The incident is found in Acts 16.

“As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, ‘These men are servants of the Most-High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.’ And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And it came out that very hour” (Acts 16:16-18).

Paul and his friends (Silas, Timothy, and Luke) were in the city of Philippi working with a new congregation when a demon-possessed slave girl started following them around day after day. She kept shouting that they were servants of the Most-High God, who proclaim the way of salvation. Though what the girl said was true, it is probably not a good idea to have a demon endorsing your work. That would kind of be like having a staggering drunk with a bottle in his hand shouting, “These guys can make you sober.” Therefore, Paul finally let out a shout of his own. He turned around and said to the demon, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her,” and the spirit left her that very hour.

Think about the good that Paul just did for this girl. She was being held captive inside her own body by a demon. Her innocence and independence had been seized by an evil spirit. And now she got her life back. The nightmare she had been enduring for a long time was finally over. You would think this should be reason to rejoice, right? However, that wasn’t the case at all. Her masters were not celebrating, they were furious. That is because they were exploiting the girl’s problem for profit. They were making a lot money off her demon possession. All her greedy masters could think about was dollar signs disappearing. And as they say, “No good deed goes unpunished!”

“But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers” (Acts 16:19).

The love of money has a way of making people crazy. It can cause otherwise normal people to do things that are totally irrational (and almost insane), like chug an entire bottle of hot sauce or go streaking through the mall. I saw where people have sold advertising space on their bodies. For the right price, they’ll let you tattoo your website on a prominent part of their body, like their forehead or bald spot or bicep, for all to see. That’s how crazy the love of money can make people. A man named Mike Merrill went even further than that and sold “his life” to shareholders, who now get to make all his decisions for him (what he eats, who he dates, what kind of music he listens to in the car). They have literally bought the rights to his life!

The love of money had blinded this girl’s masters so badly that they could not see the good being done. It kept them from seeing that a person had been set free; liberated from the unspeakable horrors of demon-possession. All they could see was dollar signs going down the drain. One writer said, “It was almost as if the evil spirit, having been cast out of the slave girl, had entered into her owners and turned them into furious, raving beasts.” They seized Paul and Silas, dragging them into the marketplace to stand trial.

There is a sense of irony here. Before his conversion, Paul had been “dragging” off others to stand trial (Acts 8:3), but now he was the one being dragged off to stand trial. Why Timothy and Luke were not arrested with Paul and Silas is not stated.

They were taken to the marketplace. That was basically the city square. It was the social center of town where business of all sorts was conducted. — It was where the sick was treated, the unemployed waited for work, and the magistrates heard court cases. — This was the charge leveled against them:

“These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice” (Acts 16:20-21).

Rather than stating their real reason for the complaint, the girl’s masters came up with a charge that would arouse strong emotions among all the magistrates and any onlookers. It was sure to get everybody there fired up! First, they appealed to the people’s prejudice — “these men are Jews.” Anti-Jewish sentiment was high in Philippi and really throughout the whole Roman Empire. They were tolerated, but not very well-liked. Second, they appealed to the prime objective of Roman law — “they are disturbing our city.” More than anything else, the Romans wanted to keep the peace. They wanted to maintain order and have civil obedience at all costs; and they had very little patience for anyone making waves. And then finally, they appealed to civic pride — “they advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” This evoked the response they were hoping for. The fickle crowd rose up in a frenzy and demanded justice!

The magistrates immediately stripped Paul and Silas and had them beaten with rods. These rods were thick as a man’s thumb and would have left their backs bloody and bruised. Whereas the Jews were limited in the number of whippings they could administer, the Romans had no such restrictions. A prisoner could be beaten for as long and hard as the officials wanted. All the text says is they received “many” blows. — Was it 40? 60? 100?

This form of punishment was so brutal that Roman citizens were supposed to be exempt from it, and there are recorded cases of people dying from the beating. One writer said, “It was an experience not soon forgotten.”

Then the two missionaries were placed in “maximum security” in the local jail. This would have been a damp, dirty dungeon with little or no lighting infested with rodents. There was probably a musty smell in the air and blood stains on the floor. It would have been a terrible place to be.

If that were not bad enough, the text says their feet were fastened in stocks. This was a cruel move on the part of the jailer, for those stocks were not just to hold you in place; they were a form of torture. A prisoner’s legs were spread far apart and then locked tight. This left him in an awkward, uncomfortable position with no way to move or stretch out. You can imagine the cramping that must have set in as the hours slowly passed by.

If I were in their spot, I think I’d be having a pity party. I’d probably be saying to myself, “Why me? What have I done to deserve this?” — Here they were being punished for doing good; for helping somebody. They had been convicted on trumped up charges, brutally beaten in public, thrown into the inner-most part of the prison, and had their feet fastened in stocks. I mean who has ever heard of casting someone into jail for casting out a demon? — If that were me, I’d be singing the blues. These two men weren’t singing the blues, however, they were singing praises!

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened” (Acts 16:25-26).

There have been some pretty remarkable “coincidences” over the years. Some are almost too creepy to even believe, but they’re true. For instance, in 1974, a man died when his moped was hit by a taxi in Bermuda. One year later, his twin brother was riding that same moped when he was struck and killed by the same taxi, driven by the same person, and carrying the same passenger. Isn’t that creepy?

In 1950, a church exploded in the small town of Beatrice, Nebraska. The blast demolished the building, shattered windows in nearby houses, and forced a local radio station off the air. Choir practice was supposed to begin at 7:20 that night, five minutes before the explosion occurred. Yet none of the 15 members were injured because all of them were running late. That’s creepy!

Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy were both assassinated while in office. Both men were shot in the back of the head, on the Friday before a major holiday, while sitting beside their wives (neither of whom were injured). Moreover, they were both in the presence of another couple and each time the man with them was also wounded.

Lincoln and Kennedy were both succeeded by vice-presidents named “Johnson,” who were both born in the year “08.” Andrew Johnson was born in 1808 and Lyndon Johnson was born in 1908. Booth shot Lincoln in a theatre and fled to a warehouse, while Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and fled to a theatre. Both assassins were detained by officers named “Baker.” And finally, both assassins used 3 names (John Wilkes Booth / Lee Harvey Oswald) and each had 15 letters total in their name.

Those are certainly creepy coincidences. Almost too creepy to even believe. But what happened in the Philippian jail that night was no coincidence, it was providence. It was the deliberate work of God through natural means and circumstance to accomplish a purpose.

The earthquake was so powerful that it unlocked every single cell and unloosed every single chain holding the prisoners, and yet the roof didn’t collapse, the walls didn’t crumble, and there wasn’t the slightest injury to anyone. Do you see what I mean? This was God’s doing!

When the jailer awoke and saw the cells opened, he assumed everyone had escaped and was about to kill himself. That may seem drastic to us, but under Roman law he was as good as dead anyway. Jailers were held personally responsible for their prisoners. If they escaped, you were executed. And in that society, it was considered more honorable to take your own life than to let someone else take it. Just as he raised the sword, however, he was spared by a voice in the dark.

“But Paul cried with a loud voice, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.’ And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved’” (Acts 16:28-29)?

The jailer, who had probably already heard Paul and Silas witnessing in the jail, seems to have interpreted the earthquake as an act of God; and it compelled him to ask the most important question that anyone could ask — “What must I do to be saved?”

The missionaries told the jailer to believe in the Lord Jesus and then started sharing stories about their wonderful Savior. They probably recited how He was born of a virgin in Bethlehem, how He confounded the wise and healed the sick, how He was betrayed by a friend and crucified on a cross, and how He triumphantly conquered the grave on that third day. And in that very hour, the jailer and his family were baptized in water for the forgiveness of their sins. They did exactly what Jesus had said to do in Mark 16:16 — “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.”

The earthquake was not designed to deliver the prisoners, it was designed to deliver the jailer. That was the reason God made the “jailhouse rock!”

Perversions of Grace

Grace is a wonderful concept. It is the one word that sums up the theme of salvation given to us by God through Christ. However, there are those who pervert the truth about grace. Below are a few examples.

(1) Grace as a license to sin. This idea was apparently being promoted by false teachers in the early church. Jude speaks of those who “pervert the grace of our God into sensuality” (v. 4). However, grace trains us to “renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Titus 2:11-12). We must live in obedience to the law of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:21).

(2) Grace saves all. Some teach that grace will eventually result in the salvation of everyone. Universalists embrace this idea. However, grace must be coupled with faith to produce salvation (Ephesians 2:8). Not all will be saved (Matthew 7:13-14).

(3) Once in grace, always in grace. Some teach that a saved person cannot fall from grace. Calvinists embrace this idea. However, grace can be received “in vain” (2 Corinthians 6:1). It is possible to fall from grace (Galatians 5:4; Hebrews 3:12; 4:11).

(4) Treasury of Merit. Some teach that the good works of the saints can be transferred to the account of others, both living and dead. Catholics embrace this idea. However, nowhere does the Bible teach that God will extend grace by transferring the “merits” of one person to another.

Conclusion

It is impossible for man to save himself. He cannot work long enough, hard enough, or good enough to remove the guilt of sin and earn a home in heaven. He must rely on God’s grace. Though grace is a gift that is available to all, it is not accepted by all. If you have not experienced the “amazing grace” of God, you can do it through an obedient faith (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9-10).

I Beg Your Pardon

Governor Mike Beebe of Arkansas made headlines when he announced plans to pardon his son, who had been convicted of felony marijuana possession years earlier. Some agreed with the governor while others criticized him, but what stuck out to me was his comment to a Little Rock television station. Beebe said, “I would have done it a long time ago if he’d have asked, but he took his sweet time about asking.”

I imagine the father of the prodigal son would have said the same thing in Luke 15. If asked why he put the robe, ring, and shoes on his son and had the fattened calf killed for a celebration dinner, he would have probably said, “I would have done it a long time ago if he’d have returned, but he took his sweet time about returning.”

Let’s look at the parable.

“There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found’” (Luke 15:11-32).

The father in this parable represents God. He is the hero of the story. The prodigal son, who represents the tax collectors and sinners of verse 1, brought great disappointment to the father. He left home, squandered his portion of the inheritance in a foreign country, and ended up working in a pigpen. The average Jew would never work for Gentiles feeding unclean animals, but this boy did. He disgraced himself and the family. Yet when he came to his senses and returned home, the father was eager to receive him.

It must have been incredibly painful for the father to hear his son ask for his part of the inheritance; to see him pack his packs and leave; to know that he was far away in a foreign country. There must have been many sleepless nights, tossing and turning, as he thought about his boy. Though the father did not restrain his son or chase after him as he left, it broke his heart to see him go. And then it happened.

Grace Presented

When the father saw his son coming, he ran to meet him with open arms. He embraced him and kissed him. He then called for three items that were of great significance in the household — a robe, a ring, and shoes. Servants did not wear these things, sons did. They were privileged possessions for privileged people. He also ordered the fattened calf to be killed for a celebration dinner. It was time to party!

The prodigal son did not deserve a party. A lashing, maybe. A lecture, certainly. But not a party. He knew that (vv. 18-19) as did the older brother (vv. 28-30). His reckless behavior was simply inexcusable. After all, how dare he demand his part of the inheritance while the father still lived? How dare he go off and blow the money on loose living in a foreign country? How dare he come back now with nothing to show for himself? He deserved banishment, not a banquet! He should be sentenced, not celebrated! But that’s the point. God is willing to extend grace to even the worst sinners when they seek it. It is not based on their merit, but on His mercy.

The father could have put his son on some sort of probation. That alone would have been more than he deserved and a remarkable demonstration of grace. But probation never crossed his mind. He immediately issued a full pardon.

While the first two parables of Luke 15 emphasize God’s part in the salvation process, actively seeking the lost, the last parable emphasizes man’s part of the process. The son had to humble himself and come home. He had to repent and seek reconciliation. If he had not done that, he would have never benefited from his father’s grace. And so it is with us. God will do His part, but we must do our part.

Grace Resented

Though the father is the hero and the younger son garners much of the attention, the main focus of the parable is the older son. He represents the Pharisees and scribes of verse 2, who grumbled that Jesus “receives sinners and eats with them.” His self-righteousness was their self-righteousness. His heartlessness was their heartlessness. His criticism was their criticism. Rather than rejoicing in his brother’s return, he was resentful. All he could think about was how much “better” he had been than his shameful sibling.

The older son argued on merit. He was keeping score. He reminded his father that he had “served” longer and “never disobeyed.” Since he had put in more time, exerted more energy, done more good, and been more reliable than his brother, he felt that the party should be for him. He earned it. This was the mindset of many Pharisees and scribes (Luke 18:11-12).

This begs an important question: Which sin was greater? Was the outward action of the younger son more egregious than the inward attitude of the older son? Are sins of the flesh worse than sins of the heart? The older son was guilty of harboring animosity, jealousy, and pride. He was self-righteous and stubborn. The only person he could speak to peaceably was the servant!

Pigpen of Sin

The prodigal son went from living “high on the hog” to feeding them. He was dirty, deserted, dejected, and debased. This pitiful condition epitomizes the state of sinners before they come to God. They are far away and wallowing in a pigpen of sin. They are filthy and famishing. Their only hope is to repent and seek reconciliation. The good news is that God waits eagerly to receive them when they do.

Conclusion

The prodigal son had his speech prepared. He no doubt recited it countless times on the way home. It was locked and loaded. “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” Yet before he could even finish those three sentences, he was interrupted. The father had heard enough. It was time to celebrate. I just wonder if the father ever said, “I would have done it a long time ago if you’d returned, but you took your sweet time about returning.”

The Best Man

We do not know the bride’s name, the groom’s name, or the story of how they met. We are not told if it was love at first sight, or if it was a friendship that gradually developed into something more. There is no mention of how long they dated, or how he popped the question, or who presided over the ceremony. It was an occasion couched in obscurity. Yet this “wedding of unknowns” has become the most-known wedding of all time. Kim and Kanye’s might have had star power, but this one had divine power!

The account of this wedding is in John 2:1-11.

“On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.’ So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.”

According to Guinness World Records, the largest wedding reception of all time took place on September 7, 1995, in India. It was hosted by an actress turned politician for her foster son. There were over 150,000 guests at a cost of more than 23 million US dollars.

My wedding reception was just a little bit smaller than that. Jill and I got married in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and our reception was at the very classy and elegant Golden Corral. — We had uniformed servants, several different meat selections, and an endless supply of desserts. — It was quite impressive.

The wedding reception in Cana probably took place at a private residence and included most of the community. And it would have lasted much longer than wedding receptions today. They usually went for about a week. William Barclay wrote,

“The wedding festivities lasted far more than one day. The wedding ceremony itself took place late in the evening, after a feast. After the ceremony the young couple were conducted to their new home. By that time it was dark and they were conducted through the village streets by the light of flaming torches and with a canopy over their heads. They were taken by as long a route as possible so that as many people as possible would have the opportunity to wish them well. But a newly married couple did not go away for their honeymoon; they stayed home; and for a week they kept open house” (The Gospel of John, Vol. 1).

So unlike today, the married couple in that society did not go on a honeymoon. They instead went home and entertained for a week. Among the guests in Cana were Jesus, His disciples, and His mother Mary. In fact, Mary seems to have been more than just a guest. It appears that she was in charge of managing the affairs, since she was notified of the wine shortage and felt free to order the servants around. There is no mention of Joseph.

Though Jesus never married, His presence at the wedding reception shows that He approved of the practice. His attitude was different than that of the Essenes, a prominent first-century sect, who disdained marriage. Jesus knew that God Himself instituted marriage in the beginning for man’s benefit, and that what the Psalmist said was true,

“He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord” (Psalm 18:22).

I think it’s safe to say that people’s perception of marriage is diminishing. Many view marriage like a hot bath — “once you get used to it, it’s not so hot.” To them, marriage is not a word, it’s a sentence. I saw a joke that said, “Marriage is when a man loses his bachelor’s degree and a woman gets her master’s degree.” But the truth is, when marriage is done right, it is a great blessing. It truly is a gift from God. And wise is the couple who invites Jesus to their wedding!

Jesus was not a social recluse. He was not someone who withdrew from society and kept to Himself. Our Lord was a “people-person” who enjoyed mingling with others. He attended dinner parties at Levi’s house (Luke 5), Simon’s house (Luke 7), Martha and Mary’s house (John 12), and more. As Matthew 11:19 says, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking.” Though He was not of the world, He was certainly in the world. It should not surprise us that He would be at a wedding reception.

Marriage Musings

There are a lot of “phobias” out there. Some are more common than others. You have “acrophobia” (the fear of heights), “glossophobia” (the fear of public speaking), and “ophidiophobia” (the fear of snakes). Then you have less common phobias, like “carnophobia” (the fear of meat), “chirophobia” (the fear of hands), “cyclophobia” (the fear of bicycles), “macrophobia” (the fear of long waits), and one I suffered with in school — “bibliophobia” (the fear of books).

Did you know that there is a phobia of marriage? It is called “gamophobia.” It is the fear of getting married or being in a relationship. There is also a phobia of not being in a relationship. It is called “anuptaphobia.” Here are a few more tidbits about marriage that you might find interesting.

• The first recorded occurrence of a diamond engagement ring was in 1477, when the archduke Maximilian of Austria gave one to his fiancée, Mary of Burgundy. The diamonds were in the shape of her first initial “M.”

• Wedding and engagement rings have been worn on the fourth finger of the left hand since ancient times. Do you know why? It was thought that a vein in this particular finger led directly to the heart.

• The white wedding dress started with Queen Victoria in 1840. Before then, brides just wore their best dress. Among the most popular colors in Europe was red.

• The tradition of a wedding cake comes from ancient Rome, where guests broke a loaf of bread over the bride’s head for fertility’s sake.

• The tradition of a bride carrying a bouquet goes back to the 15th century, and was actually to mask the smell of body odor in a time when people did not bathe regularly. Most people bathed in May, but did not get married until June.

• The term “honeymoon” is thought to have come from a Babylonian practice of drinking an endless supply of honey beer for a month after the wedding. It was referred to as “honey month,” which led to “honeymoon.”

Here are a few “more-modern” facts.

• About 300 couples marry in Las Vegas every day.

• Manhattan is the most expensive place to get married in the United States. The average wedding costs almost $80,000.

• 75% of people who marry partners after an affair eventually divorce.

• A 99-year-old man divorced his 96-year-old wife after 77 years of marriage because he discovered an affair she had in the 1940s.

Wine Shortage

We are not given many details about this particular wedding reception. There was probably a lot of small talk and laughing and horseplay. I don’t know what the first century version of the Electric Slide or YMCA was, but you can imagine the guests doing stuff like that. It was a celebration! There may have been speeches and toasts. All we know for sure is that there was wine, and at some point, the wine ran out.

A wine shortage may not sound like a big deal today, but it was a huge issue in that society. The groom’s family was responsible for the refreshments, and to run out of wine during the festivities was socially disgraceful. It would bring the family a lot of shame and embarrassment, and they could even be subject to a fine.

I want you to imagine arriving at a wedding reception and being told, “I’m sorry, but we ran out of seats. You’ll have to stand.” Or, “We would offer you something to drink, but we didn’t buy enough cups.” That wouldn’t reflect very well on the hosts, would it? In fact, the second the car door closed the criticism would probably commence, right? — “Can you believe that? What an awful party. Who runs out of seats at a reception? Didn’t they count how many people were coming?” — A wine shortage in the first century was even worse.

Mary, the Lord’s mother, was notified of the problem and immediately turned to Jesus. She came to Him in a panic and said, “They have no wine.” I don’t think she knew what Jesus would do, but she knew He would do something. He then instructed the servants to fill six large stone jars with water and take some to the master of the feast. By the time he took a drink, the water had become great-tasting wine. He even commented to the bridegroom, “You have kept the best wine until now!”

There is an important lesson for us to learn from the way Mary handled this potential crisis. When the problem arose, she immediately went to the Lord about it. — She did not just wait around hoping things might improve on their own; she did not think the matter was “too trivial” to seek help; and she did not try to rely on her own ability. — She trusted completely in Jesus to handle it.

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7, NLT).

Jesus did not have to save the day. It was not His party or His problem. Yet He knew that a family’s reputation was at stake. He knew that the newly-weds happy affair was in danger of a cultural catastrophe. Therefore, Jesus did what seemed impossible. He turned large jars of water into wine. That’s grace. And it was the best-tasting wine ever! More grace.

Jesus saved a family from embarrassment. He didn’t say to Himself, “You know what, this is a good lesson for them. They should have planned better and not tried to skimp on the refreshments.” He just tried to shield them from shame. In that sense, Jesus was a lot like His earthly father Joseph. When Joseph discovered that his fiancée was pregnant by what he assumed was another man, he treated her graciously and tried to ease the embarrassment.

“And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19).

Do we exhibit that same grace toward those in a bind? Do we try to ease their embarrassment or do we add to it? — The person struggling with addiction? The teenager who makes a mistake and turns up pregnant? The foreigner who struggles to speak proper English? The teammate who strikes out and costs you the game? The classmate who is constantly teased because his parents can’t afford to buy him nice clothes? The awkward co-worker who struggles to fit in? — Do we ease their embarrassment or do we add to it?

Vertical grace is dependent upon horizontal grace. If we want God to be gracious to us, we must be gracious to one another. James made that very point about a similar quality — mercy. He wrote,

“There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you” (James 2:13, NLT).

Two men worked on a large ship. One day, the mate who normally did not drink became intoxicated. The captain seized on the opportunity to harm the mate’s reputation by writing in the daily log, “Mate drunk today.” The mate was aware of his evil intent and begged him to change the record. The captain replied, “It’s a fact and into the log it goes.” A few days later, the mate was keeping the log and wrote, “Captain sober today.” Realizing the implications of this statement, the captain asked that it be removed. The mate answered, “It’s a fact and in the log it stays.” — Those who do not give grace will not get grace!

What if you were at that wedding reception in Cana and knew of the wine shortage? How would you have reacted? Would you have made matters worse with your sneering or snickering? Would you have rolled your eyes and walked out? Or, would you have tried to help? If Jesus were not there to save the day, would you have stood up and said, “You know what? I didn’t need wine anyway. This is no big deal; we can still have a good time. I’ll have some water, please!” — I guess what I’m asking is, “Would you have shown enough grace to overshadow their perceived disgrace? Would that have even crossed your mind?

This miracle is not about a wedding. It is not about wine, either. It is about grace. It is about the Son of God going out of His way to help someone in need. And I am certain that His act of grace had a transformational impact on their lives.

Closing

Jesus did not perform His first miracle in a public setting at Jerusalem, but in a private setting at Cana. Nor did He call for everyone’s attention by tapping His fork against a glass or standing up on a chair. There was no fanfare at all. He just quietly met the need of a frightened family. That’s grace. He was certainly the “best man” that day!

Rich in Grace

There have been some impressive examples of self-sacrifice. For instance, Jordan Rice was thirteen and unable to swim when his family became trapped in a car by flood waters. When crews arrived and tried to rescue Jordan, he told them to help his younger brother first. Jordan’s brother was saved just before a wall of water swept Jordan and his mother away.

Arland Williams was a passenger on Air Florida Flight 90, which crashed into freezing waters in the middle of a snowstorm. When a rescue helicopter arrived and threw him a life line, he immediately gave it to another passenger. When the helicopter came back, Arland did the same thing again and again. When the helicopter returned a final time, Arland was dead. He had used his last ounce of energy to save a stranger.

Jesus Garcia was a railroad brakeman in Mexico. On November 7, 1907, he noticed that some hay on the roof of a boxcar containing dynamite had caught fire. He drove the train at full-steam out of town before the dynamite exploded, killing him but sparing many people. He is now revered as a national hero.

Four chaplains who were aboard a troop transport ship that was hit by a submarine’s torpedo quickly rallied together and began handing out life jackets and directing people to safety. When the life jackets ran out, they selflessly gave away their own. Then the four men linked arms and sang as the ship sank.

Even dogs have left some impressive examples of self-sacrifice. When a drunken man fell asleep on a train track in Kazakhstan, his four-legged-friend pushed, pulled, and nudged him off the tracks just as a train struck and killed the dog.

These examples and many others, like a soldier jumping on a grenade to save fellow troops or a boyfriend taking a bullet for his girlfriend, are all admirable and praiseworthy. However, no story of self-sacrifice in the history of the world is more impressive than that of Jesus Christ. It was planned longer, rings louder, and looms larger than all of the others. In fact, His sacrifice was so great that few people, even Christians, really appreciate its many facets.

The Supreme Sacrifice

The sacrifice of Christ did not begin on the cross, or in the garden, or in the manger. It began in heaven when He laid aside His glory and consented to come to earth. He left the abode of God for the abode of man and exchanged exaltation for humiliation, magnitude for servitude, a radiant crown for a rugged cross, and a hallowed throne for a hollowed tomb. And it was all for us!

Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 8:9:

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”

Isn’t that a wonderful thought? Christ was rich and then became poor so we could become rich. But what exactly does that mean? Perhaps we have a divine commentary in Philippians 2:6-8:

“Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Notice that Christ “was in the form of God” and had “equality with God.” It is in this sense that He was rich. He shared in all the glory and majesty of Godhood (John 17:5) before coming to earth. Then we see that Christ “made himself nothing,” “took the form of a servant,” “was born in the likeness of men,” and “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross.” It is in this sense that He became poor. And why did He do it? So that we might become rich spiritually (Ephesians 1:3).

Paul refers to this great sacrifice as “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” in the Corinthians text. That is because it was undeserved kindness on His part. He acted freely and favorably toward unworthy inferiors. He didn’t have to become poor for us, He chose to do it. He chose to walk the dusty streets of earth so we could walk the golden streets of heaven. He chose to wear a crown of thorns on His head so we could wear a crown of righteousness on our head. He chose to die physically so we could live spiritually. His grace is our gain!

DisGRACED

The culmination of the Lord’s great sacrifice was, of course, the cross. He suffered the most brutal and torturous form of execution in the Roman Empire. In fact, it was so severe that Roman citizens were exempt from it. Only the most degraded offenders, like insurrectionists and slaves, were subjects of crucifixion. Before looking at the cross, however, let’s first consider the horrific punishment that preceded it — scourging. Below is an excerpt from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia:

“It consisted of a handle, to which several cords or leather thongs were affixed, which were weighted with jagged pieces of bone or metal, to make the blow more painful and effective…The victim was tied to a post (Acts 22 25) and the blows were applied to the back and loins, sometimes even, in the wanton cruelty of the executioner, to the face and the bowels. In the tense position of the body, the effect can easily be imagined. So hideous was the punishment that the victim usually fainted and not rarely died under it" (Vol. 4, p. 2704).

Eusebius adds to this graphic image in his writings:

“For they say that the bystanders were struck with amazement when they saw them lacerated with scourges even to the innermost veins and arteries, so that the hidden inward parts of the body, both their bowels and their members, were exposed to view” (4:15, p. 122).

Then Christ faced the nails. He was taken outside the city and crucified for all to see. His hands and feet were pierced (Psalm 22:16). Below is another excerpt from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia:

“The suffering of death by crucifixion was intense, esp. in hot climates. Severe local inflammation, coupled with an insignificant bleeding of the jagged wounds, produced traumatic fever, which was aggravated by the exposure to the heat of the sun, the strained position of the body and insufferable thirst. The wounds swelled about the rough nails and the torn and lacerated tendons and nerves caused excruciating agony. The arteries of the head and stomach were surcharged with blood and a terrific throbbing headache ensued. The mind was confused and filled with anxiety and dread foreboding. The victim of crucifixion literally died a thousand deaths. Tetanus not rarely supervened and the rigors of the attending convulsions would tear at the wounds and add to the burden of pain, till at last the bodily forces were exhausted and the victim sank into unconsciousness and death” (Vol. 2, p. 761).

The high cost of a free gift!

Jesus did not have to do it. He chose to do it. His great sacrifice, which started in heaven and culminated on the cross, brought hope to the hopeless and life to the lifeless. It did for us what we could not have done for ourselves. It made us rich in grace!

Grace at a Party

Jesus went to many dinner parties in Scripture. On one occasion, in Luke 7, He was invited into the home of a Pharisee. As they were eating, a woman with a sinful reputation entered and began crying. She got down on her knees and wiped the Lord’s feet with her hair. The Pharisee was utterly offended by this behavior. He was absolutely appalled. In his mind, she was crossing many lines: she was a woman, she was a sinner, she was uninvited, she interrupted, and she let down her hair in public.

The Pharisee could hardly believe that the woman would act this way, or that Jesus would accept it. However, Jesus commended the woman and rebuked the Pharisee. That is because her tears were tears of affection for Him and tears of affliction for sin. My question is, where are our tears?

Just Say "No"

“The Top Tens” website came out with a list of the best decades to live in since 1900. Can you guess which one topped the list? The 1980s. When I think about that decade, things like acid wash jeans, cassette mixtapes, and Nintendo come to mind. I also think about the great movies of that time, like Top Gun, Crocodile Dundee, and Beverly Hills Cop. There was the tragic shuttle explosion in 1986 and the powerful “Tear Down This Wall” speech by President Reagan a year later. However, one of the things I remember most, probably because of my age at the time, was Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign against drugs. She traveled the country, flooded the airwaves, and partnered with countless celebrities to repeat one simple word — NO!

“Just Say No” would have been an appropriate slogan for the Pharisees in the first century, but for an entirely different reason. These men were strict Jews who thought very highly of themselves and were constantly finding fault in others. They considered just about everything to be a sin. Therefore, they engaged in their own kind of “Just Say No” campaign.

The Pharisees were obsessed with keeping the “traditions of the elders” (a set of oral instructions that had been compiled over the generations). These traditions were very cumbersome, going beyond the Word of God and adding to the Word of God. Yet the Pharisees believed these traditions were a requirement that had to be observed by all the Jews. To them, violating a tradition was equivalent to violating the law itself. This was especially evident when it came to the Sabbath.

Though the old law prohibited working on the Sabbath, it did not go into much detail about the work itself. However, traditions were developed over time that attempted to list exactly what could and could not be done. This resulted in 39 different categories of “forbidden labor.” For instance, you could not take a bath because water might spill on the floor and wash it. You could not swat a fly because killing it would be slaughtering. You could not drag a chair across the dirt because it might make a rut, which would be plowing. Washing, slaughtering, and plowing were all categories of forbidden labor.

You could not climb a tree because a leaf might accidently fall off and make one guilty of reaping. You could not wear false teeth because if they were to fall out and be picked back up, the person would be guilty of carrying a burden. A woman could not even look at her reflection because she might see a gray hair and try to pluck it out, which would be working. Other forbidden labor included tying or untying a knot, washing or drying clothes, lighting or extinguishing a fire, and separating good fruit from spoiled fruit.

If a hen laid an egg on the Sabbath, you could not eat it because the hen had worked. If reaching for food when the Sabbath began, the food had to be dropped on the floor. Cold water could be poured into warm water, but not warm water into cold water. And something lifted up in a private place could only be put down in a public place (and vice versa).

Interestingly, many of their traditions had convenient “loopholes.” For instance, you could not take the saddle off a donkey. However, you could unloose the saddle and let it fall to the ground on its own. You could not carry clothes out of a burning house. However, you could put on several layers of clothes and wear them out of the house. You could not travel more than 3,000 feet from home. However, if you placed food at that precise point before the Sabbath, you could travel another 3,000 feet because the food was considered an extension of the home.

When it came to medical treatment, their tradition said that only lifesaving measures could be taken. You could prevent death, but not do anything to improve health. This is why Jesus caused such a stir for healing on the Sabbath.

Obviously, these traditions were way over the top. They bound where God had not bound, put an enormous burden on the Jewish people, and changed the focus of the Sabbath from a day of “rest” to a day of “restrictions.” Therefore, Jesus was very antagonistic toward what He called “the traditions of men” (Mark 7:8).

Instances of Opposition

Below are three instances in the gospel accounts where Pharisees (and other Jewish leaders) tried to bind their traditions on Jesus and His associates.

In Matthew 12, some Pharisees accused the disciples of violating the law for eating grain on the Sabbath. The charge would have included reaping (for picking the grain), threshing (for rubbing the grain), and winnowing (for blowing off the chaff).

In John 5, some Pharisees accused a man Jesus healed of violating the law for taking up his bed on the Sabbath. The charge would have included carrying a burden (for holding the mat).

In John 9, some Pharisees accused Jesus of violating the law for using saliva to make mud on the Sabbath. The charge would have included kneading (for making clay out of spit and dirt) and rendering nonvital treatment to someone. Their tradition only allowed treatments to prevent death, not to improve health.

Perhaps the most well-known clash Jesus had with the Jewish leaders over tradition involved handwashing as is recorded in Matthew 15 and Mark 7. In that text, the disciples were accused of eating with defiled hands because they did not wash first. (This was not a matter of hygiene but of ritual. It was a ceremonial rinsing for the purpose of removing any possible contamination, like having contact with a Gentile). The Jewish leaders took this very seriously. Some rabbis taught that a certain demon could enter the body through unwashed hands while others said the act of washing assured eternal life. One imprisoned rabbi would use the little water he was given to wash his hands rather than drinking it because he thought it was better to perish than to transgress the tradition. He nearly died of thirst.

The ceremonial rinsing had very rigid requirements. It was to be done before every meal and between each of the courses. The water had to be kept in special stone jars that could not be used for any other purpose. First, the hands had to be held with fingertips pointing upwards so the water could run down to the wrist. After each hand was cleansed with the fist of the other, the procedure was repeated but with the fingertips pointing downwards. Then and only then was the person considered clean.

Jesus used this confrontation to expose the Pharisees’ hypocrisy and accused them of teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. This shows just how strongly Jesus felt about binding where God has not bound.

Application for Today

The Pharisees thought they were just being “conservative,” but they were really being extreme. In their zeal to do right, they became obsessed with manmade traditions and found fault in anyone who did not adhere to them. They became the “Just Say No” crowd of the first century.

Sadly, some Christians fall into that same trap today. In their desire to do right, they fail to distinguish between truth and tradition, which inevitably leads them to oppose many things that are not wrong. For instance, some oppose displaying the cross on church buildings or pendants, using modern translations of the Bible, singing contemporary hymns in worship, wearing casual attire at services, celebrating religious holidays, and designating a minister’s area of work (youth, family, worship, etc). None of those things are a violation of truth, they just go against long-held traditions.

May God help us to keep manmade traditions in their proper place. They are not equivalent to God’s Word and should not be viewed as such. Nor should we impose them on others. We do not want to be the “Just Say No” crowd of the 21st century!

Celebration of Grace

The holiday season has arrived. Joy is in the air. This is the time of year when many people hang lights, buy gifts, send cards, and celebrate with loved ones. It is a magical moment where the great taste of cookies and the bad taste of reindeer sweaters co-exist in perfect harmony. A true Christmas miracle!

The thought of what takes place at many Christmas parties — the laughter, the music, the food — reminds me of a celebration in Scripture. It was a truly festive affair. However, it was for the last person you would expect, the prodigal son!

The prodigal son did not deserve a party. A lashing, maybe. A lecture, certainly. But not a party. His reckless behavior was simply inexcusable. After all, how dare he demand his part of the inheritance while his father still lived? How dare he go off and blow the money on loose living in a foreign country? How dare he come back now with nothing to show for himself? He deserved banishment, not a banquet! He should be sentenced, not celebrated! But that’s the point. God is willing to extend grace to even the worst sinners when they seek it. It is not based on their merit, but on His mercy.

The father was ready and willing to receive his son. However, it was up to the son to repent and seek reconciliation. If he had not done that, he would have never benefited from his father’s grace. And so it is with us. God will do His part, but we must do our part.

Christmas & Easter

Though Christmas and Easter are commonly regarded as the two most important holidays of Christianity, they have been a source of controversy among members of the Lord’s church. Since these holidays originated with men and are not commanded in Scripture, we have had sharp disagreements on how they should be viewed. Some members ignore the two holidays altogether, others treat them as strictly secular holidays, and still others use them to celebrate the birth and resurrection of our Savior. For a long time, I found the first two options acceptable but strongly opposed the last one. I just did not believe we could observe religious holidays that were not specifically commanded by God. However, I have since changed my position.

As with every position I take, this has nothing to do with personal preference or popular opinion. I am not seeking to please myself or others; I am simply trying to be consistent with the Scriptures. Wherever they lead me is exactly where I want to stand regardless of the consequences.

Dedication & Purim

One reason I changed my position on celebrating (manmade) religious holidays is because Jesus did so. He took part in such observances and never expressed concerns about their right to exist.

The “Feast of Dedication” was a Jewish holiday that came about during the intertestamental period. It commemorated the cleansing and rededication of the temple by Judas Maccabaeus after it had been defiled by Greek oppressors. (The desecration included sacrificing pigs on the altar to pagan gods). This feast was also called the “Feast of Lights” because the Jews would light lamps to honor the occasion. Today, it is called “Hanukkah.”

The “Feast of Dedication” was a religious holiday that did not originate with God. When He revealed the various feasts that Jews were to observe, this was not one of them. It came about of the people’s own volition during the four hundred years of divine silence between Malachi and Matthew. Yet Jesus participated in this holiday without reservation (John 10:22-23).

The Lord’s presence at the “Feast of “Dedication,” along with the fact that neither He nor the writer John raised any objections to it, is strong evidence that it is okay to keep such holidays. Moreover, it is likely that the feast Jesus observed in John 5:1 was the “Feast of Purim,” which was another religious holiday that did not originate with God. It was instituted by Mordecai to commemorate Jewish deliverance from attempted genocide by the Persians (Esther 9:26-28). Hence, we have examples of Jesus doing the very thing some brethren take issue with today. The feasts of Dedication and Purim were no different than Christmas and Easter in terms of their origin; they both came about by mere men. Yet our Lord had no problem observing them.

The Jews knew that the feasts of Dedication and Purim were not divinely mandated, but that did not stop them from creating and observing those holidays to honor God. Nor did it keep Jesus from participating in them during His time on earth. Why then would we oppose parallel holidays today?

I find it interesting that when the establishment of Purim was recorded in Esther, the inspired writer did not offer any words of condemnation. He never added “and this was a sin” or “in violation of the law.” It seems apparent that he saw the creation of a new holiday to honor God as a good thing and had no reservations about it at all.

Romans 14

Another reason I changed my position comes from Paul. In his letter to the Romans, he gave approval for brethren to observe “special days” that they regarded as being religiously significant. He said they could keep those days according to their own convictions and should not be condemned by others for doing so (Romans 14:5-10). Whether it be Passover in the first century or Christmas and Easter in the twenty-first century, the application is the same — individuals who choose to observe these days are to be accepted. The only qualifier given is that the observance be done “in honor of the Lord.”

While it is true that Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus every week, that does not preclude a special celebration annually. If they want to do that in honor of the Lord, Paul clearly says we are not to pass judgment on them. The only way this could become wrong is if they bind such observances on others or teach that they are somehow required to be right with God (Galatians 4:10-11).

Conclusion

Since Jesus observed the (manmade) religious holidays of His day and Paul permitted Christians to keep whatever "holy" days they want so long as they honor of the Lord, how can we possibly say it is wrong for individuals to celebrate Christmas and Easter? They have every right to do that. In fact, the only one in sin is the brother who refuses to accept them.

King of Grace

At first, Tina Dwyer of North Carolina thought it was a scam. The letter said that her $615 debt to Everest College was forgiven. “You no longer owe the balance of this particular debt,” it read. “It is gone.” But it was not a scam. A non-profit debt buyer called “Rolling Jubilee” really had bought and then forgiven her debt. And she was not alone. The group claims that it has forgiven $18.5 million in debts.

Wouldn’t it be great to open a letter stating that someone had forgiven your debt? — No more car note, medical bills, student loans, credit card balances, mortgage payments, or whatever the debt might be. To be told you now owe zero, zip, zilch, nada. It’s gone. — I don’t think words could express the joy that news would bring to most people.

Jesus once told a story of a man who had accumulated a debt so large it could never be paid back and then it was forgiven. It is commonly called the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.

Let’s look at the parable.

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:23-35).

The king in this parable is God. The debt is sin. The debtor who owed much is us. The debtor who owed little is anyone who sins against us. The unending punishment is hell. The parable was prompted by Peter’s question about forgiveness (v. 21) and is designed to teach that those who have been forgiven by God must forgive others (Matthew 6:14-15). However, it is the grandeur of God’s grace that I want to emphasize.

Grace Retained

A man owed a king ten thousand talents. Some translations say “millions of dollars.” This was a staggering debt, especially when one considers that the combined annual revenue of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea was six hundred talents. It would have taken him multiple lifetimes and then some to pay back that amount of money.

Since the man could not possibly pay back what he owed, the king ordered for him, his family, and all that he had to be sold. This was a common practice among Gentiles in the first century. The Law of Moses also allowed for men to be sold in certain circumstances (Leviticus 25:39).

As one might expect, the man was devastated. He was about to lose everything. His whole world hung in the balance. Therefore, he fell upon his knees and begged for the king to have patience. He promised to pay back everything, though such was not possible to do. In a remarkable display of grace, the king released the man and forgave his debt. There was no payment plan, probationary period, or alternative penalty imposed. It was gone!

Unlike a bank that may give you a grace period, this was “Grace, Period.” The king acted freely and favorably toward one who did not deserve it. He was under no obligation to forgive the debt and had every right to demand payment. This was solely an act of unmerited favor.

Grace Restrained

Shortly after leaving the king’s chamber, the man ran into someone who owed him a hundred denarii. Some translations say “hundreds of dollars.” Regardless of the exact amount, it was nothing compared to what he had just been forgiven. The man chocked him and screamed, “Pay what you owe!” He even had him thrown into prison, despite his plea for patience and promise to pay back what he owed. When the other servants saw this, they went and told the king. He was furious.

The king immediately summoned the man back into his chamber and rebuked him for being merciless after having received mercy himself. He then handed him over to the jailors, or torturers, until the debt was paid.

All of us had accumulated a great debt (Romans 3:23). We owed an astronomical amount that we were incapable of ever paying off. There was no way to work long enough, hard enough, or good enough to get out from under this burden. Yet God demonstrated His grace toward us by forgiving that debt. He did what no one else could do or would do.

It is important for us to realize that we were all “multi-million dollar sinners.” Regardless of the nature or extent of our transgressions, the diagnosis, prognosis, and required sacrifice were the same. Until we appreciate that fact, grace will never reach its full potential in our hearts and lives. We must know how far we fell to truly appreciate how far we have come.

Conclusion

Tina Dwyer was being hounded with calls and letters to pay off her $615 debt to Everest College. Then one day she received a letter saying it was gone. She no longer owed the balance. It was forgiven. We too have been forgiven of a debt, but it was far greater than what Tina owed. Let us praise the King of Grace for His exceeding kindness and imitate His actions in our dealings with others. With great grace comes great responsibility!

Ants in Your Pants

Paul Railton of Consett, England, was fined and barred from driving for six months after a cyclist witnessed him "walking" his dog while driving. Railton was holding the leash out the car window as he drove slowly down the street. Though he pled guilty to the charge of "not being in proper control of a vehicle," the real crime was sloth.

"Sloth" is laziness. It can denote either inactivity or sluggishness in the performance of a task. Words like "apathy," "idleness," "indifference," and "lethargy" are often associated with sloth. A slothful person delays work and does not complete work already begun. He lives by the saying, "Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow." He cuts corners and looks for the easy way out.

A slothful person asks someone else to change the channel, walks by an overflowing trash can without emptying it, drinks straight from the milk carton, coughs without covering his mouth, daydreams with a deadline approaching, doesn't flush the toilet, never uses a blinker, hides from the boss, cheats on tests, and arrives late to appointments. He walks a dog while driving.

The Bible has a lot to say about sloth, especially in the book of Proverbs. The writer frequently condemns the "sluggard" (ESV) or "slacker" (HCSB). Young's Literal Translation uses the word "slothful:"

"As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the slothful to those sending him" (10:26).

"The soul of the slothful is desiring, and hath not. And the soul of the diligent is made fat" (13:4).

"The way of the slothful is as a hedge of briers, and the path of the upright is raised up" (15:19).

"The slothful hath hidden his hand in a dish, even unto his mouth he bringeth it not back" (19:24).

"Because of winter the slothful plougheth not, he asketh in harvest, and there is nothing" (20:4).

"The desire of the slothful slayeth him, for his hands have refused to work" (21:25).

"The slothful hath said, 'A lion is without, in the midst of the broad places I am slain'" (22:13).

"The door turneth round on its hinge, and the slothful on his bed" (26:14).

"Wiser is the slothful in his own eyes, than seven men returning a reason" (26:16).

The above verses describe the slothful person as an aggravating, unmotivated, excuse-filled, self-conceited drain on society. He is a disgrace to himself and his Creator. He will rust out long before he will wear out! This is the opposite of what Christians are to be. We are to be energetic and hardworking people (Colossians 3:22-24) who use our time wisely (Colossians 4:5).

God has always required man to work. It was expected of Adam in the garden (Genesis 2:15) and of Israel in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:9). In fact, there was a saying that developed among the Jews, "He who does not teach his son a trade, teaches him to steal." It is no wonder then that Jesus worked as a carpenter (Mark 6:3) and Paul worked as a tentmaker (Acts 18:3).

Christians who were unwilling to work were disciplined in the early church. Paul said to "keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness" and "have nothing to do with him" (2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14). He also taught that those who would not work should not eat (v. 10) and that those who do not provide for their families are worse than unbelievers (1 Timothy 5:8). This emphasizes just how important it is for Christians to have a strong work ethic.

Ants in Your Pants

Ants are amazing creatures. They are found on every continent except Antarctica. They have the largest brain among insects; they have a second stomach to store food for other ants; they can communicate with one another through chemicals known as "pheromones;" they can farm smaller insects; and they can enslave other ants. Some ants are capable of carrying objects 50 times their own body weight. (The dung beetle can lift 1,000 times its own weight). Ants move an estimated 50 tons of soil per year in one square mile. They are tiny yet industrious creatures.

In Proverbs 6, the slothful person is urged to consider the ants and learn from their ways.

"Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber" (vv. 6-11, NLT).

Ants are diligent. They work hard without having to be overseen. They do not procrastinate or piddle around. They are astute, energized, and motivated to do their tasks. Therefore, the writer of Proverbs says to the slothful person, "Get some ants in your pants!"

Conclusion

An old man and his wife were sitting in front of the fireplace one evening when she said, "Jed, I think it's raining. Get up and see." The old man continued to gaze into the fire for a while and then replied, "Why don't we just call in the dog and see if he's wet?" Sadly, that same slothful attitude characterizes many in our society. They are stuck in neutral. They have no drive in their lives. However, it should never characterize members of the Lord's church. Slothfulness is sinfulness (Matthew 25:26-30).

Master of Grace

A Bible class teacher told her students about the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector in Luke 18. She explained how the Pharisee was acting self-righteously when he prayed, “God, thank you that I am not like the tax collector.” She then asked a little boy to close in prayer. He bowed his head and said, “God, thank you that I am not like the Pharisee.”

Who among us cannot relate with that little boy? The one who says he can’t just did. Though we may not intend to look down on others and act self-righteously, it just happens sometimes. This was even true of the apostles, and that very thing is what prompted the Lord’s most provocative parable. It is commonly called the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard.

Let’s look at the parable.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:1-16).

This parable is the conclusion of a discussion that began a chapter earlier. A rich young man came to Jesus in quest of eternal life, but he left sorrowful when Jesus told him to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow Him (Matthew 19:16-22). Peter then drew a self-righteous contrast between the apostles and the man. He declared, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” (v. 27). Jesus responded by saying that they and all who sacrifice to follow Him would be greatly compensated. However, He quickly added, “But many who are first will be last, and the last first” (v. 30). This led to the parable.

Jesus did not want the apostles to be haughty. Nor did He want them to have an employee mentality. It is not so much for so much. They should focus on work, not wages; service, not seniority; production, not position; trusting in God’s goodness at the end of the day and not comparing themselves to other workers.

In the parable, the master of the house is God. The foreman is Christ. The laborers are the disciples. The vineyard is the church. A denarius was the ordinary pay for a day laborer. In Palestine, a man was hired at dawn and paid at sunset (Leviticus 19:13; Deuteronomy 24:15). Just as the physical vineyard is to be a place of work, the spiritual vineyard is to be a place of work.

Grace Granted

A master went out early in the morning and hired laborers to work in his vineyard. This would have been around 6 a.m. He hired more laborers at 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., and 5 p.m. Whereas the first group of laborers agreed to a set wage, the others were merely trusting the master to give them “whatever is right” (v. 4). About an hour after the last group entered the vineyard, the owner sent out his foreman to pay the men. Remarkably, he paid the last laborers first and gave them more than they anticipated — a denarius. When the early hires saw what the latecomers received, they expected to get even more. However, they too received a denarius. This made them quite upset.

Grace Ranted

The early hires were dirt covered, sweat drenched, energy depleted, hands throbbing, back aching, and denarius deserving — everything the latecomers were not. They had filled more baskets and logged more hours. Therefore, they grumbled to the master for making the latecomers equal to them. To which he replied,

“Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity” (vv. 13-15)?

Like the parable of the prodigal son, this story has those who get more than they deserve, those who think they deserve more than they get, and a jealous reaction. Few things seem more unequal than the equal treatment of unequals! However, no one received less than he initially expected, and some received more. The master had not made the early hires equal to the latecomers; he made the latecomers equal to the early hires.

This is an example of God’s grace. The master did not give the latecomers what they deserved; he gave them what they needed. It was not based on merit, but mercy. Though they had not worked longer, harder, or better than the others, he treated them as equals. And so it is with us. We should all be thankful that God is a grace-giver rather than a ledger-keeper!

Conclusion

No one is too bad to be saved, but some are too good to be saved. That is because they have a self-righteous attitude. They look down on others, think too highly of themselves, and feel that God owes them something. Jesus did not want the apostles or us to develop that mindset. Our God is the Master of grace!

[Note: The latecomers are not a case of people purposely putting off obedience to the last moment. They had not been working because they had not been hired (v. 7). However, they accepted the offer as soon as it was presented].

It's Not About Performance

We have all been programmed to be performers. — Grades in school are based on performance. Badges in scouts are based on performance. Positions in sports are based on performance. Paychecks at work are based on performance. — It is all about how good we do; how well we perform in a certain area.

Sadly, this mentality often gets carried over into the religious realm. Since we are so used to things being “performance driven” in society, we just assume that the same is true spiritually. Therefore, we develop a checklist of “do’s” and “don’ts” and gradually start to put our confidence in that checklist. We trust that those little checkmarks we are accumulating will ultimately tip the scales in our favor and merit us a home in heaven. But this is not what the Bible teaches.

The Bible teaches that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23) and that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). This means we have all messed up badly and deserve to be punished. The Bible also teaches that we can never work good enough, hard enough, or long enough to repair the damage our sin has done. We are utterly incapable of fixing the problem. Our only hope of being spared is to trust in Jesus Christ and His performance, not ours.

This is not to say that obedience is unnecessary. It is very necessary. Jesus said that one must “do” the will of the Father to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 7:21). However, our obedience is a yearning, not an earning. We are calling out, not cashing in. We should never trust in our own actions to merit salvation.

In Luke 18, Jesus told a parable about two men who went into the temple to pray — a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee put a lot of stock in his performance. He trusted that his own good works would justify him before God. In fact, his prayer is an example of the checklist mentioned above. First, he thanks God for what he “doesn’t do” (v. 11) and then he thanks God for what he “does do” (v. 12). It is clear the Pharisee thought he had enough checkmarks to impress heaven. Yet the Lord says it was the tax collector who went home justified that day!

I fear that a lot of Christians are like the Pharisee. They foolishly trust in their own performance to obtain justification before God. It is all about accumulating checkmarks! The truth is, however, we are all imperfect people who could never do enough to earn God’s approval. In fact, the very idea is insulting to Him because it undermines grace and causes man to put confidence in himself. What we need to do is be more like the lowly tax collector whose approach was mercy-based, not merit-based. And while we strive to be completely obedient in all things, that is not the source of our assurance. A Christian’s confidence is in what Christ did, not what we do!

Falling from Grace

While we extol the wonders of God's grace, let us also heed the warnings given in Scripture of losing out on that grace. There are many of them. They are written to Christians, and are not to be taken lightly. This article will look at just some of the passages that warn against falling from grace.

The Hebrews were members of the early church. They were called “holy brothers…who share in a heavenly calling” (Hebrews 3:1). There can be no doubt that the writer of the book was in fellowship with those Christians. Yet he warned them that they could fall away from the living God (3:12), be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (3:13), fail to reach the promise (4:1), fall by the same sort of disobedience (4:11), spurn the Son of God (10:29), profane the blood of the covenant (10:29), outrage the Spirit of grace (10:29), throw away their confidence (10:35), fail to obtain the grace of God (12:15), become defiled (12:15), and refuse Him who speaks from heaven (12:25).

There are examples of actual people who fell away in the New Testament. Hymeneus, Alexander, Philetus, and Demas are all identified as having fallen from grace (1 Timothy 1:19-20; 2 Timothy 2:17; 4:10). Ananias and Sapphira were members of the church at Jerusalem who were struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-10). What about Simon? He was a child of God who was certainly in danger of losing his soul (Acts 8:22-23). These names are etched in history as a vivid reminder that a child of God can forfeit his salvation. He can “depart from the faith” (1 Timothy 4:1).

Some say a person who falls away never "really" believed in the first place. They say he was only a pretender. However, Jesus made a statement that refutes this argument. In the parable of the sower, He said, “And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away” (Luke 8:13). Notice that they “believe” and then “fall away.” No one can say that they did not really believe, for Jesus said they did! Hence, this argument is proven false Furthermore, the Israelites are another example of believers who fell away. The Bible says they “believed in the Lord” (Exodus 14:31). Yet thousands of them later fell (1 Corinthians 10:8).

Probably the most obvious way to determine if a child of God can fall from grace is to look at the word “fall” in Scripture. Is it there? How is it used? What does it teach? We already noted that Jesus spoke of believers who “fall away” when tested (Luke 8:13). New Testament writers warned that Christians could “fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12), “fall away from grace” (Galatians 5:4), "fall away from the living God" (Hebrews 3:12), and “fall under condemnation” (James 5:12). The fact that the word “fall” is used in reference to Christians settles the issue.

Peter, in graphic detail, describes the pitiful condition of those who fall from grace. He wrote, “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: ‘The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire’” (2 Peter 2:20-22).

Let us be careful to both extol the wonders and heed the warnings of God's grace.

The Physician

During the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, sentenced a young soldier to be executed. It was to take place when the curfew bell sounded. However, the bell did not sound. The soldier's fiancé had climbed into the belfry and clung to the clapper of the bell to prevent it from striking. When she was summoned by Cromwell to account for her actions, she wept as she showed him her bruised and bleeding hands. Cromwell's heart was touched and he said, "Your lover shall live because of your sacrifice. Curfew shall not ring tonight!" Cromwell commuted the sentence.

There is no better indicator of love than sacrifice. The more love a person has for someone, the more they are willing to sacrifice for them. Jesus understood that fact when He said, “The greatest love you can show is to give your life for your friends” (John 15:13, GW). And that He did.

In order to truly appreciate grace, we must develop a deep and lasting appreciation of the Lord’s sacrifice. The two are inseparable (Romans 3:24-25). Therefore, I would like for us to consider the Lord’s sacrifice from the standpoint of a physician.

"The physical passion of Christ began in Gethsemane. Of the many aspects of His initial suffering, the one which is of particular physiological interest is the bloody sweat. Interestingly enough, the physician, St. Luke, is the only evangelist to mention this occurrence. He says, 'And being in an agony, he prayed the longer. And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground' (Luke 22:44 KJV).

"Every attempt imaginable has been used by modern scholars to explain away the phenomenon of bloody sweat, apparently under the mistaken impression that it simply does not occur. A great deal of effort could be saved by consulting the medical literature. Though very rare, the phenomenon of hematidrosis, or bloody sweat, is well documented. Under great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can break, thus mixing blood with sweat. This process alone could have produced marked weakness and possible shock…

"Preparations for the scourging were carried out when the Prisoner was stripped of His clothing and His hands tied to a post above His head. It is doubtful the Romans would have made any attempt to follow the Jewish law in this matter, but the Jews had an ancient law prohibiting more than forty lashes. The Roman legionnaire steps forward with the flagrum (or flagellum) in his hand. This is a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip is brought down with full force again and again across Jesus’ shoulders, back, and legs.

"At first the thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continue, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles. The small balls of lead first produce large, deep bruises which are broken open by subsequent blows. Finally the skin of the back is hanging in long ribbons and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it is determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner is near death, the beating is finally stopped. The half-fainting Jesus is then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with His own blood…

"Simon is ordered to place the patibulum on the ground and Jesus quickly thrown backward with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement…

"The left foot is now pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The Victim is now crucified. As He slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain — the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves.

"As He pushes Himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He places His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there is the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet. At this point, as the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by his arms, the pectoral muscles are paralyzed and the intercostal muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically, he is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen…

"Jesus experienced hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain where tissue is torn from His lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins – a terrible crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart…

"The loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level; the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissue; the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues send their flood of stimuli to the brain…

"The body of Jesus is now in extremes, and He can feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. This realization brings out His sixth words, possibly little more than a tortured whisper, 'It is finished.' His mission of atonement has completed. Finally He can allow his body to die.

"With one last surge of strength, he once again presses His torn feet against the nail, straightens His legs, takes a deeper breath, and utters His seventh and last cry, 'Father! Into thy hands I commit my spirit'” (Dr. C. Truman Davis, A Physician Analyzes the Crucifixion, article).

How can one not be brought to his knees in humility and praise knowing that Jesus willingly suffered that torturous treatment for us? Knowing that God the Father allowed it to happen for us? Knowing that we are so utterly unworthy of such love? That, my friends, is grace.

Conclusion

All of us were like that young soldier. The guilt of our sin was exposed and punishment was soon to commence. Then love intervened. It was not in the form of a girl climbing into the belfry and clinging to the great clapper of the bell, but in the form of God’s Son climbing down from heaven and clinging to the old rugged cross. Her bruising and bleeding was nothing compared to His. And just as the soldier was spared by her act of love, we are spared by His act of love. If I may slightly modify Cromwell’s words, “We shall live because of His sacrifice!”

Aaron
Erhardt
minister & author

Grace

Love Feasts

Gate of Grace

Arrival of Grace

Jesus the Lamb

Amazing Grace

Jailhouse Rock

Perversions of Grace

I Beg Your Pardon

The Best Man

Rich in Grace

Grace at a Party

Just Say "No"

Celebration of Grace

Christmas & Easter

King of Grace

Ants in Your Pants

Master of Grace

It's Not About Performance

Falling from Grace

The Physician

Connect / Order Books

AaronErhardtminister & author

Grace

Love Feasts

Gate of Grace

Arrival of Grace

Jesus the Lamb

Amazing Grace

Jailhouse Rock

Perversions of Grace

I Beg Your Pardon

The Best Man

Rich in Grace

Grace at a Party

Just Say "No"

Celebration of Grace

Christmas & Easter

King of Grace

Ants in Your Pants

Master of Grace

It's Not About Performance

Falling from Grace

The Physician

Connect / Order Books

Aaron
Erhardt
minister & author