God’s outrageous grace; Is there a catch?

I have from time to time used the illustration of a gift. I have offered any child in the audience to come forward and receive a freddo. Imagine how they flock to the front! I did it once in a large church in Brazil and was almost overwhelmed. Fortunately, I just had enough. Another time I invited a young teenager to the front and made an offer, $20 now or a $100 IOU for 12 months hence. Invariably they take the here and now, not being sure my offer is good. I did it in a school chapel once and the student took the IOU home and pinned in on the fridge – and collected the $100 next year. Once again in Brazil as the offer was made the clever girl took the IOU, even thou she realized my return could be more than a year. As she went to leave the stage, feeling somewhat guilty, I called her back and gave her both on the spot. I then explained that eternal life is a present reality. We have eternal life Jesus explained in John 5:24. We belong to his family now by choice. I also explained that faith is the hand that accepts the gift – nothing more. 

An anachronym for faith is Forsaking All I Take Him. This is the only “catch” to grace. The Bible talks about Jesus being our High Priest in heaven; think lawyer in modern terminology. Jesus is your representative in the court room of heaven, in what we call the judgment. But unless you personally put your case in His hands, He cannot represent you. In which case you must represent yourself and you cannot win! You must pay for your own sin and “The wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23).

I can talk about the enormity of God’s grace but unless your stance is openness through repentance, which is agreeing with God and acknowledging your sinfulness, then you only know about God’s grace, but you have not experienced it by passing through the doorway. That is why the Bible says, ‘He that believes and is baptised will be saved.” In the story of the prodigal son repentance was the fight home.

When we read the Bibles fierce passages of wrath against sin, we can read them with new light once we understand God’s desire to press me towards repentance and the doorway of grace. Thus, you find alternative pictures in the Bible.

Jesus said to Nicodemus, “For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save it.” (John 3:15). In other words, he awakens guilt for my benefit, he seeks to crush me in order to liberate me by the gospel. Liberation requires a defenceless spirit like the women caught red handed, not the haughty spirit of the Pharisees.

Unless our flaws come into the light, we cannot be healed. It is just like my windscreen that can look perfectly clean until you face into the sunlight, then ever spec becomes evident. Alcoholics know, that unless you acknowledge your problem there is no cure. To accept God’s grace is to invte the cure into your life.