THE HIGH PRICE OF GRACE

Matthew 9:6, “’But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—then He said to the paralytic, ‘Get up, pick up your bed and go home.’” It has been said that Christ came to change the world. If this is so, then He paid a needlessly high price. And His followers, no price at all. This would almost certainly be true if grace and forgiveness were the same thing. To see this important difference consider another Gospel. Suppose that, instead of being born into obscurity and poverty, Christ entered this world through a wealthy and influential Jewish family, having access to and credibility with the Jewish elite. At the right time He would go to them and demonstrate His miraculous powers, proclaiming Himself to be Messiah and enlisting their aid to bring His kingdom to Israel and the world. He would then go to the Roman occupiers and demand they leave His kingdom. Any resistance on their part would be met with the power of legions of angels called down by Christ. He doesn’t go to the cross. How quickly the Lord could have ushered in His glorious kingdom! And what of the sin of His people, both Jew and Gentile? He has “authority on earth to forgive sins.” It would have been so easy. But there are at least four flies in this fragrant but flawed ointment. First, the righteous anger of God has not been propitiated, nor His justice satisfied. Second, His people, though forgiven remain slaves to sin and subject to death. Third, Satan has certain claims on...

His Inheritance

We look forward with eagerness of our inheritance as believers in Jesus Christ.  It is the ultimate hope that we will spend our eternity in heaven, out of this world and with the Savior.  Any temporal inheritance, riches or reward pales in comparison. We obtain this inheritance only by the gift of the perfect sacrifice by Jesus for our past and future sins as propitiation for God’s required justice.  It is this promise that leads us to dependence on Him as none of us can obtain the inheritance by any self-effort or merit. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). As we contemplate what lies ahead in wonder and anticipation, it would stand to reason that this knowledge  should impact our behavior today.  Gratefulness for His gift of mercy and grace, fear toward His holiness, majesty and power and urgency in response in obedience to One so faithful and loving in providing hope for us, would be logical responses to what He has done on our behalf. That is why we relate to one another in love: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” (1John 4:7).    It is our common inheritance! Have you considered that God is looking forward to His inheritance?    His inheritance is us, the saints!  Consider:  “I pray that  the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of...