Hope with Grace – Part Three

We are probably the most medicated generation in history. There have been marvellous advances in medical treatments that save lives and help to alleviate sickness and disease. A large number of these drugs are used in an attempt to gain peace from deep anxiety.

The peace of which the Bible speaks, does not mean the absence of pain or hurt. It means that in our pain and our hurt, we have peace because we know the Lord. We know He is in control and we know He has dealt with our sin which alienates us from Him and other people.

Without His grace this guilt, fear and anguish would crush us, leading to a lack of hope. But here’s the greatest thing – we no longer have to bear the guilt and shame of our sin.

Firstly, our sin is no surprise to God – He redeems us and welcomes us into the family knowing everything about us. He is not surprised by anything we think or do! He has seen it all and is ready to welcome us.

God does not wait until we became worthy. Jesus did not die to reward us for being well-behaved and respectable people. He offered us mercy and grace even as we rejected and scorned Him. He loved us even when we didn’t love Him. Spurgeon put it simply,

“I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love.”[1]

It is stunning that grace leads us to salvation, but there is even more to the story! Grace is not a once-off action – it is an eternal gift. He declares us righteous in Christ, then commits to changing us to actually be righteous. This is a life-long and sometimes painful process.

So, “hope with grace” is firstly in Christ’s redeeming action and then in the Spirit’s refinement of us. That is strong hope with strong grace.

We need to share our own journeys of “Hope with Grace” with our young people.

Blessings, Brian

 

[1] Spurgeon S The Autobiography of Charles H Spurgeon (compiled by Susannah Spurgeon) Curts and Jennings Chicago (1898) p170