The Promise of Graceful Living

AI was not used to generate this post.

The heart of Graceful Living is the message of God’s love and grace given to you in Jesus Christ and the reality of Christ’s continual presence in your life. What Jesus offers to His followers is a life full of His grace. My hope is that you will grasp what “graceful living” is and that the promise of freedom and joy that comes with graceful living will encourage you to live in God’s overflowing grace all the way to the end of your life. It will be worth it. Ready?

Listen to this post as a similar podcast from the Graceful Living Bible Study covering the essential truths for living a life of freedom and joy in Christ. (11 lessons)

What Is Grace?

A common name

You’ve probably heard the word “grace” but may not know what it means. You may even know someone called Grace or Gracie. I have a niece named Grace. It’s a beautiful name. That word is also used in the names of organizations like churches and schools. We have a Grace Bible Church and a Grace Christian School in our area. And you’ve probably sung the song Amazing Grace. It is one of the most recognized songs worldwide. For Christians, “grace” is a very special word. But why?

Dictionary definition of grace

If you look in a dictionary, you’ll find that grace can refer to elegance or beauty of form or action. It is a pleasing or attractive quality. A ballerina dances in a graceful manner.

But when we talk about God’s grace, that’s not what we mean. So when you see this blog is titled, The Promise of Graceful Living, it is not about how to get over your clumsiness. You aren’t going to learn how to move with finesse like a gymnast or figure skater. Those are good things. But that’s not what grace means for Christians.

Biblical definition of grace

In the Bible, the word “grace” means “undeserved favor or gift.”

God’s grace is His undeserved favor abundantly poured out on those who desperately need Him and respond to Him by faith.

Biblical grace is God giving favor to someone, not because they are good enough to deserve it but because His love chooses to do so. God’s grace springs from God’s love.

Father of the prodigal

Are you familiar with the story Jesus told about the prodigal son? It’s in Luke chapter 15. The story is really about the father’s love.

A father had 2 sons. The younger son took his share of the family money, left home, and spent all his money acting out his rebellion. Soon, he was desperate and got a job feeding pigs. But even that wasn’t enough for him to feed and take care of himself. He was miserable. So he went back home to ask his dad if he could just be a servant.

But his father was looking for him to come back. As soon as he saw his son returning home, the father ran to him and hugged him. The prodigal son didn’t deserve his father’s favor, but his dad was not only looking for him to come home but welcomed him with loving arms. God’s grace is just like that.

Overflowing Grace Poured Out

The Bible says that God’s grace is so abundant it’s like a cup overflowing. In 1 Timothy chapter 1, Paul writes about his own experience when he says this,

Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly… (1 Timothy 1:13-14)

Picture standing underneath a waterfall with the cool, refreshing water constantly flowing over you. That’s what God’s grace is like. Overflowing grace.

Paul’s life before knowing Christ was bad. He was doing evil things. But God accepted him with all those black marks because he chose to finally put his faith in Jesus Christ rather than in himself and his own efforts. Jesus poured out grace on Paul, so much so that it was like a waterfall that never dries up. That’s what God does for you too.

Read more about Paul’s life transformed by God’s overflowing grace in the blogs, “Acts 8-12 • Paul, A Misdirected Life Transformed” and “1 Timothy 1:1-20 • Godliness Flows from Knowing Christ-and His Grace.”

God’s invitation to you and your acceptance of it is wrapped up in one phrase—by grace you are saved through faith.

By Grace You Are Saved through Faith

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

By grace you are saved through faith. Three important words in that phrase explain the basis of your salvation and why you can be confident in it. Let’s define those three super-important words—grace, saved, and faith.

God gives His GRACE

Remember what I said earlier about the meaning of biblical grace. Biblical grace is God giving favor to someone, not because they are good enough to deserve it but because His love chooses to do so. Grace provides this relationship with God. You can’t earn it by doing any good works. Rather, it is a free gift from God that you accepted when you received Christ through faith.

Our faith begins with receiving the love of God and understanding it in the Gospel.

We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

Sadly, many Christians don’t know about God’s love. That’s why theology is important because a goofed-up theology is going to keep you from ever loving God. If you think you’ve got to earn your way to heaven, you might be trying really hard, but you’re never going to love God.

Read more about the importance of a solid theology of God in this blog, ” Elijah: The God You Can Know • 1 Kings 17-18.“

We start with how much God loves us. Then, we see His love in His grace to us.

God’s grace is His undeserved favor abundantly poured out on those who desperately need Him and respond to Him by faith. Hooray for that. I am one who desperately needs Him. So are you. And by God’s grace to us, we are saved.

By God’s grace, you are SAVED.

What does it mean to be saved? From what are we saved?

To be saved means “to be rescued, spared from disaster.” You have been saved from spiritual death and separation from God because that is the final result of sin. Romans chapter 6 ends with these words,

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

When you receive Christ, you put your trust in Christ and His death to cover your sin. You are rescued from spiritual death and eternal separation from God.

You might be thinking to yourself, “Can a person who trusted in Christ know with certainty that she will spend eternity with God?” Great question! Here’s the great answer: Yes!

You can know that you have a secure and personal relationship with God because you are saved through faith in Jesus Christ. That is God’s one condition for salvation and spending eternity with God.

Read about God’s rescue of you from spiritual darkness in the blog, “Ephesians • Remember the Treasure of Your Rescue from Darkness.”

You are saved through FAITH in Jesus Christ.

The word “faith” means a “belief, trust, and commitment of mind and heart.” Simply put, faith is placing your trust in God and His Word. It is a full commitment to Christ. Instead of believing in your own ability to earn God’s favor, you now trust that you have been reconciled to God through what Christ has done for you.

It is by faith alone that you are saved. God offers you salvation from the destruction caused by sin. He offers you this salvation by His grace that is given to you. Your response is to be one of faith. And Ephesians 2:9 reinforces that truth,

it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:9)

This salvation is not from yourself. It is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast of their efforts. That is God’s grace.

If you were standing before God and He asked you, “Why should I let you into my heaven?” Now, you can say, “I know I am saved by your grace through my faith in your Son Jesus Christ.” You are in!

When you trust in Christ for your salvation, God’s grace is abundantly poured on you. And with that grace comes so many blessings and benefits. That’s the promise of graceful living.

The Promise of Graceful Living

Here are some truths you can know about graceful living:

Truth #1: Graceful living is for everyone who has accepted God’s gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Your salvation is an undeserved gift from God. You cannot earn it. You can’t win it. You only receive it by faith. The gospel is God’s cure for our fatal sin disease.

Truth #2: Graceful living begins and continues through Jesus Christ. He gave His life for you by grace, so He could give His life to you by grace, so He could live His life through you by grace.

Truth #3: Graceful living is life overflowing with His grace giving you rest from trying to earn God’s favor. That is what Jesus promised in Matthew chapter 11, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest… you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-30) You can bask in the grace of God.

Truth #4: Graceful living is knowing Christ’s love for you and letting that love motivate you to live for Him in obedience.

Truth #5: Graceful living leads you to serve Christ through serving others as He did and does for us. That’s letting His life in you overflow to others around you, especially those who need to know Him.

Truth #6: Graceful Living is seeing your transformation from being a selfish, sinful being into having the likeness of Jesus Christ Himself. God’s Holy Spirit does this to us from the inside out. We grow up into mature Christians who are beautiful in God’s sight and bring His glory to everyone around us.

Look at the picture for this blog. See the swan?

Swans are a natural illustration of graceful living. They are graceful creatures who live faithfully in community with other swans. And they become new creations as they are transformed from awkward “ugly ducklings” into beautiful mature birds. That is so similar to what happens to us as believers.

Graceful Living Today

Jesus Christ presented Himself as the answer to every need of the human heart. The New Testament writers unanimously taught the same. Multitudes of people throughout the centuries since have witnessed that he does indeed do what he promised for those who trust and follow Him.

My experience

I have been a Jesus follower for more than 50 years now. Not once have I regretted that decision. I am a lifelong learner, a student of God’s Word and my Lord’s life. He teaches me in many ways.

Recently, someone asked me, “How has Jesus discipled you? What has made the most impact on your life?”

When it comes to knowing who I am and where I stand with God, the best teaching I have had was a course at my church that effectively covered the foundational principles of Christianity—who Christ is, what He accomplished on the cross for us, what the resurrection means for us, and our identity in Him. It communicated clearly and succinctly to me what I needed to know to live dependently on Christ and rest in my assurance of life in Him and through Him.

Then, I learned more about the purpose for the cross and the resurrection than I had ever known before. I learned how to recognize the poison of legalism in a Christian’s life. It was through this teaching that I became aware that my flesh is not getting better the longer I know Christ. I need to depend 100% on him now as I ever did as a young believer. These timeless truths are essential for every believer to enjoy the life God has planned for them.

Graceful Living Bible Study

So I have adapted the original teaching I received (given as a series of lectures) into the Bible study called Graceful Living. The heart of the Graceful Living Bible Study is the message of God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and the reality of “Christ alive and living in me.”

This study will help you build a foundation for successful, enjoyable Christian living based on God’s “grace” to you and for you. Understanding God’s grace given to you is essential to enjoying the life that God has planned for you. As you apply these truths in your life, you will experience a life of freedom and joy. That’s the promise of “Graceful Living.”

All of the above information is covered in the Graceful Living Bible Study covering the essential truths for living a life of freedom and joy in Christ.

In the next post, we will look at how to treasure the gift of Jesus Christ.

Let Jesus satisfy your heart with His grace so that your life overflows with His grace every day. You will experience a life of freedom and joy!

Other Resources

• Acts 8-12 • Paul, A Misdirected Life Transformed
• 1 Timothy 1:1-20 • Godliness Flows from Knowing Christ-and His Grace
• Elijah: The God You Can Know • 1 Kings 17-18
• Ephesians • Remember the Treasure of Your Rescue from Darkness
• Pathway #2: Bask in the Grace of God

AI was not used to generate this post.