I was having a conversation with a friend of mine a couple of weeks ago, and the topic of current world events and how things have gone crazy, and naturally the topic of “end times” came up. The scripture Romans 5:20 “The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” was used to validate some of his points and concerns. A Christian response to this verse often tells me a lot about their concept and understanding of Grace. There seem to be two prevailing viewpoints in today’s Church. Either the Church is under attack, and we are losing ground; or the Devil is winning! Or we are a victorious Church on the move against these attacks, the schemes of Satan, and storming the gates of Hell (Matt 16:17-19) On the surface these two perspectives seem to be in direct opposition to each other, causing me to ask How can this be, when we all read the same scriptures? While there may be many reasons, could I submit there is a simple answer to this problem: It could simply be an “INCORRECT or INACCURATE” understanding of Grace and how it works or manifests in our lives.
I once thought of grace only as a character trait, a disposition, a discipline that Jesus displayed showing the nature of God, which moved him to treat sinners better than they deserved. Hence, we were to do the same! Now, having seen all the texts, and scriptures that show so much more, I have broadened my understanding of grace to align with how the Bible truly uses the term. Eph 4:7 says but to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. Sadly, many look no further than a concordance, relying often on past teachings, or quite honestly never giving it a second thought. I hope that this teaching will cause you to take a deeper look, maybe even cause you to revisit or challenge previous positions that you have held regarding this subject. This is one of the reasons I love writing these articles!! Not only am I challenged, but this challenge is also issued to you the reader.
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