Posted: 10/25/2013 at 7:32am | IP Logged

"But Isn't Grace Just Too Simple?

By Mark Drake

As we travel the world training leaders in New Covenant grace, one of the most common responses we get from sincere seekers is, “But this just sounds too simple.” And I completely understand this feeling. I struggled with the same thinking for years. I sincerely felt that it was dangerously simplistic to teach people that all we have to do is to love God and put our faith in His grace. But this kind of thinking revealed that I didn’t understand what the apostles meant when they said “grace.” I thought of grace as “unmerited favor” or “unearned love”.

Those are great definitions for mercy but not for New Covenant grace. The early apostles believed that true, New Covenant grace is a miracle of inner transformation; and authentic Christianity depends completely on this miracle of transforming grace.

When we choose to respond to God’s love for us by loving Him back and putting our faith in His grace, a miracle begins to work inside of us. The initial actions of faith and love may seem simple, but the results are nothing short of miraculous.

“Just Take This Pill”

Is swallowing an antibiotic too simple? But what’s the result?

Is turning the key in a car’s ignition too simple? But what’s the result?

Is planting a seed too simple? But what’s the result?

Is pulling the trigger on a gun too simple? But what’s the result?

In each case, a simple action releases a power that is much, much greater than the initial action. We don’t measure the power of the result by the initial effort. We know that the initial effort sets in motion something far more powerful. The initial effort of believing that God tells the truth about His grace, sets in motion something far more powerful than our simple faith. When we choose to love God and put our faith in the power of His life inside of us, God releases a miracle in us.

All that’s required of us is to have just enough faith to do the initial, simple actions of believing and loving Him. These simple actions of believing and loving, allow a power far greater than us to begin working inside us, changing us from the inside out. 1 John 4:5- “…Because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

Grace isn’t really free; the cost is believing God tells the truth!

God’s love for us is free. We can’t earn His love by doing good works. We experience it as a free gift because we believe Him when He says He loves us. In the same way, He gives us His transforming, empowering grace as an unearned gift when we choose to believe His promise of the true New Covenant; Christ living in and through us.

We can’t earn His transforming grace by doing good works, but the power of His grace will produce good works through us. We will do good works, not to earn His grace, but because His grace empowers us to do them. We can hardly help it since good works are built into the nature of Christ that has come to live within us. Only continued unbelief can prevent the life of Christ within us from overflowing with fruitfulness. We were created to bear His fruit and reap an abundant life as we do; always remembering that He is the source of our life, our fruit and our good works.

Doing good works doesn’t enable us to get God’s grace.

The power of grace enables us to do good works!

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