28 March, 2024

My Grace Journey

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by | 23 August, 2009 | 0 comments

 

by Brian Giese

I was born during World War II. Like many in my generation, I grew up in the church when guilt trips from the pulpit were still both frequent and quite effective. Most Christians hoped they would be “good enough” to make it into Heaven. If someone said, “I”m saved,” we knew he was not one of us.

I attended Bible college and seminary and had worked seven years in the paid ministry before I began to understand the meaning of grace. My awakening started when a Christian lady said to me one day, “Brian, you really seem to love the Lord, but I don”t see a lot of joy in you.” And I knew she was right. I was still trying to impress God with my dedication and service. It was a losing effort.

The light broke through even more when I was preaching one Sunday on 1 John 5:13, which says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” It finally hit me that John the apostle knew he was saved, and wanted other believers to have the same assurance. I had understood that in my head, but now it was finally hitting my heart.

Along with that awakening came more of the joy I had been missing, plus even greater motivation to share my faith with others. It is much easier to get fired up about a “know so” than a “hope so.”

 

Grace in Today”s Church

While many in my generation saw grace as something they almost had to qualify for, it seems the pendulum today has swung perhaps too far in the opposite direction. We live in a very narcissistic (“me first”) age, and that has had an impact on the church. It is easy for our walk with God to shift until it is no longer about God. Many have taken God”s truths and twisted them into selfish pursuits. As a result, grace is taken for granted; and it is assumed God will cater to his “favorites.” When that does not happen, as in the current economic downturn, it becomes a faith crisis for many.

Also, in our nonjudgmental culture, right and wrong have become fuzzier. At the same time, mercy and grace become less precious, because most people no longer see themselves as sinners.

Even in the church, we don”t want to turn off postmoderns by talking about Hell. One problem with this is people may never want the good news unless they first hear the bad news. Why would you want to be saved if there is nothing bad from which you need to be saved?

 

Teaching About Grace

We need to tell others about God”s grace because the Bible overflows with examples of his grace and offers of grace in Christ. King David praised God for his grace (2 Samuel 7:18-22). Peter says the prophets “spoke of the grace that was to come” (1 Peter 1:10). Paul said the task assigned to him by Jesus Christ was that of “testifying to the gospel of God”s grace” (Acts 20:24).

We also should study and teach grace because it is one of the least understood doctrines in the Bible. For a long time I missed grace by thinking I could be good enough to merit God”s favor. Others miss grace by thinking that because they are saved by grace, they do not have to be good. The Bible warns against that kind of thinking as well (Romans 6:1, 2; Jude 1:4).

Grace is also misunderstood by those who think preaching grace produces soft Christians. They reason that preaching the necessity of obedience promotes more mature saints. But God”s grace involves a hard truth. Yes, grace is free””Jesus paid for it on the cross. But grace is also demanding because if you receive it, it will cost you your very life.

I am reminded of the line from that old hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” which says, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.” Grace, properly understood, is one of the Christian”s greatest motivators.

Finally, we need to teach God”s grace because it is the only thing that will change the world. Romans 2:4 says, “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God”s kindness leads you toward repentance?”

It is the grace of God that will break the sinner”s heart. My primary motive for accepting Christ as a child was fear of judgment. After experiencing God”s faithfulness over the years, my main motives now are love and gratitude. But at both ends, the constant factor has been the Lord”s amazing grace. May that ever be at the center of my testimony for him.


 

 

 

After serving 45 years in vocational ministry, Brian Giese is now retired and living in Kewanee, Illinois.  

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