The Gospel of Grace

October 14, 2015

The Gospel of Grace

“I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do.”

Matthew 21:31b

Jesus’ statement quoted above was his interpretation of the parable of Two Sons in Matthew 21. The parable was given in response to the harassment of the leading priests and elders, who thought of themselves as very religious and questioned Jesus’ authority to teach. Jesus’ response brings into question our attitudes about sin and who is right with God. Grace is so much more pervasive than we can imagine, and it seems that the only persons excluded from grace are those who depend on their doing life their way in order to be right with God. Although it is incredibly simple, King Solomon’s proverb seems very illusive for some people to grasp: “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). To help me stay properly aligned with God’s grace, I have found it helpful to reread, on a regular basis, the thoughts of Brennan Manning:

"Because salvation is by grace through faith, I believe among the countless number of people standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands (Revelation 7:9), I shall see the prostitute from the Kit-Kat Ranch in Carson City, Nevada, who tearfully told me she could find no other employment to support her two year old son.  I shall see the woman who had an abortion and who is haunted by guilt and remorse, but did the best she could faced with the grueling alternatives; the businessman besieged by debt who sold his integrity in a series of desperate transactions; the insecure clergyman addicted to being liked, who never challenged his people from the pulpit and longed for unconditional love; the sexually-abused teen molested by his father and  now selling his body on the street, who, as he falls asleep each night after his last 'trick', whispers the name of the unknown God he learned about in Sunday School; the deathbed convert who for decades had his cake and ate it...broke every law of God and man, wallowed in lust and raped the earth. 

"But, how?" we ask. Then the voice says, "They have washed their robes and make them white in the blood of the lamb."

“There they are.  There we are -- the multitude who so wanted to be faithful, who at times got defeated, soiled by life, and bested by trials, wearing the bloodied garments of life's tribulations, but through it all, clung to the faith. 

“My friends, if this is not good news to you, you have never understood the gospel of grace."

(Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel - Good News for the Bedraggles, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out, Multnomah, Portland  1990,  page 29)

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.