Sermon Two - Grace Changes Everything
Introduction
Have you ever gotten a gift that felt too big? Something that made you uncomfortable—like you didn’t deserve it, or you’d have to pay it back somehow? Maybe it was something expensive, like a phone or a large sum of money. Or maybe it was something deeply personal, like someone showing you kindness at your lowest point. I’ve had moments like that—times when someone gave me something I could never repay. And honestly, part of me wanted to earn it, just so I didn’t feel so undeserving.
God gives us a gift too. A gift so big we could never repay it. It’s called grace—and it’s not a trade, not a reward, not a paycheck for good behavior. It’s love, poured out freely. It’s forgiveness, offered before we even ask. And it’s a gift that changes everything… if we’ll receive it.
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What Is Grace
God has given us grace. But what does that mean? Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” That’s a lot to unpack, so what does it all mean?
Well first, “we have been saved by grace”. Grace here means undeserved kindness. God is choosing to save us, despite doing nothing to earn that; saving us before we even call out His name.
Next, “through faith”. This means that we aren’t trying to achieve our salvation, but we are here to receive it. We aren’t shown salvation for believing hard enough, we are given salvation for having faith that God will save us.
“This is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” We didn’t manufacture this salvation, and we didn’t do anything specific to earn it. Like any gift, it was given to us because God wanted us to have it. Not out of a place of recognition for our actions, but a place of unconditional love.
Finally, “not by works, so that no one can boast.” This is essentially saying that if salvation were based on our deeds, we would compare ourselves to others, perhaps by how much we prayed, or how little we sinned, or how much we offered to the church. God is saying that this is not what He wants, but rather offers salvation to all His people.
Ultimately, grace is a gift, not a reward. God gives us grace not for what we do for Him, but in spite of our mistakes and sins. This is a stark contrast to our societal views on how we gain praise, that being by earning it through hard work and dedication. God says that we don’t have to do anything, but that he will give you grace no matter what, because He loves you. You don’t work to gain his love and acceptance, but you work from it.
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God chooses the perfect time to show us His grace and love, which is often when we least deserve it. Romans 5:6-8 is a great example of that: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Let’s break that down a little bit. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” Even that one sentence is powerful and impactful. God chose His moment perfectly, and it was “at just the right time, when we were powerless”. This doesn’t mean when we were literally without strength, but when we were stuck in sin, in our ungodly ways. He chose then to come and show us grace, showing the depth of His unwavering love. Not to mention “Christ died for the ungodly.” Christ didn’t die for the good in the world; the noble heroes or the most righteous people. He chose to die for those of us who live in sin, who are tied down by our nature to be sinful and ungodly, showing that through His grace, we are saved.
Along this same reasoning, it states “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.” Paul acknowledges something raw about human nature: dying for someone good is already rare. Now consider that he didn’t say this, but set it up as a contrast to what is actually said: Jesus died for the bad people; for the lost and afraid. It’s building tension by saying that even at our best, people are not accustomed to sacrificial love. Ultimately, this shows that God is not doing something that is normal by our standards. That’s what His grace truly is: an act of unconditional, selfless grace.
Lastly: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” First, take into consideration the choice behind the word “demonstrates”; God didn’t demonstrate once and then stop showing us love. He is showing us love through every action, sacrifice, and choice that He makes. He doesn’t simply say “I love you”, but rather he shows that through every single action that He takes.
“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. Take note again, that it doesn’t say that once we prayed enough, or earned forgiveness, Christ died for us, but that despite us still being sinners, and the fact that God could see that we would be sinners even thousands of years after Christ’s death, he still sacrificed His son in order to save all of us. The ultimate grace, that even though we were so far from Him, he still chose us. This point completely obliterates the belief that we have to earn our way into God’s good grace.
Grace doesn’t wait for you to be ready. Grace moves when you’re still running. That’s what makes it grace.
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Grace and mercy are often used like synonyms, but they’re not the same. The difference might seem small at first, but it changes everything. Grace is getting something that we don’t deserve, like forgiveness or blessings. Mercy is not getting something that we do deserve, like a punishment.
Titus 3:4-7 says “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” Notice that both mercy and grace show up in this passage, on purpose. They’re side by side, but doing different things. Let’s consider the meanings of the passages as they are broken down, though.
“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared…” This is not an abstract meaning, or something to consider as a feeling or emotion. “God’s love and kindness” is simply another way of saying Jesus Christ. God’s love isn’t hidden, and we don’t have to look for it. He came to us with open arms.
Next, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.” He showed us mercy despite all of the things that we have done wrong, and chose to save us. This is mercy: knowing that we have sinned—and will again—and still choosing to show us mercy.
Let’s take a moment and consider now Psalm 103:10 “He does not treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities.” This passage is showing the mercy that God shows us by explaining how God does not use equal force, or treat us how we treat Him or others, rather he shows us forgiveness. That is real, true mercy. A mercy that forgives us no matter what, and chooses to show compassion instead of justice.
Moving back to Titus, it says “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit…” We can see a shift from the withholding of punishment, mercy, to the giving of new life, grace. Words like “washing” and “renewal” point to being cleansed from our sins. They say that we aren’t only forgiven, but that we are made new by God’s grace.
Next, “…whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior…” the Holy Spirit is poured out, not a little bit, but generously. This isn’t something that God does sparingly, or is stingy with, but he gives us all the grace that he can. Through Jesus, we are given more than we could ever imagine: eternal life, love, forgiveness, and belonging.
Finally, “so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” The word “justified” doesn’t imply that we earned His grace through our actions, but it means that we were declared righteous, and were freely given His grace, because it is His gift to us. “Heirs” means we now share in everything God promises—eternal life, a new identity, and a future—not because we earned it, but because grace made us part of His family.
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We’ve talked a lot about what grace means—how it’s undeserved, how it’s given before we’re ready, how it’s different from mercy. But grace isn’t just a concept. It’s not just a gift we talk about in abstract terms. Grace has a name. Grace has a face. Grace walked among us. When Jesus came to earth, He didn’t just come to explain grace—He came to be grace. If you’ve ever wondered what God’s grace looks like in real life, the answer is simple: look at Jesus. In John 1:14–17, we’re told that Jesus came to us “full of grace and truth.” Let’s take a moment and look at what that really means.
John 1:14-17 states ““The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. ...For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” But what does this really mean?
“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us…” God has many names, and The Word is one of them. When people say that the bible is the word of God, that isn’t entirely correct. The bible is God. So when this says that the Word became flesh, it is talking about Jesus, and how he lived among humanity.
“We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son…” When Jesus walked among us, we didn’t just see God, we saw who God was, and how he treated His people. He treated us with kindness, compassion, and love. Jesus was so much more than a wise teacher, he was God’s heart on display for humanity.
“…who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus didn’t come to us with half-baked ideas or a partially finished philosophy, he came to us with the fullness of God’s truth, love, grace and glory. While some people speak only truth, cutting like a knife, and other talk only of grace, a great feeling, but lacking clarity, Jesus came to us speaking with truth and grace. Honesty in life and grace in what he said. He never made someone feel unwanted or unloved, he accepted them as they were.
“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” The law of God had a place. It was there to show us what to do and how to act, and how we were failing God. However, Jesus came along and brought something new: a solution. He came to form the relationship, to fulfill the law, and give us what we could never earn: grace.
When we look at Jesus, we don’t just hear about grace—we see it. In the way He healed the sick, welcomed the outcast, forgave the sinner, and lifted up the broken, Jesus lived grace out loud. He didn’t come to hand us a checklist; He came to invite us into relationship. And through Him, we’re not just taught about God’s grace—we’re offered it. Freely. Fully. Forever. So if you ever find yourself wondering what grace looks like, remember this: Grace looks like Jesus. And through Him, that same grace is offered to you.
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Grace Saves, Not Works
Now that we understand what grace is (a gift, undeserved, and was embodied by Jesus), we have to struggle with a fact that many of us will have a hard time with: We can’t earn grace. The hardest part about this is that our world is built around earning what you have, so that you are rewarded. Yet, God gives us grace saying: “You didn’t do enough, and you can never do enough, but I still love you. I forgive you. You are welcome in my kingdom.” With this in mind, let’s look at what scripture says about how we are saved not by performance, but by grace.
Let’s go back to Romans. This time, Romans 3:23-24, which says: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
That first line, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, it has a few key points to think about. First, it’s not saying that a few people have fallen short, it’s saying that everybody has. From the person walking across the street, to the priests in the church, to the criminals in jail, every single one of us falls short of God’s standards. The other point is that phrase “falls short”. It’s not saying that we got close but didn’t quite get there, we failed. We are so far away that we could never attain it by ourselves. Let’s keep that in mind for the rest of the text though.
”And all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” Here’s the turning point: though we all fall short, God still redeems us. That word, justified, we talked about it earlier; how it doesn’t mean we earned anything, but grace was given to us as a gift by God. Couple that with freely, and it only reinforces that we have done nothing to deserve our mercy, but God gives it to us, because He shows us grace for simply existing.
The point we must remember, though, is that grace is not free. While it may be free to us, Jesus Christ died on the cross to give us that grace. We were redeemed by Christ, meaning we were set free through a price: Christ’s life. Christ dying wasn’t symbolic; he paid the ultimate price so that we are shown grace by God.
We have to remember: nothing that we do is the reason that we are saved. We are saved by grace alone, by the sacrifice of Christ. All good deeds that we do now are a response to our salvation.
Let me be clear: this grace is not a license to sin. Sin is still wrong. This grace gives us the power to live differently though. If someone pulled you from a burning building and saved your life, would you go back in to show your appreciation? I know I wouldn’t. I would choose to live differently to show my love for them. That is what God has done for us. Christ’s sacrifice has set us free from the burning building, So let’s not run back to the fire—let’s live like people who’ve been rescued.
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Galatians 2:21 is another great point to expand on with this message. In it, Paul writes to the Galatians to explain their incorrect teachings, and how we can’t gain grace through our actions. “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
Looking at the first part, “I do not set aside the grace of God’, Paul makes a stand. He says in no uncertain terms that he holds God’s grace in a high manner, that he won’t put it aside and try to earn God’s grace in any other way. In fact, if we try to find another way to salvation, we’re not just missing the point that God has made, we’re rejecting his gift altogether.
Now, “If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing” This is an impactful statement that challenges any notion of gaining salvation through any human means. The law that it speaks about are the commandments from the Old Testament. Paul isn’t saying that the law is bad, he’s saying that it shows us our need for grace, not that following them will lead to salvation. We can look at it this way: the law diagnoses the disease, while grace gives us the cure.
It’s easy to say we’re saved by grace—but deep down, a lot of us still live like we’re trying to impress God. We strive, compare, compete. But Jesus gave us a story—a parable—to show what God is really looking for.
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Jesus told this parable to a very specific kind of listener—people who believed they were righteous and looked down on others. Let’s read it together from Luke 18:9–14. It says “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’”
Now the first thing we should look at is Jesus’s audience. It says “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable”. He wasn’t telling this story to just anyone. He was telling it to people who believed that they were righteous, and those who judged others. These were people who showed pride more than faith, who trusted in themselves, rather than in God’s grace. He was directly calling them out, and used a story not to shame them, but to tell them how they should act instead.
The Pharisee goes on to pray this: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” Now, while we should pray in thanks to God, and appreciating what He provides for us, this is not what the Pharisee was doing. He was giving a performance for the sanctuary; using it as a stage, rather than a place of reverence. He wasn’t praying to God, he was reciting a resume about himself and using the sins of others to feel righteous.
The tax collector, a man considered evil due to the nature of his profession in he time, instead prayed this: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” This, not to mention that he “would not even look up to heaven”, is simple, raw, and honest. It is not a comparison, not a resume for others. It is a cry for help to God, a humble acknowledgement of his need for salvation and grace, without pretense. He is aware that he is broken, and acknowledges this by asking for mercy.
What I said before about the tax collector being considered evil is a great point to consider. In Jewish society, Pharisees were loved, and tax collectors were hated. That makes Jesus’s point all the more shocking and impactful. He says “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.” Jesus makes it crystal clear: the man who walked away justified wasn’t the one with the résumé—it was the one with the repentant heart. Not because he checked religious boxes, but because he humbled himself and cried out for mercy. That’s what grace responds to—not performance, but posture.
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Grace Transforms Us
Grace gives us so much more than just salvation. Grace gives us new life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
Last time, we talked about how the Bible says that all have fallen short of God’s standards. This time, Paul says ‘anyone”. He’s saying that every single person has grace available to them. Paul also used the term “In Christ”, which he does so frequently. This is his way of saying that we aren’t only believing in him, but united with him. What he’s saying is that anyone who chooses to unite with God and Christ will be granted grace for their lives.
When Paul says “the new creation has come”, he isn’t being poetic or metaphorical. He’s stating a spiritual reality. The moment that we are one with Christ, something changes in our souls. We are no longer our failures, mistakes, or sin. We’re something new entirely. It isn’t self-improvement, it’s reinvention and rebirth.
“The old has gone, the new is here!” This specific phrase reminds me of “out with the old, in with the new”. The old, here, could be referring to anything from before we became one with Christ: doubt, grief, hate, or any number of things. Grace is calling us to let go of these things for “the new”. The new isn’t just becoming a better person though, it’s living with a new identity and purpose.
We can think of it this way: a caterpillar doesn’t become a better caterpillar; it becomes a butterfly, with a new purpose and way of life. Grace is what metamorphosizes us.
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2 Corinthians goes on to say this, in chapter 12:9: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
This passage is talking about how Paul was given a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment him. He asked God three times a day to remove the thorn, and this is where it picks up.
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you,” God doesn’t remove the thorn, rather he offers grace to Paul. He says that he will not remove our problems, but support us through them. God is telling us that we don’t need more strength, only more faith in Him.
Next up is a very special line, “for my power is made perfect in weakness”. God doesn’t give us grace when we are at our strongest. He waits until we’re broken, weakened, and then He offers his hand to us. He pours His strength into our struggles, and lets those struggles be something to build from, not to hide away.
“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses…” Paul is saying something radical here. He doesn’t just say that he’s going to live with these weaknesses, but he will boast about them. He’s doing this to show that he is believing wholly in the grace and strength of God. On top of this, Paul is saying that God’s strength is more powerful than his failures ever could be.
And finally, “…so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” When we stop striving to live perfect lives, and instead trust in God’s grace, that’s when peace, trust, and divine power begin to cover us.
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Now that we see that grace transforms us, instead of calling us to be perfect, let’s look into what that means for our lives. Grace calls us to transform ourselves and live differently, a more godly life.
Titus 2:11-12 says “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” This is telling us to live through Christ and God more, as we are saved. Let’s explore this idea more.
”For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.” This is saying that everybody is saved, because it is God’s choice. He has not selected a few people, but saves everyone. It also says that grace has appeared, that being Christ, who appeared to show us the grace of God in the flesh.
”It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions” Grace doesn’t just forgive, it redirects us to follow a better path in life. Here’s a tricky part though: say no to ungodliness and worldly passions. It’s not tricky in the wording, but in the meaning. I love to play video games, including shooters. I’ve been told before that the violence is ungodly, and I should stop playing them. Here’s the thing though: just because it portrays violence doesn’t make it ungodly. For it to be ungodly, it would have to promote that violence, and make it seem like violence is a good thing to do to others. Worldly passions can also be tricky. Passion is ok to have, it’s a human emotion and feeling, but when it begins to pull you from the path that God sets for you, then it becomes an issue. For instance, passionate love is something we are called to, but lust is ungodly. Another thing to consider is pride. We are allowed to be proud of our accomplishments, but if they begin to pull us from our reverence of God, then it becomes an issue.
I’m not saying that we should stop all behavior that could possibly be bad, because we as humans are destined for failure, but God gives us grace to become better. This tells us that grace has been made available to all. Salvation is offered freely, not earned, but we must respond to it. The point is to remember God, to ask for mercy and grace, and change how you were, and become better from it.
Finally, “…and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” Grace is a duly call to change, not a one time salvation. We can’t sit by after repenting once, and going back to our ways. We must change how we are every day. These ways of living aren’t burdens, but the fruits of grace working through our spirits. Also notice how it says “in this present age”, which is to say now, not only in heaven, but work on this every day of our lives.
In a video game that I have played, a character who is flawed asks a question: “Is it better to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?” While this is a good question to ask, we have a simple answer for this in reality: we were not born good, so we must strive to overcome our evil nature. That is what grace calls us to do every day.
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More so, we cannot expect to sin and receive more grace. Take Romans 6:1-4, which says “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” That’s a lot to consider, so let’s break it down again, to more manageable parts.
“Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” Here, Paul is addressing a misconception: if God’s grace will cover it, why not sin more? It is a valid question. Sin is always a temptation, and grace is free. But consider what Paul says next:
“By no means! We are those who have died to sin…” Paul gives a clear, concise answer: Absolutely not! As I’ve said before, grace isn’t a license to sin, it is freedom from it. “Died to sin” is not saying that we have ourselves died, but that we are dead to sin. Sin has no holds on us, because we now live in Christ, and sin cannot live with Christ. It may still tempt us, but it no longer owns us.
“Baptized into Christ Jesus… into his death…” Baptism is more than a ritual, more than symbolism, it is a spiritual joining with Christ. When we accept Christ, We lay to rest our old lives—marked by sin and shame—and rise again with Christ, reborn into a life of purpose and grace. Our new reborn selves are called to live in Him and His glory.
So that we too may live a new life. The goal isn’t just to escape death, or an afterlife without God, it is to reinvent ourselves with Him in our hearts. Just as Christ was risen, we too are risen, with grace to shape our hearts, not just our status. Grace isn’t a pass to stay where we are—it’s the power that lifts us into something new. We don’t live in sin hoping grace will catch us. We live from grace because Christ already carried us.
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Grace in Community
The grace that we receive is free, so why should we hold it for ourselves? It is an infinite resource, one that we should share; among our families, friends, and communities. Grace received becomes grace extended.
Paul talks about how we should treat each other in his letter to the Colossians. In Colossians 3:12-14, he says “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
Let’s look at what Paul is saying. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved” The first thing he’s saying isn’t instruction, but declaring who we are. He’s setting the stage for who we are supposed to be, and reminding us of our roots. He’s also reminding us that we are loved first and foremost, and that we don’t have to do anything to earn that love.
“Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience…” These virtues are a daily choice, like the clothes that we wear. Some days, patience may not come easy—like clothes that don’t quite fit—but the more we wear them, the more natural they begin to feel. We have to choose to act with these in mind every single day. These are not attitudes that we earn, but ways that we reflect the grace that has been given to us. In showing these to others, we show them the love that Christ has shown us. Understanding God’s grace doesn’t just change our relationship with Him, it also changes how we treat others around us. We are called to show others the grace that God shows us, in order to truly understand His love and kindness, and to give others that same feeling and knowledge.
“Bear with each other and forgive one another…Forgive as the Lord forgave you” ‘Bear with’ acknowledges that people will frustrate and annoy you. That’s a regular human reaction. Grace, however, gives us the strength to stay anyway. It reminds us that while forgiveness isn’t always deserved, our forgiveness wasn’t either. Grace lets us remain in a relationship, even when it’s hard. The kind of forgiveness that God gave was immediate, when we were still sinners. It wasn’t easy, and we didn’t deserve it, but it is holy, and we are called to forgive as God forgave us.
Forgiveness doesn’t always mean forgetting the pain or pretending nothing happened. It means choosing to release resentment, even if boundaries still need to be set. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that the relationship has to remain, it could just mean showing the love that God shows us for them, and then removing them from your life. Ultimately, forgive someone because God calls us to, and because it is healthy for us. Then, we can decide what to do when we are pure in heart and in mind.
“And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” We keep coming back to love. That’s because it’s not just another item on a list, but the thread that binds everything together. Without love, nothing of merit is possible. Grace without love is duty, but grace with love is what allows us to heal, and to flourish.
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It’s easy to be kind and forgiving to those who treat us well, but what we have to remember is that God loves everybody, and we are called to show that love and grace to not only those who are good to us, but those who are bad to us as well.
Jesus talks about this very point in Luke 6:35, saying “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”
“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.” This is a very countercultural point that Jesus talks about. He’s calling us to love not only our friends, but those who hate us, misunderstand us, or even who wish harm upon us. Not because it will change how they feel about us, but because God loves us when we hurt Him, or misunderstand Him. He’s calling us to act with grace, because grace doesn’t keep score, it puts us on equal footing with each other. The lending it’s talking about isn’t just money, but love, kindness, forgiveness, or patience.
“Then your reward will be great,” we don’t gain anything from showing others grace now, and that’s not why we do it. We do it because it pleases God. Jesus says that there is a reward, but it’s not earthly applause, it’s alignment with God’s heart.
“You will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” This is the reason why we show grace to those who don’t deserve it. As children of God, we are called to reflect His heart and spirit, and as he shows grace to the undeserving, including ourselves, we are called to show grace to those who we do not believe deserve it.
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Ephesians 4:32 is another great piece of scripture that explains how to treat others with grace. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
“Be kind and compassionate to one another,” thi isn’t just a simple smile, or a wave. Kindness as God calls us to show is an act of purposeful goodwill. Compassion literally means “to suffer with”. It means to show empathy in action. To care deeply for other people, as we are cared for; not only in their strength, but especially in their weakness.
“Forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” Forgiveness is not conditional, it is a daily (often multiple times a day) choice made through grace. It doesn’t mean forgetting transgressions against us, but forgiving them and releasing the bitterness and hurt. Forgiveness is the standard. It is not ‘forgive when you are forgiven”, but forgive because you have been forgiven by God. Extending grace to others means giving what we have been given: unearned grace, from a heart transformed by Christ.
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Jesus tells us a story about forgiving people as we have been forgiven. In Matthew 18:21-35, he says:
“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him.
Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’
The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.
When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.
Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’
In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
I won’t dive into every line for analysis here, but there are a few important things to go over. The first being that Peter asks a question that I myself have wondered: is there a limit to grace? Something we should understand is that 7 is a generous amount in their time, and Jesus says “no, try seventy-seven”. This is not to say count 77 times, but rather that it shouldn’t be counted and marked, it should be endless.
The parable talks about a servant who is in so much debt that he would never be able to repay it. This is directly symbolizing our debt to God through sin, a debt that we can never pay back. However, much like the king in the parable, God wipes our slate clean of any debt. That is His grace.
The servant then turns around and denies any grace for someone who owes him a much smaller debt. This is incredibly hypocritical, and shows what it is like for us to not forgive and show grace to others after God shows us grace.
The consequences are drastic for the servant. He is locked away and tortured, not because he sinned, but because he refused to extend grace. Jesus ends the parable with a sobering truth: if we cling to bitterness and refuse to forgive others from the heart, we cut ourselves off from the very grace that was meant to set us free. Living without grace—for others or ourselves—is like locking ourselves away from God’s presence.
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Living in Grace Daily
Grace isn’t something that we’re given once, when we first begin a relationship with God. It’s not something we’re given when we’re forgiven, or when we hit rock bottom. Grace is the air that we breathe every day, as followers of Christ. Grace doesn’t just start our faith, it sustains it.
The first part of living with grace daily is remembering to do so confidently. Hebrews 4:16 says “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
This passage is reminding us that we are not called to be a part of our faith from a distance, but to be upfront and close with God in our faith. The throne reminds us of God’s power and authority; but what flows from this throne is not judgment, but grace.
We are told to walk to His throne with confidence. Not arrogance, but assurance that we are in the presence of God, and don’t have to be ashamed or timid. We may believe that we are not worthy of being in God’s presence, but grace makes us worthy, not through what we have done, but by what Christ did.
Consider, now, this line: “so that we may receive mercy and find grace”. Notice the present tense. This is telling us that we are supposed to actively search out the graceful way to walk through life every single day. God doesn’t run out of grace, we just have to remember to ask for it.
At the end of the day, God is here to help us through temptation, pain, worry, and suffering. God helps you how His plan calls for, and His grace will meet you where you are, when you need it.
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Every single day, God shows us a new form of grace, for whatever trials He has set before us. Lamentations 3:22-23 talks about this, saying “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
The world around us can be so overwhelming; with sin, pain, suffering, stress, grief, regret, and so much more. This verse reminds us that we are not overcome by any of this. We are held up by the strength, love, and grace of God. We are not consumed, because the grace of God is our shield.
God’s grace is unending. it never runs out. Not when we mess up, or are feeling weakened. “His compassions never fail”. God sees our struggles, and moves with us to ensure that we do not fail, but live according to His plan. His compassions never fail, because His grace never ends. It will never run dry, even if we feel that we’ve used too much.
This verse holds one of the most beautiful promises for us: “They are new every morning”. Grace resets. There isn’t a scoreboard, and nobody is keeping track of how many times we mess up. Every single day, the slate is wiped clean, and it’s another day to live in God’s grace. He doesn’t hold yesterday’s failures against us, he lets us start the new day with the promise of love at the end, no matter what.
“Great is your faithfulness” shifts the focus to God. Even when we are inconsistent, God is always there, always faithful. This line reminds us that we live in grace not because of how we live, but because it’s God’s will.
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Grace also frees us from our shame. It allows us to live without that burden, which opens up time for us to spend with God. Let’s take what Psalm 103:8-12 says about this: “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
God’s default is to show us grace, not judgement. He doesn’t get mad when we make mistakes, He takes us by the hand and shows us the right way. His love isn’t just protecting us from the evil of the world, but allowing us to grow, develop, and learn from it. He lets us fail so we can learn to better serve Him. He gives us love when we deserve punishment.
This goes on to say that His love is limitless, by saying that as far as east is to west, and as high as the heavens are from the Earth. These are limitless quantities, something truly immeasurable. He loves us in such a way that we could never begin to fathom the depths of his love and compassion. Because He loves us, he shows us grace in removing our sins, and erases our guilt for our transgressions, allowing us to move forward in a more healthy life.
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Grace isn’t something that happens a handful of times, and it’s not something that happens to you. It’s a choice that we make every day to live in God. It is what gives us the confidence to walk with God through triumph and trials, it meets us every morning with outstretched arms, regardless of our failures yesterday. It clears away our shame and guilt, and all of our sins. We’re not perfect, we don’t have to pretend to be. We just have to remember that God loves us, and gives us grace. We are forgiven, and given life through Christ. Just show up, and grace will meet you where you are.
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Conclusion
Through the last few weeks, we’ve talked a lot about what grace is. How it’s undeserved, unearned, and freely given through the love of God. How it saves us, not because of what we have done, but because it’s what Jesus has chosen to do for us. How it calls us to new life, outside of the sin that controlled us. How it should be shared with everyone around us freely, as it was shared with us. How it isn’t just the start of a journey, but a daily choice to be made daily, to live through Christ.
We’ll be moving on to faith next, continuing with our sermon series about the fundamentals of Christianity. I hope that you’ve learned a lot so far, and that we can continue to grow through the ministry. Have a wonderful week, and God bless!