I sometimes wonder if there is a place for grace in the church today? Churches get berated for "cheap grace." But grace was anything but cheap. It was costly. it doesn't matter if you are a youth that doesn't know better, or a seasoned youth worker that should know better. We all fail and we all need grace. It is only through grace that anyone is saved.
"The church is more than a group of people who have all been born again. The church consists of God's trophies of grace...
Throughout eternity, God will be glorified because He has extended His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. We certainly didn't deserve His grace, yet He *chose* to extend loving grace toward us on the basis of His own loving nature.
Unlike their Father, performance-based Christians accept other people according to their conduct. One walking in grace accepts people on the basis of unconditional love. This doesn't suggest a blanket approval of all behavior, but grace allows one to accept and love others regardless of ther actions.
Legalists set out to change what people *do.* Grace looks beyond what others do and affirms them for who they *are*, encouraging them to live up to their identity.
Legalists heap guilt and shame on those who fail to measure up. A gracious Christian loves unconditionally.
As you extend grace to Christians who stumble and fail, you will be amazed at the impact it has on their life. A Christian who has fallen doesn't need condemnation. He probably already has enough self-condemnation to cause him to feel crushed under its weight. Condemnation of a believer *never* comes from God...
Legalism separates Christians, but grace draws us together in a love relationship. We are one in union with Christ."
Source: Steve McVey "Grace Walk" Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR
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