Grace freely received is freely given

Grace is defined as uncontrollable complete forgiveness. Grace freely received is freely given. Better said, the understanding of the grace freely received is freely given. Once one understands the depths of the grace received, one willingly gives grace.

Paul (or Saul) in the Bible was an amazing man. He was a Roman citizen, a legal scholar, trained under Gamaliel, an influential rabbi in Jerusalem. He grew up learning Jewish law, and, John Macarthur comments that “he would never lose any contest of intellectual or academic achievements.”

Paul had zeal for what he believed. He was passionately behind Hebrew traditions and Old Testament law. He forced his beliefs with great vigor, willing to murder those that believed otherwise.

Paul never walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Jesus. And, when confronted by a believer in Christ, he took matters into his own hands. He drove and backed the incarceration and stoning of those that supported Christ. There was arguably no greater enemy of the followers of Jesus.

Something happened. He was changed in an instant. A miraculous conversion took place, detailed in Acts 9. Paul was confronted by the formerly crucified Jesus himself and was immediately changed. The change can’t be understated. He went from a murderer, a persecutor of those that followed Christ, to a passionate messenger for Christ. An abrupt, immediate, complete change. His life would never be the same. He would never back down from this belief, ultimately, being beheaded for this passion.

So, what could possibly happen that would make someone change their life so abruptly? Paul spent the first 30 years of his life vehemently acting and believing one way and the next 30 years of his life, until death, believing and acting the opposite way. There is arguably no more drastic, abrupt change in one’s life mentioned in the Bible.

Grace happened. Uncontrollable complete forgiveness happened. His past was forgotten. His passionate persecution was forgotten. In his words:

For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 1 Corinthians 15:9-10

Why did God use Paul? If anyone understood the message of grace, it was Paul. If anyone could understand the meaning of grace, it was Paul. If anyone could take a message of free forgiveness to anyone and everyone, no matter what they had done, it was Paul. No one was too far from grace. Paul gives an explanation of the “why.”

But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 1 Timothy 12:16

Why was Paul selected and used by God? So that he might be an example for others. God’s grace was on display through Paul. God’s grace gave Paul purpose.

Grace changes everything.

When grace or a pardon is given for a wrong-doing, relief and peace is immediately felt. We have all been there. We all know the feeling. Forgiveness by someone is a gift.

When the forgiveness comes from the Creator of the world, the magnitude of grace changes everything. With this grace comes the gift of life. The Bible literally describes this gift as moving from death to life.

Like Paul, those that receive grace have a different life. There will be an abrupt change. Lives will never be perfect, but wrongdoings will be known individually, unsettling to the soul. The gift of grace compels one to live differently. As Paul said, the gift of grace is not received in vain. When one understands the magnitude of the grace, it changes everything.

Perhaps the greatest gift from grace is the peace that ensues. Peace knowing that your past is forgiven, your present is forgiven, and your future is forgiven. It is finished. Grace is a stamp that says, “it is finished.”

Once one understands this truth, grace is not received in vain.

Grace that is freely received is freely given to others.

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