Key Ingredients to a Joyful Life 7; Partakers of Grace

Grace -- God's unmerited,undeserved, unsolicited favor toward fallen sinful enemies of His. Remarkable. Grace is far more than a warm sentiment or welcome feeling. In fact, embracing these erroneous views of grace cripples it's intention and efficacy.

John Henry Jowett defined grace this way: 'It is a transcendent and ineffable force, the outgoing energies of the redeeming personality of God washing against the polluted shores of human need.... A glorious energy moving toward the race with the fullness and majesty of the ocean tide.' Another writer called it 'The greatest energy of all.... It is a force, a power, an energy...resistless, boundless incalculable power!... That secret of triumph over cowardice and fear...grace begets courage and confidence...it fires the heart and nerves the arm. It changes doubt and despair into the assurance of victory.'

And John Piper offers this perspective: 'Grace is not simply leniency when we have sinned. Grace is the enabling gift of God not to sin. Grace is power, not just pardon. Therefore the effort we make to obey God is not an effort done in our own strength, but in the strength which God supplies.' Join us as we delve into this crucial topic that serves as the center pin of our Christian faith.