John 3:16b “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
“Unbelievable” you think as you read through a letter detailing how your estranged great uncle has left his entire, sizable fortune to you. The letter communicated that all you have to do to claim the inheritance is send proof of ID and $1000 cash to cover necessary verification fees. Unbelievable is almost certainly correct for such an obvious scam.
Sadly many people view the grace of God with the same skepticism. They hear about the priceless inheritance which Jesus earned on their behalf and think “Unbelievable.” This is in fact all of humanity’s natural reaction to hearing the good news of sins forgiven and promised eternal life. God’s undeserved love for mankind is seen as too good to be true and unrealistic. This reaction is easy to understand because God does not work the way the world works. Almost everything in the world is set up as a give and take exchange, one profitable item in exchange for another. Whereas humanity’s exchange with the Lord is almost entirely one sided. God gives us the forgiveness of sins. God gives us peace with Him. God gives us the hope of everlasting life. The only thing mankind gives God is the debt of sin. He took that debt to the cross and paid the full price for mankind’s deliverance.
In order to deliver this forgiveness to His children and turn the unbelievable grace of God into believable, God gives His children faith. Faith grabs on to the truths of scripture and holds on firmly. Faith believes what the world considers unbelievable. Faith is the gift from God that keeps on giving God’s blessings to His children. Through faith God makes the riches of His grace, everlasting life, the personal possession of His children. These riches come solely through faith and apart from any deed, work, or decision on our part.
In Christ, Pastor Naumann
