Sanctifying Grace Part 2

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that

provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

I remember when I was new Christian and was first learning about God’s grace.

Grace is a word that is used very often in the New Testament. But in my

family, grace was not a word we used much at all. So I really didn’t

understand its meaning. My teachers at church helped me. They said that

God’s grace is his unmerited favor. We do not deserve God’s grace. We

cannot earn it. But, by grace, God shows us favor. Because of His great grace,

the Father sent his Son Jesus into the world to save his people from their sins.

Ephesians 2:8,9 teach us that “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.” 

Grace: God’s unmerited favor. I am so glad I learned this definition. But later

I learned that there is more to grace than simply unmerited favor. I learned

that God’s grace is the power to do his will. The Apostle Paul said in I

Corinthians 15:10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to

me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but

the grace of God that was with me.” Here Paul understand the grace of God as

the power of God to do the will of God.

What an amazing truth. God calls us to be holy and God gives us power to be

holy. If we had to transform our behavior in our own strength, we would surely

fail. But God is kind to us; he gives us power to be holy. We call this power

from God to live a transformed life “sanctifying grace.” Sanctifying grace is

God’s power at work in us enabling us to do the will of God. And like saving

grace, sanctifying grace is free. It is not earned or deserved. Like saving grace,

sanctifying grace is received by faith. And like saving grace, the Holy Spirit is

God’s agent who delivers sanctifying grace to us.

I know that as a church planter you long to lead and multiply strong, healthy

churches. And as a church planter who has worked to make disciples, you know

that churches are only as healthy as the people who form them. As a church

planter, you have seen sin which has broken and impoverished families for

generations. And, praise the Lord, as a church planter, you have seen God’s

saving grace at work through the ministry of the Holy Spirit to bring new life to

men and women who were far from God.

So here is my word of encouragement for you today. Just as you have

proclaimed the saving grace of God to hundreds, so also proclaim the

 sanctifying grace of God. Teach new believers from Philippines 2:13, “God is at

work in you both to desire and to work for his good pleasure.” Teach church

members that the God who calls them to be holy will give them power to be

holy. Invite them to receive sanctifying grace moment by moment. Teach them

to expect the Holy Spirit to deliver God’s grace every hour and every day.

This has been “Multiply.” And I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this

encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #SanctifyingGrace #BeHoly