If you want to know what God is like you can start from first principles with the statement that "God is good". To suggest otherwise or say that God does bad things to people who deserve mercy is to state things that are not based on truth.

"God is good".

When we look at the state of mankind and the world and ask what's God doing about it, the answer comes ringing out - "God has given the world His grace"! God has provided for mankind to have a better life in this age and in the ages to come. And it's by His grace.

So what is grace?

Grace is everything that God has done to reconcile man to Himself and bring about a union between God and man. God wants you to have the same enriched, joyous life that He enjoys, now and into the future. Grace is God's nature, his provision for mankind, the gospel, forgiveness, justification, redemption, salvation, and God's love.

The problems that we have in this world are not of God's making. The sicknesses and diseases that come upon us are not because of him. God is a good God. Jesus came to bring "Peace on earth" between God and mankind and let us know that God has one thing in his heart, "Goodwill toward all men".

We when we were born, were sinners, had no hope of a right relationship with God and could only look forward to a short hard life and then death.

But God sent his son to rescue us from this mire because we had no hope of saving ourselves. God sent Jesus to do what we could not do and provide the way for Him to GIVE us this better life when we could not earn it ourselves.

In the same way that because of Adam's sin we were all sinners as his sin was imputed to us, so because of Jesus' perfect life, if we put faith in Jesus we can have his righteousness imputed to us. Before we even realised we had an insurmountable problem God had provided the answer by His grace. And, the more faith in Jesus that we release in this life and the more doubt and unbelief we can eliminate, the more of that better live we can manifest now.

Eph 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not out of works, lest any man should boast.

Jesus has saved us from a fate of certain eternal death and given us the hope of eternal life in union with God. We did nothing to provide it. We did nothing to earn it. It's a free gift by God's grace.

2Pe 1:2-3 Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who has called us to glory and virtue,

To know Jesus and to put faith in Jesus is to accept what he has done for us and to have his righteousness imputed to us so that we can have that union with God. There is nothing we can supply, nothing we can do, to help the situation. All we do, is put faith in Jesus!

As Rom 4:5 says...

Rom 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Abraham is called the father of the faithful, because he showed the way of faith!

Rom 4:2-3 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

If you DON'T try to work it out yourself, thinking you can 'be good' and live up to God's standard but instead believe (have faith) in Jesus, as Abraham did, God will accept this and impute Christ's righteousness to you. In other words all your wrongs have been wiped from the books, in exchange for you living with Christ as your internal spiritual mentor!

Rom 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith (in Jesus) without the works of the Law (self-reliance).

But you may ask - "What role does the Holy Spirit play?

After Jesus went back to heaven the Father and Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be the same kind of comforter and guide for us that Jesus was for the disciples. And actually he said that it was better for us to have the Holy Spirit than to have him with us!

John 16:7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

Just as you are energised by your spirit to live and do the things that you find interesting and which reflect your character, the Holy Spirit in you energises you to do the things of interest to the Holy Spirit and which reflect your new character as a Child of God!

Jude 1:20-23 But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

Jude here tells us that we are to have mercy on others. We have been saved through Jesus Christ and it falls to us having had mercy shown to us to let others know of the mercy available through faith in Jesus, who can save them to the uttermost. This is our work - good works for others; to bring them the enlightenment of the Gospel and lead them to Christ. Reconciliation, salvation, justification, righteousness and holiness are things we now have, (as we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and saviour and live according to the Spirit,) and we naturally want to let others know that they can have this too!

Tit 2:11-12 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

Paul here tells us that everything we need has been provided freely by God and we just have to trust in this grace that God lavishes on the world and grace will teach us how to live holy lives.

Col 1:9-10 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

These are two sides of grace seen in action. God's grace is not something to selfishly hang on to. Having received it we'll want others to know of God's love and grace. That's the outcome if you've believed the true gospel.

Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

The gospel is not about following a better set of rules. No matter how "good" the rules were, we could not follow them to save ourselves. Also, God is not pretending that we are good because we 'say' we'll keep the law.

Act 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

The gospel is about the grace of God.

It's about having Jesus' righteousness imputed to us because we've put faith in Jesus and his sacrifice/death on our behalf, taking all our sins. God gives us a new spirit that is perfect and seals us (our new spirit) with the Holy Spirit.

Eze 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

Eph 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you are sealed until the day of redemption.

We are totally different in the spirit to what we were before. We are new creations or as some translations put it, "we are new creatures". We're a new species! We have a new nature!

2Co 5:17 So that if any one is in Christ, that one is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Our total salvation in life and health in this world and in the world to come is because of God's grace. If we put faith in Jesus we will receive all that he has provided. And He will teach us to live with a new lifestyle of holiness and righteousness.

And all because our God is a good God. All because of His grace.

Forgive Us Our Sins Click Here.
How long was Christ in the grave Click Here.
For more on which law for Christians Click Here.

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