Christianity 101: Grace - God's Free Gift

“…because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free…”
Romans 3:24

Have you ever felt completely alone?  Have you ever felt totally and utterly worthless and rejected by the whole world?  Have you ever just wanted to be accepted, to be loved simply for who you are?  Well if any of these questions sound familiar, then you’re not alone and I have good news for you.

As people each one of us was created by God to be loved.  Furthermore the love and acceptance of other people, while necessary, will not entirely satisfy our need to be loved.  It is only in finding relationship with the one who created us that we can become truly complete and whole!

While this may sound like some lofty stuff, it’s really not that hard.  God loves you, and has already made possible the way for you to receive and live in that love.  So what are you waiting for?!?   


All of us suffer from a human condition and problem known as "sin."  This word (Gk. hamartia - to miss the mark) is an archery term, and for some builds into the view that the human life is a path that rightly lived should be toward God.  If one deviates from that right path, then to do so would be called sin.  But what if, instead of understanding life as a path or a journey, we see human existence as fundamentally about relationship?  Now sin (hamartia) is no longer deviation from a prescribed path, but rather is anything that gets in the way of relationship.  Sin is anything that gets in between you and God!  So with this understanding sin is what's stopping us from receiving and living in that love of God!

God's answer to the problem of sin comes in the form of Grace (ultimately realized in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus).  Romans 3:21-26, uses legal language like "righteousness", "justified" and "atonement" to talk about God's grace.  But again if we view life, sin, and grace's interaction with the two in relational terms, then God's grace restores relationship that was once broken.  So what is grace ultimately?  It's the solution to the problem of sin.  Grace is a free gift from God given to all humanity in order to forever restore our relationship with God.  If sin is the problem, then grace is the solution.


You were created for relationship.  Ultimately you were made to be in relationship with your creator, and even though sin gets in the way of that relationship, God has offered you a gift (grace) to restore the brokenness of that relationship.  Will you accept that gift today?