Title 《Living by Grace》 (July 4)
Contents
《I live by grace》
(Galatians 5:15-21)
(…) Many people do not want to agree with the sayings ‘If you believe in Jesus you will be saved’ or ‘If you believe in Jesus you will be made righteous’. Some Christians are reluctant to agree (…) People criticize the church for saying that faith leads to salvation. Some say that it is simply a word that the church invented to facilitate evangelism. Others use that view of salvation as something we do not have to live uprightly. (…) A person is justified by faith. This means that we are all under the influence of God's grace. In other words, we all live by the grace of God. That is why we say that we should not encourage separation and quarrels because of each other's physical or cultural differences, but we should love each other and live.(…)
We generally classify people into two categories. It's different from me. In a relationship between two people, I am always right and the other is wrong. Because we always think we are right, we blame others and try to separate us from them. The Apostle Paul said, “I am the result of God’s grace, even what we think is right. By the grace of God, I am who I am through Jesus Christ. God has set us free from our transgressions and sins. Therefore, we should treat and respect others with humility and kindness.”(…)
Romans 5:8 says, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Thus God demonstrated his love for us.” That's right. We live by grace. But when we forget that we live by grace, things happen within us that try to destroy reconciliation and unity. We are trying to rebuild the wall of division that was broken down by Jesus' death. They create divisions within the church and within our community and try to disparage or ignore others. Trying to separate me. Trying to disrupt the community.(…)
Dear members of Sinchon Church,
When Paul said that we are justified by faith, he does not mean that we Christians are people who do not have much to do with doing good or having a high sense of ethics. Rather, he encouraged us to realize that we are all people who live by God's grace, and to live by sharing love while giving thanks for that grace.(…)
God gave His most precious Son to give us life. By sacrificing himself, Jesus confirmed that we all live by the love and grace of God. Therefore, we must give up our desire to slander our righteousness, our pride, our self, and others, so that others may also gain life and live in that grace. This is the saying that a person is justified by faith. Amen.