The Saul who became Paul!
Scripture: Acts 7:54-58
54When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
Acts 8:1And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.
Thesis: Saul was a religious fanatical terrorist to Christians – he was the assassin of any who preached and stood for Jesus – and he thought he was doing this for God. His conversion in Acts 9 shows what happen when people have a divine encounter with Jesus because Paul went from being a terrorist to a zealot for the Kingdom of God and Jesus.
Introduction:
One of the big ten commandments is to not use the Lord’s name in vain!
Bible reference - Exodus 20:7: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
Explanation: Has the world advanced so far that we do not need this commandment anymore? Has all profanity ceased? Have men–and women and children, too–ceased to take God’s name in vain? Have they at last learned to honor the holy name of our Savior?
How many millions violate this commandment every day! And how many do about the same thing with common slang! Let us remember what Jesus said to some careless talkers of His day.
It is recorded in Matthew 12:36, 37, “But I say to you that for every idle word man may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words, you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
What sinister sin and evil is done in the name of God! Breaking this commandment is not just about swearing and using God’s name it’s about doing stuff in the name of God that has nothing to do with God – like Saul was doing in his persecution of Christians!
Saul – The Paul – we need to get the back story on this man – so we need to see who he was see what the Bible says about him – He is introduced to us in Acts 7:58 at the first murder of a follower of Jesus’ “Stephen” – We need to see – something we have Never seen before in 2024 that’s our goal this year – Paul the apostle was once a terrorist – a partner in the murder of a Spirit filled man called Stephen – who according to Scripture in Acts 6-8 had the following spiritual traits:
• A man full of faith and the Holy Spirit
• A man full of God’s grace and power
• A man who did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people of Jerusalem.
• A man filled God’s wisdom and God’s spirit of insight.
• A man falsely accused of blasphemy against Moses and God.
• A man whose face shone like the face of an angel.
• A man whose speech connected Jesus to Moses – the prophets of the OT.
• A man who revealed to the religious leaders that God does not dwell in buildings or tabernacles anymore but in the hearts of His creations – people’s hearts. He is referencing Leviticus, Ezekiel and Acts 2!
• A man who boldly rebukes the religious leaders as being stiff necked with uncircumcised hearts and ears and as usual they resist the Holy Spirit.
• A man who spoke for God and said “Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? (Acts 7:52)
• A man who called out the religious leaders for Killing the Righteous One – Jesus predicted by former prophets.
• A man whose God given words unleashed the demons in the religious leaders again like they did with Jesus, and it made them furious, and they gashed their teeth at him in rage and anger!
• A man who in this moment of facing down demonically possessed men of religion and sinister anger saw Heaven, the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father!
• A man who revealed the vision he was seeing in that heated moment vs 56 “I see Heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
• A man after revealing his vision is attacked savagely by crazy terrorists bent on killing him and silencing his God given word and vision of Jesus.
• A man dragged to the outskirts of the city and stoned to death.
• A man who in the middle of being stoned to death prays to the Lord “Lord do not hold this against them!” Asking for the Lord to forgive their evil sinister act of rage!
• A man who while being stoned to death is being watch by Saul and he is cheering the murderers on – who is young and holding all the murderers’ cloaks encouraging them on to kill this man young Stephen. Stone Him – Kill him! Saul the religious leader says - Acts 8:1
I. Saul’s early life: The following is from gotquestions.org:
a. It is difficult to overestimate the influence of the apostle Paul. He is known worldwide as one of the greatest Christian missionaries. His inspired writings cover a large portion of the New Testament, and it is safe to say that he remains one of the most read authors in human history. His abrupt turnaround from zealous persecutor of Christians to one of Christianity’s greatest proponents surely shaped the history of the early Christian church. But who was Saul of Tarsus before he became the apostle, Paul? What do we know about his life prior to meeting Christ on the Damascus Road?
b. Saul of Tarsus was born in approximately AD 5 in the city of Tarsus in Cilicia (in modern-day Turkey). He was born to Jewish parents who possessed Roman citizenship, a coveted privilege that their son would also possess. In about AD 10, Saul’s family moved to Jerusalem. Sometime between AD 15—20 Saul began his studies of the Hebrew Scriptures in the city of Jerusalem under Rabbi Gamaliel. It was under Gamaliel that Saul would begin an in-depth study of the Law with the famous rabbi.
c. There has been some debate over whether Saul was raised in Jerusalem or in his birthplace of Tarsus, but a straightforward reading of his own comments indicates that Jerusalem was his boyhood home (Acts 22:3). We know that Paul’s sister’s son was in Jerusalem after Paul’s conversion (Acts 23:16), which lends weight to the idea that Paul’s entire family had moved to Jerusalem when he was young.
d. It is quite possible that Saul was present for the trial of Stephen—a trial that resulted in Stephen becoming the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:54–60). The historian Luke tells us that Stephen’s executioners laid their garments at the feet of Saul (Acts 7:58), who was in full approval of the mob’s murderous actions (Acts 8:1). Saul later ravaged the church, entering the homes of believers and committing them to prison. Saul’s anti-Christian zeal motivated him not only to arrest and imprison male Christians (the “ringleaders”) but to lock up female believers as well (Acts 8:3).
e. Paul’s post-conversion correspondence to various churches reveals even more about his background. In his second letter to the church in Corinth, Paul describes himself as a Hebrew, an Israelite, and a descendant of Abraham (2 Corinthians 11:22). In his letter to the Philippian church, Paul says he was a Pharisee of the tribe of Benjamin (Philippians 3:5).
f. While on his way to Damascus to arrest and extradite Christians back to Jerusalem, Saul was confronted by the very One whom he was persecuting (Acts 9:3–9; 22:6–11; 26:12–18). What followed was one of the most dramatic conversions in church history. Saul of Tarsus became the apostle Paul, an ardent missionary to an unbelieving world and a fine example of faithful service in the face of fierce persecution (Acts 14:19; 16:22–24; 2 Corinthians 11:25–26). Saul’s education, his background as a Pharisee, his Roman citizenship, and his unflagging zeal all contributed to his success as a missionary once those credentials and traits had been subjugated to the lordship of Christ.
i. Observations: Saul the Paul’s life starts out religious and it drives leads him to commit murder – Yes murder in the name of God. He was a part of a murder – Stephens to be exact – Paul held the coats of the men who killed him, and he stood by cheering them on – stone Him – Stone Him – kill Him – can you picture the demonically inspired scene – comes out of a Stephen King horror novel – a godly man brought down in his prime – killed for preaching the Gospel of Jesus! Stoned to death – do you know how horrible a death that is?
1. Saul was their rooting for the murderers!
a. Stephen all we really know about Him is he was the first person besides Jesus who was killed for talking and preaching about Jesus – to the religious elite and to Jewish listeners.
2. Saul yes, the Paul was an evil man driven to do evil things toward Christians all in the name of God! Have you ever heard someone open a sermon about Paul and call him a terrorist’s – a murderer – a destroyer of all things Christian? That who this man was – yes – a religious terrorist of all things Christian. The Hitler of the 1st century church people –– losing their homes and business because of His attacks – people losing their lives because this man was on mission from Hell – not from God but from the Devil and all the while deceived he is doing God a favor – talk about deception – talk about having an evil mind and heart – clueless to God’s truth and ways – yet he had studied the OT his whole life – sat under great teachers and missed God - the God the Great I Am!
a. What encourages people to act like this – be deceived like this – Answer: the simple truth is they are possessed by demonic powers – they are entrenched and controlled by evil.
b. As we are introduced to Saul the man who would become “The Paul” – we see a sinister past – a sinister mission – a man driven to kill – to stop the message and the story of Jesus – Love personified – God in the flesh story.
c. Saul was caught up in the evil religious spirit that hated Jesus – His message – His mission – His truth – His sacrifice – His mind was possessed by this evil spirit – it drove Him to do horrible – evil things – all the while telling God is pleased with Him.
d. Saul was born in Tarsus – now part of Turkey – he spoke Aramaic – Greek – was a Roman citizen but also a devout Jew – a mislead – misguided man who should have been struck down by lighting at the hand of God – instead Jesus appears to Him!
g. Today many hear the name of Paul and other images flood their minds – good images – amazing preaching and teaching – a worker of miracles – a church planter – a passionate martyr for Jesus in the end – but our introduction to the Saul who became Paul is a different person – a deceived and sinister person – a terrorist!
II. Paul is known as the Apostle of Grace!
a. You may be thinking “What is Grace?” Charles Swindoll his book Grace Awakening has this to say about this gift called grace that came from Jesus:
i. To show grace is to extend favor or kindness to one who doesn’t deserve it and can never earn it. Receiving God’s acceptance by grace always stands in sharp contrast to earning it based on works. Every time the thought of grace appears, there is the idea of its being undeserved. In no way is the recipient getting what he or she deserves. Favor is being extended simply out of the goodness of the heart of the giver (9).
ii. He also notes: But when “grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ,” a long-awaited revolution of the heart began to set religious captives free. Fear-full bondage motivated by guilt was replaced with a fresh motivation to follow Him in truth simply out of deep devotion and delight. Rather than focusing on the accomplishments of the flesh, The spoke of the heart. Instead of demanding that the sinner fulfills a long list of requirements, he emphasized faith, if only the size of a mustard seed. The change spelled freedom, as the Lord himself taught, “…you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Rigid, barren religion was, at last, replaced by a grace-orientated, relationship-liberating grace. His followers loved it. His enemies hated it… and Him. Without a doubt, the earliest grace killers were the Pharisees (10).
iii. Grace came because of Jesus. Once again Grace is defined as receiving a gift that we do not deserve - that gift is salvation - right standing in the presence of God - even though our sinful lives do not deserve that position of honor.
b. Paul knew he did not deserve a divine visitation by Jesus – nor the second chance to serve God in the right way!
i. In 1 Timothy 1:15, the apostle Paul summed up the gospel of God’s grace: “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (NKJV). The magnitude of the gift he had gained in Christ was best understood by Paul when set before the dismal backdrop of his own deep depravity. And so, with humble gratitude, Paul accepted the title “chief of sinners.”
1. One Bible commentator describes the grace of salvation as “the gift of God. He gives it ‘without money and without price.’ It is His munificent, magnificent gift in Christ Jesus, to the very chiefess of sinners” (Exell, J., ed., Biblical Illustrator, Vol. 5, entry for Acts 28:28, Baker Book House, 1975).
c. Paul’s letters had a common theme – They open talking about Grace – God’s Grace and end referring to Grace!
i. Paul was a man who had experienced Grace and he always referred to its power in the opening of his letters and in the closing of his letters because it changed his life. Grace changed a murderer of the church to a martyr of the church.
ii. Scripture Texts:
1. I Cor. 16:21-24: 21I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. 22If anyone does not love the Lord—a curse be on him. Come, O Lord! 23The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.
2. 1 Cor. 1:1-3: 1Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: 3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. Thought: Paul was a man who had experienced Grace and he always referred to its power in the opening of his letters and in the closing of his letters because it changed his life. Grace changed a murderer of the church to a martyr of the church. Grace could be traced in Paul’s life as being the key that transformed his character and his direction in life. He went from being a murdered of the Body of Christ to becoming a martyr for the Body of Christ. He went from becoming a religious fanatic filled with legalism and condemnation to a man filled grace and love.
III. Grace is a force - a power that we all need to experience and to tap into because it has power to change our lives and others lives:
a. Grace – Paul’s primary message has power which we need to understand today:
i. Grace has the power to transform a life filled with sorrow to a life filled with joy.
ii. Grace has the power to deliver one from them self.
iii. Grace has the power to bring love into a loveless life.
iv. Grace has the power to bring forgiveness into a life that is filled with hatred and bitterness.
v. Grace has the power to bring hope to the hopeless.
vi. Grace has the power to bring light into a life trapped in darkness.
vii. Grace has the power to find the lost and bring them home.
viii. Grace has the power to heal the hurt and bring health and wholeness.
ix. Grace has the power to bring meaning to a meaningless life.
x. Grace has the power to bring revival to a place filled with death.
xi. Grace has the power to open the eyes of the blind and to see the world as God sees it.
xii. Grace has the power and the strength to break down the barrier between us and God. This power is only available by 1 source, by one person, by 1 life. That person is Jesus. Paul understood this truth and this truth is what set him free.
b. We need to understand how Paul viewed this thing called grace.
i. Paul understanding of Grace - Listen to Paul’s openings and closings of his letters to the churches:
1. 1 Corinthians 1: 1Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: 3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
a. Paul told the Corinthians to remember who sanctified them Jesus and it’s all rooted in grace.
b. Paul knows that without grace there is no sanctification, no holiness no ability to stand righteous in God’s presence.
2. 1 Corinthians 16: 23The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.
a. Paul ends our book praying a pray that God’s grace would be with this church and then tells this messed up church that he loves them – note Paul was being criticized by some in this church but he sends them his love – this is all about grace.
b. Paul knew that this church needed to experience God’s grace – it really is their only hope!
3. Romans 1: 1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—2the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
a. Notice what he says: “We received grace!” He knew about how the great sacrifice of Jesus opened the door for us to receive grace – he knew it was costly and we did nothing to deserve it or to earn it. It was a free gift from Jesus Christ!
4. Romans 16: 20The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you… 25Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him—27to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
a. Notice the connection between grace and Satan being crushed by the God of peace – it’s happening very soon. Grace is the power which set Satan’s demise in motion!
5. 2 Corinthians 1: 1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia: 2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
a. He opens 2 Corinthians praying for grace and peace from God the Father for this church.
b. Paul knows that this church must be saturated in grace.
6. 2 Corinthians 13: 14May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
a. He ends this 2nd letter to this church by praying that the grace of Jesus and God’s love and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with them all.
b. He wants them to have grace with them all the time because this brings them the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit into their lives.
c. Grace opens the door to the love of God –The Father and to fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
7. Galatians 1: 1Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—2and all the brothers with me, To the churches in Galatia: 3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
a. Paul opens this letter referring to how he was called not by man but by Jesus and then flows into his remark – grace and peace to you because of the sacrifice of Jesus – the one who rescued us from this present evil age with grace – with mercy with his own life.
i. Paul reminds us of the power of Grace.
ii. Grace delivers us from evil.
iii. Grace came because it was God’s will – God’s will be that you personally experience Grace.
8. Galatians 6:18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
a. Paul ends this letter to a church falling into legalism again with the instruction to allow grace to be in their spirit. They needed to allow it to saturate their hearts because grace roots out legalism every time!
c. Paul has perspective – the right perspective and it’s because of grace.
i. In these passages of Scripture, the Apostle Paul speaks about grace with great passion and focus. But if you have ever read through the New Testament writings of Paul you see a common theme in his writings to the church and us. He always opens his books talking about God’s grace to us.
1. He always starts talking about grace-he always focused on grace, and he always finished his books referring to this great gift from God - Grace.
2. Paul’s writing here almost says “WOW! This grace thing still blows my mind!”
3. Paul the apostle wanted us to know grace, live grace, experience grace, breath grace, show grace, act grace, and focus on grace. You could say that Paul was obsessed with grace.
a. Have you ever met a person who is obsessed with something?
i. It consumes their thinking – it consumes their mindset – it comes out of their actions – it spills out of their speech.
ii. Paul was this way with Grace.
b. Paul knew all the short comings in the church of Corinth, and he knew that the only way they were going to make it into heaven was because of grace – God’s grace given to us through Jesus.
c. Paul wanted us to understand grace and experience grace the way he did, so he constantly referenced it and talked about it in his writings. Others too have communicated to us the importance of understanding grace and experiencing it. Let’s listen to some of their thoughts.
ii. Charles Swindoll has this to say about this gift called grace that came from Jesus: To show grace is to extend favor or kindness to one who doesn’t deserve it and can never earn it. Receiving God’s acceptance by grace always stands in sharp contrast to earning it based on works. Every time the thought of grace appears, there is the idea of its being undeserved. In no way is the recipient getting what he or she deserves. Favor is being extended simply out of the goodness of the heart of the giver (Grace Awakening, page 9).
1. Grace is all about being given something that we could never earn on our own.
2. It’s given out of a heart of love! God’s heart sees John 3:16!
3. He also notes: But when “grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ,” a long-awaited revolution of the heart began to set religious captives free. Fear-full bondage motivated by guilt was replaced with a fresh motivation to follow Him in truth simply out of deep devotion and delight. Rather than focusing on the accomplishments of the flesh, He spoke of the heart. Instead of demanding that the sinner fulfill a long list of requirements, he emphasized faith, if only the size of a mustard seed. The change spelled freedom, as the Lord himself taught, “…you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Rigid, barren religion was, at last, replaced by a grace-orientated, relationship-liberating grace. His followers loved it. His enemies hated it… and Him. Without a doubt, the earliest grace killers were the Pharisees (10).
iii. Philip Yancey defines grace this way, "Grace makes its appearance in so many forms that I have trouble defining it. I am ready, though, to attempt something like a definition of grace in relation to God. Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more-no amount of spiritual calisthenics and renunciations, no amount of knowledge gained from seminaries and divinity schools, no amount of crusading on behalf of righteous causes. And grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us less-no amount of racism or pride or pornography or adultery or even murder. Grace means that God already loves us as much as an infinite God can possibly love." (What’s So Amazing About Grace, page 70).
1. Philip tells me that grace means God loves me as I am, and He was still willing to send His son to die so that I could experience His divine love for me.
iv. Max Lucado explains grace this way in his book In the Grip of Grace pages xii-xiii: Surely God is impressed with my garments, I often thought. Occasionally I strutted into his presence so he could compliment the self-tailored wear. He never spoke. His silence must mean admiration, I convinced myself. But then my wardrobe began to suffer. The fabric of my trousers grew thin. My best works started coming unstitched. I began leaving more undone than done, and what little I did was nothing to boast about. No problem, I thought. I’ll work harder. But working harder was a problem. There was a hole in my coat of convictions. My resolve was threadbare. A cold wind cut into my chest. I reached up to pull my hat down firmly, and the brim ripped off in my hands. Over a period of a few months, my wardrobe of self-righteousness completely unraveled. I went from tailored gentlemen’s apparel to beggar’s rags. Fearful that God might be angry at my tattered suit, I did my best to stitch it together and cover my mistakes. But the clothes were so worn. And the wind was so icy. I gave up. I went back to God. (Where else could I go?) On a wintry Thursday afternoon, I stepped into his presence, not for applause, but for warmth. My prayer was feeble. “I feel naked.” “You are. And you have been for a long time.” What he did next, I’ll never forget. “I have something to give you,” he said. He gently removed the remaining threads and then picked up a robe, a regal robe, the clothing of his goodness. He wrapped it around my shoulders. His words to me were tender. “My son, you are now clothed with Christ” (See Gal. 3:27).
1. So many of us want to think that our good works will get the attention of God.
2. But it’s really the humble attitude of a person crying for help that gets God’s attention.
3. Lucado adds this thought on page 107 about Grace: “Where the grace of God is missed, bitterness is born. But where the grace of God is embraced, forgiveness flourishes. The longer we walk in the garden, the more likely we are to smell like flowers. The more we immerse ourselves in grace, the more likely we are to give grace.”
a. Max tries to help us understand that the more grace we get the more we should give it away to others. We need to be dispensers of God’s grace to others.
v. A.W. Tozer’s explanation of Grace: “Grace is the good pleasure of God that inclines Him to bestow benefits upon the undeserving. It is a self-existent principle inherent in the divine nature and appears to us as a self-caused propensity to pity the wretched, spare the guilty, welcome the outcast, and bring into favor those who were before under just disapprobation. Its use to us sinful men is to save us and make us sit together in heavenly places to demonstrate to the ages the exceeding riches of God’s kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”
1. Grace is the willingness of God to forgive and give a gift one does not deserve.
vi. Augustine understood grace this way: “Nothing whatever pertaining to godliness and real holiness can be accomplished without grace.”
1. He tells us that we can do nothing for God without grace – note nothing!
vii. Spurgeon understood grace this way: “If grace does not make us differ from other men, it is not the grace which God gives His elect.”
1. Spurgeon tells me that grace will transform our lives like it did Paul’s and millions of others.
d. Many people have understood the importance of grace, and we too need to understand how essential grace is in the life of a Christian. I sat and pondered what I have just shared with you, and I must admit this thing grace is amazing and I was reminded how I experienced it and how it too changed my life.
Conclusion:
This week I looked at the word Grace again – I look at these 5 lettered words and I am still amazed at its power. As I looked and stared at this word in my office, I saw something I had never seen before. It’s as if the word spoke to me and said look at where Grace all begins.
I looked and I saw G – it was a capitalized G on my paper. It hit me it all starts with God=G then a soft voice comes to my heart and says, “Grace starts with God – always has – always will!” He birthed the power of Grace in Jesus. We know that Jesus was God in the flesh – Grace starts with God! He is the giver of Grace!
Then I noticed the rest of the word G – RACE – the rest of the word spells RACE– maybe I was daydreaming too much, but something drew me to look at the word RACE.
My spiritual journey has been a God Race – I am really racing toward God in my journey of life. He is my destination!
My mind jumped to another one of Paul’s thoughts from 1 Corinthians 9:24 “24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
Paul told us in this passage that we need to run the race with the intention of winning the prize which is waiting for us in Heaven – God’s involvement in my life helps me to run the race and to win the race and therefore to get the eternal prize.
But the race starts when I experience grace- when I experience the gift of forgiveness and mercy-when my sins are wiped away freely and without penalty.
Paul also said in 2 Timothy 4:7, 8: “7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
My goal is righteousness in the presence of God. “Now that to me is amazing!” Why? Because I know my sins and my shortcomings!
Then I read another passage of Scripture which says, “1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).
We all need to understand that we are running a race – a God race-either you are heading toward Him or away from Him but you’re running.
Each of us here today is running in a Great Race – some of us have come to understand that this race is a marathon – Ecclesiastes 9:11 reminds us, “The race is not to the swift…”
As I was writing this sermon it hit me, we are in a G-Race a Great Race it’s a Race toward God – Do you see it in your own life? Are you racing toward God and flowing into more of His Grace?
GRACE has been defined this way also:
• G = God’s
• R = Riches
• A = At
• C = Christ’s
• E = Expense
Grace can be traced all the way back to its inception. It birthed in the life, the ministry, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The word grace never surfaced until Jesus came onto the scene. His gift of grace is the power we all need to receive eternal life in heaven. It’s available to all who call on the name of Jesus and believe by faith that He is the savior of the world. We need to repent of our sins and ask Jesus to forgive us from our sins. When we do with a genuine heart of repentance then we can experience this great gift from God called grace.
Accept this gift today and I promise you it will change your life and your direction in life.
