FREE!

Ever gotten paid for something you didn’t do? I did.

Last weekend, I caught the last flight out of Dallas before Southwest Airlines shut down its operations in Love Field anticipating the ravages of Hurricane Ike. I was headed to Arkansas for a preaching assignment.

All went well … almost, until Ike decided to follow me to AR.

Saturday night, he did his malevolent stuff there and moved on to parts northward. Sunday morning dawned bright and clear—lots of blue sky, plenty of bright sunshine, delightfully balmy temps—but most of Hot Springs Village, AR, awoke (if they had gotten any sleep, that is) to downed trees and power outages.

Village Bible Church, left without power that morning, canceled its services. And I, the preacher, was left powerless. Had sermon, but no pulpit.

The church, however, was gracious enough to pass on to me their speaker’s honorarium—for not preaching! And so I got something for nothing. I had experienced grace. Again.

Unmerited favor. And, theologically, the only way for sinful mankind to satisfy God’s requirement for absolute holiness. Grace.

For by grace you have been
saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God;
not as a result of works ….
Ephesians 2:8–9

I did nothing to merit it. I can do nothing to pay it back.

He saved us,
not on the basis of deeds
which we have done …,
but according to His mercy.
Titus 3:5

Amazing grace, and all because God loved us.

But God, being rich in mercy,
because of His great love
with which He loved us …,
made us alive together with Christ
(by grace you have been saved) ….
Ephesians 2:4–5

Someone rightly observed that GRACE stands for God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense!

… the surpassing riches
of His grace in kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:7

Grace! Freely given. Free for us, but somebody had to pay the price.

… you were not redeemed with
perishable things like silver or gold
… but with precious blood, as of
a lamb unblemished and spotless,
the blood of Christ.
1 Peter 1:18

And that price is applied to us when we place one’s trust in Jesus Christ, the only God and Savior, the One who came bearing saving grace. Grace for deliverance.

For the grace of God has appeared,
bringing salvation to all men.
Titus 2:11

But it doesn’t end there. Grace—free!—continues to sustain us through this life. We need God’s grace to keep us, to strengthen us, to protect us, to enable us, to empower us. All we are and all we do is a result of His grace—we need an ongoing appropriation of that free gift. Grace for life.

But by the grace of God
I am what I am,
and His grace toward me
did not prove vain;
but I labored even more
than all of them, yet not I,
but the grace of God with me.
1 Corinthians 15:10

And then, one day, at the end of this life, we’ll experience grace again—this time in a different way. Grace for glory.

… fix your hope completely on
the grace to be brought to you
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:13

And all of that free! Something—nay, everything—for nothing. Unmerited favor from God through Christ, in the Spirit. Grace for all who trust Christ as their Savior: grace for deliverance, grace for life, grace for glory. Free!

Thanks be to God
for His indescribable gift!
2 Corinthians 9:15

Hallelujah!