The Gift of Grace

Here is a very familiar verse.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:23

This should disturb you very much. You are part of “all” and so you have fallen short–you’ve failed. Perhaps you gain some comfort from the fact that *all* have sinned. We’re all in the same situation but that, in and of itself, is not good news. We need the next verse.

and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Romans 3:24

That’s better but let’s be careful. This is not automatic. This verse has a companion in Hebrews that gives those who have the gift a job to do.

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God…

Hebrews 12:15a

Oh…uh…danger! People can fail to obtain the grace of God. There is a way that people can not have the gift of grace–the gift of grace that justifies people, without which those people have fallen short of the glory of God. In this case, people live under sin and die in sin and are eternally separated from God.

The gift of grace is available to all but not obtained by all.

Christian, listen up. Hebrews 12:15 speaks to you. You, see to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God. Present the gospel. Allow Jesus Christ to live in you. The next bit tells you part of how.

that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled

Hebrews 12:15b

You can’t live under grace and not provide grace. You cannot allow bitterness to be part of you. Hand over everything to Jesus–all of the hurts, troubles, pains. Our failure to live under Christ can defile many. Choose to care so much for the souls of your fellow sojourners and their eternity that you provide undeserved favor on a daily basis.