The gospel of “the grace of Christ” (Gal. 1:6)

Posted on by Amazing GRACE Encounter

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Gentile). 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. Romans 1:16-19

The gospel of Christ…

  • has been inhibited by the misinterpretation of its message.
  • has been hindered by the sophistication of its simplicity.
  • has been thwarted by the mixed messages of its ministers
  • has been stunted by the procrastination of its followers.

It is the power of God…

  • the only power to be equal to the demands of a righteous God.
  • the only power to be equal to the fulfilling of the laws of God.
  • the only power to be equal to the reconciliation of man to God.
  • the only power to be equal to the need for and forgiveness of sin(s).
  • the only power to be equal to the need for and free gift of eternal life.

GRACE is a Person

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The law demands what we can never give!

GRACE never demands what HE does not give!

Philippians 1:1-8 (The Message)
1 Paul and Timothy, both of us committed servants of Christ Jesus, write this letter to all the Christians in Philippi, pastors and ministers included. 2 We greet you with the grace and peace that comes from God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ. 3 Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. 4 Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. 5 I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. 6 There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. 7 It’s not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality. You have, after all, stuck with me all the way from the time I was thrown in jail, put on trial, and came out of it in one piece. All along you have experienced with me the most generous help from God. 8 He knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does! (Words from the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians)

If only you knew His love for you!

Posted on by Amazing GRACE Encounter

Galatians 2:20

I am crucified with Christ – Since I am incapable of keeping the Law, and since “no one is justified by the works of the Law but by faith in Jesus Christ” (Gal. 2:16), I confess my sins, in agreement with God, and I am thankful that “He is faithful and just to have already forgiven me of all my sins and to have already cleansed me from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9) as a result of His crucifixion death; His finished work on the cross. His blood was shed for the forgiveness of all my sins; His bodily, crucifixion death for putting to death the power of sin in me; and His resurrection from the dead for the free gift of eternal life, His Life, given to me when I believed. I consider myself to have been crucified with Him and have been redeemed from all iniquity (Titus 2:14) and freed from sin’s power over me. His Life, His actual indwelling of my life, has provided His significance in my life.

Nevertheless I live – I still breathe, walk, sleep, eat, think, speak, feel, and relate as a human creature; but now I have purpose. I am the reason He came. I am the reason He died. I am the reason He lives. I now have a reason to live – and this earth-life is just the beginning.

Yet not I, but Christ lives in me – This earth-life is no longer mine, to enjoy entirely for personal reasons, but His, to live and accomplish His mission, in and through me as an extension of His earth-Life. I openly confess that Christ (the Spirit of Life) actually lives in me, motivating and influencing my earth-life; my thoughts, decisions, and behaviors.

And the life which I now live in the flesh (body) I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me – I realize the remainder of my earth-life will not be a cake-walk but, from past experiences in my former life of unbelief and religion, I know it will be far better than anything I could have ever imagined or accomplished on my own. I don’t focus on sinning – I focus on living! But when I sin, I thank Him for having already forgiven me and for reminding me of His free and radical GRACE. I continue to listen and learn as He relates His Love and Life in and through me to others. He is to be fully trusted, for Only He can, and will, continue to perform the work He started in me when He lovingly created me.

© 2015 Michael Scroggs

Email: amazinggraceencounter@yahoo.com

You just gotta dance!

Posted on by Amazing GRACE Encounter

You gotta dance…

You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching,
Love like you’ll never be hurt,
Sing like there’s nobody listening,
And live like it’s heaven on earth.
― William W. Purkey 
If you ever get over your religion and realize how madly in love with you God actually is, you will dance (as King David did before Jehovah in the streets when he was overjoyed), you will love (like Jesus does you for having totally forgiven you of all your sins [past, present, and future]), you will sing (like you do in the shower), and you will live like it’s heaven on earth (because it will be heaven on earth when you stop trying to please Him and rest in Him).
You see, from the beginning, the Creator had a plan!
He knew bringing man to life would mean the death of Himself!
He made man, after His image and likeness – for He Himself would have to come in that same likeness… to die!
Adam, having been given the breath of God (spirit of Life) and having no sin nature, was tested. He failed the test. He sinned – by choosing to DISBELIEVE what God said about eating of the tree and believing a lie (from another father), thereby, DISOBEYING his Creator-Father. His sin, just as God said, caused him to die – his physical life was sentenced to eventually die and his spiritual life became a dead vacuum – empty of the very Life-Spirit of God and filled with the death-spirit of the adversary.
After roughly 4000 years, Christ came, lived, became all of man’s sin, and died; to take away the sin of the world, to crush the head of the serpent-adversary, and destroy the power of sin in the believer.
And… He raised from from the dead, living in victory over death, hell, sin, and Satan. In so doing, He provided resurrection life, the gift of eternal life; His very Life.
Interestingly enough, in all that, He was, and is, lovingly and persistently pursuing YOU, taking similar steps you’ve taken, to completely reconcile YOU to Himself (meaning your sin debt between you and the Creator has been paid in full [2 Cor. 5:18-19]), forgive you, and offer to you, for your belief and acceptance, His (resurrection, eternal) Life.
If you trust Him with your future and you believe and receive Him, He has given you the right to become a child of God. Christ will become your brother as you will be joint-heirs with Him; heirs of all that God has for you.
As you begin to understand the simplicity with which He chooses to live His life through you, you will be amazed. He will change you in ways you never thought possible. He will change you (and it won’t be necessary for anyone to tell you how to live the life).
He in you will be able to “love like you’ll never be hurt.” He in you will be willing to forgive those whom you have not been willing to forgive. He will perform this work in you because He is the one who begun the work in you.
His Life in you, and the constant reminder of just how much He has forgiven you and loves you, will make you “dance like no one is watching, love like you have never been hurt, sing like nobody is listening, and live like it is heaven on earth.”
I promise! If you ever get over your religion and come to the place of knowing how much He loves and adores you, you will not stop talking about Him. No one will be able to shut you up!
MGS