Reply To: Soteriology Discussion Board 1

[Paulpraze]

TWO INSTANCES OF THE MANIFESTATION OF GOD’S GRACE IN MY LIFE
In our study on God’s grace as the source of our salvation, we saw six different meanings of grace. All of these definitions reveal different aspects of this incredible grace of God that we are blessed to enjoy in our lives.
The first manifestation I want to discuss is the manifestation of God’s grace that brought me into Christ, and this is significant for me.
For people like me, who were literally born in church and grew up in church, it can be very difficult to come to the point where one recognises his or her need for the Saviour. It really is difficult to view one’s self as a sinner in the light of one’s supposed commitment to God and the ‘church’ that one belongs to. I learnt to do what was expected of me, learnt to behave in a certain way, and received the approval and commendations of people around me that confirmed my “goodness”. So you see, the idea of being a sinner never really came through, both because the Gospel was not being preached as it should have and also because I considered myself to be a “good” person.
It is such a profound manifestation of God’s grace to me, that God was able to get me to the point of truly surrendering to Christ and understanding the condition that I was in as a sinner. To be able to appreciate salvation, having lived the kind of “good” life that I had lived before salvation, is indeed to me, a profound manifestation of God’s grace in my life. Ephesians 2:1-9, Philippians 3:3-9.
Secondly, one of the definitions of grace that we looked at, was concerning God’s willingness to use His power on our behalf, even when we do not deserve it and I have seen God, in my life and the lives of others, use His power graciously on our behalf, even when we did not deserve it, to wrought miracles for us, particularly as regards the healing of our bodies.
Sometime ago, I noticed this pain and irritation in my right eye. I did not even know when and how it started. I just prayed about it and trusted God. Recently, I noticed that the pain and irritation had gone. I did not even know when the healing occurred. Jesus healed me. Isaiah 53:4-5, Ephesians 1:19-23, 1 Peter 2:24. God is gracious indeed and abounds to me everyday of my life.