Grace Continues(14)

Grace

The Different Kinds of Grace

God is loving, kind and merciful with us.  As I’ve said before, His grace is enormous.

I’m not sure it is even humanly possible for us to completely understand just how BIG and DEEP and WIDE the grace that God offers us really is.

However, I think it is important that we try because it helps us keep things in the right perspective.

A Few of the Different Types of Grace

To help us process the magnitude of His grace, I want to point out the varying kinds of grace He pours out on us daily.

This list is not comprehensive by any means, but it should help to get you thinking and appreciating God’s grace.

1.  Common Grace

God loves everyone.  So, there is a common grace that He gives all people whether they acknowledge Him or not.  tells us, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

2.  Saving Grace

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” ()  By His saving grace, God has paid the ransom for everyone who will receive His gift of salvation.  This alone is overwhelming.

3.  Sanctifying Grace

There is power in God’s grace and immediately after we are saved, it goes to work to purify or sanctify us.  You play a part in your purification through obedience, but ultimately you have to count on His sanctifying grace and know that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” ().

4.  Provisional Grace

Through His provisional grace, God provides for all our needs.  As says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.”  When you get a better job or an unexpected gift, count it as grace from God.

5.  Miraculous Grace

Look at what was happening in the early church.  “Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people” ().  Through His grace, God still does miraculous things every day.  He doesn’t have to do this.  He does it because He is full of grace.

6.  Serving Grace

Every believer is freely given spiritual gifts to serve others and bolster their faith.  tells us, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”  We each receive serving grace.

7.  Sustaining Grace

Finally, in those times of trial and suffering, Jesus says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” ().  And the Bible says, “Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need” ().  God sustains us.

The Text says that Noah found Grace in the eyes of the Lord. It really does not matter what type of Grace that Noah found because you can not have one type of grace without the other. Gods grace covers every realm of your life. But what we must realize is grace comes with instructions. In essence Grace covers you with in Gods timeline for the instructions that he gives you. God has given Noah a set of detailed instructions.

Detailed Instructions

In dealing with God we have to understand that God does not leave it up to us on how we are to obey him. God is very specific in instructions to us. God never has left it up to us to give him what we want him to have, he has always given us detailed instructions. When you read the book of Leviticus you will find all of the laws that God gave to Israel in relation on how he was to be worshiped, from what was required for offerings to what you were to eat or not eat, it was in Leviticus. When he spoke to Abraham he told him where to go and what to give; he said offer Issac thy son thy only son the one thou loveth, and offer him at a place that I will show you. Detailed! When Jesus was talking to the woman at the well he said that God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth. Contrary to popular belief, God is not leaving it up to you to just give him what you want him to have; without first giving him what he asked for. And Grace covers us in the areas different areas and seasons of our life until we get in divine alignment with Gods will. Because what you must know is Grace has ramifications that will correct you and put you in the right placement unless you just refuse the Grace of God. Yes it is possible to refuse the Grace of God. Some of us are in a fight with God because we are trying to make his instructions line up with our intellect but we need to make sure that our intellect lines up with his instructions.