When you read the epistles, you will notice that either at the beginning or the end of almost all of them, you will find these words: “grace to you.” In the introduction or the Salutation of most of the epistles, grace always has a companion and that companion is peace. Another thing that you will notice is that they always come from God the Father. To the Christian, grace and peace coming from God may seem very obvious, so you may be wondering why I’m even bothering to write about it. Well the reason is that most of the time we don’t consider enough the context of popular fraises like this one. With the passing of time, words or fraises can either gain or lose meaning and context has the tendency to change.
So what has changed in our understanding of these words? Today, when we hear the word grace, we tend to understand it to be the same as God’s forgiveness or the fancy definition is god’s unmerited favor. I stand by this understanding of the word and I am forever grateful for the immeasurable gift of God’s grace. However there is more to god’s grace than this understanding. This is just a short devotional thought to help those who appreciate my music to understand how the songs I write are inspired. So I will not attempt to give an exhaustive bible study on the word, but let us consider for a moment some other verses in the bible where the word is used. After checking out these verses you will recognize as I did, that grace is a whole lot more than forgiveness.
Here is the first verse I want to look at. Romans 1 5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
Romans is the first epistle in the New Testament and in the first chapter, we see the reason why God gave us grace. In the rest of the book, allot is said about grace, but here we see why Grace was given. We should never make light of obedience, because it is God’s grace that causes us to obey Him. Not everyone who claims to be a Christian obeys God. So if we want to know for sure if we are experiencing God’s grace in our lives, we need to examine ourselves. Do we have a heart that desires to obey him or do we find ourselves looking for loop wholes when the will of God conflicts with our will? Here is another verse to consider.
Titus 2 11 ¶For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
I have heard many make light of the peculiar doctrines of Christianity, saying that we should forget about our differences and only worry about the essentials. In these verses we see that Grace teaches us the difference between Godliness and ungodliness and how to turn away from our past lives of disobedience and how to live holy. Now after reading these verses the question begs to be asked, how do we know what is essential to our salvation without the grace of god to teach us? It is the grace of god that gives us the desire for holiness and causes us to hate sin just as much as god hates it. Here is another reason why we must receive the grace of God.
Hebrews 12 28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
This verse lets us know that there are two ways to serve god: One that is acceptable and one that is not. This verse also lets us know that god’s grace points out the acceptable way and gives us power to live it. In fact, Strong’s defines grace as “the divine influence upon the heart and it’s reflection in the life.” what a wonderful gift! We cannot do anything to deserve this gift, but when we truly receive it our lives will bear testimony. A life that is empowered by grace is an obedient life and an obedient life is a life of peace.
After considering these verses it should be easier to understand why grace and peace go together and why over and over again we find these words in the epistles: grace to you. When a believer heard those words in the time of the early church, they were understood to mean, power to you: power for the holy and righteous life that God requires of all who will enter the gates of the city. When you hear this song I want you to understand these words in the same way those in the early church would have understood them. My prayer for you dear listener, is that you will have this power. Since it comes from God, remember that you have an endless supply. So, as the writers of the epistles said to their readers, I say to you and all who hear this song: Grace to You.
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Neville,
Your music is always so inspiring. I like “Grace to You”. May the Lord continue to bless your music ministry.
Good insights Neville! I am so thankful for the power of God’s grace, as well as for the mercy and forgiveness. As I have been developing a hatred for sin in my life, I have an ever increasing appreciation for the power to overcome it. This does bring peace to my mind. like Hebrews 4:16 says “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
There are two things we can get at the “Throne of Grace” – mercy, and “grace to help in time of need”.
May God bless you and your ministry.
hi neville your song, Grace to you is so beautiful i am never disappointed in listening to your music.And your devotional message reminds me of phrase i read it said ” mercy does not give us what we deserve.Grace gives us what we do not deserve-Ephesians 2:4-9. And the grace of God is the power that helps us not to sin but to obey Him!! And it is a free gift from our Lord. Now i understand where you get inspiration to write your songs- from the word of God.
Thank you for the devotional thoughts today my Brother. This understanding of God’s grace is far beyond the basic forgiveness alone understanding of grace that has been taught since Martin Luther. This understanding was sent by God and first given a loud cry (Rev 18:1) by Jones and Waggoner back in 1888, and it is to get louder until the end of time in hearts that are open, and finish the Reformation that Jesus may come.
When we receive the grace of God in all its parts, it will be observed by others in our lives. I believe this is what Jesus meant when he said, “let your light so shine before all men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” Unfortunately, many of our Christian brothers and sisters confuse the demonstration of God’s grace in our lives with legalism.
After Sabbath yesterday this is just the reading I needed. I was reminded, some of the properties of grace this morning. It’s true we have simplified (even watered-down) this word. I’m again reminded why we will learning of this precious gift in the new world to come. Thank you brother.
Sometimes I wonder why pastors don’t preach about this side of grace more. I believe if they did many more people would be liberated from the sins that so easily ensnare us. Thank you for your comment brother I am glad this devotional was a blessing to you.
My favourite quote from your message was the definition of grace Which you found in Strong’s which reads: “the divine influence upon the heart and it’s reflection in the life.”
I find this such an accurate reflection of grace in my life; it has changed me for the better because I allowed it to. I believe a reference to one’s choice is the only aspect missing from the definition; I think of the 10 lepers healed by Jesus’ grace and the 1 who returned to say thanks. In his heart there was a change, not just in his body. I believe one of the reasons God has given me my name is to remind me of the fact that his grace has the ability to change willing hearts.
I do believe grace also means power, as you gleaned from Hebrews 12:28. I can testify to that, as it has kept me moving forward in my life; helping me forgive myself and others for both mini and whopping mistakes. It does also increase the strength of the physically and/or mentally weak, teaching us to have compassion on ourselves while pushing us to achieve as it shows us that we can.
It’s a beautiful start to a song, the best of your new selection I’ve heard so far, in my opinion. I hope you keep hem coming.
Thank you again for sharing,
Joanna
Brother, this is a powerful thought. I’ve been studying this very link between the grace of God and what it teaches us; how it empowers us to live holy lives through the Spirit. May you continue to be blessed in your ministry. I have been a SDA all my life but have only recently discovered your music; praise the Lord for His leading in your life. I found Christ truly about 3 years ago and the more and more i draw nearer to Him – the more I cannot help but see the glorious truth of what it means to have His law written in our hearts. Grace and Peace brother!
I am glad that you were blessed by this song and this devotional thought. I am also very happy to know that you are drawing closer to Christ. There are Enochs in our day and I want to be one of them. Looks like we have this in common.
Please keep my music ministry in your prayers.
God bless you brother.
You are an inspiration to the world & you’ve captured what grace means when you truly accept it & want that wonderful relationship with our God!
Grace to you, Brother Neville!!!
What a greeting!!! Much needed encouragement in times like these! I will incorporate this greeting in the interactions in my life.
With much gratitude, as always, for the creative melodic inspiration.