MAY 2025
In the book of Ephesians, Paul reveals grace as the “unending, boundless, fathomless, matchless, incalculable, and exhaustless riches of Christ.” God’s grace is the crux of the Gospel—but are we neglecting the great salvation He offers?
In Galatians 2:21 Paul states, “I do not treat God’s gracious gift as something of minor importance and defeat its very purpose.” In other words, we are urged not to frustrate the grace of God. Sadly, what is often presented as the Gospel actually diminishes the transformative power of God’s boundless love and mercy.
Traditional views of religion primarily focus on punishment and justice. A legalistic and moralistic lens of the Gospel fosters the perception of God as a judge who enforces a strict system of right and wrong. This causes a message of grace to appear scandalous and offensive—particularly to those who’s relationship with God is based on justice, fairness, and punishment. This is why Paul starkly contrasts the approach of the Jews and Greeks with the core message of Christ crucified—a message that serves as a stumbling block to those entrenched in religious legalism:
“For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness (1 Cor. 1:22-23).”
A justice and fairness centered Gospel results in an endless cycle of questioning God’s motives and actions. This mindset insists that people must earn their way out of sin through obedience and good deeds—or suffer the punishment.
Our minds become transformed when we understand that God is our Judge AND Savior-Redeemer. Whatever is lost, stolen, broken, out of order, or diseased, God’s power in salvation is designed to restore, renew, replace, and heal. God our Father loves to forgive, redeem, and save!
Jesus’s mission is to seek the lost, “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.” (Matthew 18:11) God desires to restore value and belonging to those deemed worthless or unworthy.
These words of Jesus are for us, just as they were for Zacchaeus: “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:9-10)
In John 8:1-11, Jesus encounters a woman caught in adultery. The religious leaders were seeking justice through punishment, demanding her execution in accordance with the Law. Yet, Jesus offered grace and restoration instead of condemnation. Grace and law are often set at odds with one another—while the Law demands payment or punishment, grace seeks restoration and represents hope for the lost.
Critics of grace often wrestle with the apparent unfairness that seems to accompany it, and ask questions such as: “How can God allow evil to persist?” “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Such inquiries underscore a fundamental misunderstanding of grace and fairness. True grace does not play by human standards of merit and demerit; rather, it is based on God’s immeasurable love and mercy.
Jesus reveals the scandalous grace of a God who accepts the marginalized and celebrates the return of the lost in the parables of The Prodigal Son and The Unjust Vineyard Owner (Luke 15:11-32, Matt. 20:1-5). Paul himself was marked by the overwhelming nature of this grace, and was radically transformed from persecutor to apostle—revealing the unfathomable depths of God’s merciful plan.
The Gospel’s so-called “unfairness” stems from God’s relentless love and pursuit of humanity. Rather than condemning, God sent His Son into the world to save us through grace. God’s willingness to invest the price of His own Son’s life conveys an unparalleled commitment to restoring relationship with man.
The message of the Gospel, encapsulated in the grace of God, is not one centered on fairness but on love, mercy, and restoration. It invites every individual—regardless of their past—to recognize that they are valued and accepted by a Father who desires to heal their wounds of sin and separation.
God takes pleasure in restoring and redeeming anything that we have lost, broken, or had stolen in our life!
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