“For I am the least of the apostles, that I am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain: but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
In the preceding article we looked at the hatred of Paul, and in how by the grace of God, He was converted and became a devout apostle of the Jesus that he opposed so adamantly in the beginning. Paul was not what he had been before Christ came into his life. If it was possible for Paul, it is possible for anyone, even of the most adamant against the gospel. I want to look at another aspect of the miracle of God’s grace. By God’s grace Paul was not what he deserved to be. Thinking of all that he did against Christ’s church Paul didn’t deserve to do all that he did after he was converted. He stood in amazement of what God allowed him to do after his conversion. He started many churches throughout Asia Minor and Macedonia. He won people to Jesus from his place of imprisonment in Rome. In the final analysis, he wrote most of the New Testament after the four gospels. Paul did all of this in spite of the fact that he didn’t deserve to do it. Grace is defined as unmerited favor, meaning that we get from God what we do not deserve. I am amazed that God has used me over the years from 1960 until today in 2016 in His ministry. Through all of my failures and trials, by His grace God has used me in spite of myself. I am writing this article today by his grace. We must come to understand that God does everything through us through His powerful grace. Just pause now, and thank God for His grace that allows you to serve Him. By God’s grace, Paul was what he never expected to be. His earliest training was at the feet of the great Jewish scholar Gamaliel. He had that way of life figured out, and was defending it with zeal when He was confronted by the risen Christ on the Damascus Road. Paul never expected to be a champion of the cause of Christ, yet no one can surpass the work that he did, traveling from city to city and across a continent in order to serve Christ. You don’t know what God will do with you in His grace. There might be a Sunday School class for you to teach. He might call you to be a deacon in your church. He might call you to be an usher. He might even surprise you like He did Paul, and frankly me, by calling you to preach His word. He is definitely calling you to be his witness in the places where you are by the way you live, and by the way you love. Whatever God in His grace gives you to do, do it gratefully because of His grace on your life. By His grace, God wants each of us to be what He wants us to be, to do what He wants us to do, to go where He wants us to go, and to be what He wants us to be….all by His grace. Do it! Bro. Joe
2 Comments
Michelle Walsh
4/28/2016 08:47:48 pm
Wonderful 2 part lesson Bro Joe. "Grace"IMG_1604.JPG
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Margaret M Jones
4/29/2016 07:48:15 am
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.
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