In the early days of my glorious, continuous encounter with the Spirit of Grace, I had the opportunity to share the pure Gospel of grace with literally thousands of people, sometimes in large meetings or often one-on-one at coffee houses or around the world on a daily devotional blog that I was writing at the time. Mostly, the responses were beautiful, and I heard the same testimony over and over: “I have never felt so loved by God! And I have never loved Jesus more!”
However, there were some who were offended by the message of grace, and it saddened me greatly. Someone I knew who had great influence in ministry became so irate when I shared with her how God’s grace had changed my life that she emphatically declared, “What you’re saying is fine for the mature believer, but it would confuse the fire out of a new believer! And it would never work for those with addictions.” My response: “It’s the answer for the new believer! Grace is the answer for those with addictions!” She had the last word: “I’m not getting on the grace bandwagon.” Wow.
In the book of Acts we see that Peter and John got into major trouble for preaching in the name of Jesus and sharing the Gospel of grace. They were arrested and thrown in jail, but they couldn’t and wouldn’t stop speaking about Jesus:
“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we CANNOT BUT SPEAK the things which we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20, emphasis mine)1
Under great persecution Paul declared:
But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24)
So I encourage you, SHARE the Good News. If there are those who reject it (and you!), ask yourself the question that I asked myself many times: “Can I ever go back?”
(from pages 125-126 of Unveiling Jesus)
Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!
Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.
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1All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
