95% of Christians do not know the Grace Message! If you are one of those who do, you already know two realities. First, many of your Christian friends have never heard of the Grace Message and may even think you are wrong to believe it. Second, there aren’t many who are teaching the Grace Message, which is the reason 95% of Christians don’t know it. This can leave us feeling frustrated and even angry, but also desirous for more of both realities.
Based on what Jesus does through our counseling, coaching, teaching and writing, I and my staff get asked the following question all the time. “Why haven’t I heard this before? It’s all right there in the Bible and so freeing!” Here’s the sad truth. The majority who teach, preach or write have never heard it or never heard it fully explained from Scripture.
What is the Grace Message? It’s the gospel or the New Covenant. Read what Hebrews 8 says and then its meaning.
10 “after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
11 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
1. WE HAVE A NEW IDENTITY IN CHRIST. The Old Covenant laws were written on cold stone tablets. The New Covenant gives us a new mind and new soft heart with God’s laws written on them. These are not the 10 Commandments. It’s the character of God with whom we’ve been united that is now our character, our very nature and our amazing identity. In Christ, we are God’s children who are righteous, holy, good, loving, generous, and so much more! We have an amazing self-image!
2. WE HAVE GOD IN US. The Old Covenant only allowed the high priest to be in God’s presence in the temple’s Holy of Holies once a year. The New Covenant has made us the new temple of God. Because he lives in us, our human spirit is the new Holy of Holies. God is not outside of us; He’s inside us. We are united with Christ and have new life, His life in us. In other words, we are always close to him, providing a continuous, increasing “knowing” of him. This is intimacy with God that we can take advantage of and grow to enjoy 24/7!
3. WE HAVE COMPLETE FORGIVENESS. The Old Covenant provided God’s forgiveness sacrifice by sacrifice, in other words, little by little. The New Covenant provides complete forgiveness through the death of Jesus Christ for our past, present and future sins. We don’t have to fear whether or not God will forgive us. We don’t have to walk around with the guilt the Old Covenant people lived with every day. Because we are already forgiven, our guilt has been removed forever. We can live at peace, confident that God never holds a sin against us! (Hebrews 10:17 “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.“)
This is the message of grace and it’s incredibly amazing! We aren’t in relationship with a god who is way out there but our God who is united with us – He is in us and we are in Him! We don’t need to focus on the 10 Commandments, because His laws (character) are the essence of our deepest identity and desires. We don’t need to try to get closer to God but can bask in His presence anytime we focus on Him. We don’t need to ask God for forgiveness. We simply agree with the Holy Spirit when He shows us we’ve sinned with the assurance we’re already forgiven. What freedom! What joy! What peace! What amazing grace!
At GLI, we are thrilled that Jesus has given us the ministry of being a voice for His Grace Message. This is why we invite you and encourage you to invite people to our Freedom Conferences, our Advanced Discipleship Training, our Coaching and our Discipleship Counseling. Please take advantage of these for yourself and those you think need to hear this message. Sign up or invite someone today on our WEBSITE! This is why we also invite you to partner with us financially so more can discover Freedom in Christ. Join The Freedom Team today by giving HERE. You can make an impact in helping people you care about, including those in ministry, by partnering with us in getting the grace message out!
