Liberating Grace

“… the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace” (Col 1:5-6).

What power in the universe can free us from our self-destruction? Is there a hope for humanity for a better future? Is there a message from heaven that can bring lasting change? What can lift the fog off our minds and turn on the light in our souls? Is there an unchanging truth that can set our lives free?

For the apostle Paul the gospel is a living, powerful, unstoppable force that is ever–growing throughout the entire world. He was convinced that the gospel was the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes (Rom 1:16). It is through the gospel that a treasure is stored up in heaven there awaiting the arrival of the redeemed.

Two internal ingredients make the gospel unstoppable: grace and truth. Prevenient grace (the unmerited favor of God that awakens the heart and enables a response to the offer of salvation) is joined with the truth of the gospel proclaimed to unchain the lost souls of men. Men hear the gospel and through the Holy Spirit faith is awakened in their souls and the truth sets them free.

This message’s power is outside the realm of man–made religion. Paul is not talking about an adoption of a new set of rules or commandments. He believes in a message that liberates and transforms. It is a message that brings a separation from the old manner of living and enters a life into newness of life–– a new creation. Hope floods the human soul. A second birth brings everlasting life.   

The word of the gospel is a message from God that never returns empty, accomplishing God’s purpose, bearing fruit in an ever-increasing manner (Isa 55:11). Lives are changed and hope is imparted in the human soul. The truth energized by the Holy Spirit brings light to those living in darkness. True freedom becomes man’s possession.  

Both grace and truth are alive and indestructible, setting every captive free and imparting eternal life wherever the gospel is proclaimed. It is an irresistible force that no human or demon can foil. The grace and truth of the gospel are the means God has chosen to save a lost world. It is grace and truth that those still in hopeless darkness await.