Several years ago, my husband and I received a “free gift” in the mail. We had been “selected” to receive an “Exciting Invitation” to receive a “Delicious Dinner for Two” at a local restaurant. Free meal! No cooking! Hooray! Our excitement was quickly quenched, however, when we read at the bottom of the flyer, “P.S. Our seminars fill up quickly…” In our enthusiasm to gain a free meal, we nearly tripped on an attached string. In that same week, my husband picked up a card at his doctor’s office that offered a significant discount on a medication he takes regularly. The coupon promised he would owe no more than fifteen dollars for the normally forty-five dollar medication. But when my husband picked up his medication at the pharmacy, the bill was forty-six dollars— another string somewhere in the very fine print.
In this fallen world, anything proffered as a “free gift” is most likely entangled in strings. As a result, we have, and rightfully so, become wary of anything touted as free. However, God promises in his Word that his gift of grace is, indeed, free. But free to us, not free of a price. God, in his unfathomable love for his creation, sent his only Son to inhabit the restraining flesh of man in order to pay the price that we would have to pay to be restored to him. Humans labored under a debt that was impossible to satisfy, as God’s holiness could not allow a lowering of the price. So he lowered himself instead, reconciling the debt that was owed him, thus freeing the recipients of this gift from the burden of it, allowing full, unhindered, strings-free fellowship with him, unconditionally accepted, wholly loved, and permanently redeemed.
How should we respond to God’s offer of the free gift of salvation through grace by faith in Jesus Christ? What does the fine print have to say? Or rather, what do the red letters have to say?
Reflect
Reflect on how you react when you are offered something free without strings— help, prayer, a gift. Why do you feel or react as you do?
In order to understand and accept the free offer of grace through faith in Jesus Christ, it is helpful to understand the history of God’s unholy people and their desire to be in the presence and good graces of a holy God.
When God chose the Israelites, he put great demands on them. These demands, known as the Law, were the only way the Israelites could commune with God. The demands were not just steep— they were numerous and impossible to meet. So God required sacrifices to atone for the sins of the people.
Read Exodus 34 to gain an understanding of what the people, led by Moses, were required to do in order to receive clemency and to meet God’s standard of holiness. Write down your impression. (If you want an even deeper understanding of God’s requirements for redemption prior to the incarnation and resurrection of Christ, read the book of Leviticus.)
In Exodus 34:10, the Lord tells Moses he is making a covenant with him and his people. This is known as the “Old Covenant” or the “Mosaic Covenant.” Read 2 Corinthians 3. Compare and contrast what you read about the “Old Covenant” with what God calls the “New Covenant.” Who is the focal point of the “New Covenant?”
Read the following Scriptures:
What does God tell us about his grace in these passages?
John Piper wrote, “The goal is God through grace. Not grace through God.” In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul tells us that after asking God to remove a “thorn in his side,” God replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.” What is a right response to God’s grace? What is the only way to receive this free gift of grace?
Pray
Dear God, help us to understand and accept your free gift of grace through your Son, Jesus Christ. Instill in us a desire to know you, and help our unbelief. In dark times, help us to remember that you are there, you are real, and your gift is free and accessible to anyone who will seek it, believe it, and accept it. Lord, you are good, you are sovereign, and you are sufficient. Give us a heart to love you more and more.
Amen