Zacchaeus was not changed by a command of Jesus but by an experience with Jesus.
When Zacchaeus tasted of God’s grace, he transformed from a man of greedy exploitation to one of lavish, exuberant, bubbly generosity.
– Greear, J.D.; Gospel: Recovering the Power that Made Christianity Revolutionary; B&H Publishing Group; Nashville, TN; Copyright 2011; Kindle Edition; page 62
Because of total depravity, you and I were desperate for God’s grace before we were saved. Because of total depravity, you and I remain desperate for God’s grace even after we are saved. Thankfully, though our sin reaches far, God’s grace reaches indefinitely further.
– Tchividian, Tullian; One Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World; David Cook Publishers; copyright 2013; Kindle Edition; Location 2835
While life in Christ doesn’t prevent us from a facing affliction, it does empower us to endure whatever we may face by God’s grace and for his glory and our good. One example of such endurance is found in Ephesians 3:1 – 13.
– Driscoll, Mark; Who Do You Think You Are? Finding Your True Identity in Christ; Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, copyright 2013; Page 102
Apart from God’s grace, the gravity of our sin never reaches above the level of shame and our happiness never crosses the threshold of momentary pleasure. Christ’s kingdom, however, is full of mirth, because of the joy of forgiveness. The funeral is prelude to the unending wedding reception.
Horton, Michael; The Gospel Driven Life: Being Good News People in a Bad News World; Baker Books; Grand Rapids, MI; Copyright 2009; page 214
The holy God is also a God of grace. He refused to allow His servant to continue on his belly without comfort (Isaiah 6). He took immediate steps to cleanse the man and restore his soul.
– R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God, Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Ill., Copyright 1985, Kindle Edition
What does happen if we stumble or fall in the practice of these disciplines? First of all, God does not love us any less. His love for us is based solely on the fact that we are in union with His Son Jesus Christ. That is what the gospel is all about. Christ’s righteousness has become our righteousness. Our sins were laid upon Him, and the penalty for them was fully paid by Him on the cross. Daily His blood cleanses us from all sin. God’s grace, His unmerited favor, is never conditioned on our performance, but always on the unchanging merit of our Lord Jesus Christ.
– Bridges, Jerry; The Disciplined of Grace:God’s Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness; NavPress; Colorado Springs; copyright 1994; p. 178
We are performance oriented by nature and our culture, and sometimes our upbringing, reinforces this legalistic mind-set. All too often a child’s acceptance by his or her parents is based on the child’s performance, and this certainly tends to be true in our society. We carry this same type of thinking to our relationship with God. So, whether it is our response to God’s discipline of us or our practice of those spiritual disciplines that are so good and helpful, we tend to think it is the “law” of God rather than the grace of God that disciplines us.
– Bridges, Jerry; The Disciplined of Grace:God’s Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness; NavPress; Colorado Springs; copyright 1994; p. 79
We need to continue to hear the gospel every day of our Christian lives. Only a continuous reminder of the gospel of God’s grace through Christ will keep us from falling into good-day/bad-day thinking, wherein we think our daily relationship with God is based on how good we have been.
– Bridges, Jerry; The Disciplined of Grace:God’s Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness; NavPress; Colorado Springs; copyright 1994; p. 21
Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.
– Bridges, Jerry; The Disciplined of Grace:God’s Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness; NavPress; Colorado Springs; copyright 1994; p. 18
Until we reevaluate our commitment to the revivalistic paradigm itself, we will view the church as consumers who have signed a contract for spiritual services rather than as sinners who have been incorporated by God’s grace into a covenant community.
– Horton, Michael; Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church; Baker Books; Grand Rapids, MI; copyright 2008; p. 227
Notable Quotables 