God's Amazing Grace

by Alexandra Copeland

The Apostle Paul is a tremendous example of God’s amazing grace. Called Saul prior to his Road to Damascus born-again experience, he persecuted believers of Jesus Christ. He erroneously believed this was what God wanted him to do. Imagine being taught something all your life and believing in it so strongly that you’re sold out to it. This describes Paul’s vehement dislike for Christ and his followers. Paul was raised to believe something completely opposite from the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but that all changed one day. He heard the voice of Jesus, and Acts 9:4(NLT) says, “He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” This pivotal event was such a shock to his system that Paul went blind when it happened.

Acts 9:10 says there was a believer named Ananias, and God spoke to him in a vision and told him to go visit Paul and lay hands on him. Most of us would agree that when God tells you to do something, you don’t question it, you simply get it done, but Paul’s reputation preceded him. When he was called Saul, he was notorious for doing terrible things to believers, and Ananias was perplexed. He questioned the Lord about laying hands on such a man as Paul. Had it been one of us, we probably would have done the same thing. But God told Ananias in Acts 9:15(NLT), “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.” 

 

Heavenly Father has called each of us and given us a purpose within His Will and Plan. Ephesians 1:11(NLT) says, “Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.” Everything that you and I need to fulfill God’s purpose is already inside us through the Spirit of Christ. Many of us struggle to believe this. We don’t think we’re talented, skilled, or gifted enough. We complain about being too big, too small, too tall or too short. We think of a thousand different reasons for not stepping outside our comfort zones. Heavenly Father wants us to know that all we have to do is trust Him and make that first step. He will do the rest.  

Paul had a very challenging task ahead of him, and it would take everything in his entire being to carry it forth. None of us can imagine how daunting it must have been. There were times when he felt it was too much, and he asked God to move some of the more taxing obstacles out of his way. In 2Corinthians 12:9(NLT), God replied, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” In God’s response, He was not telling Paul that He wasn’t going to help him. He gave Paul a strategy for overcoming any adversity, and this strategy is to rely on God’s grace. It is to trust that when God gives us an assignment and tells us to get something done, He’s going to provide everything needed to carry out the task. He’ll cover us in His grace if we will be diligent to trust in the mighty working of His awesome power.  

Paul was given the task of extending God’s grace to the Gentiles by preaching the Good News of salvation through Christ and inviting them and us into God’s family. On several occasions, he was beaten, stoned, lashed, and thrown into prison for the sake of the Gospel. Yet, through it all, he said in Ephesians 3:7(NLT), “By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.” Paul understood grace perhaps better than most of us. He was all too clear about what he used to do and what he used to be. And even with his past, God chose him for His purpose. Paul received God’s amazing grace to preach the Gospel, and he considered it a privilege to do so.  

We may not have a past like Paul, but before we made Jesus Christ the head of our lives, we were lost in darkness and disobedience. We used to live in sin just like Saul and just like most of the world today. God, who is so rich in mercy and love towards us, saved us and gave us life through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We didn’t do anything to deserve His goodness, and we certainly could not have earned it. God made a way through Jesus Christ because of His grace. Ephesians 2:8(NLT) tells us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—"  

Salvation is not a reward for our good deeds, so we can’t boast about it. God saved us from the pit of hell and from the clutches of satan because of His great love. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we will never see hell, but we will live an eternity with God, and it is all because of what He accomplished through Christ on the cross. Even when He created us, He knew we would need a Redeemer to show us the way to His heart. We’ve made mistakes and continue to make them, but Heavenly Father still calls us His masterpiece. Because of Christ, we can now do all the good things God planned for us long ago, and we can do them with confidence in His amazing grace.■ 

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. 

“God’s Amazing Grace”, by Alexandra Copeland© 2020. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.