Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

By Kenton Cheek

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.—Romans 6:1-4

The tremendous grace of God, His undeserved favor, is transformative if we choose to accept it.  Grace is both pardon and power.  By grace through faith we are pardoned from sin and by grace through faith we receive power to live a holy life that pleases God.  As the treasured hymn of the faith, “Great is Thy Faithfulness” describes,

“Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!”

Because Jesus rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into His Kingdom of Light, we are made new creations.  The old has gone, the new has come and we are inspired by His love, grace, and mercy to live in alignment with the principles of His Word.  As we surrender our wills and yield to the work of the Holy Spirit in us and through us, we receive power needed to resist temptation, share His compassion and message of reconciliation with others, and thereby make the world a better, brighter place.  It all starts with our acceptance of His grace by faith.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.—Ephesians 2:8-10