Publisher's Synopsis
When it comes to freedom and bondage, there is a very succinct word to describe how we are made free. That word is grace. Grace is the Bible word for freedom. God's Word declares that Jesus has come to give us the grace of God to free us from our bondage to sin. Here is the rub: it is possible that our beliefs about grace are limiting that very grace that we are depending upon for our freedom. We make grace smaller than it is What do I mean? I mean this: have we made grace into something that gets us into Heaven but has no substantial bearing on life here on earth? Grace should make us completely free, but too often we make it simply a ticket out of Hell. Do we look forward to Heaven because of its freedom and miss the fact that grace frees us now? Peter's first letter to the five churches of Asia minor declares that what he has described to them is the true grace of God. Yet, much of his letter has nothing to say directly about being saved or going to Heaven. Instead, Peter is right there in the trenches of life. Suffering, persecution, family and work life are his subjects. Yet, he says that he has written about the grace of God. So, what is it? Is it some dry and dusty theological term? Or is it much more? We could stand to hang out with Peter. We, too, sometimes struggle with saying the wrong thing. We, too, when we take our eyes off Jesus, find that we lack courage. We, too, like to think deeply about how this salvation we have received will transform our lives in every day ways. Peter says that his letter is all about the grace filled life. He explores everyday issues that grace will transform.
Isn't this what we need? We need to see what grace will do in us. Not just in principles and truths. We also need practical examples that challenge us to go deeper. We need stark and challenging descriptions that make us evaluate if we will believe what God has promised. We can't just define grace however we want to. Peter claims that grace looks like something. The question then comes: will we receive it?
