Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Today I'm reading Future Grace by John Piper and a marvelous observation about grace in Paul's epistles:
Without exception the apostle Paul begins and ends each of his thirteen New Testament letters by blessing his Christian readers with future grace. What he usually says at the beginning of his letters is, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." At the end he usually says something like, "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you." [p65]
John suggests the beginning is grace about to flow to the reader and the ending is how grace will be with you:
With you as you go home to deal with a sick child and an unaffectionate spouse. With you as you go to work and face the temptations of anger and dishonesty and lust. With you as you muster courage to speak up for Christ over lunch. [p66]
He sums up his observation with the following:
In other words, we learn that grace is not merely a past reality but a future one. Every time I reach for the Bible, God's grace is a reality that will flow to me. Every time I put the Bible down and go about my business God's grace will go with me. This is what I mean by future grace. [p67]
