You may remember that recently we looked at Saul, a devout Jew who was persecuting the Christians.

We saw how his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus turned his life upside down. His name was even changed from Saul to Paul.

Paul came to realise that he was the worst kind of man and that it was God’s grace alone that had saved him.

Let’s explore this further.

PAUL AND GOD'S GRACE

Let’s look at just a couple of the things that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth and the church in Galatia (look at these old maps to see where these places were).

All the other apostles are greater than I am. I am not even good enough to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But God’s grace has made me what I am, and his grace to me was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other apostles. (But it was not I really; it was God’s grace that was with me).1 Corinthians 15:9–10 NCV.

I attacked the church of God and tried to destroy it. But God had special plans for me and set me apart for his work even before I was born. He called me through his grace and showed his son to me so that I might tell the Good News about him to those who are not Jewish. Galatians 1:11–16 NCV

You may have noticed that one word that stands out in these verses is GRACE.

Paul has much to say about grace. In fact 87 out of the 129 occurrences of the word in the Bible are found in his letters.

And this is hardly surprising. Of all the apostles, he was the one who had perhaps experienced grace most dramatically, having been called and accepted by Jesus despite his intense persecution and hatred of the early Church.

BUT WHAT ACTUALLY IS GRACE?

WE COULD ALSO PERHAPS SUM IT UP LIKE THIS:

* Grace is God’s unmerited favour.

* It is kindness from God we don’t deserve.

* There is nothing we have done, nor can we ever do, to earn this favour/kindness.

* It is a gift from God.

GOD'S GRACE IS ABOVE ALL THINGS

LET'S THINK ABOUT SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS;

God was working in Paul’s life even whilst he was breathing out murderous threats against the believers.

* How do you expect to see God working in the lives of those around you who are not Christians?

Saul transformed from being someone who actively persecuted and killed Christians to Paul, one of the most dynamic and passionate early missionaries.

* What does this tell us about our past mistakes and feelings that God can never use us when we’ve messed up in some way?

* How should we demonstrate God’s grace to others?

FINAL THOUGHT

Paul said:  ‘But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let his grace go to waste.’ 1 Corinthians 15: 10 MSG

Paul also tells us that with this gift of grace comes a responsibility– to show grace to others, just as it has been shown to us. 2 Corinthians 4:15

Let's show grace to others, the way God has been so gracious to us. Don't let His grace go to waste.