Ty dolla sign free tc zip dopefile12/2/2022 ![]() ![]() I would imagine it is the same wherever you find religious folks. Most churches spout grace from the pulpit, but in reality they expect you to toe the line, and fall in step. In the Deep South, legalism has set up shop on every corner. In the part of the country where I come from, every city needs an outpost of God’s grace. Just as grace was Christianity’s unique contribution to the world, grace can also be the special contribution that you and your Calvary Chapel can make to your community. Max Lucado writes, “I have never been surprised by God’s judgment, but I am still stunned by His grace.” I could not agree more!Īnd here is where we come in. Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional.” Here is one of the reasons I am so convinced the Bible, and the Christian Gospel, come from God: never in a million, zillion years would performance-prone humans come up with the concept of grace. The Buddhist eight-fold path, the Hindu doctrine of karma, the Jewish covenant, and the Muslim code of law – each of these offers a way to earn approval. ![]() In his book, “ What’s So Amazing About Grace? ”, author Phillip Yancey writes, “The notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. Lewis responded in a rather matter-of-fact tone, “Oh, that’s easy. The group told him they were discussing the unique contribution of the Christian faith to the world. Lewis strolled by, and asked what the ruckus was all about. The conversation turned into quite a heated debate. Another man mentioned the resurrection, but again examples were given of other religions that had alleged returns from the dead. One man suggested the incarnation, but everyone noted that several religions had stories of gods appearing in human form. And the Christians I met at Calvary Chapel dared to treat others the same way that God treated them.ĭuring a conference of British theologians, several clergy were discussing what, if any, religious belief was unique to Christianity. Grace is love that is on the house! Romans 5:8 explains when God first started loving you: “While we were still sinners Christ died for us.” Before you and I gave God the time of day, God was thinking good, even loving thoughts about us. Grace has been defined as, “love without a catch.” God doesn’t love us if we do this or that, or because we are all this or all that. His grace humbled and happy-ed me immensely. It was just that Jesus was everything! Everyone was caught up in the fact that, despite the evil they had done, the rebellion they had shown, and the perversions they had thought, God in Christ was still willing to love them, forgive them, and make them His own. The only thing that mattered was whether or not you loved Jesus! And it was not that people were opinion-less on other subjects. Not where you went to school, or if you went to school, if you had a job, what your attitude was toward the war, your politics, or your denominational affiliation. You were loved “just as you are, and right where you’re at.” Nothing mattered about you… not how you looked, or dressed, or groomed. When I walked into Calvary Chapel for the first time, I saw God’s grace in 3D. And grace is a lot more amazing when you see it lived out than it is when you are just singing or reading about it. But it took me going all the way across the country to see God’s grace in action. Notice, I didn’t just say “believed in God’s grace.” Every church I attended before I found Calvary Chapel – and there were plenty – had “grace” as a line on the doctrinal statement. When Calvary Chapel becomes a footnote on the pages of church history, I hope it is for this that we are most remembered… that we lived out God’s grace! ![]() It should be our coat-of-arms – the banner over us that I hope will flap in the breeze forever. There is one core value shared among Calvary Chapels that, to me, is more important than any other. ![]()
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