Brennan Manning relates a beautiful story in his memoir, All Is Grace. Near the end of his speaking career, Manning stood before a large group of people, who had gathered in a North Carolina church on a Friday evening to hear him speak. But when Manning rose and began his opening lines, he found that the words of the story he had told countless times were somehow beyond him.
He stood staring at the crowd in front of him, his mind blank.
He asked the people to pray for him.
And, then, after an awkward silence, the crowd surprised him.
They stood and began to applaud.
The people had come to hear Manning speak. Yet, he received a standing ovation that night despite having told them nothing.
Grace is an undeserved standing ovation.
Opening Illustration
Stories of Grace: Old Testament
The Prophet Jonah & Nineveh
By the grace of God, Jonah is given an important and purposeful work
But Jonah disobeys God and gets on a ship heading away from Nineveh
By the grace of God, Jonah is swallowed by a great fish so that he doesn’t drown
Jonah prays for God’s help from the belly of the great fish
By the grace of God, Jonah’s prayers are answered & the fish spits him out onto dry land
Jonah carries God’s message of destruction to Nineveh, but still wants God to destroy them
By the grace of God, Nineveh is given the chance to repent
The citizens of Nineveh fast and pray
By the grace of God, Nineveh is forgiven
Jonah sits outside the city, waiting for God to destroy Nineveh and becoming angry when God shows compassion
By the grace of God, a plant grows up to shelter Jonah from the hot sun
Jonah gets angry when the plant shrivels and dies
By the grace of God, this story ends up being recorded for us…perhaps Jonah eventually had a change of heart…for who else knew the story in order to share it?
The Prophet Hosea & His Unfaithful Wife
God tells Hosea to marry Gomer, knowing up front that she will be unfaithful to him
Gomer leaves Hosea for another man
Hosea goes and pays to redeem Gomer from her situation, taking her back as his wife
An image/metaphor of how God loves and redeems His people even when they are unfaithful to Him
Scriptures about Grace: New Testament
Syrophoenecian woman — Admitting she doesn’t deserve Jesus’s help but believing even the crumbs from His table are all the gift she needs (Mark 7:24-30)
Peter & Paul were both trying to ‘deserve’ God’s love and favor
Peter with bold words of love and faith
Paul with pursuing learning and zealous persecution of ‘blasphemers’
Peter & Paul both ultimately realize they have failed Jesus
Peter denies knowing Jesus when He is in greatest need of support
Paul realizes he has been persecuting Jesus by trying to destroy His church
Peter & Paul both repent, turning back to Jesus and becoming highly influential followers of Jesus
Peter’s bold teaching contributes to the rapid growth of the early church among the Jews
Paul’s missionary travels expand the reach of the church throughout the Roman Empire
Grace & the Apostle Paul
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Timothy 1:13-16)
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)
For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! (Romans 5:17)
Wesleyan Theology of Grace:
A Tug of War Metaphor
Important Reminder: We will always lose in Tug of War against God. But in His kingdom loss ultimately becomes victory. The only way we can truly lose is if we are still pulling against God at the end of our life.
Prevenient Grace
God is pursuing us before we even know Him
Pulling us back to His heart where we belong
Justifying Grace
We make a decision to trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior
Jesus trades our sin for His righteousness
Sanctifying Grace
We allow God’s love to begin to transform us
We can’t help but respond to His love with love (for God and others)
Grace & The Gospel Message
“Hear the good news:
Christ died for us while we were yet sinners;
that proves God's love toward us.
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!” (Methodist Communion Liturgy)
Good News (“euangelion”)
A battle has been fought and won on our behalf
Another place we see the Greek word that we translate as Good News is in the story of the Battle of Marathon. An Athenian army has met and defeated a much larger Persian army on the beaches by the Bay of Marathon. A runner named Pheidippides is sent on the 26.2 mile run to deliver the news to the city of Athens. He shouts ‘Nike’ (which means ‘victory’) and promptly dies, collapsing in exhaustion. It is a message of good news, that the battle has been fought and won by the Athenian army on behalf of the citizens that stayed behind in safety. It was a victory unearned and undeserved on behalf of the citizens.
Christ Died For Us While We Were Yet Sinners
Because Jesus lived a perfect life, He was able to pay for our sins with His own death
The victory that Jesus won over Satan and death on the cross is completely unearned and undeserved on our part
We cannot win the battle for ourselves and we cannot possibly repay Jesus for winning it for us
It is a gift, freely given, that must be freely received.
That Proves God’s Love For Us
Jesus deserved life, but received death — So that we who deserve death receive life
Jesus deserved praise & worship, but received mockery & ridicule — So that we who deserve ridicule receive affirmation as Beloved
Jesus is the Conquering King, but lived as the Suffering Servant — So that we can be conquerors with Him
In The Name Of Jesus Christ, You Are Forgiven!
Our Response: Jesus makes our response simple
“Follow Me”
Die to our old life
Rise to a new life
“Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself.”
Accept God’s plan and receive His grace as unearned and undeserved — Stop trying to earn it or pay it back
Lean into His love with all of who we are
So that, as we experience God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness, we can pass it on to others
A Related Meditation:
Can be used for individual study or as a discussion starter for small groups
In All Is Grace, Brennan Manning relates himself to Samson, the Old Testament ragamuffin whose poor choices lead to him being captured by the Philistines. The Philistines blind Samson. And to further humiliate him, one day lead him into the temple of their god, Dagon. But, unbeknownst to the Philistines, a little of Samson’s hair had grown back—giving him just enough strength for one final display of God’s power. Samson braces himself against the pillars he is chained to and gives a mighty push, bringing the temple down on himself and all of the Philistines who are gathered inside.
In the following passage, Brennan Manning shares his final thoughts as he nears the end of his life. Like Samson, he wants to use the little strength he has left to witness to God’s grace one last time.
Grace-Related WillowingWell Devotionals
