We believe in this supernatural force of God called Grace. It is a pulsating power in the heart of God. It is a doctrine, and it is a teaching, yes. But grace is more than that.
Grace is the ultimate, peerless, matchless, utterly free gift from God to his children.
And it is above everything else, the outflow of the crucifixion of Christ. If Jesus had not died on the Cross, there could be no grace in the world, and no grace for sinners, and no grace for you and for me.
Grace is all that God is free to do for mankind because of the death of Christ on the Cross.
Grace stands opposed to legalism, performance-based salvation, works-based salvation and works-based Christianity.
It is the work of God, not the work of you.
It is the work of God through you, through Christ in you.
God breaks the sweat.
And God pays the price.
Look at Calvary.
Grace is the power of God in you to do what you can't do for yourself: to heal you, empower you, bless you, guide you, mature you, fortify you, and make Christ-in-you shine forth in this dark and messed up world.
Grace.
We're wrapping up our summer series called Grace Powered Living. I have two talks left—this one, and one more for next time.
Today, I want to talk about one of the most amazing gifts God has given us. This gift is one of the most powerful ways God delivers grace to the deepest parts of our being.
Think with me please today on the topic:
The Laws of Righteous Bonding
You might have heard me talk about this before, or maybe not. I think its one of the most ignored and yet super-important truths for Christians and for the whole world today.
God says you were fearfully and wonderfully made. God wove into you all kinds of machinery and processes to experience Him, and to know real love.
One of those little machines is the part of your being that creates bonds.
Bonding is a process by which your soul creates spiritual, intellectual, psychological, and physiological interconnections with another person, held together by affection, and enabling a genuine experience of grace.
God gave you glue for your relationships. He gave you the internal machinery to help you go deeper into love, deeper into intimacy, deeper into friendship, and deeper into relationships.
He gave you a little engine that keeps you from exploding relationships with the people who matter most.
Bonding.