A Gospel Worth Living For: The Grace of God

“To testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” — Acts 20:24

There are some things in life that matter so much that everything else becomes secondary. For the Apostle Paul, one of those things was the Gospel.

In Acts 20, Paul is preparing to leave the elders of the church in Ephesus. He knows trouble is ahead. He does not know every detail of what will happen when he reaches Jerusalem, but he knows enough to understand that suffering, imprisonment, and hardship are waiting for him. Yet his response is remarkable. Paul says that none of those things will move him. He refuses to measure the value of his life simply by how long he can preserve it or how comfortable he can make it.

Instead, Paul says:

“But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.” — Acts 20:24

Paul was not careless with his life. He understood that his life mattered. He loved the churches he served, valued the people God had placed around him, and understood that every day gave him another opportunity to serve Christ. But Paul also knew that life was not ultimately about preserving himself.

Life had a purpose.

Paul pictured his life as a race, and the goal was not simply to remain on the course as long as possible. The goal was to finish what Jesus had given him to do. Everything else was secondary to faithfully carrying out the ministry he had received from Christ.

At the center of that ministry was one message:

The Gospel of the grace of God.

Paul believed that message was worth preaching, worth suffering for, worth living for, and, if necessary, worth dying for.

The question for us is whether we see the Gospel the same way.

What Is the Gospel of the Grace of God?

Paul did not simply call his message “the Gospel.” In Acts 20:24, he described it as “the Gospel of the grace of God.”

That word grace is essential.

The Gospel is not primarily the announcement that human beings need to become better people. It is not simply a collection of moral principles designed to help us improve ourselves. It is not the message that if we work hard enough, behave well enough, become religious enough, or perform enough good deeds, God will eventually accept us.

The Gospel begins with something completely different.

It begins with the grace of God.

Grace means that God deals mercifully with people who do not deserve His mercy.

That is what makes the Gospel good news.

Simply telling us that God is just would not be enough to give sinful people hope. God is just, and Scripture makes that clear. But if we are honest about ourselves, the justice of God should concern us because every one of us has sinned. None of us can stand before a perfectly holy God and claim that we have perfectly obeyed Him.

If our relationship with God depended entirely upon what we deserved, we would have no reason for confidence.

But the Gospel announces something extraordinary.

God is willing to forgive sinners.

God is willing to justify the ungodly.

God is willing to receive people who have rebelled against Him.

And He does this not because we have earned His favor, but because He is gracious.

That is the heart of the Gospel.

Grace Means We Cannot Save Ourselves

Human pride naturally wants to contribute something to salvation.

We want to believe there must be something within us that causes God to choose us, forgive us, or accept us. Maybe we think we are more moral than someone else. Maybe we point to our church attendance, generosity, religious background, good intentions, or personal improvement.

But grace removes every reason for boasting.

If salvation is truly by grace, then salvation cannot ultimately rest on our merit.

God does not look down from Heaven searching for people who have finally become worthy enough to receive His love. The Gospel tells us that God moves toward sinners precisely because they cannot rescue themselves.

That is why grace is such good news for people who feel hopeless.

If salvation depended upon your ability to clean yourself up before coming to God, you might have every reason to despair. If salvation required you to erase your past, undo every mistake, repair every failure, and make yourself righteous enough for God, none of us could succeed.

But grace says something different.

You do not come to Jesus because you have made yourself worthy.

You come because Jesus is worthy.

You do not come because you have earned mercy.

You come because God delights in showing mercy.

You do not come because you have successfully repaired your life.

You come because you need someone who can give you new life.

That is the Gospel of grace.

The Cross Makes Grace Possible Without Compromising Justice

Grace does not mean that God simply ignores sin.

God does not pretend evil does not matter. He does not erase His holiness or lower His standard of righteousness so that sinners can enter His presence.

Instead, God Himself provided the answer to the problem of our sin.

The Gospel tells us that God gave His Son.

Jesus Christ stood in the place of sinners. He carried our sin and endured the judgment our rebellion deserved. Isaiah 53 describes the suffering Servant who was wounded because of our transgressions and crushed because of our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace fell upon Him.

That means the cross is where justice and grace meet.

The debt was not ignored.

It was paid.

Sin was not declared unimportant.

Its cost was revealed at Calvary.

God did not ask guilty sinners to provide their own sacrifice. In grace, God provided the sacrifice Himself.

This is one of the most astonishing truths in Christianity: the One who was offended provided the way of reconciliation.

God gave His Son so that sinners could be forgiven without God ceasing to be holy or just.

As 1 John teaches, love is seen not first in our love for God, but in God’s love for us in sending His Son as the sacrifice for our sins.

That is grace.

The Gospel Is an Invitation to People Who Know They Need Mercy

Because salvation is based on grace, the Gospel invitation can genuinely be offered to broken, guilty, sinful people.

The invitation is not, “Make yourself worthy and then come.”

It is simply:

Come.

Come to Christ.

Come with your guilt.

Come with your failures.

Come with your questions.

Come with your past.

Come knowing that you cannot save yourself.

The Gospel does not tell sinners to search inside themselves for some hidden righteousness that might impress God. It tells us to look to Jesus.

Scripture repeatedly gives that invitation.

Though our sins are like scarlet, God can make them white as snow.

Though we have nothing with which to purchase salvation, God invites us to receive what He freely gives.

Though we are spiritually sick, Jesus presents Himself as the Physician.

Christ did not come for people who believe they have no need of Him. He came calling sinners to repentance.

Grace is especially beautiful when a person finally stops defending himself before God and simply admits, “I need mercy.”

That is exactly the kind of person the Gospel invites to come.

Salvation Is Received Through Faith

How, then, does someone receive this grace?

The message of the Gospel is beautifully simple:

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Faith means trusting Christ.

It means believing who Jesus is and placing the weight of your eternal hope upon what He has done rather than what you can do.

Faith is not another human achievement that allows us to boast. Even our ability to respond to God is evidence of His grace at work within us.

Salvation remains grace from beginning to end.

We are not saved because we were stronger, wiser, more spiritual, or more deserving than someone else. God awakens hearts that were spiritually dead. He draws sinners to Christ. He gives new life.

And the same grace that saves us is able to keep us.

The Christian life does not begin with grace and then continue through human strength alone. We remain dependent upon Christ every day.

The Shepherd who gives eternal life to His sheep is also the Shepherd who holds them securely in His hand.

Grace saves.

Grace sustains.

Grace keeps.

And grace will ultimately bring God’s people home.

Grace Leaves No Room for Pride

One of the hardest truths for the human heart to accept is that grace eliminates our ability to claim that God owes us something.

If something is owed to us, it is no longer grace.

Grace is freely given.

That truth confronts our pride because we naturally want to believe we contributed something that made us more deserving than someone else.

But the sovereignty of grace also creates tremendous hope.

If God’s mercy were reserved only for people who had committed a certain number of sins, then some of us might immediately conclude that we had crossed the line.

If grace were available only to people with respectable pasts, many would have no hope.

But because salvation rests upon God’s mercy rather than human merit, even the person who feels like the worst sinner in the room can look to Christ.

Your sin is not greater than the grace of God.

Your past does not place you beyond the reach of Christ.

The Gospel has always been the announcement that there is mercy for sinners who come to Jesus.

That is a message worth telling.

If the Gospel Is Worth Dying For, It Is Certainly Worth Living For

Paul was willing to die for the Gospel, but most of us are not being asked today to physically die for our faith.

We are being asked to live for it.

That may sound easier, but faithful Christian living requires daily surrender.

Living for the Gospel means recognizing that Christianity is not simply one area of our lives alongside work, family, hobbies, entertainment, and personal goals.

Christ becomes the center.

Like Paul, we begin asking a different question.

Instead of simply asking, “How can I create the most comfortable life possible?” we begin asking, “How can I faithfully finish what Jesus has given me to do?”

Every believer has a role in making Christ known.

Not everyone is called to preach from a pulpit.

Not everyone is called to vocational ministry.

Not everyone will become a missionary in another country.

But every Christian has been entrusted with the Gospel.

We are called to live faithfully, speak truthfully, serve sacrificially, love genuinely, and point people toward Jesus.

The Gospel has been entrusted to us.

The question is what we will do with it.

Hold Firmly to the Gospel

Living for the Gospel begins by actually knowing what we believe.

Christians should not be constantly carried away by every new spiritual trend, cultural philosophy, or religious idea that becomes popular.

Truth is not something we reinvent every generation.

The Gospel that saved sinners in the first century is the same Gospel sinners need today.

Jesus Christ has not become outdated.

Grace has not become irrelevant.

The cross has not lost its power.

The resurrection has not become unnecessary.

Human beings still have the same fundamental problem of sin, and we still need the same Savior.

There is certainly room for Christians to grow in understanding. We should study carefully, listen humbly, and continue learning throughout our lives.

But growth should take us deeper into biblical truth rather than away from the Gospel.

We must remain anchored to Christ.

Make the Gospel Known

Paul did not simply believe the Gospel privately.

He proclaimed it.

Everywhere Paul went, he talked about Christ.

Many Christians hesitate here because they feel unqualified.

“I don’t know enough.”

“I don’t speak well.”

“I don’t have the right personality.”

“I wouldn’t know what to say.”

But the power of the Gospel has never depended upon our ability to impress people.

Paul himself was criticized for his appearance and speaking ability. Yet he refused to make human eloquence the foundation of his ministry.

His concern was that people would encounter the truth and power of God rather than simply admire the messenger.

That should encourage us.

You do not need to be a professional speaker to tell someone about Jesus.

You do not need a theology degree to explain how Christ changed your life.

You do not need a platform, microphone, podcast, or large social media following.

You simply need to be willing to speak faithfully about what Christ has done.

Tell Your Story of Grace

There is an important difference between simply explaining the Gospel and personally testifying to it.

Paul did both.

He taught people the truth about Jesus, but he also repeatedly told the story of what Jesus had done for him.

Paul could say, in effect:

“I know grace is real because grace came for me.”

He remembered who he had been.

Paul had persecuted Christians. He had opposed the church. He was actively fighting against Christ when Jesus confronted him on the road to Damascus.

Paul did not find Jesus because he was spiritually searching in the right direction.

Jesus found Paul.

That story became part of Paul’s testimony.

Every Christian has a story of grace.

Your story may not involve a dramatic Damascus Road experience, but if you belong to Jesus, you can still say:

“I was lost, and Christ found me.”

“I was guilty, and Christ forgave me.”

“I was spiritually dead, and Christ gave me life.”

“I was without hope, and Christ became my hope.”

You do not have to exaggerate your story.

You simply have to tell the truth about what Jesus has done.

Why Should We Live for the Gospel?

Why should Christians give themselves so completely to making the Gospel known?

Because there is no other message like it.

People are surrounded by voices telling them how to improve themselves, express themselves, discover themselves, protect themselves, and fulfill themselves.

But the Gospel tells us that our deepest need cannot be solved by looking more deeply within ourselves.

We need a Savior.

People need more than motivational advice.

They need forgiveness.

They need reconciliation with God.

They need new life.

They need Jesus.

That is why the Gospel remains urgently relevant.

The world does not simply need better people.

It needs redeemed people.

It needs men and women transformed by the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

The Gospel Glorifies God

We should also proclaim the Gospel because the Gospel gives glory to God.

Grace places God at the center of salvation.

We cannot stand before Him and say, “Look what I accomplished.”

Instead, the believer says:

“Look what Christ has done.”

Grace humbles the sinner and exalts the Savior.

It reminds us that salvation belongs to the Lord.

The Father planned redemption.

The Son accomplished redemption.

The Holy Spirit applies redemption and transforms hearts.

From beginning to end, salvation displays the character and glory of God.

When sinners are saved by grace, Jesus receives the honor.

And that is exactly how it should be.

There Are Still People Who Need to Hear

Imagine Jesus standing before us and saying:

“I have entrusted My Gospel to you. Do not hide it. Do not change it. Do not be ashamed of it. There are still people who need to hear.”

How would we respond?

There are people around us right now who believe their past has made them unacceptable to God.

There are people drowning in shame.

There are people trying desperately to earn God’s approval.

There are people who assume Christianity is simply a list of rules.

There are people who think they have sinned too much to ever be forgiven.

There are people who have heard the word Jesus but have never clearly understood the Gospel of grace.

They need to hear that salvation is available through Christ.

They need to hear that Jesus died for sinners.

They need to hear that He rose again.

They need to hear that forgiveness cannot be purchased but can be received.

They need to hear that grace is real.

And God has chosen to place that message into the hands of ordinary believers like us.

Finish the Race

Paul looked at his life as a race.

There was a course before him and a ministry entrusted to him.

His goal was to finish both faithfully.

That should challenge every believer.

Life is short.

We do not know how many years, months, weeks, or even days we have remaining.

The most important question is not whether we can build a comfortable life.

The question is whether we will faithfully use the life God has given us.

Will we finish our course?

Will we fulfill the ministry God has placed before us?

Will we protect the truth of the Gospel?

Will we make Jesus known?

Will we live in such a way that the grace of God becomes visible through us?

Paul could face uncertainty, suffering, imprisonment, and even death because he believed he possessed something greater than personal comfort.

He had the Gospel.

And the Gospel was worth everything.

A Gospel Worth Everything

The Gospel of the grace of God tells us that guilty people can be forgiven, broken people can be restored, rebels can become children of God, and people who deserve judgment can receive mercy because Jesus Christ took the sinner’s place.

It tells us that salvation does not rest upon our ability to earn God’s favor.

It rests upon Christ.

It tells us that the cross is enough.

It tells us that grace is available.

It tells us that sinners can come.

And it tells us that the God who begins His work in His people is faithful to carry them forward.

Paul believed that message was worth his life.

The same Gospel has now been entrusted to us.

Perhaps most of us will never be asked to die for it.

But every one of us who follows Jesus is being asked to live for it.

So may we run our race faithfully.

May we hold tightly to the truth.

May we speak openly about Jesus.

May we tell the story of what His grace has done for us.

And when our course is finally finished, may it be said that we spent the life God gave us doing what Paul considered worth everything:

Testifying to the Gospel of the grace of God.