My dear friend Mark is a recovering alcoholic and heroin addict. We’ve had many long talks and no matter what the conversation might be, by the time we reach the end, the discussion has always come around to grace. That’s because for Mark, grace is everything. He sees himself as rescued every single day. Do you think of yourself that way? Martin Luther famously described grace as “God’s unmerited favor.” JI Packer has commented that not only did we not merit God’s favor…what we did merit was the outpouring of God’s wrath. Grace isn’t just forgiveness—it’s more than that—much, much more. Today, let’s take just a few moments to consider God’s grace in light of a passage to the Philippians:

So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose. (Phil. 2:12-13)

Wait a minute, Paul... “Work out your own salvation?” What about grace? Paul does say to “work out your own salvation,” but that isn’t all he says. Let’s listen to the second part again: “For it is God who is working in you, enabling you to desire and to work out His good purpose.” God works in you—then then you have to work it out. God gives you the “want-to” and then He follows up by giving you the power to do it. God wants you and me to act on the desires He has given us, using grace-full power. God’s gift of want-to combines with God’s gift of power-to, enabling us to follow Him and fulfill the good purposes He has prepared for us. Grace then, isn’t just forgiveness…it’s a way of living. Today, God is working in you, enabling you to both desire and to work out His good purposes in your life...and that is very Good News!