Grace That Changes Everything | Grace: The Gift That Changes Everything Series - The Way of Life Church

Most people think they understand grace.

We hear the word in prayers, songs, and casual conversation. We associate it with kindness, patience, forgiveness, or second chances. But familiarity can quietly shrink our understanding. And small views of God always produce cheap views of grace.

The apostle Paul refuses to let us stay comfortable with shallow definitions. In Ephesians 2, he begins not with comfort, but with clarity. Before he tells us what grace does, he shows us why grace is necessary.

We Were Not Weak. We Were Dead.

Paul’s diagnosis of the human condition is blunt:
“You were dead in the trespasses and sins…”

Not wounded.
Not confused.
Not morally disadvantaged.
Dead.

A corpse cannot be coached into life. It cannot respond to encouragement, threats, or motivation. Spiritual death means we were incapable of moving ourselves toward God. We were shaped by the world’s values, deceived by spiritual forces we barely recognized, and driven by desires bent away from God. Left to ourselves, we did not drift toward life. We remained dead unless acted upon.

This confronts a popular assumption: that people mainly need better education, stronger motivation, or improved discipline. Paul says our problem was not reform. Our problem was resurrection.

If we underestimate sin, we will inevitably trivialize grace.

“But God…”

Two of the most hopeful words in Scripture interrupt the darkness of our condition:
“But God…”

Grace is not human effort reaching upward. It is divine mercy breaking in. God did not wait for spiritual improvement or cooperation. While we were dead, He made us alive together with Christ.

Grace does not improve the old life. It creates new life.

We did not initiate salvation. We did not assist in resurrection. We did not contribute power. We simply received life because God acted.

But grace does more than revive. Paul says God raised us with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly places. That language speaks of a new realm, a new allegiance, and a new security. We no longer belong to the dominion of sin and death. We belong to Christ’s victorious kingdom. Our future is not uncertain. Our standing is secure.

Grace does not first change what we do.
Grace changes where we stand.

Grace Alone Gets the Credit

Paul repeats himself: “By grace you have been saved.” Not because we forget the words, but because we resist the meaning. We instinctively want to earn what can only be received.

Faith is not our contribution. It is the empty hand that receives God’s gift. Even our believing is sustained by grace. Works are excluded so that boasting is eliminated. No one stands before God with a résumé of spiritual accomplishments. Salvation magnifies God’s mercy, not human achievement.

Yet grace is not passive. We are God’s workmanship, created for good works prepared by Him. Good works are not the root of salvation. They are the result of it. Grace rescues us and then reshapes us.

Grace finds people as it finds them.
But it never leaves them as it finds them.

Why God Saves by Grace

Paul gives us three reasons grace operates this way:

• Because of God’s love. Salvation flows from His affection, not our attractiveness.
• To display God’s glory. Grace is a display of God’s goodness, not a transaction between equals.
• To eliminate boasting. Grace humbles the sinner and magnifies the Savior.

Grace does not merely rescue us from death. It redefines who we are, where we belong, and how we now live.

Grace That Keeps Changing Everything

Imagine waking up in a hospital bed after being clinically dead. Heart stopped. Breath gone. You did not revive yourself. You did not assist the doctor. You simply woke up alive.

From that moment forward, everything in your life is shaped by one truth:
I am alive because someone else acted.

That is grace.

And the only fitting response to grace like that is not pride, fear, or striving. It is gratitude and trust.

Grace is not something we needed only in the past. Grace is shaping everything now. Because the grace that raises the dead truly changes everything.

God's Mercy Extends to All: The Surprising Story of Rahab

God's Mercy Extends to All: The Surprising Story of Rahab

July 29, 2025 | The Way of Life Church Blog

When we think about who belongs in God's family, we often have a specific image in mind. We picture people who look like us, act like us, and have similar backgrounds. But is this really what God's family is
supposed to look like?

In the book of Joshua, we encounter a story that challenges our preconceptions about who God welcomes into His family. This story centers around a woman named Rahab, and her story reveals something
profound about God's mercy and who He considers "His kind of people."

Who Was Rahab and Why Does Her Story Matter?

Rahab was a prostitute living in Jericho when the Israelites were preparing to enter the Promised Land. When Joshua sent two spies to scout the city, they stayed at Rahab's house. When the king of Jericho
learned about these spies, he sent messengers to Rahab demanding she turn them over.

Instead of betraying them, Rahab hid the spies and helped them escape. Why would she do this? Her own words reveal her extraordinary faith:

"I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you... For the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath." (Joshua 2:9, 11)

This statement is remarkable coming from a pagan woman in a polytheistic culture. She recognized Yahweh as the supreme God of everything—not just one deity among many.

What Makes Someone "God's Kind of Person"?

Rahab's story appears in the Bible not because she was perfect, but because of her faith. In fact, she's mentioned in Hebrews 11—often called the "Hall of Faith"—alongside Abraham, Moses, and other heroes
of the faith:

"By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies." (Hebrews 11:31)

Notice she's still called "Rahab the prostitute." The Bible doesn't say "Rahab the ex-prostitute" or "Rahab who cleaned up her act." Her identity as a prostitute remains, yet her faith is what God honors.

This challenges our notion that people need to "get right" before they can come to God. Rahab didn't stop being a prostitute first and then believe. She believed first, and that belief led to action.

How Does True Faith Show Itself?

James uses Rahab as an example of how genuine faith manifests itself in action:

"Was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." (James 2:25-26)

Rahab didn't just believe in her mind—she acted on that belief. She committed treason against her own city because she believed in the God of Israel. She risked her life by hiding the spies and helping them escape.

As Timothy Keller wisely noted, "Faith is not the absence of sin; it is the presence of belief in God's mercy." Rahab believed God was merciful, and she acted on that belief.

What Happened to Rahab After Jericho Fell?

When the walls of Jericho came tumbling down, one section remained standing—the part where Rahab had hung the scarlet cord from her window. This cord, similar to the blood on the doorposts during Passover, marked her household for salvation.

But Rahab's story doesn't end there. She was incorporated into the people of Israel and married a man named Salmon. They had a son named Boaz, who married Ruth. Their great-grandson was King David,
which means Rahab is in the lineage of Jesus Christ!

Matthew's genealogy of Jesus specifically mentions Rahab—a foreign prostitute—as part of Jesus' family tree. Why? Because God wants us to know He is merciful and will save anyone who believes.

How Should This Change Our View of Church and Evangelism?

If God saves everyone who believes, shouldn't we invite everyone to believe? The scarlet cord saved not just Rahab but everyone in her household. Similarly, we should be inviting people into God's
household—people with tattoos, different lifestyles, addictions, or backgrounds unlike our own.

Too often, churches have communicated (directly or indirectly) that certain types of sinners aren't welcome. But we're all saved by the same mercy. The only difference between those inside the church and
those outside is that we've found shelter under God's covering.

Like an umbrella in the rain, God's mercy doesn't stop the judgment that's coming, but it provides covering so the judgment doesn't impact us. Our job isn't to judge who deserves that covering but to invite everyone to stand under it with us.

Life Application

This week, I challenge you to look at the people in your life through God's eyes. Who have you disqualified that God wants to qualify? Who in your circle of influence needs to hear about God's mercy?

Remember, we don't have to clean ourselves up to come to God—we come to God so He can clean us up. And once we're under His covering, we should be inviting others to join us, not keeping them away.

Ask yourself:

1.  Is there someone in my life I've been avoiding sharing my faith with because I don't think they "fit" in church?
2.  How might my attitude toward certain types of sinners be different from God's attitude?
3.  What practical step can I take this week to invite someone unexpected into God's family?

God used Rahab—a foreign prostitute—in His redemptive plan. He included her in the lineage of Jesus. If God can use Rahab, He can use anyone who believes. And if God welcomes all who believe, so should we.