The Spirit Of The Church Is Grace

"For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace" (Hebrews 13:9)

At GLCC we believe having received the grace of God we are to seek to extend that same grace to others. We believe that one of God's chief characteristics in dealing with man is grace and mercy. We realize that without the grace and mercy of God none of us would have a chance. We believe that having received grace and mercy from God, we are to show grace and mercy to others. Jesus emphasized this when He said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7). Again Jesus said, "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:15).

One of the primary ways we can show forth grace and mercy to others is to restore those who have fallen into sin. Paul said, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou be tempted" (Galatians 6:1). Before we can restore one who has fallen into sin there must be repentance. But once there is repentance that one must be restored and brought back to a position of usability. It was to fallen and backslidden Peter that Jesus said, "Peter, do you love Me?" and Peter replied, "Yes, Lord You know that I love You." Then Jesus restored repentant Peter with these words, "Tend My sheep" (John 21: 15-16). That is to be the spirit of GLCC.

However, showing grace is not without risk. We may make a mistake in forgiving and showing grace to some people. It may be that there repentance was not genuine or maybe that they had a hidden agenda. Maybe they were still involved in their sin and maybe later they will do damage to you. We are not perfect and will sometimes make mistakes. We would much rather err on the side of grace and restore a brother who has not truly repented than to err on the side of judgement and not restore a brother who has truly repented. The Bible warns, "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Matthew 7:1). We must be careful of a very harsh, inflexible and severe form of legalism that allows no room for repentance and restoration. If we err, let's err on the side of grace and restore every repentant believer to a place of usability. This is the Spirit of Christ and is to characterise GLCC.
 

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