¹And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain— ²for He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”— ³giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited …

Paul “urges” his readers, using the same word that describes God “making an appeal” (in both cases, the English renderings convey the same Greek word “parakaleo”). This is the same word used in Romans 12:1, where Paul “urges” his readers to present their bodies as a living, holy sacrifice. The call to committed living and walking in the grace of God comes with the same urgency as God’s call to be reconciled to Him. These are foundational to our relationship with God and carry seminal weight for Christians. They are axiomatic truths, not subject to reasoning formulated on previous truths. God has assigned these as first truths for Christian living, absolutely essential.

So Paul invites us to join with Him in ministering grace toward others (something the Corinthians desperately needed to learn), which begins with and is energized by the grace we continue to receive from God. Everything we have and are, we have received from God as a gift. Nothing is earned (Eph. 2:8–9), and nothing we can possibly do could influence God to give us more grace. As Christians, our lives are all about receiving His grace and living out His grace.

The problem here is the failure to recognize the need of God’s grace, leaving all of this as nothing more than religious-sounding words in many people’s ears. The darkened heart of Jeremiah 17:9 (“The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick”) continues to battle against the spirit of grace. It says, “I may need God’s grace, but I don’t need it as much as the next person.” It is the thinking that Christian maturity means moving toward less of a need for God’s grace. That thinking is completely demonic, unbiblical to the core.

Paul, toward the end of his life, when we might say he had become more spiritually mature than earlier in his life, wrote, “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all” (1 Tim. 1:15). Notice the present tense, “among whom I am foremost.” He is thinking not only of his pre-conversion life, but his present walk as well. Peter wrote at the end of his life about “grow[ing] in the grace and knowledge of our Lord…” (2 Peter 3:18). Such a grace-filled and grace-growing life will keep us from discrediting the ministry.

Lord, help me grow daily in receiving Your infinite grace, as You unfold for me the infinite grace that is mine because of the cross.