The Discovery of Grace

A Grandfather’s Testimony

A 64-year-old man shares what he learned when everything else was stripped away...

A Small Home Bible Study

The living room was simple—worn furniture, a coffee table with open Bibles, a few folding chairs brought in from the garage. Eight people gathered on a Thursday evening, believers who’d been meeting weekly for years. They knew each other’s struggles, victories, and stories.

Tonight, it was David’s turn to share.

At 64, David looked older than his years. Life had done its work on him—the lines on his face told stories of loss, failure, broken dreams. He’d been successful once. Business owner, respected in the community, comfortable life.

All gone now.

Financial collapse. Lost the house. Estrangement from his kids. Health issues. The slow, grinding humiliation of becoming irrelevant—too old for the job market, too broken for most people to care about, too “yesterday” in a world that worships youth and success.

He’d become what the world considers disposable. A dinosaur ready for the trash heap. No power. No influence. No reputation left to protect.

But something in his eyes was different tonight. Not defeat. Not despair.

Peace.

He opened his worn Bible, smiled softly, and began.

David’s Story

“I want to tell you what I’ve been learning about grace,” David said. “And I’m going to tell you things I never understood—even after forty years of calling myself a Christian.”

He paused, looking around the room.

“When you have nothing left—and I mean nothing—you discover what’s actually real. When SELF is crushed, when there’s no reputation to defend, no status to maintain, no image to protect… that’s when grace becomes visible. Because grace and SELF can’t exist in the same space.”

The Incompatibility of Grace and SELF

“Here’s what I’ve learned,” David continued, his voice steady. “Grace and SELF are absolutely, completely, totally incompatible. They cannot coexist. Ever.

It’s not that they’re hard to balance. It’s not that we should try to have more grace and less self.

They are mutually exclusive.

Think about it: What is SELF?

Self-sufficiency
Self-promotion
Self-defense
Self-righteousness
Self-protection
Self-glory

What is Grace?

God’s sufficiency
God’s promotion
God’s defense
God’s righteousness
God’s protection
God’s glory

You cannot have both. It’s either ALL grace and NO self, or ALL self and NO grace.

There’s no middle ground. No mixture. The Kingdom of Heaven operates on 100% grace, which means 0% self.”

David flipped to Romans 11:6:

“But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.”

“Paul is saying: if you add even 1% of works, even 1% of self-effort, it’s no longer grace. The moment you introduce SELF, grace is nullified.

That’s why Jesus said we must become like children (Matthew 18:3). Children have no SELF to defend. No reputation. No status. They receive everything as gift.

When life crushed me—when I lost everything I’d built, everything I thought made me somebody—I was furious. Devastated.

But you know what? It was the greatest gift God ever gave me.

Because only when SELF was dead could I finally see grace.”

What IS Grace?

An older woman in the group, Martha, spoke up: “David, I’ve heard about grace my whole life. But I’m not sure I really know what it is. Can you explain it?”

David nodded. “I’ve been studying this intensely. Let me share what I’ve found.

First, here’s what grace is NOT:

It’s not God overlooking sin (that’s not justice)

It’s not just forgiveness (that’s part of it, but not all)

It’s not God being ‘nice’ to us (way bigger than that)

It’s not something we earn or deserve (then it wouldn’t be grace)

Here’s what grace IS:

From Ephesians 2:8-9‘For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.’

Grace is:

God’s unmerited favor - We don’t deserve it, we can’t earn it, we’ll never be worthy of it. He gives it freely.

God’s enabling power - From Titus 2:11-12: ‘For the grace of God has appeared… instructing us to deny ungodliness.’ Grace doesn’t just forgive—it empowers us to live holy.

God Himself - This is what I missed for decades. Grace isn’t just something God gives. Grace IS God giving Himself.

When Paul says ‘Grace to you’ in every single letter, he’s saying: ‘God Himself to you. The fullness of who He is, to you.’

God IS gracious. It’s His nature. You can’t separate grace from God because grace is the manifestation of who He is.

And here’s the key: Grace knows everything in advance and provides everything when needed.

Grace is never surprised. Never caught off guard. Never insufficient.

There is no lack in grace. None whatsoever. It’s impossible.

Why? Because grace is God, and God is infinite. How can there be lack in infinity?

When I lost my business, I panicked. ‘How will I survive? What will I do?’

Grace provided. Not always how I wanted. Not always when I expected. But always enough. Always on time. Always perfect.

Grace is eternal. Grace is faithful. Grace is always abundance.”

What IS Peace?

“Now let me tell you about peace,” David continued, “because you can’t understand grace without understanding peace.”

He turned to Romans 5:1:

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“Peace—shalom in Hebrew—isn’t just the absence of conflict. It means:

Wholeness
Completeness
Nothing missing
Nothing broken
Perfect harmony
Total rest

And here’s what blew my mind: Grace and peace are always mentioned together in Scripture. ALWAYS.

Let me show you.”

David flipped through his Bible

Romans 1:7 “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 1:3 ”Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 Corinthians 1:2 ”Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians—every single letter Paul wrote: “Grace to you and peace.”

“Do you see it? Always grace first, then peace. Always both together. Always from the same source—God the Father and Jesus Christ.

Why? Because they’re two sides of the same coin.

GRACE = God’s action toward us (His favor, His power, His presence)

PEACE = Our experience of that grace (wholeness, rest, shalom)

You cannot have peace without grace. Grace produces peace.

Think of it like this: Grace is the sun. Peace is the warmth you feel from the sun. You can’t have the warmth without the sun. They’re inseparable.

And both are gifts. Neither can be earned.

From Romans 5:2 ‘through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand.’

We stand in grace. Grace is the ground beneath our feet. And in that grace, we experience peace.”

Martha raised her hand again. “David, you said you didn’t understand this for forty years as a Christian. What changed?”

David’s eyes glistened. “What changed? I died.

Not physically—though there were moments I wanted to. I died to SELF.

When you’re crushed, when you have nothing left to offer, nothing left to achieve, nothing left to prove—you can finally stop performing.

And when you stop performing, you can finally receive.

That’s when I discovered that grace and peace had been there the whole time. I just couldn’t see them because SELF was in the way.”

The Connection to TRUTH

“But there’s more,” David said, his voice rising with excitement. “Grace and peace aren’t just connected to each other. They ARE truth.

Listen to John 1:14 and 17:

‘And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth… For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.’

Grace and truth. Always together.

And what does Jesus say about Himself in John 14:6?

‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life.’

Jesus IS truth. Jesus IS grace. Therefore, grace IS truth.

You cannot separate them.

Here’s the formula I discovered:

GRACE + PEACE = TRUTH

Or more accurately: GRACE = PEACE = TRUTH = GOD HIMSELF

They’re not three separate things. They’re one manifestation of the fullness of God.

Think about Eden. Adam and Eve had:

Grace (God’s favor, presence, provision—unearned)

Peace (Perfect shalom, nothing missing, nothing broken)

Truth (Direct knowledge of God, no deception)

They were and still are IN grace. Eden WAS grace manifested.

When they fell, what did they lose? All three.

No more grace (removed from God’s presence, no longer walking with Him)

No more peace (fear, anxiety, hiding, shame, toil)

No more truth (deception entered, lies became possible)

The fall FROM grace was the fall from Eden—falling from grace AND peace AND truth all at once.

And what did Jesus come to restore?

John 1:16 ‘For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.’

‘Grace upon grace’—the Greek literally means ‘wave after wave after wave of grace.’

Eternal waves of grace, flooding over us, restoring what was lost in Eden.

And with that grace comes peace. And with peace comes truth.

It’s all or nothing. You can’t have one without the others.”

Lawlessness = No Grace, No Peace, No Truth

A younger man, Tom, looked confused. “David, what about people who claim to be Christians but don’t seem to have any peace? Or who say they believe in grace but live however they want?”

David nodded. “Excellent question. That brings us to lawlessness.

1 John 3:4 ‘Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.’

What is lawlessness? Living apart from God’s authority. Living by SELF instead of by grace.

And here’s what’s terrifying: In lawlessness, there is no grace. No peace. No truth.

Why? Because lawlessness is the rejection of grace. It’s saying: ‘I don’t need God’s power. I’ll do it myself. My way. My authority. My kingdom.’

That’s SELF enthroned.

And where SELF is enthroned, there cannot be grace.

Listen to Jesus’ warning in Matthew 7:21-23:

‘Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.”’

These people thought they were Christians. They had religion. They had works. They had miracles!

But Jesus says: ‘I never knew you. You practice lawlessness.’

Why? Because they were operating in SELF, not in grace.

They were doing things for God, but not by God’s power. They had works but not grace. Religion but not relationship. Activity but not rest.

And without grace, there’s no peace. Without peace, there’s no truth. Without truth, you’re believing lies about who God is and who you are.

That’s why Jesus says: ‘Depart from me.’

Lawlessness = SELF-rule = No grace = No peace = No truth = Hell.

I know that sounds harsh. But it’s what Scripture says.

The Christian Nationalists who wave flags and claim to fight for God’s kingdom while relying on political power, military force, and earthly authority?

That’s lawlessness dressed up in Christian language.

It’s SELF ruling, not Christ. It’s building kingdoms of SELF, not receiving the Kingdom of God.

And Jesus will say to many of them: ‘I never knew you.’

Not because they didn’t believe the right doctrines. Not because they didn’t do enough works.

Because they never died to SELF. They never lived by grace.”

The Gift of the Holy Spirit—Grace Made Personal

Martha spoke again: “David, you keep saying grace is God giving Himself. Can you explain that more?”

“Yes,” David said. “This is where it gets beautiful.

What did Jesus promise His disciples before He ascended?

Acts 1:8 ‘but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.’

And what does Peter say on Pentecost?

Acts 2:38 ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’

The Holy Spirit IS the gift.

Not something the Spirit gives. The Spirit Himself is the gift.

And what is the Spirit? God’s very presence dwelling IN us.

Romans 5:5 ‘and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.’

2 Corinthians 1:22 ‘who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.’

When God gives us the Holy Spirit, He’s giving us HIMSELF.

That’s grace—God giving Himself, His presence, His power, His nature to undeserving sinners.

And what flows from the Spirit?

Galatians 5:22-23 ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.’

Peace is the fruit of the Spirit. Grace (the Spirit’s presence) produces peace.

We didn’t earn the Spirit. We didn’t summon Him. We didn’t generate Him through our efforts.

God gave Him as pure, 100% grace.

And because the Spirit lives in us, we experience peace—even when circumstances are chaos.”

David’s voice grew quieter. “When I lost everything, I should have had no peace. Logically, I should have been in despair.

But I wasn’t.

Because the Spirit was there. Grace was there. And grace produces peace regardless of circumstances.

That’s when I knew—truly knew—that grace is real. Because I experienced peace that made no earthly sense.”

Adoption and Grafting—We Did NOTHING

Tom leaned forward. “Okay, but what about our part? Don’t we have to choose to believe? Don’t we have to repent? Aren’t we responsible for something?”

David smiled. “That’s what I thought for forty years. Let me show you what Scripture actually says.

ADOPTION

Ephesians 1:4-5 ‘He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.’

Before the foundation of the world, He chose us and predestined us to adoption.

Romans 8:29 ‘For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.’

John 15:16 ’You did not choose Me but I chose you.’

John 6:44 ‘No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.’

Do you see it? God does the choosing. God does the drawing. God does the predestining.

But wait—don’t we have to believe?

Yes. But where does faith come from?

Ephesians 2:8 ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.’

Faith itself is a gift.

Philippians 1:29 ‘For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.’

Belief is GRANTED to us. We don’t generate it. We receive it.

Acts 11:18 ‘God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.’

Even repentance is granted by God.

Tom, you asked what our part is. Here it is:

We receive.

That’s it. Like a baby receives milk. Like a beggar receives bread. Like a dying man receives medicine.

We don’t create the gift. We don’t earn the gift. We don’t improve the gift. We receive it.

And even the ability to receive it is grace—because our hearts were dead, and God made them alive.

Ephesians 2:4-5 ‘But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).’

We were DEAD. Dead people can’t do anything. God made us alive.

GRAFTING

Romans 11:17-24 talks about us being grafted into the olive tree (Israel, God’s covenant people).

Verse 24 ‘For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree…’

Grafted CONTRARY TO NATURE.

A branch can’t graft itself. It’s dead, cut off. The gardener must:

Choose the branch
Cut it
Prepare it
Insert it into the new tree
Bind it
Nourish it

The branch does NOTHING. The gardener does EVERYTHING.

John 15:1 ‘I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.’

God is the gardener. He grafts us in by His power, His choice, His grace.

1 Corinthians 12:18 ‘But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.’

God places us in the Body. Not we ourselves.

So what’s our part?

To stop trying to do God’s part.
To receive.
To rest in grace.
To let Him do what only He can do.

That’s it.”

The Robes of Righteousness—Required for Entry

An elderly gentleman, Frank, spoke up. “David, you mentioned earlier that we need robes of righteousness to enter the wedding feast. Can you explain that?”

“Yes,” David said, turning to Revelation 19:7-8:

‘Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.’

And Matthew 22:11-13:

‘But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, “Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?” And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”’

You MUST have the wedding garment to enter the feast.

But here’s the question: Where do we get it?

Can we make it ourselves? Can we earn it? Can we weave it from our good works?

Absolutely not.

Isaiah 64:6 ‘For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.’

Our best efforts are filthy rags.

So how do we get the robe?

It’s given to us.

Look again at Revelation 19:8:’It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean.’

GIVEN. Not earned. Not achieved. GIVEN.

Isaiah 61:10 ‘I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.’

HE clothes us. HE wraps us. It’s His righteousness, not ours.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ‘He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.’

We BECOME the righteousness of God IN CHRIST.

That’s the wedding garment—Christ’s righteousness given to us by grace.

And here’s the key: The only thing required to get into the wedding feast is righteousness. And that righteousness is given to us by grace.

Not our performance.
Not our works.
Not our holiness.
Not our obedience.

Christ’s righteousness. Imputed to us. By grace. Through faith.

Romans 3:21-24 ‘But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.’

Justified as a GIFT by His GRACE.

The wedding garment is grace. Righteousness is grace. Entry is grace. Everything is grace.

And remember: Grace and SELF cannot coexist.

If you’re trying to earn the robe, you’re operating in SELF, and you’ll be thrown out.

If you receive the robe as gift, you’re operating in GRACE, and you’ll feast forever.

It’s that simple. And that absolute.”

We Are the Bride—By Grace Alone

Martha had tears in her eyes now. “David, tell us about the Bride. What does Jesus say about her?”

David’s voice grew tender. “This is the most beautiful part.

John 14:1-3 ‘Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.’

He’s preparing a place for us.
He’s coming back to receive us.
He’s bringing us to where He is.

That’s the Harpazo—the rapture. Jesus coming for His Bride.

Ephesians 5:25-27 ‘Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.’

Look at the verbs:

He loved
He gave Himself
He sanctifies
He cleanses
He presents
He makes holy and blameless

Every single action is HIS.

The Bride doesn’t make herself pure. He purifies her.

The Bride doesn’t make herself spotless. He cleanses her.

The Bride doesn’t make herself holy. He sanctifies her.

Jude 24 ‘Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy.’

HE keeps us. HE presents us. HE makes us blameless.

And listen to how He feels about His Bride:

Zephaniah 3:17 ‘The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.’

He rejoices over us with SHOUTS OF JOY.

Isaiah 62:5 ‘For as a young man marries a virgin, So your sons will marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So your God will rejoice over you.’

He rejoices over us the way a bridegroom rejoices over his bride on their wedding day.

Can you imagine? The King of the universe, the Creator of all things, rejoicing over US with shouts of joy?

Why? Not because we’re worthy. But because of GRACE.

We’ve been made worthy by His blood. We’ve been clothed in His righteousness. We’ve been adopted as His children and betrothed as His Bride.

All by grace. Pure, 100%, unearned, undeserved, magnificent grace.”

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