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BE TRANSFORMED!

Writer's picture: UnstoppableRevKevUnstoppableRevKev

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has passed away, and behold, the new is here!

2 Cor 5:17


In biblical theology, GRACE is the unmerited favor of God toward sinners, a central concept in both the Old and New Testaments. Several types of grace are identified in Scripture, each with specific applications:


COMMON GRACE:


Common grace refers to God’s kindness and provision extended to all humanity, regardless of their spiritual state. This includes blessings such as life, sustenance, natural beauty, and human faculties. It does not lead to salvation but reveals God’s goodness to all. This is seen in passages like John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his unique Son, that whoever has faith in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”


Perversion in contemporary culture: In progressive “Christian” circles, this has sometimes been twisted to imply that God’s love and provision extend in such a way that He condones or affirms all human behaviors, including those the Bible overtly reveals as sin. The argument often suggests that if God shows common grace to all, He affirms their choices and lifestyles, even when they contradict biblical standards of morality.


SAVING GRACE:


Saving grace is the grace by which God redeems sinners through faith in Christ Jesus. It is specifically tied to the work of salvation, where God justifies and sanctifies those who have faith in Christ, not merely believe in propositional statements or ideas. Scripture tells us, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” Demons believe too, but they won’t be in heaven.


Transformation is the evidence of authentic faith through our commitment and devotion to the ministry of the GOSPEL through the Body & Bride of Christ, i.e. the church. The thief who recognized Jesus as LORD was guaranteed he would see Christ in paradise that day. It’s 100% true that we can’t earn God’s grace, but we absolutely should live lives that reflect the reality of it! That man didn’t have the opportunity to serve King Jesus because he was nailed to a cross. What’s our excuse?


The Apostle Paul gave us a prescription for testing the authenticity of our faith, saying, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are found counterfeit.”


Perversion in contemporary culture: In the woke, social justice, and progressive “Christian” movements, saving grace is sometimes diluted to mean that salvation can be achieved apart from repentance and transformation. It is often framed as mere “acceptance” rather than the biblical model of repentance and submission to Christ’s lordship. This can lead to the affirmation of sin under the guise of grace, as the need for holy living is downplayed.


SANCTIFYING GRACE:


Sanctifying grace refers to God’s work in believers that gradually transforms them into Christlikeness, helping them grow in holiness. This involves the ongoing process of the Holy Spirit convicting of sin, producing fruit, and empowering obedience to God’s commands… resulting in supernatural transformation.


Perversion in contemporary culture: Progressive interpretations reject, ignore, or redefine the need for ongoing sanctification by promoting an idea that Christians can remain unchanged and still claim God’s approval. Some may suggest that “being true to oneself” is more important than submitting to biblical commands on sexual morality, integrity, or self-denial. Sanctification becomes irrelevant if grace is seen merely as blanket acceptance without transformation. The issue with this mindset is exposed in Scripture, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure…”


TRANSFORMATIVE GRACE:


Transformative grace is the grace by which God not only forgives sinners but also fundamentally transforms their lives through His Spirit. It is not merely grace that “accepts us as we are” but a powerful grace that makes us new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). This grace leads believers to perpetual repentance, empowering them to live holy lives, and conforms them more and more into the image of Christ.


Biblical intent: Transformative grace is the deep, soul-renewing grace that works beyond simple or superficial forgiveness. It initiates an internal change that leads to external obedience and godliness. Romans 12:2 calls believers to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind,” showing that grace brings radical, life-altering change. God’s desire is not for superficial kindness but for a supernaturally redeemed people who reflect Christ’s perfect righteousness and live in a way that glorifies Him.


Perversion in contemporary culture: In progressive “Christianity,” transformative grace has been reinterpreted to mean a superficial “be nice to people” message, reducing grace to mere tolerance and inclusion. Instead of a means of deep spiritual transformation by God, grace is twisted into an ideology of full acceptance without change, where affirming people in their sin is actually seen as virtuous. This diminishes the power of grace to heal, correct, and restore sinners into the image of Christ. The cultural message of “just be kind” falls infinitely short of the biblical mandate for repentance and sanctification, which calls for perfect holiness and a full rejection of sin.


PREVENIENT GRACE:


Prevenient grace is a concept, particularly in Arminian theology, referring to the grace that comes before salvation, enabling a person to seek God and repent.


Perversion in contemporary culture: This can be distorted to suggest that all people inherently possess the ability to pursue and please God without fully embracing the gospel or undergoing a supernatural spiritual rebirth, as Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3. In woke theology, this can manifest as the belief that social activism or self-affirmation are means of grace, downplaying the need for explicit faith in Christ as the only Way, Truth, and Life.


CIVIL GRACE:


Civil grace is seen in societal blessings like justice, government, and social order, reflecting God’s desire for human flourishing in a fallen world.


Perversion in contemporary culture: In the social justice movement, this grace has often been co-opted to suggest that the pursuit of social justice, equity, or activism, in and of themselves, is synonymous with biblical grace. This divorces the concept from its Christian foundations and replaces it with a secular or human-centered activism that sometimes contradicts biblical values, like the sanctity of life or the biblical definition of justice. In progressive Christianity, social causes often overshadow gospel proclamation.


ELECTING GRACE:


Electing grace refers to God’s sovereign choice in predestination, where He chooses individuals for salvation according to His will. This is a deeply Reformed understanding of grace that emphasizes God’s ultimate authority in salvation. We find evidence of God’s election in passages such as Romans 8:29-30, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”


Perversion in contemporary culture: In some progressive movements, this has been rejected outright as unfair or “exclusive.” The notion of God choosing some for salvation and not others is often replaced with a universalist view that implies all people, regardless of faith, are part of God’s plan for salvation, thus negating the need for faith in Christ or the exclusivity of the gospel. One problem with this approach is for those who are created to judge our Creator. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 9:18, “So then, God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy and He hardens whom He wants to harden.”


In contemporary woke, social justice, and progressive “Christian” movements, grace has been redefined in various ways, often to affirm sin or cultural ideologies that run counter to orthodox biblical teaching. Some of the common distortions include:


Affirmation of Sin: Grace is misconstrued as unconditional affirmation, with no call to repentance or change. For example, issues like sexual ethics (e.g., same-sex relationships, cohabitation outside of marriage) are embraced without the biblical expectation of repentance and transformation. Grace becomes permissive rather than transformative.


Superficial Social Grace: In some forms of progressive “Christianity,” grace is equated with societal acceptance and “niceness,” promoting a social gospel over a biblical one. Social activism is seen as a replacement for personal piety and gospel proclamation, often conflating social justice with Christian righteousness. This erroneous view of grace centers on being non-judgmental, tolerant, and affirming, rather than calling for deep SUPERNATURAL spiritual renewal and repentance leading to transformation.


Denial of Biblical Authority: The concept of grace in progressive movements often accompanies a deconstruction of the Bible’s moral authority. The Bible is seen as culturally bound, and its commands are conveniently reinterpreted to fit contemporary ideologies, undermining the biblical view of grace that calls believers to be conformed by the power of God into Christ’s perfect and holy image.


Biblical grace is transformative and calls sinners to salvation through repentance, faith, and Christlikeness. It is not a passive or permissive acceptance of sin but a dynamic force of God that leads to spiritual rebirth, renewal, and sanctification. In progressive and woke contexts, grace is reduced to superficial kindness and affirmation, missing the heart of the Good News that confronts sin and calls for SUPERNATURAL transformation by the irruption of the Holy Spirit of God into our lives as the Divine Comforter, Helper, Counselor, and Advocate vs a superficial warm & fuzzy feeling to affirm us in our rebellion and sin.


Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

-Romans 12:2


Blessings & love,

-Kevin M. Kelley


Get a copy of my children’s book UNSTOPPABLE! >HERE<

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