Kristy came to understand and believe the Gospel of Grace

I was raised in a loving, Christian home.  I attended church every Sunday with my family at a small community church.  At the age of sixteen, I made a profession of faith and was baptized soon after.  I believed in God, but I didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus.

I was the “good girl” to everyone in my family.  But, as I got older and moved away from them, I was anything but good.  I lived an almost double life.  I allowed the thoughts and opinions of others to completely steal my self-worth.  And I was so heavy with guilt and shame from continuously making bad decisions.  I spent years trying to earn favor with God only to end up failing again over and over.  I just couldn’t get it right.

But, all of that changed in my early thirties when I understood the significance of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

As a child, I learned about Jesus from church and my parents.  But, somehow, I interpreted being a Christian as doing good things, going to church, and being a good person.  I claimed to be a Christian, and if anyone ever asked me if I was, my response was always, “Yes!”

When I got older, some friends invited me to a church where the Gospel of Grace was taught.  This was different than what I had understood before.  The Lord allowed me to understand that I could never DO or BE good enough.  I didn’t have to earn His love and grace, in fact, I couldn’t earn it.

Scripture seemed to come alive as God revealed the gospel truth through His Word.  I was seeing Jesus woven in to each story in the Bible.  I no longer felt like I had to pull myself up by my boot-straps and try again when I would fall short. Jesus met me right where I was with His love and grace and an understanding of a relationship with Him!

What captured my heart about Jesus is that He loved me enough to endure the horrific death on the cross, taking the penalty for my sin; even though He lived a perfect, sinless life in submission to the Father’s will.

I responded to the Gospel of Jesus by repenting of my self-righteousness and receiving the grace that God offers through the finished work of Jesus.

Since I understood the Gospel of Jesus, I rest in believing that my salvation is from the Lord, and not dependent on my striving to earn His grace.  Now, I strive to live a life that is pleasing to God because I have been given grace, not trying to earn it.

And today, I’m being baptized to obey the command of Jesus as noted in Matthew 28:19-20. Jesus told His disciples, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

Kristy Ellis