The Transforming Grace of the Easter Story
“But by the grace of God, I am what I am.”
Sermon Summary
Scripture proclaims the Easter story through three world-shifting miracles: the incarnation, the atoning death on the cross, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. God took on flesh and entered His creation. Christ bore the sins of the world, offering Himself as a substitute. Then He rose in a glorified body, conquering death and declaring new creation for those who believe.
Acts 9 recounts Saul's confrontation with the risen Christ. Light from heaven stopped him. Jesus called his name. Grace shattered pride and exposed his rebellion. Scripture shows that when Christ appears—through thunder or whisper—He transforms. Paul once persecuted the church. Christ confronted him, convicted him, and commissioned him. Grace rewrote his identity and redirected his life.
Paul didn’t clean himself up; grace overhauled him. “By the grace of God, I am what I am,” he says. This grace saved him, sanctified him, and empowered him. Scripture insists that every believer shares this pattern: God speaks, conviction strikes, faith rises, and grace reshapes.
The Easter miracles still speak. They don’t merely inspire; they demand surrender. The Word doesn’t call for admiration. It calls for repentance, faith, and obedience. Scripture promises: when Christ gets hold of a life, everything changes.
The question Scripture presses: Has Christ appeared to you? Have you heard Him call your name? Have you responded in faith and submitted to His Lordship? Scripture says He speaks. Will you answer?