Letter from the FGA President - February 1, 2013
Greetings to those, whose heart has been captured by
the glorious grace of God,
It is so gratifying to receive letters and emails
from Christians around the world thankful and pleased that the Free Grace
Alliance boldly proclaims the glorious grace of God. It might be hard for many
of us in the states to conceive of a world where you do not have access to
sermons, books, or literature that articulate the clear grace of God and the
simplicity of receiving the gift of eternal life. I have received emails and
letters from a woman in England, a church planter in Africa , a missionary in Pakistan and a pastor in Finland, all
grateful for the FGA standing strong and clear and providing resources
concerning the grace of God. If you keep up on the FGA “Facebook” page you will
also hear from many people about the importance of Grace Theology as they seek
to investigate the nuances of a theology of Grace.
Webster defines grace as, "unmerited divine assistance given man for his regeneration or
sanctification." It is not often that secular works describe or
define theological concepts correctly, but in this case they have. Except
insofar as God does not "assist" us with either our
salvation or sanctification for it is the grace of God in both areas of our
life that allows us to grow from glory to glory.
One of the evidences of Free Grace Theology being an
accurate system of theology is that it meets one of the seminal requirements
for a good theological system; that is: The system that deals with the most
data and allows for the fewest assumptions has the best explanatory power. Free
Grace theology deals with the entire biblical account and deals with the problem
passages without bringing theological assumptions into the text. Hence, its
power to explain and exposit the text into an accurate theology is magnified.
One of the ongoing ministries of the FGA is our
conferences. I would encourage you to attend one of our Regional Conferences
this year. (March 2nd in Phoenix, April 20th in Salem,
May 18 in, Tampa, FL and June 22 in Charlotte, NC) Or, if you would like to sponsor
and host an FGA Regional Conference in your area please contact me and we will
see if we can help facilitate one near you. These conferences are a great way
to enjoy some continuing education in issues of biblical theology and ministry
philosophy, as well as enjoy a wonderful time of fellowship with some
likeminded people.
Let me encourage you to get involved with the FGA. I
invite you to visit and participate in our FGA Blog or our Facebook page. If
you desire a Regional Conference let us know. Also, if you have a ministry that
we could help share with others through our Ministry
Highlights page email us some information.
My friends, “You” are the Free Grace Alliance. Together
we are here to live and learn of the matchless grace of God. As Lewis Sperry
Chaffer said many years ago and is ever true,
“Pure
grace is neither treating a person as he deserves, nor treating a person better
than he deserves, but treating a person without the slightest regard to what he
deserves.”
Serving Him with you
Until He comes for us,
Until He comes for us,
Fred Chay, PhD
President, FGA
President, FGA