How do I get grace today?
Means of grace refers to the divinely established ways we encounter and commune with God as we learn and experience His grace through Christ’s redemption. These include the ability to hear the Word as it is read (1 Tim. 4:13) and proclaimed (Rom.10:14–17), The avenue to God in prayer (Col. 4:13) and supplication through Christ (John 14:13), The sacraments or “visible words” of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:26) and baptism (Acts 22:16; Eph. 5:26). But do we think about these means as benefits themselves, reflecting the level of intimacy and access we have to God won for us by Christ and His covenant? One way to appreciate these means is to reflect on the parallel means of grace before the era of the New Testament church. When we see the parallels, it can make us even more grateful for the benefits of the new covenant won by Christ’s work. Old covenant worship looked different from new covenant worship. When reading Exodus and Leviticus, perhaps some of...