Free Grace that Transforms - Benedict Allmand-Smith

Date: Sunday 20th July 2025

Location: Trinity Baptist Church Charlesworth

Title:  Free Grace that Transforms

Text: 2 Kings 5:15-19

Please listen to the audio of Benedict's sermon below:

https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermons/72125174418090

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Free Grace That Transforms

1. Free Grace

The grace of God in salvation is utterly free – no cost, no transaction, no strings attached. As the gravestone of William Gadsby, which sits outside our chapel, proclaims, “Free Grace, Free Grace, Free Grace.” Yet while God’s grace is free, it is far from passive. It doesn’t leave us as we are – it transforms us.

This is powerfully pictured in the story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5. A wealthy Syrian commander, Naaman came seeking healing from his leprosy. After being miraculously healed through God’s prophet Elisha, he tried to offer a reward – perhaps in the way one might tip a servant or honour a king who’s helped in battle. But Elisha refused. Why? Because God's grace cannot be bought. It is not earned. It is given freely.

The prophet’s refusal highlights a deeper theological truth: grace must remain grace. As Isaiah 55:1 invites, “Come, everyone who thirsts… buy without money and without price.” Salvation is not something we negotiate for. Simon the magician learnt this the hard way in Acts 8 – trying to buy God’s power was met with a sharp rebuke. Today, this same danger remains in prosperity teachings and transactional views of salvation.

Yet, though it costs us nothing, this salvation was not free for Christ. Our salvation was purchased at great cost – through the obedience and sacrificial death of Jesus. As 2 Corinthians 5:21 declares, “He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us.” Imagine someone willingly taking on a terminal disease to save an enemy who despised them – that only begins to illustrate what Christ has done for us. He took our sin, our judgement, our punishment and, in return gave us healing, forgiveness, and eternal life.

2. Free Grace that Transforms

So what happens when someone receives this kind of grace? Like Naaman, they are transformed. He not only received healing but pledged to worship the LORD alone, abandoning idols. He made provision to live differently, taking practical steps to honour God. That’s what real repentance looks like – not just sorrow, but life-change.

Transformation also brings a new sensitivity to God’s approval. Naaman was now concerned about whether his actions might offend the LORD. He sought guidance, showing the heart of someone newly attuned to God’s desires. In the same way, saving grace awakens in us a longing to hear those most precious words from our Lord: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

This is not about earning God's favour but delighting in his approval because we've already been accepted. His grace has changed our desires.

Children, adults, all of us – if we think we must clean ourselves up first or prove ourselves before coming to Jesus, we miss the point. Grace is free, and it is received through faith. But once received, it will not leave us the same. It transforms how we live, what we love, and who we trust.

The saving grace of God is free grace. But it is a free grace that transforms.

Amen.