You can spend a lifetime trying to earn what God has already given you by grace. Scripture says every believer has been accepted in the Beloved — graced with special honor and made highly favored through Christ. Part 17 of the Your REAL ID series unpacks the freedom of living from God's acceptance rather than for it.
The Context
Ephesians 1:6 declares that God "has made us accepted in the Beloved" through the glorious grace He has lavished on us in Christ. The Greek word translated "accepted" (charitoo) appears only one other time in the New Testament — when the angel greeted Mary as "highly favored." From that one verse, a new Real ID truth emerges: I am accepted in the Beloved — not on the basis of anything you have done, but on the basis of God's glorious grace.
The Core Message
The teaching opens with a deeply personal testimony from February 2020. Pastor Tim Howe had been working in the family business for over a decade when God called him to step away and attend Bible college to prepare for ministry. His earthly father lovingly affirmed the call, but it meant leaving the family business behind. Looking back, it was the blessing of God in disguise — he was out of the business before COVID upended the entire industry, and free to focus fully on what God had next. The lesson is woven throughout Scripture: when the Heavenly Father calls, He comes first. James and John left Zebedee and the boat. Peter and Andrew left their nets. Mark 10 promises that anyone who leaves family for the gospel receives a hundredfold in this life and eternal life in the next. Earthly fathers shape every person's view of God for better or for worse, but a believer's identity must come from the Heavenly Father alone — and the only accurate picture of that Father is found in Jesus, the exact representation of His nature.
The second half drives the message home with painful honesty. There was a season when the picture of God was that of a harsh taskmaster waiting to discipline every failure, and life became a hopeless cycle of trying to measure up and never quite getting there. The breakthrough came in understanding grace — that acceptance was never something to earn but something already given. Scripture is clear: a believer's perfection comes through the righteousness of Christ, not through performance. The same Greek word used for "accepted" in Ephesians 1:6 is the word that crowned Mary the "highly favored one" — and it now crowns every believer in Christ. The invitation is to stop trying to prove anything to God, to yourself, or to anyone else, and instead live out of who you already are: a dear child, imitating the Father, walking in love, light, and purity not to earn His acceptance but as the natural overflow of having received it.
The Application
- Receive By Grace: Stop trying to earn the acceptance God has already given you by His glorious grace through Christ — it was never yours to win.
- Put The Father First: When God's call conflicts with the demands of family, business, or comfort, follow the call — He has promised a hundredfold return for those who do.
- View Through Jesus: Filter everything you read in Scripture about God through the perfect representation of His nature — Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life.
- Live From Identity: Your actions flow out of your identity in Christ, not the reverse — receive the truth by faith first, then walk it out daily.
- Stop Proving: Quit spending your energy trying to prove your worth to yourself, to others, or to God; live instead out of what He has already said about you.
- Imitate The Father: As a dearly loved child, walk in love, light, and purity not to earn anything, but as the natural overflow of having been accepted.
Conclusion
Take a few minutes to listen to this powerful Part 17 message and breathe deeply in the freedom of being already accepted in the Beloved.
Here are some of the concepts we'll be touching on in today's message:
I am accepted in the Beloved, Your REAL ID, Ephesians 1:6, Acceptance by grace, Highly favored, Charitoo, True identity in Christ, Born again believer, Heavenly Father, Grace not works, Living from identity, Jesus is the exact representation of God, Filtering Old Testament through Jesus, Leaving all to follow Jesus, Imitating God, Light produces what is good, Stop proving yourself, Conformed to His image, Crucifying the flesh, Glorious grace
Scripture References:
Ephesians 1:3-6; Luke 1:28; Matthew 4:18-22; Matthew 10:37-39; Mark 10:28-31; John 17:3; Hebrews 1:1-4; John 14:6-14; Matthew 5:14-16; Matthew 5:43-48; Ephesians 5:1-10; Romans 8:28-30; Galatians 3:9; Proverbs 10:22
