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Saved by Grace, Reaching out with Grace

"(T)he church may not function as a fearful border guard, but rather as one who brings good tidings (Rom. 10:15; Is. 52:7) .... For Christ died for us 'while we were yet sinners, while we were enemies' (Rom. 5:8,10). All hardness, imprudence and rashness can only be signs that she has forgotten the gracious overstepping of the boundaries at her birth" [G. C. Berkouwer, "The Church" (Grand Rapids, 1976), p. 162].
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