Ephesians 2:4 ¶ But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
A surrender to grace by faith produces an ability to be a new creature and to walk according to the will of God. Then when it happens others do not look at us and applaud our greatness. They can’t help but realize it was God who enabled us to be and to do.
Romans 5:17 said grace causes us to triumph over sin. It is when we receive the grace of God in vain that we dishonor the Lord. We dishonor if we lose faith in the ability of His grace.
Imagine a child who lives in a loving home where the food pantry is full, their closet is filled with nice clothes, and they have a room full of toys both new and old. They have everything they need to live and to grow.
Imagine you run into that small child and he is out working and you ask him why and he says to you that he needs to work to earn money because he doesn’t have all that he needs unless he does something about it.
What a dishonor to the parents that would be. What a lack of recognizing the gift of blessing, provision and love being poured out each day of his little life.
But here is the rub. Many a believer fails to ever truly appreciate the great gift of grace through Jesus Christ. The gift that makes our salvation possible, the only gift with the power to change us into His image. The only gift that can enable us to be identified with Him.
When grace is perceived as merely getting someone saved it is no wonder there is a lack of rejoicing and thanksgiving after having been in for a while. Grace warmed the affections at the start but now other things have to happen before one can get excited about the Lord. He gave them grace to get them started and now they have to work harder than they had ever tried before to stay right.
This my friend is receiving grace in vain.
Grace not only gets us in, it upholds us to the end.
There is a reason that the throne on which Jesus sits is called the throne of grace.
About The Author
- Tim Atchley
- Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
- I currently serve as Senior Pastor of Harvest Church in Knoxville, Tn. I was sent out from Trinity Chapel of Knoxville in 1993 accompanied by my wife Sheila our four children Sarah, Hannah, Josiah & Isaac and a handful of bold, brave and committed believers determined to plant our first church. Pioneering is hard work but well worth the journey. That is why we desire to make disciples of Christ who will, like us, also embrace the call to plant churches.
