Grace Really Matters Cont'd

Acts 20:32 So now, brothers, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Interestingly, this passage appears in the context of when Paul was warning the Ephesian elders about the men among them who would arise, and like ravenous wolves would not spare the flock, but would selfishly seek to gain followers after themselves.

It would stand to reason that after hearing a word so sobering as to being actually warned of this soon to come event that a further word of encouragement might be needed to offset the apprehension created by the warning.

That word of encouragement is what we have here.

Paul by the Spirit commends these brothers to what? To God, for certain that must be, but he goes on to add something else to this exhortation. He says, and to His word of grace!

Whatever it is that is motivating these ravenous wolves, these fleecers of the sheep, these men who want followers of themselves and their own opinions, it will not be combated without being commended to God, and to the word of His grace.

The Holy Spirit could have chosen to say any number of things in an effort to prepare these leaders for the coming onslaught of opposition but He chose this specific exhortation.

We know what it means to be commended to God, but what does it mean to be commended to His word of grace?

I think it merits more consideration, how about you? Especially if the promise attached to it is that it will build us up and give us an inheritance among the sanctified.

Grace Really Matters Cont'd

I am enjoying my examination of all the many affects of grace in the believers life. If the apostles were still alive today I would imagine they would admonish us just as they admonish the believers in their day, to continue in the grace of God.

Acts 13:43 Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

To encourage one to continue in grace is to imply that a person can live their lives according to something other than grace. You've heard the old saying, "it is a woman's prerogative to change her mind." It would appear there are believers who wish to apply this principle with regard to grace regardless of gender. It is as if they wish to apply this prerogative to themselves and think it will do them no harm in doing so. They do err with regard to the importance of grace by adopting such an attitude toward it.

Were you aware that it was grace that played a major role in the apostles discernment of whether or not the New Testament churches were in Christ and healthy spiritually?

Acts 11:23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.

The manifestation of grace in a gathering of believers is a tool for discerning the authentication of Christ's work in their midst. Not numbers, not professional worship, not even gifted preaching. They were looking for the culture of grace.

Were you aware that signs and wonders bear witness to the word of His grace?

Acts 14:3 Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

Those desiring signs and wonders to work should be preaching a gospel of grace through faith in Jesus Christ! Those claiming to carry that gospel should be believing for signs and wonders.

Do you know what gospel Paul preached? Were you aware that Jesus specifically gave him the ministry of testifying of the gospel of the grace of God?

Acts 20:24 "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

If anyone ever tries to tell you there is no need to teach about grace, that there is no need for people to understand grace other than becoming saved, then you should be aware that you are dealing with a person who is blinded by their own conceit and ignorant of the Scriptures.

Paul's ministry was not just to testify of Jesus however he wished, but rather to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Paul took the matter of the working of God's grace seriously.

I wonder how we arrived at so many being able to take it or leave it?

I have heard it said that grace is a given and not so important in the continuing walk of the believer so as to merit ongoing discussion and understanding. I think someone forgot to mention this to the Holy Spirit so He would know to tell the writers of the New Testament not to mention grace quite so much and apply it to so many things in the believers life.

For instance: Did you know that it takes an abundance of grace for us as believers to even reign in this life the way we are told we can through Jesus Christ?

Romans 5:17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

Did you know there is no record of the Apostles giving thanks to God for the work of the Law in their lives, but the Scriptures are full of them giving thanks for the work of God’s grace? One example of many is found in:

1Corinthians 1:4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus,

Were you aware that our generosity can be limited or released through our understanding and reception of grace? The Corinthians gave help to those in Jerusalem and the credit for their generosity is attributed to God’s exceeding grace at work in them.

2Corinthians 9:14 and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you.

Were you aware that whenever the Holy Spirit is establishing a believers heart in faith towards the truth He does so with regard to grace?

Hebrews 13:9 Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

We are instructed and admonished not to pursue various and strange doctrines that lead us down rabbit trails which applaud our efforts. We are instructed and encouraged to have our hearts established by grace. By grace will naturally give all the glory to Jesus as opposed to ourselves, just as it should be. Restrictive seemingly pious other things do not profit, and they point to our goodness and great discipline of life to impress God and others!

In this post we have covered just a few things that grace is directly tied to in a believers life, there are more. The grace of God revealed to us through Christ is of far greater importance than some may give to it.

If grace is being regarded with little significance and given little to no attention, what is the likelihood that the heart that is doing so will be established with grace?

Is it possible to have the gospel without grace? We will visit that question in my next post.

Why Grace Really Matters

In response to an age in which grace has been reduced to a word as opposed to powerful force at work in the lives of believers because Christ incarnate has come and brought with Him this marvelous nature to be expressed in new creatures.

I hope to topically shed some light on this.

2Corinthians 1:12 For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you.

Paul says in the authority of the Holy Spirit that it is by grace that they conduct themselves in this world, and grace enabled them to conduct themselves this way more abundantly toward the Corinthians. So in this case grace is something more than just an entry point into relationship with God it is also a maintaining force that enables the followers of Jesus to live their lives in fruitful ways. Living sacrificially is not a manifestation of my greatness towards God but rather the greatness of His grace at work in me. Grace is the means of God for bringing forth His nature within me to an outward expression.

Dying to ourselves and becoming living sacrifices unto God requires that we walk in His grace. If Jesus could not embrace death without grace how shall we?

Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

Jesus tasted death for everyone by the grace of God! This makes the cross a manifestation of the work and nature of grace. Remove grace and the cross is likely to become missing from history. Those who brag about the sacrifices they make in life for God are putting the emphasis in the wrong place. It places the emphasis on them as opposed to the nature of Christ they received through faith as a result of the work of grace.

It is still the work and the nature of grace that enables us to lay down our lives in worship to God as living sacrifices.

Grace really matters!

Well Meaning But Wrong!

James 1:22 (JB Phillips) Don’t only hear the message, but put it into practice; otherwise you are merely deluding yourselves. 23 The man who simply hears and does nothing about it is like a man catching the reflection of his natural face in a mirror. 24 He sees himself, it is true, but he goes off without the slightest recollection of what sort of person he saw in the mirror. 25 But the man who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and makes a habit of so doing, is not the man who hears and forgets. He puts that law into practice and he wins true happiness.

There is a message indicated here that many often misinterpret what the message should be. They see the word law and then it clouds their ability to see anything else. They emphasize that this is saying we should keep the commandments. They are well meaning but they are wrong.

The message referred to here has to do with a different law. The law of liberty.

What is the law of liberty? Well, in another place in Scripture we read that there is a law of liberty of life in Christ Jesus.

So what is it I am being encouraged to look into? It is the good news! it is the gospel I am being encouraged to look into! I can look into the law and see myself as undone in the mirror. I go away and forget what manner of man I was made in Christ. I no longer identify with the new creature He supernaturally designed me to be in Himself. So I go out and begin to live as the man in the mirror. I will live as a man undone, a failure.

But when I look into the perfect law of liberty I am released to identify with something far greater than an image marred by the standard of the law. I get to see Christ!

I do not know what you might prefer, but I personally would much rather see Him than see sin all the time. His law of liberty has set me free from condemnation and identification with a past so regrettable and miserable it could never produce anything good.

I get to stand in thanksgiving and praise before Him with open arms boldly approaching His throne of grace because of what He has done!

Grace, not License

It can be troubling to see how some when they hear about the grace of God have a tendency to think that now they can do whatever they wish because all consequences have been removed.

Nothing could be further from the truth and this line of thinking reveals deception at a great depth in ones life. Grace never rids us of the responsibility, or the consequences of choice.

My teenage son had to receive instruction and correction this morning for not acting responsibly. I asked him if he enjoyed being told what to do all the time. I assume his answer would be the answer of every teen around the world, he responded by saying, "of course not." I responded by calmly telling him that his mother and I do not enjoy having to bring these things to his attention any more than he enjoys hearing it, but it is a consequence of his not acting responsibly. If he would weigh his decisions before acting and choose the proper thing in the moment we would not be forced to bring to his attention how much he is squandering his time and rushing towards consequences he will not find pleasurable. This momentary conflict that arises out of disobedience did not take away his right of being my son nor did it remove from him my love for him. Thus my desire to bring to him correction and instruction. If I did not care it would not matter and I would allow him to pass on and be punished in life by someone without mercy.

Likewise God the Father chastises those who are His children. He loves us so He instructs us a disciplines us in this life for our good. He adjusts and corrects us and often He does so through the process of consequences. Grace does not come to us to enable us to sin or misbehave and never suffer consequences. It will enable us to choose right and avoid the consequences of disobedience and irresponsibility.

It will always be there to enable us to maintain right relationship with God and have open access to the throne of grace in our time of need. We all will need this access in life. None of us do perfectly. But perhaps if we were to allow the work of grace to instruct us towards the consequences of our choices and thus lead us towards greater responsibility we might find ourselves chastised less by the Father in our walk with Him.

God's grace in our lives is so rich that it even seeks to encourage us in our chastisement. The Scripture says that the Father chastises those whom He loves! So, I encourage you today to realize that if you are currently under His chastisement know that you are loved by your Father in heaven and learn from your mistake. His allowing difficulty to arise in your life from poor choices you may have made is His love being shown to you. He will not leave you undone. But, next time, simply choose differently, I think it might make the process much more pleasant.

It Is Finished

Romans 4:1 ¶ Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? 2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. 3 For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” 4 When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. 5 But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. 6 David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it: 7 “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. 8 Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin.”

Isn't it amazing that Abraham could be made righteous by faith 430 years before there was ever a law from God?

The pattern of faith revealed in Abraham's life is the same pattern of faith that is to be followed now that Christ has come. To try to mix two covenants is to destroy the work of faith and lean to one's own understanding.

The lasting covenant was not the covenant of the law given by Moses to the children of Israel. The everlasting covenant is the one God made with Himself at the cross when Jesus hung between heaven and earth as the final sacrifice for sin.

Hebrews 9:12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

Hebrews 10:8 First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). 9 Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. 10 For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.

Jesus spoke the truth for all time when He said from the cross, "It is finished!"

Are you living in the faith that recognizes the finished work of Christ on your behalf?