I’ve learned to be a grace preacher! To focus on what God has done through Jesus Christ. The Bible states in Ephesians 2:8 that “we are saved by grace through faith.” The truth is we need both grace and faith. Grace is God reaching out to us and faith is us responding to that grace. Grace is God talking to us and faith is us talking to God. So many times we focus on what we can do to move God, to get Him to answer our prayers. The focus is on my performance. I always fell into this trap. “If I pray more, confess more, sin less, and give more, then God will move on my behalf? When the truth is, that He has already moved through Jesus two thousand years ago. Here is a hard saying and that is: “Faith doesn’t move God! He has already moved through Jesus!” Walking in faith does please God. (Heb 11:6) The Bible also states “The just shall live by faith” Rom 1:17. Faith is a good thing.
Walking in God’s grace is being dependent upon Him. Both grace and faith are gifts from God that cannot be earned by our self effort. We just learn to receive what he has provided for us and walk in that truth. So many times if we are performance-orientated we come under condemnation, guilt, and a failure mentality. We strive for perfection, yet we will always come up short. It comes down to trusting in the finished work of Christ. He is the perfect savior and the perfect solution for all our problems. That makes it beautiful! Some say that if we preach grace it gives people a license to sin and that is not true at all.
Grace is the ability to live a godly life. Grace empowers us to say no to sin and yes to Jesus. Sin has consequences and we don’t want to open the door to Satan through habitual sin. I heard this statement that God loves us no matter what. “There is nothing we can do to make Him love us more and there is nothing we can do to make Him love us less.” That is a powerful and beautiful statement. Grace motivates me to love God more and sin less. When we think of grace it’s more than just a doctrine it’s about a person and that person is Jesus Christ. Grace and truth came through Him.
John 1:16-17 (NKJV)–16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Let’s get off the performance wheel and get on the grace train! Let us enjoy what Christ has done for us through the work of the cross. It’s all about Him. It’s putting our trust and faith in Him! We are to be believing not just achieving! If I’m correct “grace” is mentioned a hundred and thirty times in the New Testament. It’s an important theme. The Apostle Paul was a grace preacher! Here is what He said in Galatians:
Galatians 3:1-5 (KJV)
1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
They were returning to the law. In other words, Jesus is fine but we need to do more. The Apostle Paul is reprimanding them because they have gotten away from the grace of God. Grace is focusing on Christ and not on ourselves. If we live the Christian life based on our performance only we will be more sinful conscience than God conscience. We will be focused on self-effort, always trying to measure up. We set up ourselves for failure and the Devil will just capitalize on it. It will be more about the do’s and don’ts rather than looking at Jesus and what he has done. Grace doesn’t make us irresponsible, it makes us responsible to Him. We respond in faith, which is trust. I’m still learning about the beauty of grace. It’s a lifelong journey. There is so much more we can share but that will be for another post. God bless!
Brent and Linda