SALVATION THROUGH GRACE; NOT BY WORKS
Have you ever received a gift so good that you couldn't believe it was free? That's exactly what God's grace through Jesus Christ is like. We don't have to earn or work for it because it's a gift, given freely to anyone who believes.
Growing up, I always thought being a good person and following all the rules to perfection was the way to get right with God and everyone. But the Bible tells us something different. In Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved THROUGH FAITH and it's not from ourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" this means our salvation is a gift from God, not something we can achieve by our own efforts.
Example, Abraham, whom we call our father of faith. When he walked on earth, the commandments were not yet given, by which he would have been judged from. But because of his very faith in God, it was counted to Him as righteousness. Romans 4:3 says "For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed in God and he was counted to him as righteousness."
Jesus says in Matthew 4:19 "And he said to them, FOLLOW ME AND I WILL MAKE YOU fishers of men." The key is to follow (yield/believe/have faith). To follow and God will make. You follow and God Makes, you believe and God makes. In 2 Timothy 2:13 the word says "If we are faithless, he remains faithful - for he cannot deny himself". Because God has said he will make you, he will do it for His own glory. Your part is only to believe and He will do it.
The Bible says in Matthew 1:28-30 "Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest in your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" we are called to rest in Him from our works which are unfruitful. It makes you feel burdened and heavy and you essentially take up heaviness in your soul. But His light burden is to believe in him.
The idea of grace is hard to grasp because we are so used to earning everything in life. But God's grace is different. It's not about what we do but what has already been done.
Romans 3:24 says "And we are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ." This means through Jesus, we have been made right with God. Not because of our works, but because of His grace.
Before I truly understood this, I was caught up trying to follow the law perfectly. I thought if I could just be good enough, If I could just outdo men, If I could just put in a little more, that I would earn God's love, God's favor. But the Bible calls those efforts "dead works" Hebrews 6:11 talks about repentance from acts that lead to death. Which means turning away from trying to earn our salvation through our efforts. Instead we are to believe in Jesus and accept His free gift of grace. John 3:16, is a verse that we all know well "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that WHOSEVER BELIEVES IN HIM, SHALL NOT PERISH but have eternal life" It's that simple. Believe in Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
This does not mean our actions don't matter. When we sincerely believe in Jesus Christ in all honesty from the depth of our hearts, and accept His grace, it changes us from the inside out. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them". God has already prepared a way and when you believe in him, he builds you up himself. Not out of your own efforts. He builds you up. (And speaking in a human way, but this is when you pray for humility, God puts you through testing to build your humility and so on). He is the Porter who builds the clay himself and it's fruits is later shown. Just as from the beginning he created us, so it is with the new creation. As a human being you cannot create a new man in you by "doing good", but it is all the work of God.
Therefore we start to live differently not because we are trying to earn God's love but because we already received it. Titus 2:11-12 says, "For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all men. It teaches us to say No to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live a self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. It is by his grace. If you believe Him, He will do it. Nobody can turn back the hand of God if he has stretched it. The Bible says His word does not return to him empty but accomplishing everything it's set to do in Isaiah 55:11. Let's not be so religious, to the point of having a form of godliness but denying it's power as it is written in 2 Timothy 3:5.
Believe in God.
So if you're feeling overwhelmed by the pressure to be perfect, remember God's grace is a free gift. You don't have to earn it but believe in Jesus and let His grace transform your life.
Shalom.
https://christourway.blogspot.com
https://christourway.wordpress.com
@Talitha Cumi
#Earthsojourner
Comments
Post a Comment