(2 Timothy 2:1) “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”
I have often made mention of the fact that we all need to find grace in time of need, but what concerns me is although I know that this is an important aspect to every believers life, I still take this instruction from God to lightly. I am weak with my application to finding grace in time of need. We all stand covered by the blood of the Lamb if we have been born again and if God's Spirit lives within us. Then obviously we have found the grace of God and we are covered by His grace, we are sanctified by the blood of the Lamb, it was a once and for all time sacrifice, never to be repeated. In other word when you get saved, genuinely saved and it is God who does the work outside of man’s clever interventions, where they think they will help aid in the process by implementing programs to help God get people saved. This is man-centred and it will not stand the test of time, it cannot! Salvation is a work of God and always will be. Yes, men are used to preach and teach and then the Word mixed with faith works in a repentant sinner’s heart and God then gives them life. This is the way God has chosen to implement the saving of lost souls. “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:13-17)
Note: faith comes by hearing, not hearing gobbledygook, but the word of God! It is God’s word and the accuracy of it that will give us true lasting faith and prepare us for what is yet to come. God uses the preaching of His word to save the lost. However once God does the work in someone’s life and they are then born again and regeneration has taken place, that person is then welcomed into God’s family. They are no longer classified as sinners in God’s reckoning; they are now part of His family and are saints or sons. Although we sin on a daily basis as we still have a flesh and blood body, we are no longer referred to as sinners by God, because if we were, then the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus would only have been a partial sacrifice, and it wasn’t! But rather a once and for all time sacrifice. Every debt for every sin of all whom are given sight and believe on Him is forgiven; past present and future sins. It is important to understand this and to make it our own, as it is taught by God’s word. This is why Paul teachers the Roman believers; “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:18-19)
We are made righteous the day we are saved, and all because God the Father accepted the sacrifice of His Son on our behalf, He has paid the price for our (believers) sins. We cannot one day be righteous and then the next day be unrighteous. The work of the cross was a once and for all time sacrifice. “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.” (Hebrews 10:10-12)
The reason I believe many try and shy away from this doctrinal truth is they think they will give believers license to sin, as if we know better than God what must be taught and what we must keep in check, do me a favour! It is imperative that we understand this truth as we are now in God’s family and we wear his “coat of arms” and the Lord Jesus is our Admiral. The highest ranking officer in this army, Gods army! If we have His Spirit then we are part of this army. "No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the LORD...” (Deuteronomy 23:2)
It is God who saves and gives permission for someone to enrol in His army, not man!
Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)
In other words you must enlist in God’s army and the only way one legitimately qualifies is that he/she is born again. It is a work of God, He must give us life. The fruit of that life is repentance, we will then change and our priorities will also change, they must if God is at the helm. We were once dead in our trespasses and sin but now we have life, it is no different to the account of Lazarus, he was also dead and the Lord Jesus commanded him to come forth. He that was once dead now lives, we were also once dead in our trespasses and sin but now we live! Nothing we do or do not do will change this truth. If it was dependant on what we did, then the work of the cross would be nullified and it never will be. “If we are faithless, he remains faithful-- for he cannot deny himself.” (2Timothy 2:13)
However having said and establishing that truth, what I see, and it is still apparent in my life is the lack of surrendering in certain areas of my life. Some things still live and they should not. These are the areas I speak of when I make mention of how “I still take this instruction from God to lightly”. I am not serious enough in finding grace in time of need. This attitude must change! May God be merciful and help all of us where we struggle with our application. Tough times are on the horizon, things are about to get a lot hotter for the child of God. We must now begin to look to rid ourselves from all the chaff (everything that opposes God in our lives) that would want to rob us of finding grace in time of need. Bad habits must be rooted out of our lives and the only way we will accomplish that is to apply ourselves to the task, we must find grace to accomplish our goal. How will I know whether what I am trying to root out of my life is in accordance to the will of God? Ask yourself one question, will it make me more like my Saviour, and if the answer to that question is, absolutely! Then you have your answer. Find grace in time of need. We must also understand that as enlisted soldiers in God’s army we must act as militia, we are His armed forces.
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2)
I battled with understanding this as a young believer, not at first, but as I began let things slip in my life a few years into my walk with the Lord, I now realise some of that rot still lives with me, and it should not! It is imperative that I find grace to root the decay out, as we must all strive to rid ourselves of anything that does not belong. We must look to the throne room of grace to find grace in time of need. Today is the day where we all will need to find grace in some area of our lives. May this then be a priority for us all, life is about working out the will of God for our lives, it is a time of proving and testing what is right in the eyes of the Lord!
“Christ has grace without measure in himself, but he hath not retained it for himself. As the reservoir empties itself into the pipes, so hath Christ emptied out his grace for his people. “Of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” He seems only to have in order to dispense to us. He stands like the fountain, always flowing, but only running in order to supply the empty pitchers and the thirsty lips which draw nigh unto it. Like a tree, he bears sweet fruit, not to hang on boughs, but to be gathered by those who need. Grace, whether its work be to pardon, to cleanse, to preserve, to strengthen, to enlighten, to quicken, or to restore, is ever to be had from him freely and without price; nor is there one form of the work of grace which he has not bestowed upon his people. As the blood of the body, though flowing from the heart, belongs equally to every member, so the influences of grace are the inheritance of every saint united to the Lamb; and herein there is a sweet communion between Christ and his Church, inasmuch as they both receive the same grace. Christ is the head upon which the oil is first poured; but the same oil runs to the very skirts of the garments, so that the meanest saint has an unction of the same costly moisture as that which fell upon the head. This is true communion when the sap of grace flows from the stem to the branch, and when it is perceived that the stem itself is sustained by the very nourishment which feeds the branch. As we day by day receive grace from Jesus, and more constantly recognize it as coming from him, we shall behold him in communion with us, and enjoy the felicity of communion with him. Let us make daily use of our riches, and ever repair to him as to our own Lord in covenant, taking from him the supply of all we need with as much boldness as men take money from their own purse.” (C.H.Spurgeon)
Father help us see clearly and help us remove all that which does not belong, for I ask this in the name of our great Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ and I ask for the sake of your Glory, Amen!
Signing off
Tyrone
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