The Christians salvation hinges on the
grace of God, which is ultimately His free gift to mankind, however without
faith it is impossible to please Him! How does one then reconcile these two
truths? The grace of God which speaks of unmerited favour and then faith
towards God, an act from us, believing in that which is unseen to the naked
eye; at first glance there would seem to be a contradiction, firstly a free
gift is never earned, if it was earned we could then justify that gift and
claim it as netted. A wage for something earned! Religion drives people to earn
their salvation; the bible calls this “dead works”. In other words we do
something that catches God’s eye and because we now please Him He is compelled
to accept us. It speaks of our own independence to please God. This type of
mentality will only ever drive you from God and not toward Him. Woe to
religious organizations that teach these falsehoods. We can never earn our
salvation, it is impossible for mankind to find favour from God outside of the
finished work of Calvary. Jesus Christ alone has accomplished this!
Our human natures are so far removed
from the character of God, that even our best attempts to do what is right in
the sight of God is seen as “filthy rags” (unimpressive before God). This may
be hard to comprehend, but accurate according to the canon of scripture…
“For by works of the law no human being
will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes
knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart
from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it--the
righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For
there is no distinction: for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his
grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom
God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to
show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over
former sins. (Romans 3:20-25)
Take solace in this fact, because God is perfect
in every area of His life, He will always do the right thing. This thought
brings me great comfort. How often have I wrestled with what I should do and then
not been totally persuaded that what I was doing was the best thing for all. It
is not so with God! Even when we see calamity in our lives and throughout the world,
it is the very best thing for us (Christians) because God is the author and the
finisher of all things; He will have the final say! Now faith demands that we
put our trust in Him, devoid of questions filled with doubt. Our lives should
have proved this truth by now. Look back on what God has brought you through
and praise His name. Are we learning to appropriate His techniques before our
selfish wants? When selfishness has run its course, it will only ever bring emptiness.
Of that I am persuaded! This is the lesson that ever Christian must learn to
appropriate in their lives, and we will only ever achieve this by the grace of
God! Believing God at His Word!
Salvation is a free gift of God and it can never
be earned, so stop trying to earn His favour for it! The Lord Jesus Christ has
received all the merit for that accomplishment and God the Father has exalted
Him and will never ever promote anyone else. It is essential for us to learn to
find favour from God in every area of our lives. How do we achieve this? By
faith! Faith oozes from that “free gift” and it is a process; we must grow from
strength to strength in our dependency on His abilities and not our own independence.
God does not help those who help themselves, that
is a lie and you will not find that penned in scripture! We believe God for our
daily sustenance in every area of our lives. The sooner we relinquish our independence,
the quicker we will find peace with God! Why? Because God rewards those who
diligently seek Him! Independence drives us from God but dependency drives us
toward Him. Faith demands dependency in that which is unseen (God) and He
rewards those who have learnt to operate within that realm. Not faith in faith!
That would be a mistake but faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all
His promises!
“And
without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to
God must believe that
he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
Do we want to please God? Then we must
operate in the realm of faith!
Therefore independence is the enemy
and faith in our God the confederate!
Signing off
Tyrone
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