Grace a perfect work...

When the grace of God has run its course in an individual’s life it will result with a perfect work. This is just another undertone of God’s brilliance within His production. There are many examples throughout the scriptures that prove this.

However, we must remember that God is the director of His production; we must get into line if we are to end up as His ally. He will not share His glory with another. When we smudge the lines of choice we often end up with the wrong perception of the truth. What makes it difficult to get our heads around this reality is that we seemingly make so many choices throughout the day and our lifetimes, which leave us thinking that we are the ones who determine our destinies.

Let me break this down to help us understand. God has offered all the same invitation; He has call all to believe on His Son the Lord Jesus Christ and to find repentance for our sin in and through Him. There is no other option on the table for mankind if we are to reach heaven and all its glory. And yet some find this whilst others reject His free grace offer. Why? I do not profess to have all the answers but I know enough to understand it to be so. I have learnt that God is perfect in Character and therefore nothing can be added to His character to make Him better than He already is. Regardless of the perceptions that some have about this truth. He is perfect in love and his dealings with mankind will be perfectly just when time has eventually run its course. Although many factions have debated how individuals actually find salvation, I am convinced that it is God that instigates the salvation process in a sinner’s heart, without God initiating life no one would ever find Him. This is what grace means; it is a gift of God, it could never be earned by our own merits. If this wasn’t the case we would have something to boast about and be able to claim our involvement within the salvation process. Can I prove this? I most certainly can! Here then is the proof…

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:4-10) – When unpacked it is evident that it is all God’s doing and it has nothing to do with us initially. Only after salvation can we then find the ability to daily find the grace of God to produce “good works”; prior to this we are still dead in our trespasses and our sins. The initiation of our salvation is not our own, but it is God who has mercy on the individual and He makes us alive in Christ, it is His gift to certain individuals. If you think it through carefully and you stick to the text you will find no wiggle room in it. To suggest that we choose God would be inaccurate. Walk into a morgue and speak to a dead man and see if he responds.

Where the waters seem a little muddy, and I suggest “seem” is that God has a heart for all to find salvation. But if He doesn’t save how then will a man find the truth? They can’t!  

Once again this is just another indication of who we are dealing with; God is perfect and somehow somewhere in the middle of all this confusion the perfection of God’s brilliance is personified. I would once again remind all that this is His production and not ours; God does not need our approval for what He does. But we most certainly need His if it is to end well for us. The sooner we find this reality for our lives the freer we shall be to serve Him with sincerity.

God will judge both the living and the dead; simply put He will pardon those who find salvation for their sins in and through the finished work of the cross and He will judge those who don’t and somehow be perfect with his dealings with mankind, wow! This truth blows my mind and all I am left to conclude is to say thank you God for saving my soul. Why did He choose to save someone as debauched as me? I cannot give you an answer but I will boast in His mercy.

Both the vessels for honour and dishonour will play their parts within God’s production? Do you reject the gospel message as He has declared it, or have your eyes been opened to the sheer magnitude of His mercy? If you still sit on the fence regarding God’s mercy, I implore you to respond today by calling out to Him and asking God to forgive you for your rebellion.

God has scripted His production and it is well into the throes of the invention, in fact it is nearing its end. He has chosen some as enemies who reject His authority with others embracing Him with gratitude. Where do you fit in? I would remind you that our opinions count for nothing in the scheme of things, for they will have no bearing on the director’s production. God is in perfect control and He does not need our approval, but we most certainly need His.  

I leave you with this thought by the Apostle Paul; “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?” (Romans 9:20-21)

Signing off

Tyrone