Changed by Grace

Many times teaching on God's grace leads some to wonder if the message of grace encourages people to sin. While there may be some who do use it as an excuse I believe that a true understanding of God's grace will not encourage a person to sin but will actually help them to walk in holiness. I believe the Bible is clear that we can all be changed by grace, and I would like to share some things the Bible says about God's grace and it's influence in our lives.

Romans 6:1-2- "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?"

Here Paul addressed this issue, asking if God's grace allows people to continue in sin. His answer was "no" or more precisely, "Certainly not!" This phrase was often used to describe something that was completely unthinkable. In this passage, and the rest of Romans 6, we are told why the answer is no: believers are already dead to sin. Basically God did not simply forgive us, He made us into a totally new creature. 2Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

God in His grace reached into my life when I totally helpless, brought me out of darkness and into His marvelous light, and made me into a new creature. Now my desire is to serve Him in everything I do, not because I "have to," but because of what He did for me when I could do nothing for myself. When I was dead in sin Jesus breathed new life into me and now He has enabled me to reflect His nature to those around me. This is the message of grace, and I believe that as we renew our minds to this truth we will be changed and this will become a reality in our lives (see Romans 12:2).

Titus 2:11-12- "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age."

In this verse it says that the grace of God teaches us. This speaks of the fact that having a true understanding of God's grace will motivate us to walk in holiness. This summer I found myself thinking about the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and recently I have seen the truth of God's amazing grace more than ever before. As a result I saw more growth and experienced greater victories than ever before. It came, not as a result of me saying, "I can do it," but when I said, "Lord I can't do this, I need Your mercy and grace to do this in me."

One of the greatest of miracles is this work that God, in His grace, does in our hearts. Millions have seen God work this miracle in their lives through the ages, I am seeing God work this miracle in my own life, and God can work this miracle in Your life.

I would like to end this week's blog by sharing a quote from Charles Spurgeon that goes along with the thoughts I have shared:

"I cannot conceive it possible for anyone truly to receive Christ as Savior and
yet not receive Him as Lord. A man who is really saved by grace does not need to
be told that he is under solemn obligations to serve Christ. The new life within
him tells him that. Instead of regarding it as a burden, he gladly surrenders
himself- spirit, soul, and body- to the Lord who has redeemed him, reckoning
this to be his reasonable service."

May everyone who reads this experience the miracle of God's grace and fully enter into His rest.

Many Members

1Corinthians 12:12-27- "For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free-and all have been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand I am not of the body,' is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,' is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.' No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary, but our presentable parts have no need. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unrepresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually."

In this passage we see the Church compared to a human body, with the focus on the fact that this body "is one and has many members." We see that just us our bodies have different parts with different functions, we each have a specific place in the body of Christ. The fact that there is "one body" tells us that there is to be unity among believers, but we are also told that there are "many members," which shows us that we are not all to be exactly alike. Psalm 33:15 says, "He [God] fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works." God has created us to be unique: He created you to express an aspect of His glory that no one else can. You are unique and you have a place in God's kingdom that only you fit. This passage tells us of two attitudes that often keep us from finding our place in God's kingdom:

Some think they have to be like everyone else:
There are some who look down on themselves and think there is something wrong with them because they aren't just like everyone else. So many people today are miserable because they are trying to fit into a mold that was made for someone else. God made each of us unique and we can reflect His nature in a way that no one else can. I have often used the illustration of a puzzle when discussing this: each piece of the puzzle has a unique shape, has a different part of the picture on it, and each piece goes into a different place, but each piece fits together to make one puzzle. You may not be like everyone else, but God has fashioned your heart individually (uniquely) for a reason: so you will fit in that special place He has for you.

Some think they don't need the rest of the Church:
There are others who have the attitude: "I don't need anyone else, I can serve God by myself." The truth is, regardless of how smart a person may be, how talented they are, how much money they have, or even how much discipline they may have, we need each other. Even though we are each unique, even though we are many members we must not forget that we are still "one body."

If anyone reading this has struggled with either of these attitudes I want to remind you that you are valuable to the Lord. In one of the earlier blogs I wrote that we are each God's treasure (It is titled "God's Treasure"). I encourage you to look back at that blog and remind yourself that you are valuable to God. You may not see yourself as valuable, but God does. How much does God love us? We see the answer in this statement: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while were still sinners Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8). The Lord has such a love for You that He paid the ultimate price to have You as His own. Learn to rest in God's love and find your value in Him instead of what you accomplish or what others say or think. As you do this you will find a peace and a joy that comes only from the Lord.

Crucified With Christ

Galatians 6:14- "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world."

Here we see first that the apostle Paul decided to "boast" only in the cross. In other words he decided to put his confidence in the finished work of Jesus Christ at the cross. I have often heard people talk about "crucifying the flesh," but in Galatians 5:24 Paul wrote, "And those who are Christ's have (past tense) crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." The word "have" is in the past tense, telling us that the flesh has already been crucified! I don't have to try to "crucify the flesh" (the old sin nature) because Jesus already did it! In Galatians 2:20 we read: "I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." Here Paul said, "I have been (already) crucified with Christ." Paul realized that he was a new creation because Jesus died on the cross and rose again and that he was now able to be a revelation of Jesus to everyone he met. Paul did not have this confidence because of his own effort, but because of what Jesus did. Paul believed that Jesus has already overcome and worked from that position of victory. In my own life I found myself experiencing greater victory and greater joy when I realized this truth that "the flesh" has already been dealt with. Let us look to the Lord, believing that we are free at this moment because of what He did for us and let us follow Him as He leads us into the experience of His finished work.

In Galatians 6:14 we also see Paul stating that through the cross he was dead to the world. This means he was free from the world's influence. In the Bible we are consistently told that believers are not to be like the world. The Lord has called us to not be influenced by the world, but to be an influence in the world. By dying on the cross for our sins and rising from the dead Jesus set us free from sin and gave us a new nature so that we can be a reflection of Him to the world around us. In Matthew chapter 5 Jesus called His followers the light of the world. In that verse (Matthew 5:14-16) Jesus did not tell us to be the light, but said, "You are the light of the world." He then told us to let our light shine by showing with our actions who God is.

At this moment you are free, you have overcome, and you are totally righteous because of Jesus. He did the work and finished it and now you can be a expression of who God is to the world around you, bringing light into the darkness because, "... greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world." (1John 4:4)

"Pursuing Perfection"

Hebrews 2:11- "For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren..."
In this verse we see believers being referred to as, "those who are being sanctified," The word "sanctified" means, "set apart, to make holy." Notice that God is the One who sanctifies. We are not cleaning ourselves up but letting Him work in us to clean us up. The fact that we are BEING SANCTIFIED (present tense) shows that we are currently going through a process of growing to be more like the Lord. Regardless of how long someone has been following the Lord, they will always find that there is some way in which they have fallen short of perfection. None of us have "arrived" spiritually (and we will only when we are in heaven). The apostle Paul realized this and wrote, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14)
Comparing his life to a race, Paul painted a picture of a runner who knew his race wasn't over yet and kept running, giving it everything he had to finish the race. Paul's passion was to know Jesus and be like Him (see Philippians 3:8-11), and he passionately pursued that goal, always aware that while he may have made progress he still had not fully realized that goal. There is another important fact revealed here about Paul's pursuit: his decision to forget "those things which are behind." This simply means Paul refused to let his past keep him from going forward. Paul apparently learned that he was a new creature in Christ Jesus and refused to let his past mistakes slow him down. In this life we must press on in this passionate pursuit of the Lord.

I find it amazing that in Hebrews 2:11 it says that the Lord is not ashamed to call us His "brethren." I really love this: the Lord sees our weaknesses and He works with us on those points, but He is not ashamed of us. God is far more patient with us than we are with ourselves-and He sees this process differently than many of us do:
Hebrews 10:10- "By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
While in Hebrews 2:11 it says we are "being sanctified [present tense]" it says here that we "have been sanctified[past tense]." So which is correct, past tense or present tense? They both are. Colossians 2:10 tells us that we are "complete in Him [Jesus]," and Hebrews 10:14 says, "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." God sees our perfection as something that happened at the cross. The process we now experience is simply one of us growing into who we already are. Both Hebrews 10:10 and 10:14 speak of "one sacrifice" with reference to Jesus' death on the cross. Jesus did the work and finished it, actually declaring, "It is finished!" (John 19:30) We know that we will grow into this perfection because Jesus already did it when He died and rose again! Now we can look to Jesus not just to forgive us but to also perfect us and bring deliverance, freedom, and healing. Jesus did the work completely and He has laid hold of us (Philippians 3:12) to help us press on to be all He wants us to be.