Truth Seekers Ministries Presents…
Grace and Faith
“Revelation 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;” God abounds in grace. He desires for each follower of Christ to receive his blessings in such abundance, that when we walk In Christ, we are assured that his grace abounds in us. That is not to say that we won’t have problems and trials in this life. In fact, we are told by Jesus that if we follow him we are assured to have tribulation. Satan doesn’t worry about the people that aren’t in Christ, he puts much more effort in causing the true followers of Christ much pain and heartache. But God has promised that his Grace will be sufficient and as we walk in Christ we will have that Peace that passes all understanding and we can truly walk through the valley’s of weeping with his Strength and Peace and Grace flowing in earnest towards us. Eph.2:4 ” But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
Many preachers teach and have taught over the years that when you get saved all your problems will go away. Ha!, Right!. I dare to say that probably no one has encountered this situation. In fact the opposite seems to be true just as Jesus had said. Also many have taught that “yes you are saved by grace through faith, but now that you are saved, you have to submit to the ten commandments.” or some other form of Legalism. This I am afraid to say is also a falsehood. We are Saved by Grace through Faith in the accomplished work of Jesus Christ period. The law wasn’t given to the Jew so that he might fulfill it. It was given, not just the ten commandments, but hundreds, as a schoolmaster, showing us the standard of God and also to convince us that we really do need a mediator, a Kinsman Redeemer. None is righteous, no not one. The thought is as bad as the deed. Even the Pope and Mother Teresa are not up to the standard that most people hold them up to, notwithstanding God’s Standard. I’m sure they would tell you the same themselves. We can do no good thing in ourselves. It is only In Christ that we can overcome the devil and truly walk in righteousness and be perfect as the Father is perfect.
The Law is dead. It was hung on the cross with Christ and we are no longer under it’s yoke. If you desire to be under the Law then what was Christ’s sacrifice for?. Gal. 3:1 -“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He, therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:” Paul was called to save the message of Grace. The disciples would have reverted to a “Judaistic Christianity”, Christ plus the Law, had Paul not been blinded on the road that day. He and James had riffs, and he once “withstood Peter to his face” over legalistic issues. But God is in control and he saved the Grace message then had to save it again during the Reformation spearheaded by Martin Luther. God said that he would write his Law on our hearts. Why don’t we let him? We can’t do it in ourselves. If we would only trust him and walk in Christ.
He will change you and you will find yourself changing, however it will not be by your own effort, but by God’s miraculous molding of you into the image of his son, Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
So how do I get into Christ, You may ask?. It is simple. We get into Christ when he is in us. He comes to live inside us by faith. For with the heart man believeth, and with the mouth, literally, proclamation is made unto salvation. You believe with your heart that Christ died for your sins and you accept that substitute sacrifice by faith, then you proclaim him as your saviour in word and deed for the rest of your life. He said that if we confess him before men, he would confess us to the Father. But if we denied him, he would also deny us to the Father. You will notice that there is action associated with salvation. Baptism is not a necessary prerequisite to salvation, the thief on the cross wasn’t baptized. Baptism is an outward expression of your faith to others. The action involved is just that, an outward expression of your faith to the world. Don’t light your lamp and put it under a shade, let the world see and know the Christ that dwells in you and in doing so we really can do these and greater things than he did on earth. Although, you need to always remember that he is the one responsible for the mighty things that we can do by faith. Humility is of upmost importance. One can very easily grow in Spiritual Pride and think oneself more worthy than we ought.
The word Grace in the Greek is, Charisma, we get the word Charismatic from it. It means Unmerited Favor . We don’t deserve it. It is a free gift to all who would believe. Accept this free gift today and then you can rest in peace knowing that eternity is secure for you and Christ will never leave or forsake you. If you feel separated from God and Jesus it’s not because they have left you it’s because you turned your back on Him. Don’t allow Satan the pleasure of knowing that he is keeping you from the mark, the high calling, from running the race to win. We will surely be rewarded if we faint not.
Keep the upward look, our redemption draweth nigh.
In Christ,
Patrick Robinson 9/3/99