Shining the Light on Grace

"Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?" Galatians 3:3

I'm not going to go too deep into an explanation of this verse since I am currently preaching through the book of Galatians. However, I hope to shine some light on grace today.

Paul's words to the Galatian church are extremely practical to us today. Since we started in the Spirit are we now made perfect by the flesh? The answer is 100% - NO! But you would be amazed at how many of us live our lives as if God's grace were not enough. Allow me to ask some questions and post what I believe to be the most common answers and we will continue with the discussion.

Is God's grace enough to save you? YES
Is God's grace enough to forgive you of your past? YES
Is God's grace enough to bring you into the family of God? YES
Is God's grace enough to make you a new creation in Christ? YES
Is God's grace enough to overcome your past sinful behavior? YES
Is God's grace enough to KEEP you saved? UHHH? Well...

The point is that I don't know of any believer or church leader today that would say you must do more than confess Christ as you Savior to be saved, forgiven of your sin, adopted into the family of God, made into a new creation, and overcome your past behavior (except maybe the Church of Christ who believe you must be baptized 1st). The majority of "Christians" today understand the basic fundamentals of grace as it pertains to our salvation. They believe that it is by GRACE that you have been saved and that it is the GIFT of God, not of works. Then we come to that last question about STAYING saved and the answers get a little cloudy. It seems to me that several people who profess faith in Christ live under 2 covenants. They live under the covenant of grace when it comes to obtaining salvation but quickly turn to the covenant of law to somehow secure their salvation.

God is not the author of confusion. If you are confused about this subject it's because someone else got to you. Someone else told you that you have to live a certain way in order to stay in right relationship with God. Somewhere along the way you have adopted a theology that says you must do something...accomplish a certain level of spirituality...achieve maturity in order to stay in the good grace of God. Dear friends, if you have to do anything for grace then it's not grace. Grace is God's unmerited favor. In other words: You don't have to do anything to deserve it and in fact you cannot do anything. Grace is grace.

At PBC we believe that since it is God that gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the TRUE BELIEVER (one who gives himself to the Lord) is secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been GENUINELY saved, you cannot "lose" it. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It IS the GRACE and keeping POWER of God that gives us this security. If you want to check out some scripture that backs this up: John 10:29, 2 Timothy 1:12, Hebrews 7:25/10:10/10:14, 1 Peter 1:3-5

Some have asked me: "Do you believe in once saved always saved?" My response is this: I don't like the terminology. Most people who use this phrase are looking for a license. Eternal Security is a doctrine while "once saved always saved" is an attitude. At least in our neck of the woods. What you and I need to remember is that God has given us ETERNAL LIFE. It's not temporary life or conditional life...it's eternal life. For those of us who are trying to have a genuine understanding of grace do not view grace as a license to sin but a license to overcome sin. God has given us the assurance that when we become His then He will not lose us.

What about the sin that leads unto death? Well, I'm not sure what that particular sin is...it could be different for everyone. I also don't know that it's a particular sin as much as it is a particular time in our lives. We serve a merciful God. He is so gracious and patient with His people. How often has God given you an opportunity to repent of your sin and turn back to Him? If you are like most you cannot count the times. But the death mentioned above is not a reference to losing eternal life. The sin unto death means that you will cease to exist upon this earth. But why would we ever chance it? If we have been saved would we not want to live in a way that reflects the mercy and grace of Almighty God? This will never be an issue for someone who lives in the grace of God.

We are not made perfect by the flesh! How can anything that is sinful (which the flesh is) ever produce righteousness? It cannot! All the righteousness we need is given to us at salvation. All the forgiveness we need has been provided for us by the cross. God's Spirit dwelling in us gives us the assurance of our salvation. We do not need works of the law. We cannot live up to the standard anyway. Only as we trust in the resurrection power of Christ in our lives can we ever obtain the ability to live a life that reflects Jesus.

Don't be foolish. Learn to trust and rest in the grace of God. Allow His Spirit to work freely in your life and God will take care of the rest. Remember: It's Christ + nothing! The just shall live by faith.

May you be blessed as you rest securely in His grace.