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Tuesday, February 20 2024
GRACE ------//////------ Joh 1:16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. Luk 4:18-19 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor [grace]." Isa 55:6 Seek Jehovah while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the man of vanity his thoughts, and let him return to Jehovah, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon [grace]. 8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says Jehovah. I grew up under religious legalism which teaches that we get what we deserve. That sentiment is well entrenched in our culture too. But under Grace we do not get what we deserve. So it has been a process for me to learn to accept God's grace. Grace is the feature that most clearly separates true Christianity from any other religious system. In our Faith God is the first Mover and we are the recipients of and responders to His love and grace. Recognizing the loving and grace-giving nature of God and accepting His free gift is the start of an amazing journey. ------//////------ THE GOSPEL OF GRACE Gal 1:6-9 I wonder that you are so quickly turning back from the One having called you by the grace of Christ to another gospel, 7 which is not another; only there are some troubling you, even determined to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel out of Heaven, should preach a gospel to you beside the gospel we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, and now I say again, If anyone preaches a gospel beside what you received, let him be accursed. These chilling words from Paul illustrate how important it is to preach and teach the correct gospel. God is the authority and we must 'rightly divide the Word of truth' as we teach the gospel to others. We'll explore this in more detail in Topic 27. ------ Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Here is the gospel in one simple verse. God's love is demonstrated by His grace because His death for us is the ultimate act of grace and at a time when we least deserved it. ------ Act 20:24 But I make account of nothing, nor do I hold my life precious to myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, fully to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Grace is the gospel. It is what makes the gospel good news. ------//////------ GRACE RULES…MUCH MORE Rom 5:20-21 But Law came in besides, that the deviation might abound. But where sin abounded, grace much more abounded, [1] 21 that as sin ruled in death, so also grace might rule through righteousness [2] to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. [1] Grace rules. And it rules much more than sin did. It is the only antidote for sin. It was not God's plan B but His intention from the beginning. [2] Notice the connection of grace to righteousness. Let's rephrase vs. 21 as: 'Just as sin was the agent that produced death, grace is the agent that produces righteousness. And much more so.' So we are much more righteous under grace as we were under sin. ------//////------ GRACE TRANSFORMS Rom 5:17 For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those, who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness, reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. This free gift of righteousness is an act of grace from God to us which is received by faith. Along with this we receive the Holy Spirit who helps us to live out our new, righteous identity in righteous living. This is how grace transforms. ------ Eph 2:1-10 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—3 among w om we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses [1], made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages [2] he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. [1] When we were truly the walking dead. [2] The flow of God's grace continues throughout the ages. We continue to experience His grace daily. Getting saved or being born again is not merely about reciting a sinner's prayer; it is about receiving God's grace and love. The sinner's prayer is a declaration of what has happened in a person's heart and water baptism the final stamp of one's conversion, similar to how a wedding ceremony legitimizes the love and commitment of a man and woman. When we receive an amazing gift we say thanks. It is no different at conversion: thankfulness and joy rise up within us and we begin walking out of our life's calling under the direction of the Holy Spirit. This is the beginning of the process of practical sanctification as we begin to unlearn the ways of the past and become humble, teachable, compliant and mature. ------//////------ GRACE vs. LAW: Joh 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. And we beheld His glory, glory as of an only begotten from the Father, full of grace and of truth. Joh 1:16-18 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon (on top of) grace. [1] 17 For the law was given through Moses; but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. [2] 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. [3] [1] Grace is the never-ending outworking of God's love to us and our faith in His grace is how we receive from Him. [2] A clear contrast between the old and new covenants. I want to emulate the giving of God's grace to others, not the enforcing of rules. [3] God is now revealed to us. We can know Him. And he is full of grace and truth. ------ Rom 6:14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. Grace, not law, is the solution to overcoming sin in practice. ------ 2Co 3:4-6 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 1Co 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. The law does not remove sin, it strengthens it. Therefore, I banish any form of legalism from my life. The entire law is embodied in the law of Love. I don’t ever need to worry about keeping rules; instead I restfully follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. ------ 2Sa 22:21-25 Jehovah rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands, He has repaid me. 22 For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, and have not acted wickedly against my God. 23 For all His judgments were before me. As to His statutes, I did not turn away from them. 24 and I was blameless before Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. 25 And Jehovah returned to me according to my righteousness. Under the old covenant we were rewarded according to our own righteousness. This was written by David in a song commemorating his deliverance by God. But was David as righteous as he thought he was? Was he as righteous as Jesus? Certainly not! This is a picture of the Old Covenant. But contrast this with what David writes in this psalm: Psa 32:1-2 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. (2) Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. Here we see David rejoicing that God is NOT repaying him according to his righteousness. My prayer today is that Jesus blesses me according to His righteousness, not my own and He further gives me His righteousness as a gift. That is the amazing beauty of the gospel. ------ So grace is the true gospel. It is the only solution to our sin problem. Legalism is a perversion. If there was another way God might have used it, but this is the way He has chosen. And thank God, He did. I have seen MUCH more of God's blessings in my life as a result of changing my mindset to receiving the true gospel of grace. ------ Mic 7:18 He does not make strong His anger forever, for He delights in grace. God loves to give grace. And there was plenty of grace under the old covenant too. ------//////------ GRACE STRENGTHENS: 2Ti 2:1 (LITV) Then my child, you be empowered by grace in Christ Jesus. 2Ti 2:1 (KJV) Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2Ti 2:1 (ESV) You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus We must make a conscious choice to accept and walk in grace and be strengthened by it. We all have access to equal grace but don't walk in it equally. ------//////------ KEY TAKEAWAYS ON GRACE ------ 1Jn 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us. Grace shows us God's true character and in response we love Him for it. ------ Rom 2:4 Or do you despise the riches of His kindness, and the forbearance and the long-suffering, not knowing that the kindness (grace; goodness) of God leads you to repentance? It takes grace to overcome sin. We cannot respond to a God who is perceived as judgmental and condemning. But a God who gives us grace is held in awe because we know how hard it is to forgive others who sin against us. ------ Eph 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved. Now that we are saved we can count on God's continuing grace, since we first received God's grace when we least deserved it. ------ 2Ti 2:24-26 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. ------ We must give grace to others. To be gentle when opposed by others comes from first receiving then giving grace. ------//////------ Reflections:
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Ekklesia Fellowship House Church - 1
7292 Lakeside Dr.| Indianapolis, IN 46278 | PH: 317-508-9267