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There is a lot that is said about grace, but what is Grace? How could Grace be understood? Or how is grace of vitality? In what ways could we understand what Grace is?
Grace is divine assistance that is extended to us. It is not based on merit. It only comes by submission to God through His Son Jesus Christ. It is purposed for sanctification, regeneration and strength to overcome whatever human weaknesses there may be.
It is the Spirit of God operating in humans so as to add on our strength in a supernatural way so that we are able to live our lives to the glory of God.
It is the Spirit of God operating in humans so as to add on our strength in a supernatural way so that we are able to live our lives to the glory of God.
Part of the question has been answered in the definition. Grace plays an indispensable role to help us overcome our human weaknesses. These weaknesses rather make it quite hard for many of us to realize God's purpose in our lives. For example, the Bible says we are saved by grace, meaning it would have been impossible to realize salvation had it not been for the grace of God through His Son Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Two differing views of grace:
- Foregone purification and justification by God.
- A tool to overcome sinful nature.
Foregone purification and justification by God.
This is an emerging and fast growing doctrine. The advocates of this doctrine believe that all that is needed of someone is to accept Jesus Christ and all is done. It is said that since we are saved by His grace, so is it that it is not of us to sustain it. That Jesus has already paid the penalty and it is no longer counted on us for sin. On this account therefore, it is said that: it doesn't matter how one lives their lives, for if you confess Jesus to be Lord of your life, you are already predestined for justification by God.
However, much as there is truth in this belief, it is not entirely true that once you have accepted Jesus, it doesn't matter how you conduct yourself. For there must be proof and evidence of yearning for transformation.
NB God's grace is progressive and not retrogressive.
Does God justify a person on the basis of simply confessing His name rather than living for and to Him? If it is, why would then Jesus teach that; "Not everybody who says Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of heaven"? (Matthew 7:21).
Scripture continues to clarify that: the devil admits that Jesus Christ is Lord, yet that will never justify him (James 2:19). To claim therefore to confess Christ should be followed with submission to His Lordship. The content and the sense in submission to Christ must be manifest in a person's life.
Thus the life touching testimonies of deliverance by the grace that is housed in submission to Christ. For Jesus is not a minister of sin, but the Dispenser of righteousness (Galatians 2:17-21). And righteousness is the proof that we are in Christ and Christ in us.
For we are in Christ by way of His Spirit in us. Where is the Spirit of God supposed to be? Scripture pretty states that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit (1Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:15-20), (1Peter 2:5). Whoever doesn't have the Spirit of Christ is not for Christ (Romans 8:9). Mark you, we should never grieve the Holy Spirit, for we are identified for God by the presence of the same upon us (Ephesians 4:29-32).
Some of the characteristics of the Holy Spirit
Scripture further affirms that we are children of God if we are led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14). And if so it is that we are led by the Spirit, how does He (the Holy Spirit) lead us? Does He lead us to sin? Does the Spirit encourage you to sin?
The Holy Spirit is given to us so He can convict us of sin. Sin is of the evil spirit. That those who are led by the Spirit are the children of God, whose children are those who are led by the evil spirit? So, the Holy Spirit can not associate with a wilful sinner.
On that account therefore, grace is foregone purification and justification in as much as it aids us to overcome sin and live a life evident and proof of the love for God.
God loves to separate us from the potentially consequential sin (John 8:34), (Romans 6:23). It is by the grace of God that this is achievable. Grace is but to give us the strength and freedom of the Spirit.
For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2Corinthians 3:17). What is this liberty? This liberty is freedom from sin. Then this same liberty enlarges the peace of righteousness in our hearts.
A tool to overcome sinful nature.
NB God's grace is progressive and not retrogressive.
Does God justify a person on the basis of simply confessing His name rather than living for and to Him? If it is, why would then Jesus teach that; "Not everybody who says Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of heaven"? (Matthew 7:21).
Scripture continues to clarify that: the devil admits that Jesus Christ is Lord, yet that will never justify him (James 2:19). To claim therefore to confess Christ should be followed with submission to His Lordship. The content and the sense in submission to Christ must be manifest in a person's life.
Thus the life touching testimonies of deliverance by the grace that is housed in submission to Christ. For Jesus is not a minister of sin, but the Dispenser of righteousness (Galatians 2:17-21). And righteousness is the proof that we are in Christ and Christ in us.
For we are in Christ by way of His Spirit in us. Where is the Spirit of God supposed to be? Scripture pretty states that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit (1Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:15-20), (1Peter 2:5). Whoever doesn't have the Spirit of Christ is not for Christ (Romans 8:9). Mark you, we should never grieve the Holy Spirit, for we are identified for God by the presence of the same upon us (Ephesians 4:29-32).
Some of the characteristics of the Holy Spirit
- The Holy Spirit testifies of Jesus (Luke 3:22).
- The Holy Spirit testifies of Believers (John 14:16)
- The Holy Spirit testifies of God's Word (2 Peter 1:21), (Luke 1:70; Acts 1:16), (Hebrews 1:1-3).
- The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin (John 16:8)
The Holy Spirit is given to us so He can convict us of sin. Sin is of the evil spirit. That those who are led by the Spirit are the children of God, whose children are those who are led by the evil spirit? So, the Holy Spirit can not associate with a wilful sinner.
On that account therefore, grace is foregone purification and justification in as much as it aids us to overcome sin and live a life evident and proof of the love for God.
God loves to separate us from the potentially consequential sin (John 8:34), (Romans 6:23). It is by the grace of God that this is achievable. Grace is but to give us the strength and freedom of the Spirit.
For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2Corinthians 3:17). What is this liberty? This liberty is freedom from sin. Then this same liberty enlarges the peace of righteousness in our hearts.
This doctrine states that: much as Christ paid the penalty (which is indeed true), there must be some effort to be applied (Matthew 11:30). For Jesus paid the penalty in the true sense that if we confess Christ and submit to His Lordship, we are readily guaranteed forgiveness. Have you readily forgiven everybody who has wronged you? Yet God does! No matter (in the carnal sense) what magnitude of the sin it is!
The apostle Paul is pretty known for the gospel of Grace. He pretty much admonishes that he only was because of the grace of God. He does testify that the grace of God created a way for Him who was (prior to that) a renowned sinner. By God's grace he became the saint that we all believe he is. Well, who is a saint? Is it one who dwells in sin, or the one yearning to overcome sin? This is what Paul testifies of what grace did in his life:
"But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not found in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1Corinthians 15:10).
That the grace which God bestowed upon Paul was never in vain. Rather it was not wasted. For if you invest in a company which doesn't make profit, what is the reason that you should continue investing in it? Well, what happens to the resources if you carry on investing in a non-profiting company?
There is predestined grace which is availed to each one of us through Jesus Christ. What remains of us is to use that grace sparingly so it can sustain us to the finishing mark.
The apostle Paul is pretty known for the gospel of Grace. He pretty much admonishes that he only was because of the grace of God. He does testify that the grace of God created a way for Him who was (prior to that) a renowned sinner. By God's grace he became the saint that we all believe he is. Well, who is a saint? Is it one who dwells in sin, or the one yearning to overcome sin? This is what Paul testifies of what grace did in his life:
"But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not found in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1Corinthians 15:10).
That the grace which God bestowed upon Paul was never in vain. Rather it was not wasted. For if you invest in a company which doesn't make profit, what is the reason that you should continue investing in it? Well, what happens to the resources if you carry on investing in a non-profiting company?
There is predestined grace which is availed to each one of us through Jesus Christ. What remains of us is to use that grace sparingly so it can sustain us to the finishing mark.
Grace increases with the willingness of the sinner to be transformed to live to the will of God. GRACE IS NEVER A GUARANTEE TO SIN. IT IS RATHER A GUARANTEE TO BE FORGIVEN.
Sin will never guarantee God's grace. It rather reduces the grace (Romans 6:1-3). There should be proof and evidence of an effort with the aid of God's grace to overcome sin (1 Corinthians 9:27), (Matthew 16:15), (Luke 17:33), (Mark 8:35), (Luke 9:24). God loves a repentant sinner, not the sin.
When Paul said that God's grace was abound the more he (Paul) sinned (1Timothy 1:12-15), what did he mean by this statement? God's grace will always abound for a non-believing sinner. For Paul said this in respect of what he was before he met Christ, and what he had become when he met Christ. This same grace may not abound equally for a person who claims submission to Jesus Christ. Take it that grace is a resource.
Rather what does submission mean? If we all do agree that Jesus was never a servant of sin, how then can it be that when we submit to Him, that it is then that we should carry on dwelling in sin? So then, God's grace does indeed abound so that we become the product that God wants us to.
Rather the abundance of God's grace must be matched with transformation. Just like any other resource, God's grace is not to be wasted. For you can't be a person who has met with Christ but then carry on dwelling in sin. We come to Christ so we are purified and made ready to meet the Father.
Why God's grace is vital and what it does in the life of a Christian
To this, Paul adds that he never did anything by his own power. For it was all by the grace of God that he was as strong (Philippians 4:13). Rather God knows that we can't love to do His will by our own strength. But when the grace of God abounds for us, then we become stronger so we overcome our weak human points, to the glory of the Father. Rather grace makes us overcome our physical weaknesses and limitations. For grace is Christ in us.
Scripture tells us to bear fruit worthy of repentance. Rather that if God's grace has not been wasted in us, then the fruit of the Spirit will exhibit in our lives (Matthew 3:8), (Mark 3:8). That is the proof that this priceless and much precious resource of grace has not been wasted. That God's grace has indeed abounded in our lives.
God's grace is thus that vital that without it, none of us who are in this much weakening and forceful flesh would have ever made it. Rather none would have ever been saved (Matthew 24:22), (Mark 13:20).
For we would have all been destined to eternal condemnation. It is the grace of God that makes it that we are strong in the things of God. For it is only God's sovereign power which makes it possible that we are saved (Romans 9:1-24).
Sin will never guarantee God's grace. It rather reduces the grace (Romans 6:1-3). There should be proof and evidence of an effort with the aid of God's grace to overcome sin (1 Corinthians 9:27), (Matthew 16:15), (Luke 17:33), (Mark 8:35), (Luke 9:24). God loves a repentant sinner, not the sin.
When Paul said that God's grace was abound the more he (Paul) sinned (1Timothy 1:12-15), what did he mean by this statement? God's grace will always abound for a non-believing sinner. For Paul said this in respect of what he was before he met Christ, and what he had become when he met Christ. This same grace may not abound equally for a person who claims submission to Jesus Christ. Take it that grace is a resource.
Rather what does submission mean? If we all do agree that Jesus was never a servant of sin, how then can it be that when we submit to Him, that it is then that we should carry on dwelling in sin? So then, God's grace does indeed abound so that we become the product that God wants us to.
Rather the abundance of God's grace must be matched with transformation. Just like any other resource, God's grace is not to be wasted. For you can't be a person who has met with Christ but then carry on dwelling in sin. We come to Christ so we are purified and made ready to meet the Father.
Why God's grace is vital and what it does in the life of a Christian
To this, Paul adds that he never did anything by his own power. For it was all by the grace of God that he was as strong (Philippians 4:13). Rather God knows that we can't love to do His will by our own strength. But when the grace of God abounds for us, then we become stronger so we overcome our weak human points, to the glory of the Father. Rather grace makes us overcome our physical weaknesses and limitations. For grace is Christ in us.
God's grace is thus that vital that without it, none of us who are in this much weakening and forceful flesh would have ever made it. Rather none would have ever been saved (Matthew 24:22), (Mark 13:20).
For we would have all been destined to eternal condemnation. It is the grace of God that makes it that we are strong in the things of God. For it is only God's sovereign power which makes it possible that we are saved (Romans 9:1-24).
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