Embracing the Grace of God

 

We have come to learn that the grace of God is a free gift dispensed by the cross to those who believe. When God created man, He wanted mankind to live within the perimeters of His grace; however, the devil came and twisted the mind of mankind. Adam and Eve in my opinion, I think they felt like God might have concealed something, He can’t just give them the whole garden just like that. Then the devil took advantage of their doubting, especially Eve.

I believe that Eve, the woman, was always curious about how does that specific tree taste like as the Lord forbade them from eating. Little did she realise that there was the other tree which she had to find first to rid the tree of knowing good and evil. Adam was incapable of eating the forbidden fruit of the forbidden tree or finding the tree of Life. A woman was put there to find the tree of Life, instead the devil pointed her to the tree of knowing good and evil.

This occurred in the book of Genesis and this continued down through history to the book of Exodus. The children of Israel in Egypt were in slavery, but the Lord remembered the grace covenant He made with Abraham and He came down to them. When God comes to us, He only expects us to do one thing, to take a step towards Him. Yes, the children of Israel took that step of faith towards God and He in turn enveloped them with His grace and favour.

Imagine this, I know lot of scientists argue that there was no miracle when they crossed the Red Sea everything happened coincidentally, but over 3 million people crossing over the sea and none of them died, and there was not even a stampede. It’s a miracle because there should have been old men and women, children, pregnant women and nursing babies. Have you imagined this? Science will always be science like how they claim that when Jesus walked on water it was actually ice, then why was there a boat in the sea? I mean like, come on! Yes, it’s true that some events sound a bit exaggerated but they truly happened.

When the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, which is picture of water baptism, allegorically it’s like they were dipped in the water baptism and got out of it in newness. The corpses of the Egyptians, it’s allegorically their sins. This shows us that the devil cannot enter into the resurrection life, only us who can through the work of the cross of Jesus Christ. Let us read, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).

This is true even for us today, when we are baptised in water by immersion, our old nature is drowned to death and we are freed from the natural self into the eternal life of Christ Jesus. Can you see how this is? It does not demand efforts but to trust in the Lord. When we don’t use efforts to please the Lord, we are able to continue in His grace. So when we put pressure on ourselves, we have the propensity to fail, because when that occurs we fall from grace. The bible says, “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:4).

To have been fallen from grace means that one was in a higher level which is grace, but when you seek justification through the law, then you have fallen from grace. The word estranged is made up by two words in the Greek katargéō apó. Katargéō means to be entirely idle; or render useless while apó means away. In essence, to seek justification from the law is to render Christ useless, and you are fending off on your own away from Him.

Explaining what the law is, I would like to briefly say that it’s when you have become self-occupied especially with the things of God. It’s not wrong to be occupied with the things of God. When one is self-occupied, it’s when one thinks and believes that he or she can do all things by themselves. This is dangerous, imagine if I teach you that if you want to be well with God, you have to be clean first then come to Him. Who will cleanse you with what? Remember, only the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sins.

Then how would you come to God if you are already clean? You will come to Church with that egocentric attitude criticising everyone. Therefore we must always acknowledge that we are acquitted by grace through faith. Look at what Paul said, “Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law” (Galatians 5:2-3). So Christ benefits you nothing when you have been purified by Moses’ covenant. 

We are not suggesting that you throw the Law of Moses out of the window, but you cannot cling to the law and expect to enjoy the benefits of grace. If you become circumcised then all your life you have to keep the whole law. Let me repeat this, if you will live by the Law of Moses, Christ will benefit you nothing. What does this mean? Does it mean that Christ will distance Himself from you? No! You will become egocentric and self-occupied, boasting on your self-acquired strength to such extent you won’t need Christ whereas you will be poor, needy and naked.

Therefore we must embrace the grace of God by holding fast the righteousness of faith with which we were saved. We are not justified because we are innocent, but we are justified because we were guilty and when we come to Christ we are justified and acquitted when we believe. It’s not a matter of having to be right with God and come to God. You come to God while you are still dirty but believing that He is able to cleanse you and make whole.

Then, the Law of Moses is made up of the 10 commandments, the ceremonial laws even the greatest commandment. When we talk about the Law of Moses let us not be discriminative, there are 613 of those laws and if you are of the circumcision you ought to keep them 100%. The bible says, “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2).

This is what the Lord required from the children of Israel when they took upon themselves that “...All the words which the Lord has said we will do” (Exodus 24:3). They presumed themselves full of strength which they had none. As soon as you too today assume the strength coming out from yourself, you are under the law and Christ will benefit you nothing. Therefore, you ought to keep the whole law in order for you to get all of God’s blessings. It’s exactly what the Lord said in Deuteronomy 28.

The apostle James attests to this saying, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law” (James 2:10-11). Primarily when the bible alludes to the law, the reference is always the 10 commandments. So this is so clear that none of us can keep the whole law of God as perfectly as it’s required. What James is highlighting here is that we cannot keep the whole, but we must look to Christ.

Look we are saved by grace through faith lest we should boast (read Ephesians 2:8-9), in order for any man to be saved by Christ he or she should believe in Christ. Unless one believes in the finished work of Christ and believes in the righteousness of faith cannot be saved. The Lord Jesus Christ has done a complete work far above what Adam has done as man. Adam’s work destroyed God’s plan for humanity while Christ’s work was to rebuild God’s work on this earth.

I feel the pain for those who are fighting that people should keep the 10 commandments, because it’s clear here that if you shall take upon yourself that you will keep the law, you must keep the whole law and that you shall do without Christ. Imagine how narrow minded are we in such things as believers. This is the reason why there is so much division in the Christendom today; others claim that preaching grace is the reason for licentiousness, whereas people even in those ministries of half grace and half law still are licentious.

People are licentious because they have not given their lives to Jesus not because of certain teaching. I grew up against the idea of ‘Once saved, always saved’, because I felt like the saved person has to keep himself saved not realising that if Christ takes you with Him you are His and no one will snatch you out of His hands (read John 10:28-29). Jesus is even said that the Father is greater that all and no one will be able to snatch them out of His Father’s hand.

The word able in the Greek is dýnamai which is for the word possible or to be able. Which means it’s impossible for them to be snatched out.  The word snatch in the Greek is harpázō which is for the word to seize. Let’s not try to redefine the grace of our heavenly Father. Grace is the gift, no one buys you a gift because you deserve, because if you deserve them it’s a reward or you have been in-debited.

Paul relating to this matter said, “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Romans 4:4-5). This is what the Holy Spirit seeks to accentuate pertaining to the righteousness of faith. The Lord Jesus Christ is our righteousness apart of the works of the flesh which is the works of the law. We are righteous by grace through faith, if we believe this is how the Lord sees us.

Then we will be able to embrace His grace...!!!

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