Did you realize that, by grace, God decided - long ago! before the foundation of the world! - that you would be holy and without blame before Him, as an object of His love?
Before you could have ever worked a righteous work, before you could perfect your own holiness, before you could sin, sweat, or be sincere, God had already decided that you will be loved and holy and blameless. Your sins were forgiven at the cross. The anger of God was spent on the cross. Jesus took the whole penalty - not just part of it.
How do we react to this good news? How do we receive it? With deep, humble thanks. Your sins...all of them....were forgiven, when Christ was crucified on your behalf.
How do you live and walk in this good news? You get in a church that preaches the gospel. Where grace is preached in all its glory. Week by week, day by day, you sit under the full and true preaching and teaching of the gospel, and over time, your mind becomes renewed. The truth of your "so great a salvation" will begin to affect more than your destiny. It will begin to deeply affect your day.
When you renew your mind in the truth of your inheritance, the truth of your utter freedom from the condemnation that comes with the law, Ephesians 1 will blow your mind. I'm in love with it...I've been in it (for the fiftieth time) for two days already. Enjoy!
...He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace,which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence...
Friends - this is called "The Finished Work of Christ". Grace plus nothing. If you renew the spirit of your mind in these truths, your foot cannot be moved off of them. You will live securely. You will live so abundantly and sacrificially and joyfully.
You come to Christ through Grace Plus Nothing, and in time, God will fashion you into a son or daughter that walks in Grace Plus Everything. When we come through the one, the narrow door, by grace through faith, we get all of Him on the other side.
He is our sanctification. All of Him, none of us. Such a glorious unbalanced stunning exchange. I long for the Good News of the Gospel to actually be the Good News God means for it to be. He entrusted it to those first apostles, and it behooves us to get back to the things they taught about the New Covenant, salvation, grace, and our response to the love of God.
2 comments:
Ephesians is my favorite book of the Bible! One can't help but get fired up and have their faith strengthen when they read it! And I love what you said about the narrow door and going through it and we get ALL of Jesus on the other side. So true!! Believing that what Christ did was and is enough--Grace plus nothing--truly gives us Grace plus everything!
Wow ....Sheila it is very sobering
and refreshing to see the CHRIST that GOD truly wants us to see and follow ....We all need to learn how to love like JESUS more and remember that GOD wants ALL men to be saved ....Although all men will not we still need to look at the grace that our LORD extends to everyone who will receive HIM
...So many churches and church going people have led many people astray over the years because of the refusal to extend GODS grace to them and instead preach the doctrine of LAW instead ....There is no doubt that we do need the LAW of GOD but when one is truly loving the LORD the LAW is meant to please our SAVIOR instead of condemning ourselves before HIM
....I will say that if we are ever in Tennessee we will look your church up and attend ....It would be a pleasure to meet you and yours personally .
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