Great Grace

Devotional...7/18/13

Yet we know that a person is made right with God 

by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. 

And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right 

with God because of our faith in Christ, 

not because we have obeyed the law. 

For no one will ever be made right with God 

by obeying the law.”

But suppose we seek to be made right with God

 through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty 

because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ

 has led us into sin? Absolutely not!

Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system 

of law I already tore down. 

For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me.

 So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet 

all its requirements—so that I might live for God.

 My old self has been crucified with Christ. 

It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. 

So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, 

who loved me and gave himself for me. 

I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. 

For if keeping the law could make us right with God, 

then there was no need for Christ to die.

GALATIANS 2:16-21

New Living Translation (NLT)

In the book of Galatians Paul asks the Galatians this question that I am about to ask you.  After being set free from slavery why would you ever want to go back?  If believers are justified by grace through Christ why are we insisting on other requirements, either by ourselves or by others?  We know very well that we are not made right with God by rule-keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ.  How do I know this I tried it.  No one can please God by self-improvement

The Message says it this way   : I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.

We are declared righteous because of what Jesus did for us not what we can do for Jesus. It has been fixed!!

Why do we insist on going back to the Old Covenant? When we have a New and Better Covenant!! Family of believers do you know that we live under a New and Better Covenant?  Do you know we have freedom from the Old Covenant because of Jesus?  We live in exciting times; we live under a New Covenant.  We live in Health, wholeness, prosperity, the King of kings lives in us the one who raised Christ from the dead lives in us, there is nothing we can not do!!!

We have been told or have believed that if we are not holy or follow the law we will not be blessed by God or that He will not move on our behalf, which is just not true.  What is true is that  Christianity encourages Holiness but not for the purpose of justification.  Family, holiness is a by product of fruit from salvation.

We cannot substitute our right actions for trusting in Jesus, it is through Christ alone that we have been saved, it is a commitment to Jesus not to our goodness. We must stop trusting our self for salvation by works.  Works do not save us, only Jesus does.  When we are trusting in our holiness/works we have no joy, no peace, but when we trust in our Jesus- we work in joy, we have peace, the Light of the World pours forth from us.  Burden of performance makes the weight of salvation on our shoulders; it sucks the life right out of you.  Most men and women of God are doing/working at pleasing God because they believe that is the only way to make God accept them.  We cannot enjoy the benefit OF our salvation by working at being accepted.  I am here to tell you Jesus has pleased God for us, He paid the price, and there is nothing more you can do.

Most of the church today is trying to “do to get” They still feel inside like “sinners saved by grace.” So they live by the law or performance lifestyle.  They think, “If I just do this or that I will be more pleasing to God so then God will like me more and then bless me more.”
 

Romans 7:4 

says that we are free from the law

God is not looking for a performance lifestyle in order to gain His approval.  We must realize that we have already been accepted, approved and blessed because of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Our lives change because we are approved by God.  It is from grace that worship will spring full of thanksgiving, full of praise and full of glory.  If we want to see the manifested presence of God in our lives and in our churches today, we must realize that only grace will cause God’s presence to be revealed.  Do you know that where you go He goes with you?  Yes He is here right now with us because you and I are here.

Acts 4:33

says “And with great power the apostles gave witness 

to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them all.”

The apostles realized that the greatness was not them, but the greatness was of the Lord.  Great Grace is upon us.

James 1:5 

If you want to know what God wants you to do ask Him, 

and He will gladly tell you.

Psalm 145:13 

The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made.

Written by
Kathryn Hanson