The issue of grace.

Thoughts on grace.

Much has been said of late concerning the matter of grace as it appears in the New Testament. What do I believe to be the truth of this matter?

I am saved through faith because of the grace of God afforded me at Calvary by way of the vicarious sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, I could never be forgiven of my sin and returned into right relationship with God the Father by any good works I may have done, my salvation is totally dependent upon all that Jesus did on my behalf and my firm faith in that fact.

Now that I am born from above I now live by the power of the One who dwells within me, the Holy Spirit. I am unable, in my own natural strength, to live a life that honours God; but as I learn to rely on Him who dwells within to live through me, I can be seen to live a life that honours God. Having said that, I will often get in the way of the indwelling One through acts of selfishness and motives fired by fear, etc. When I see such taking place I have an Advocate with Father, Jesus Christ, who pleads my case for me. This inner conflict will be ongoing and is called "working out my salvation with fear and trembling", in the knowledge that my failings will not disqualify me from the love of God.

Grace means that all my wrong doing has already been forgiven. However, such a fact does not give me licence to live in any way that I please, I am still in service to my Lord and God who has purchased me at a price and, as such, I am no longer my own.

Grace means I am now a son in the house and no longer a slave. However, there are expectations of a son. I am called to live in a way that reflects the life of Him who lives within me. Such a life is one made possible by walking in the Spirit and not following the desires of the flesh. A life led by the Holy Spirit will be evidenced by the fruit produced in my life. That fruit is only possible by me (a branch) staying connected to the vine stock. My work here is to remain connected in the first place and, secondly, to remain open to the transforming (fruit producing) power of God. To fail in this regard would mean being eventually severed from the vine stock as an unfruitful branch. It is here that we must rely on the love of God, who is love Himself, to be judge as no man or woman can be such.

As a son in relationship with my heavenly Father I seek not to disappoint Him (I speak in human terms). Any healthy father and son relationship will be about bringing joy to each other. Should I fail my Father in any way it would be natural to feel remorse for my failure and the hurt it may cause my Father. However, my remorse is immediately healed by the fact that Love loves me and all I need to do is change my mind about my actions (repentance) and continue in my relationship with Him who loves me. In this relationship sin is the unexpected event, should sin become a way of life I have placed my relationship in jeopardy although my God will not cease to love me.

Through Jesus Christ grace has made it possible for me to be a living and active member of His Body, the Church, as it is manifested locally around the globe.This Body manifests wherever two or more disciples gather together in the Name of Jesus Christ. I am instructed not to forsake such gatherings as isolation will bring death eventually.

What about alcohol consumption and the Christian?  I include this here because someone is bound to ask a question around this subject. Using the New Testament as my base I only see one sort of alcohol mentioned - wine. Paul advised Timothy to drink a little wine as a medicine for his stomach ailments. Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding was a miracle to illustrate the superiority of what Christ would bring as opposed to the natural and passing pleasure of intoxication (think about Jesus' discussion with the Samaritan woman concerning living water) amongst other things. So, if one must consume alcohol, then a little wine is what the New Testament directly suggests and then only as a means of dealing with an iffy digestive system. This, I must stress, is merely my opinion.

Alcohol consumption and tobacco smoking are easy targets. Valid and legitimate targets, nonetheless. Having said that, we would do well to consider Christians and bad attitudes, less than gracious responses, gossip, lying and all of the rest of the not so easy to detect 'failings'. When we get into this fraught area we should be easily convinced of the necessity of grace and out dependence upon such a gracious gift.