Saturday, March 17, 2012

Mercy & Grace; Nothing Else Counts

 " God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago" (Ephesians 2: 8-10).

To simplify the above, you cannot and will not earn your way into Heaven. Grace is Free, our works and faithful living should be a grateful response to our redemption in Christ Jesus. Good and godly works are to be results of our salvation and not a means to salvation.

A lot of Christians leave under the yoke of trying to "buy or retain" their salvation by good works. The questions I will like to pose are, What is in your Heart? Are you saved? Do you love God? Do you believe that you are saved through Christs' death? If yes great. Christ himself said my yoke is easy, come unto me all ye who are heavy laden and I will give you rest (Mathew 11:28-30). Not grief, we have been set free, we do not have to work to purchase or retain our salvation. All has been done. All we need to is Glorify God.

How do we do this? Jesus said if you love me obey my commandments, this is how we show appreciation to him, he has given us the Holy Spirit to be our Advocate, pray and He will lead you to path of righteousness (John 14:15-17).

The LORD is merciful, we are all sinners but he counted not our sins against us, so the next time you think I need to "bribe" my way into God's good books think again. His Ways are not our Ways, neither are His thoughts our thoughts. We should stop attributing human qualities to the Creator. He made us. Accept your limitations and humble your self before God.

Final note, Grace does not give us an excuse to continue in sin (Jude). The LORD sees the heart, He knows His genuine children, For those struggling in a particular area He will direct you. But the Lord is not mocked, those who sin deliberately will be punished.

Remain Blessed. Maranatha.