By His Grace!

"As we paid nothing for God’s eternal love and nothing for the Son of His love, and nothing for His Spirit and our grace and faith, and nothing for our eternal rest...What an astonishing thought it will be to think of the unmeasurable difference between our deservings and our receivings. O, how free was all this love, and how free is this enjoyed glory...So then let “Deserved” be written on the floor of hell but on the door of heaven and life, “The Free Gift.”  -Source Unknown

The grace of God is the reason why every member of the God's "forever family" can and should live the Christian, or sanctified life. Christ's grace gift of Himself impels us to live a life dedicated to Him. You might ask, "Why?"  Allow me to share what Scripture says about our true condition...

1. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)
2. "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:10)
3. "For the wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23)
4. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." (Isaiah 59:2)
5. "But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;" (Isaiah 64:6)

Now, let's examine what these verses are saying to us...

FIRST: We must all plead guilty! Every accountable person has sinned. This means you and I! We can never demand entrance into heaven because we are somehow good enough. Even the very best of us is without merit in God's sight!
SECOND: Our sins have alienated us from God! By our transgressions, we lose that precious relationship
with God. We experience "spiritual" death, or separation from God; which if left unchecked, will result in eternal separation from God. Also, while in this state of "spiritual" death, we are dead to God; our prayers are not heard (cf. 1 Peter 3:12)
THIRD: As sinners, we cannot accomplish the removal of our guilt on our own! This means that we can't run away from this guilt, nor can we work our way out of this guilt.

So don't be self-deceived by notions of our own goodness. We are all sinners in need of salvation!

In closing, turn to Titus 2: 11-15. There we find the actions that one takes when he is striving to give himself to Christ as God requires in His Word. By the grace that is the believer's through his salvation, every man can purify and adorn himself as God requires.

The power to live as a Christian comes from the Holy Spirit. Because Christ died and rescued us from sin, we are free from sin's control. God graciously gives us the power and understanding to live according to His will and to do good. When we do, we look forward to Christ's wonderful return with eager expectation and hope.

Scripture: Romans 11:6; James 4:6; Hebrews 4:16; 1 Corinthians 15:10; John 1:16;

Prayer: Dear Lord, our time on earth is short. Please help me realize that it's not the amount of time, but the quality of the time I spend that counts. Amen

Have a blessed day!

Gwen