Saving Grace

 

For it’s by God’s grace that you have been saved. You receive it through faith. It was not our plan or our effort. It is God’s gift, pure and simple. You didn’t earn it, not one of us did, so don’t go around bragging that you must have done something amazing. – Ephesians 4:2 (The Voice)

San Cristóbal Hill Santiago Chile

Simply put, saving grace speaks of God’s willingness and desire to redeem – an unfathomable degree of favour offered to people “even though we’re buried under mountains of sin”. It is a special gift from God to us human beings, a higher grace of the New Covenant through Jesus Christ, into God’s very presence. This saving grace gives us full access into the Throne Room of God – to approach without reproach.

God’s gift of grace which offers salvation to all has been revealed, unveiled, and everything we do must be based on accepting and receiving this gift in our lives. 

Like Rahab, whose sin was removed as far as the east is from the west, we must act with boldness, drop all our illusions of our own righteousness, or unrighteousness and humbly take up God’s gracious offer and enter into His grace.

So even before the New Covenant dispensation of grace, God was bestowing His saving grace upon sinners, for when we look at Rahab’s story, we see God’s grace touching the life of a woman making a living as a prostitute. Rahab was a perfect candidate for God’s saving grace. Grace can be seen as God’s divine assistance – His super natural power at work being made perfect in weakness. Grace can be identified as the medium through which God has effected salvation (see Titus 2:11) and, when taken into the message of Christ, this concept of unusual favour shown to the undeserving, fills out with a newer and more enriched content.

Yes, this unmerited favour of God toward sinners which has provided for our redemption, not only secures our eternal salvation but is also the sustaining influence that enables us to persevere throughout the Christian journey. You see, it’s not God’s intention for any of us to walk along this narrow road of salvation by our own strength but by means of His sufficient grace which empowers us. Don’t ever believe that you can do anything to save yourself, it is only through God’s grace through faith in His Son, Jesus (see Ephesians 2:8).

Saving grace reveals God’s goodness and kindness and love toward human beings, and the great news is that it is available to all people but not dependent upon any person. This unequivocal gift of Salvation is really about God since it is His initiatory act, not that we do not have a role to play, indeed we do. Our part is to avail ourselves of the gift. Grace has been offered, it has not been taken away, it is here for whosoever will accept it, receive it, grab hold of it and not let go…it’s our daily requirement for spiritual strength.

Now, hear the voice of God,

“Beloved, My grace is enough to cover and sustain you. My power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Amen

Shelley Johnson "Saving Grace" © January 18, 2018

 

 

Called to Follow

“Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

Isaiah heard God’s voice,

Without hesitation, he boldly shouted, “Here am I. Send me!”

Isaiah was willing to go wherever God would have him go, to follow wherever the directions and instructions of God would take him but only after he was assured that his past and his present conditions were not a matter for qualification.

Isaiah had felt he was neither worthy nor qualified to be chosen; he did not realize that with God, to follow is not a matter of qualification but of obedience.

Are you excusing yourself from following Jesus, because of your past, or even, your present? Have you disqualified yourself?

Remember whom Jesus came for and whom Jesus called.

In Luke chapter five, we see Simon Peter, whom I imagine, was a rowdy, aggressive, fouled-mouth fisherman, though weary from an all-night futile fishing expedition, still obeyed the call of Jesus to “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Peter’s obedience resulted in an unimaginable net-breaking catch.

And just like Isaiah, who, feeling utterly unworthy in that smoke-filled temple, cried out in awe and reverential fear before the Lord, Peter, falling before the Lord, at Jesus’ knees in awe and reverence, cried out, as he too experienced that same sense of unworthiness in the presence of the Lord. But Jesus assured him, called him, and he left everything to follow.

Even in our doubting, Jesus does not discount us or throw us away as worthless. He knows what we are likely to endure when we agree to serve and follow Him, so every now and again, He gently assures us of the purpose of His call.

In Matthew’s Gospel, we read about two blind men who followed Jesus. They could not see Him, but didn’t they follow Jesus anyway? Despite the obstacles, the crushing crowds, the noise and more amazingly their obvious physical limitations?

And what about Matthew, the tax collector? He immediately rose from where he sat and upon Jesus’ command, he too left all that he was doing, to follow Jesus.

The truth is, there is no difference between those He came to save and those He calls. We are all suffering from the same condition…sin, but that does not mean that we cannot be called to follow; we simply have to be obedient to His call.

Know that the call is for now, not the future. Now, and no looking back. What you leave behind cannot be compared to what you gain.

Remember, it’s not about us, but the grace of God that is with us. So, when you hear His call, don’t be afraid to come as you are, drop everything and follow Him, for to follow is a matter of obedience, not qualification.

If I may borrow the words of Apostle Paul…

By the grace of God we are what we are, and His grace to us will not be without effect; when we answer, He, through the power of His Holy Spirit will do the rest. 

Amen.

 

 

 

 

Shelley Johnson "Called to Follow"