The Risk In Grace
Justification really means this: Even though I still sin periodically and have found myself unable to stop sinning on a permanent basis—God declared me righteous when I believed.
Written by Chuck Swindoll, these encouraging devotional thoughts are published seven days per week.
Justification really means this: Even though I still sin periodically and have found myself unable to stop sinning on a permanent basis—God declared me righteous when I believed.
One of my greatest anticipations is some glorious day being in a place where there will be no boasting, no name-dropping, no selfishness. Guess where it will be? Heaven.
Everyone who hopes to be eternally justified must come to God the same way: on the basis of grace; it is a gift. And that gift comes to us absolutely free. Any other view of salvation is heresy, plain and simple.
My plea is that we not limit grace to Christ. We, too, can learn to be just as gracious as He. And since we can, we must, not only in our words and in great acts of compassion and understanding but in small ways as well.
Remarkable, the freedom and release it brought. And it came in full force from the only One on earth who had unlimited power, the Son of God.
The late pastor and Bible scholar Donald Barnhouse perhaps said it best: "Love that goes upward is worship; love that goes outward is affection; love that stoops is grace."
Freedom gives people a "Yes" face. I am confident Jesus had a "Yes" face. I have never seen Him, but I've determined from what I've read about Him that this was true.
Grace received but unexpressed is dead grace. To spend one's time debating how grace is received or how much commitment is necessary for salvation, without getting into what it means to live by grace and enjoy the magnificent freedom it provides, quickly leads to a counterproductive argument.
Fireplaces don't warm hearts. Neither does fine furniture nor a four-car garage nor a full stomach nor a job with a six-figure salary. No, a cold heart can be warmed only by the fire of the living God.
God's remnant of leaders is often a ragged lot...frequently made up of fresh-thinking, non-conforming, even weird-looking characters who desperately love the Lord Jesus Christ and are remarkably available to Him and His will.