Portrait of Faith

Dangerous and Worth the Risk
Part III

Last time we talked about the amazing transforming power of Grace, but how does one grab a hold of this incredible gift?

Through faith.

Most of us can quote the scripture, many of us quote it wrong, but “We are saved BY grace THROUGH faith in Christ Jesus.”

Grace is what saves us, our faith is how we receive it.

So what is faith? In the margins of my Experiencing Christ Within workbook, I defined it as this, “Even though I may have some doubts, I CHOOSE to believe.”

Dwight believes, “the essence of faith is dependence, a dependence so rooted in genuine and overwhelming need…The verse that describes true saving grace is Romans 4:5

‘However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.’

Notice how the verse demonstrates a recognition of personal need, the refusal to trust in any personal effort or religious rite, and a sole reliance on the justification that comes from God through Christ.”

It’s not enough that we believe Christ died for sinners, to receive this incredible gift we must realize that we, YOU are the sinner Christ died for.

So what is saving faith? In simply terms. Believing only Christ for salvation and not a combination of something else like works, prayers, and sacraments. Where do you put your trust for salvation? Mine is solely in Jesus, if I put my trust in my works I’d be headed for Hell with a one-way ticket!

Isaiah 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean. And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

Did you know you can give your life to Christ and NOT be a Christian? Don’t believe me, read this…

In this instance people knew the Lord, even sat at his table, but they were not welcomed  into his house. Think of the Pharisees or today, people who put thier faith in serving Christ instead of trusting in what Christ has done for them through salvation.

The Gospel is about a person, not a lifestyle. It’s about relationship, not works. It’s putting your trust in Jesus, not a bunch or rules and laws.

So what’s your faith in, today?

Dangerous and Worth the Risk
Part II

Handing out grace is tricky business. When I use it in my parenting I run the risk of my children taking my grace and running, without a changed heart. But do I stop offering grace? No. Because true grace will transform a person’s heart.

It’s the same with God and sinners. You know the kind. The ones who party all week and go to church to ask for forgiveness with the full intention of living a life of sin the very next day. Is that what God wants? Is that what He expects when he offers grace?

Of course not!

Dwight Edwards explains that is the flesh’s response to grace, and even Paul anticipated that reaction from followers of Christ. Romans 6:1-2 says, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!” So why not? Let’s see what Paul says.

We died to sin! We’re not who we used to be so we shouldn’t live like we did. Notice, Paul doesn’t say if you continue to live in sin you’ll lose your salvation. But even the most devout Christian sins, what then? We’re already cleansed by Christ’s blood, and our sin doesn’t cancel our relationship with God or Jesus’ love for us. It does affect our intimacy with God, though.

“Our new purity through Christ’s blood ensures God’s everlasting acceptance, while confession of known sins ensures His present communion with our souls.”

Lightbulb moment! I’ve often wondered why God seemed so far away at times in my life. Could it be because I had unrepeated sin? It’s so easy to forget that though we are forgiven and covered by the blood, we still need to ask for forgiveness. Personally, for me it makes me own my behavior and helps me realize I truly can’t change on my own. I need Christ’s help!

Grace is amazing, but it can also be dangerous in the hands of someone who doesn’t care to understand it’s true purpose.

Dwight says, “grace can sometimes be abused, and such abuse is terrible and tragic…but the cure is never to control grace through restrictions and qualifications. If grace doesn’t have the potential to be abused, it won’t have the power to transform. For grace to move powerfully in our lives it must remain unbridled and unrestricted from our well-intentioned safeguards.

So how do we receive God’s grace? That’s a whole post in its own.

Dangerous-And Worth the Risk
Chapter Six Part One

Then suddenly there dawns upon us the vast, entire endowment of God’s free love and forgiveness…It is this which bowls us over…frees us…transforms us.

Paul Tournier

Saved by Grace.

Christians throw that phrase around to express their faith, but do they really know what Grace is? I’ve come to a deeper appreciation and revelation about God’s Grace. It’s so amazing, even my six-year-old is still too young to understand it’s power and meaning.

I’ve come to understand through my own Christian walk the difference between Grace and Mercy in these simple terms:

Grace is getting some reward I don’t deserve. Mercy is being forgiven or pardoned from a wrong I did and a punishment I deserve.

The most remarkable thing about the God I serve is that He offers these to us generously, every day. Other religions of the world can’t boast this about their gods. They promote religions where man gets exactly what he deserves or that he’ll have to pay, or make atonement for their sins in another life or another time. They also promote works, and striving to gain the approval of their God and to enter into their idea of heaven everlasting life. I’m so glad I’m not a slave to their religions, but found the power of Grace through the gift God gave the world in his Son Jesus Christ.

Dwight Edwards uses the example of the story of the Prodigal Son to illustrate God’s grace and mercy. When I had read the story in the past, my focus was always on the two sons, the wayward one and the one who stayed by the father’s side. But let’s take a look at the father.

Edwards pointed out that most of us think of prodigal as meaning wayward. I have to confess that’s what I thought. But prodigal means “excessive or overflowing” as in the word prodigy, a person who is overflowing or gifted with exceptional abilities. In light of this revelation, let’s look at the story a new. The story about the Prodigal Father. You may want to take a moment to read the story for yourself found in Luke 15.

Grace is the theme of the Prodigal Son, and it’s demonstrated in the father’s response to his son. In the story we read that “while the son was still a great way off, his father saw him.” This can imply that though the son had done a terrible thing by taking his inheritance and running away, the father was still looking for him. Amidst his daily chores, the father was watching the road, hoping to see his son.

And when the father finally saw his son returning home, instead of saying “I told you so” or “I knew you’d be back”, he had “compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” Edwards points out that in that culture, an older man running toward someone was considered undignified and wouldn’t normally happen. Now consider how this culture felt about pigs. They were unclean, defiled animals and his son smelled like a pig, covered in sweat and grime as he traveled in the hot son down dusty roads.

Now imagine the scene again. An old man running toward this filthy, defiled broken vessel of a man. How great the father’s joy had to be to do this in front of all his servants and family. What a prodigal love the father had for his son!

Then the father restored his son to his rightful position as a son. What better picture of Grace is that? Being accepted back in the family though he didn’t deserve it. Do you think the son was surprised? Of course, the best he had expected was to be a servant in his father’s house. And the Grace didn’t end there. “Bring out the best robe…a ring…sandals…kill the fatted calf…” The older brother sat by and witnessed his father’s grace and didn’t get it. That’s because “Grace is unimaginable in generosity. It gives beyond all reasonable expectation.”

It’s the same with God and us. He sees our sin, our waywardness, and yet waits, scanning the horizon for us to return, never giving up hope that we will someday be reconciled with Him.

Edwards says “God’s Grace is the most unreasonable thing in the world. It’s also the most powerful. Nothing is more effective for transforming lives, risky though it is.”

I have to agree as I marvel at God’s prodigal love for me.