"Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law... " (Galatians 3:3)
Have you ever felt like God would not or could not love you because of your weakness, flaws, or failures? Have you been trying to measure your worth in the eyes of God based upon how well you happen to perform each day? Is the roller coaster ride beginning to make you dizzy?
Good news my friend, we have been redeemed from measuring our value in God's eyes and His acceptance of us based upon personal performance, religious works and rules (the law). Paul now tells us we can come to Christ and rest, knowing that we have been justified and reconciled to God not based upon what we have done, but based upon what Christ has done.
The Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Colossians that we have been presented to the Father as holy, blameless, and above reproach and it is not based upon anything we have done, but based upon what Christ, the only begotton Son of God has done for us.
Our ultimate salvation is not based upon us. It is based upon Jesus. That is why we call Christ the Savior. That is why we worship Him. That is why we honor Him, revere Him, and serve Him.
Is this good news or what? Aren't you glad we can rest in His finished work?
"For by grace ye are having been saved, through faith, and this not of you -- of God the gift, not of works, that no one may boast; for of Him we are workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God did before prepare, that in them we may walk." (Ephesians 2:8-10)
We have been rescued by God. It's of grace. We have been saved through faith and even that does not rest upon us. Faith is a gift from God. Other passages tell us that it is "the faith of Christ" that saves us.
When it comes to salvation it is all of God and we can rest in it. That's a wonderful thing. Yet, Paul goes on in verse ten letting us know that Father has special work for us to do. In fact, we are called His workmanship. You are his masterpiece. You are an instrument of grace. All of your personal weaknesses and even your failures are what qualify you as a messenger of grace. After all, if we had no weaknesses there would be no need of grace.
In 1st Corinthians chapter one Paul tells us that God calls those who are weak, foolish, and base. He works in and through those who are nothings and nobodies in the eyes of the world.
Guess what? You and I qualify!
Father has works for us to do which He prepared in advance for us to walk in.
Please remember to keep things in order. We are saved by grace, through faith (which is a gift from God), for works. The works do not save us. We are saved for the works which have been prepared beforehand,
If we reverse the order we are putting the cart before the horse and missing the point.
Praise God that we have been rescued from the curse of trying to attain salvation by our own effort. Praise God that we have been saved by His grace. Praise God that we are able to be instruments in His hands to bless others now.
Have you ever felt like God would not or could not love you because of your weakness, flaws, or failures? Have you been trying to measure your worth in the eyes of God based upon how well you happen to perform each day? Is the roller coaster ride beginning to make you dizzy?
Good news my friend, we have been redeemed from measuring our value in God's eyes and His acceptance of us based upon personal performance, religious works and rules (the law). Paul now tells us we can come to Christ and rest, knowing that we have been justified and reconciled to God not based upon what we have done, but based upon what Christ has done.
The Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Colossians that we have been presented to the Father as holy, blameless, and above reproach and it is not based upon anything we have done, but based upon what Christ, the only begotton Son of God has done for us.
Our ultimate salvation is not based upon us. It is based upon Jesus. That is why we call Christ the Savior. That is why we worship Him. That is why we honor Him, revere Him, and serve Him.
Is this good news or what? Aren't you glad we can rest in His finished work?
"For by grace ye are having been saved, through faith, and this not of you -- of God the gift, not of works, that no one may boast; for of Him we are workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God did before prepare, that in them we may walk." (Ephesians 2:8-10)
We have been rescued by God. It's of grace. We have been saved through faith and even that does not rest upon us. Faith is a gift from God. Other passages tell us that it is "the faith of Christ" that saves us.
When it comes to salvation it is all of God and we can rest in it. That's a wonderful thing. Yet, Paul goes on in verse ten letting us know that Father has special work for us to do. In fact, we are called His workmanship. You are his masterpiece. You are an instrument of grace. All of your personal weaknesses and even your failures are what qualify you as a messenger of grace. After all, if we had no weaknesses there would be no need of grace.
In 1st Corinthians chapter one Paul tells us that God calls those who are weak, foolish, and base. He works in and through those who are nothings and nobodies in the eyes of the world.
Guess what? You and I qualify!
Father has works for us to do which He prepared in advance for us to walk in.
Please remember to keep things in order. We are saved by grace, through faith (which is a gift from God), for works. The works do not save us. We are saved for the works which have been prepared beforehand,
If we reverse the order we are putting the cart before the horse and missing the point.
Praise God that we have been rescued from the curse of trying to attain salvation by our own effort. Praise God that we have been saved by His grace. Praise God that we are able to be instruments in His hands to bless others now.
Arizona native James Flanders is a blogger (Not a pastor) whose
primary focus is encouraging the weak and downtrodden with the good news
of grace. The Gospel of grace has become a passion after years of being
steeped in religion yet missing the point. You can hear hundreds of his audio blogs at: http://www.jamesflanders.com/short-stuff.html
He and his wife Tanya have been playing music together for over twenty years. Here is a link to an early recording (James and Tanya Washed Clean) available on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/washed-clean/id16690587
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_T_Flanders
He and his wife Tanya have been playing music together for over twenty years. Here is a link to an early recording (James and Tanya Washed Clean) available on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/washed-clean/id16690587
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