June 30, 2012

Responsible Grace

Written by Boyd Bailey

Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today- June 30, 2012

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”  Romans 6:1-2

Grace is a gift from God, one that requires responsible and wise stewardship. Grace is not a license to sin but permission to live. Grace is all about living for God and walking with Him. It engages with eternity by approaching God’s throne of grace with gratitude, awe, and boldness. God’s grace is a guarantee of eternal life. It is absolutely amazing because Christ collateralizes it. There has never been a shortage of your Savior’s grace.No group or individual has ever made a run on heaven’s grace account. You can go to the bank with God’s grace. It is as everlasting as the Lord. However, though unlimited in supply, it may be the most underused resource available. People miss grace when they thrash and stumble about in their own strength. They apply bad theology. They believe in salvation by grace through faith, but drift into living on their own strength. Demons must chuckle when they observe Christians applying dead works.Working to earn God’s favor after receiving salvation is as futile as it was before salvation. Do not fall into the trap of graceless living for grace is God’s remedy for the self-indulgent. Grace values community with people and communicating with Christ. There is a spirit of acceptance and peace with those who receive and apply God’s grace often.

Learn to use grace responsibly. Grace is not a safety net for your fall into sin, for sin still has its consequences. Grace is not an excuse to sin and is not your pass for disobedience. Judgment, both harsh and extreme, is the natural outcome for graceless Christians. Grace is, more than anything, an honorable motivation for your attitude and actions. Without grace, you gravitate toward pride for not sinning. Yes, grace is a governor on your behavior, while never promoting pride.

Grace means you have a stewardship of wise choices to manage for the Lord. It gives you permission to be free in Christ, but your freedom is for Him. His kingdom agenda is what drives grace. Grace integrates all of life around faith. Christ does not compartmentalize the sacred from the secular. Grace includes, it doesn’t exclude. It discloses rather than hides. Sin is subservient to your Savior’s grace.

Grace gives you the perspective and power for forgiveness and honesty. It is the delivery channel of truth. Grace is your excuse for extending forgiveness and second and third chances—and more—to culprits. Use grace to remove sin’s stain from the fiber of your faith. Indeed, as you extend grace, you are more likely to receive grace. Be responsible with grace and you will be trusted with more. Grace saved you from sin; so don’t go back to your pre-grace condition. Because of grace, you are free from sin, not free to sin. Therefore, be a responsible and gracious follower of Christ.

Taken from June 26th reading in the 365-daydevotional book, “Seeking Daily the Heart of God”… http://bit.ly/bQHNIE

Post/Tweet thistoday: Because of grace, you are free from sin, not free to sin. #grace #sin

Click on our Wisdom Video blog… http://bit.ly/JCjzJB


Comments

  1. Wish more people understood that part


Comments are closed.

Recent Posts