Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
About twenty years ago, Andrew and I were walking through a town and spreading the gospel of Christ. We were handing out flyers and visiting with people as we went. One older person I talked to began to tell me that he had ordered two special license plates for his vehicle. One of them said “by Grace” and the other one said “by works” . He said that he wanted to switch them around occasionally, depending on whose presence he was in.
This reminds me of the Christian life.
Many people don’t seem to understand that grace and works are part of the same thing. They are like your left and right hand that work together to tie your shoes each morning. They are like your left and right foot that work together to help you walk down the sidewalk each day. Scriptures clearly teach us that grace needs to produce works in your life, otherwise your faith is dead. Works of obedience to God, are the evidence that you are walking in the true grace of God. When grace and works are combined, it results in salvation.
Ephesians 2:1-5 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
As I’ve taught for 20 years, there are only two classes of people in this world. Sinners, and redeemed sinners. There are those who abide in a state of unbelief, and those who profess to believe in Jesus.
Those who are in unbelief, need to hear the gospel of Christ. They need to hear the preaching of the cross, and that God cares for them. It needs to be explained to them that God has provided us with a free gift of His grace, through faith in Jesus. They need to understand that if they believe and are baptized by submersion, all of the sins of their past life can be completely washed away. They need to believe what Jesus did for them at the cross, and to accept His kindness and love that He has extended to us all.
The separate set of people are those who have already done this. They claim to believe in Jesus, and are in a different territory than unbelievers. They profess to be followers of His, which means that they are now required to undergo a complete transformation in their lives. They need to repent of their sins. They need to become obedient to the gospel of Christ.
Scriptures teach us that it is by grace that we are saved, but if grace never results in a changed life,..If it never results in obedience and submission to the will of God, then the faith that they profess is completely vain.That’s why the scriptures warn over and over again, to become doers of the Word, and not just hearers only. If someone truly professes to believe in Jesus, they will be filled with works towards God, because these deeds prove that God’s mercy is working inside your heart.
The Apostle Paul was a complete unbeliever at one time of his life. In his past, he was ignorant, and really didn’t believe in Jesus when he was persecuting the churches. But when he became a believer, he became a faithful, obedient and loyal servant of Christ. He was filled with works, because he was filled with the true grace of God.
Once again, it is by grace that we are saved, but those who have begun the Christian walk, are not supposed to receive God’s grace in vain. It is supposed to result in conversion and repentance from dead works. It is supposed to result in loving obedience to God. If those things never truly manifest themselves in people who profess to follow Christ, than they will certainly not make it to heaven.
As we walk through this world, you are going to meet people who are complete unbelievers, but at one time, each of us were just like them. They don’t profess faith in Jesus, and are still in their carnal state. They haven’t accepted Jesus into their hearts yet, and because of this, they really can’t understand or accept the teachings of scripture. This is because an unbeliever does not receive the things of God, because they are foolish to him. This group of people need to be presented with the cross of Christ. They need to understand that forgiveness is available through faith in Christ Jesus. They need to know that if they place their faith in Him, they can have all of their past deeds expunged. This is what unbelievers need to hear at the get-go. Once they are baptized into the faith, they need to be reeducated and retrained in the teachings of Christ. This is so they can become converted and obediently submit to the will of God. Those in Christ are commanded to become pleasing unto God in all things, as we ought to, because of the great love that He has already shown us.
So there’s a great difference between an unbeliever in their ignorance, and a person who claims to believe in Jesus.
That’s why within the church, the members were to be rebuked and corrected as needed. This is so they would exhibit the true grace of God, by walking in the true faith.
1 Peter 5:12 ….I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.
Remember that because there is a true grace, there is also a false grace. There are many people who claim to be walking in grace, but it’s not true grace at all. We are saved through grace, but if you don’t walk according to God’s will, then their faith is purposeless. It’s only an outward religion, without any obedience and love for God. Paul did not receive the Grace of God in vain, but used it as an opportunity to completely change His life.
So within the church, there is correction and direction, but outside the church, people must be first told about the love of Christ, exemplified through the cross. This is so hopefully, they will believe it, they will receive it, and run with it, just as the Apostle Paul did. They need to be told that there is hope and opportunity to be forgiven with God.
Think of all the people in prisons and jails. Think of all the people living their lives in the bars and doing drugs. Think of all the people who are caught up in false religions. They are in a state of ignorance and unbelief. They need to hear the gospel of peace, so that those who believe in the truth, can eventually be converted and enter into eternal life. But once they are baptized by submersion, they are supposed to begin their walk of obedience and service towards the one who loved them, and died for them.
Grace is supposed to serve a purpose in somebody’s life. Just understanding that God loves us should cause people in the church to want to do his will, but there are many false brethren who live their lives in complete and utter rebellion towards God. In the early church, some people were already turning their ears away from the truth, which is going on all over in modern Christianity today. It’s not the true faith that was originally preached 2,000 years ago, and those who get caught up with them, will be eventually lost. This is why there are so many strong admonitions and rebukes in the scripture. It’s because the Apostles were trying to turn people to the truth, and not allow them to be deceived by others.
Some people needed to be removed from the church occasionally, because they were impenitently living in the flesh. They were living the way that they lived before they became a believer. When we are baptized in the faith, we must be filled with obedience towards God, because if obedience never happens, then the grace of God that you claim to possess is fictional. All it is is unbelief. After all, if you believe in God, wouldn’t you think that you’re going to do the will of God. If you claim to love Jesus, wouldn’t you do the things that He teaches?
That’s why many people and churches are going to miss out on the kingdom of heaven, because they absolutely refuse to obey and submit to the one who died on the cross for them. That is believing something in vain. Remember that few shall be saved, and its because of this very reason.
So, when you think about the words, “by Grace you are saved,…”, make sure that what you possess in your heart is….
……The True Grace
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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