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This morning we continue our series, “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing to teach on the fact that “God’s Grace is Sufficient.” This week I had several conversations with Today’s Word readers about this series and how it has been a blessing to them. After studying Jesus’ road to the Resurrection and after celebrating Resurrection Sunday morning, we took the time to look at what Jesus’ death on Calvary’s cross provided for us. Now that we better understand what Jesus did, totally by grace, we can now better understand our part. Today I will close out the week with a few general thoughts about grace and how we must rest in what God has already provided for us.
So what does this mean to you today? Two things.
1. Righteousness by works does not work. Paul said, “So what does all this mean? It means that people who are not Jews were made right with God because of their faith, even though they were not trying to make themselves right. And the people of Israel, who tried to make themselves right with God by following the law, did not succeed. They failed because they tried to make themselves right by the things they did. They did not trust in God to make them right” (Rom 9:3-32 ERV).
a. There are two types of righteousness: self-righteousness (that comes by your works) & God-righteousness (which comes by faith in God’s finished work).
b. The Jews were attempting to work their way to righteousness and that method would never work.
c. The Gentiles, who never had the Law and who never tried to abide by it, simply heard the Gospel of grace and received righteousness by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
d. Take a queue from the Gentiles and receive righteousness by faith. Attempting to earn righteousness by work will never work.
2. Rest in the sufficiency of God’s grace. Paul said, “And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace” (Rom 11:6 NIV).
a. You can only be righteous by accessing God’s grace with your faith. You could never be good enough to have right standing with God. All you can do is accept the right standing provided to you through Christ Jesus.
b. The message of Grace is often offensive to those who want to work for what they get from God. It’s hard to accept the fact that you cannot work for it and you could never earn it.
c. When you understand Grace you are able to receive from God by faith, without trying to earn it, and God is much more pleased when you place your trust in His ability instead of your own.
d. Pride keeps many believers in the cycle of human effort. It takes humility to accept God’s finished work by faith, knowing He already provided it by grace.
e. God already blessed you, before the foundations of the world. It is finished. Your part is not to work for it, because it is already yours. Your part is to believe for it; to access by faith what is already your by grace.
f. God is not trying to meet your needs, He met them already. Enter into God’s rest. There is a divine rest that comes from understanding God’s finished work!
g. Grace takes you out of the equation. Grace relies on God plans and Jesus’ finished work, NOT your performance.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for Your amazing grace. I also thank You for taking the time to teach me — line upon line and precept upon precept — Your Word concerning Your grace. This series is helping me to see the areas of my life where I have not fully embraced Your grace. I am being convicted of things I am doing out of human effort, in an attempt to earn my right-standing with You. I repent and I fully embrace Your grace. From this moment on, I will not work to be right with You. I will work because Jesus made me right with You. I do all that I do BECAUSE I am right, not in order to BECOME right. I am the righteousness of God by faith and I will never forget it. I will not entangle myself with sin or the yoke of bondage of the Law. What I will do is fully engulf myself in Christ. Without You I am nothing. Like Jesus, I say, “The son can do nothing without the Father.” I am nothing without You Lord. It is in You that I live and move and have my being. I lose myself in You, and by losing myself in You, I find my true self and my divine purpose. I will never fall from grace, because I am determined to live every day of my life IN, WITH and BY Your amazing, undeserved and immeasurable grace! You have blessed me by grace and I access that grace by faith. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
