Today we will continue our series entitled “God’s Grace & Our Faith.” We are looking at The Law given under Moses vs. the Grace provided by Jesus. Our primary scriptures are John 1:14 & 17. In our last message, we also looked at Galatians 5:18. Today we will look at verses 19-21.
(John 1:14 New International Version)
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:17 New International Version)
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
(Galatians 5:19-21 The Passion Translation)
“The cravings of the self-life are obvious: Sexual immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography, chasing after things instead of God, manipulating others, hatred of those who get in your way, senseless arguments, resentment when others are favored, temper tantrums, angry quarrels, only thinking of yourself, being in love with your own opinions, being envious of the blessings of others, murder, uncontrolled addictions, wild parties, and all other similar behavior. Haven’t I already warned you that those who use their “freedom” for these things will not inherit the kingdom realm of God!”
So what does this mean for you today? A few things. Let’s get into it.
1. The author of the most powerful passages in the Bible on the grace of God, the Apostle Paul, made it clear that grace is NOT a license to sin. Before listing the fruit of the Holy Spirit, Paul goes to painstaking detail to list out many of the fruits of the flesh. He lists sin after sin within the context of teaching us that if we are led by the Spirit of God, we will not perform these acts. Why? Because the Spirit of God will never lead you contrary to the Word or will of God.
2. Paul told us NOT to use the freedom provided by God’s grace and His Spirit to live in sin. Conversely, Paul makes it clear that if we are led by God’s Spirit, we won’t live IN sin. We will live free FROM sin. God’s grace and His Spirit enable you to overcome the power of sin.
3. People who take the message of grace to mean that you are free to sin simply seek an excuse to sin. They don’t need God’s grace to be a license for sin because they are sinning without a license. These are people who are clearly unrepentant. They are either NOT Born-Again, or baby Christians, newly Born-Again, who have not died to the lusts of their carnality. In either case, these are not people who are led by God’s Spirit, nor people who have fully embraced the grace of God to become the men/women they are called to be. Don’t let this be you. Determine in your heart to make the most of the life God gave you. Make a decision (right now) that you will embrace God’s grace to live free from the bondage of sin.
4. Paul’s message in the book of Galatians is powerful. I will summarize it in the following manner.
Jesus delivered us from:
a) Sin. If you are Born-Again, you are forgiven of sin. All sin. Period. But that does not mean you are to continue in sin. Jesus delivered you from it, not so you can go back and live in something you were made free from. Sin no longer has any power over you. You are literally free from the POWER of sin. If you sin now, it’s not because you have to. It’s because you want to. It’s because you have not renewed your mind from bad habits or carnal lusts.
b) Death. If you are Born-Again, you are dead in Christ, and you have done all the dying you are ever going to do. The day you physically die, you will simply walk out of your body and forever be with the Lord. So you have no need to fear death. You will live forever!
c) The Law. Paul made it clear that The Law was given for a certain time period. That time period ended when Jesus, the promised child, was born. The writer of Hebrews told us that once the New Covenant was introduced, the Old Covenant became outdated and obsolete. You are no longer under the bondage associated with The Law.
The point of all of this is that you are now free to live under the leadership of God’s Spirit. When you are Born-Again, God deposits His Spirit down inside of you. The Holy Spirit is your direct connection to the Father. The Holy Spirit enables you to get ‘downloads‘ directly from heaven. If you learn to discern His voice and you obey what He says, you will experience heaven-on-earth!
5. You have the grace to be holy, as God is holy.
The Apostle Peter quoted Leviticus when he said, “for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (see 1 Peter 1:16, Leviticus 11, and Leviticus 20).
When I was a baby Christian, I was told to be holy, but I was never taught anything about God’s grace. I was scolded when I did not live up to God’s standards, but I was never encouraged to embrace the grace to do what I could never do without God. In short, I was told holiness was a requirement of ME, but I lived in condemnation becuase no matter how hard I tried, I eventually missed the mark and made mistakes.
I was living under performance-based religion, and since I took on the pressure to perform, I was trying to live a life pleasing to God in my own power, ability, and strength. Not only was this stressful, but it meant that I constantly dealt with guilt, shame, and condemnation. The gospel of grace has delivered me from all of this, and I pray it does the same for you.
I have been studying the Bible and preaching the gospel for over 26 years. About 10 years ago, I started studying the grace of God. The gospel of grace has changed my life. I now live #TheGraceLife. I don’t take on the pressure to perform, I am free from the constant barrage of condemnation that I used to deal with, and most importantly, my expectation (faith) of God goodness towards me is NOT tied to my perceived level of performance (or goodness) towards Him. Said another way, I have detached/decoupled/disconnected my faith from my performance, and now I am free to believe what God believes about me. My faith is based on God’s love for me. As a result, I am so busy living as the person God called me to be that I don’t even think about sin. Sin is not my focus. I don’t live sin conscious anymore, and I have found that this is the only way to truly walk in the holiness God has called us to walk in.
When you are so busy being led by the Holy Spirit every day, you will live free from sin, but not because you try to. It will just come naturally to you. Holiness is natural to the Holy Spirit, and it will become natural to you as well when you walk with the Holy Spirit every day. So if you want to be holy, consume yourself with being led by God’s Spirit and with walking in your divine assignment. The grace of God will keep you free from the power of sin, the fear of death, and the bondage The Law.
That is enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me the importance of Your grace. You saved me by grace, through faith. Now that I am forgiven of sin, You have given me Your Spirit. By Your Spirit and Your grace, I am empowered to live free from sin.
Sin has no power over me. I overcome evil with good. I am led by Your Spirit in all things. My focus is not on sin or rules. My focus is on hearing Your voice and doing what You lead me to do. Living this way, I walk in the grace to be holy, as You are holy!
I am determined to become the man/woman You birthed me to be and to leave the mark in this world I was born to leave. I experience heaven and earth, and in so doing, I show people what heaven is like. When they see me, they see You because You live IN, WITH, and THROUGH me! You are my life! This is why I can boldly declare GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
