God's True Grace to Us

[Christsfreeservant]

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11-14 ESV)​

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. We are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, and not drunkards. We are to be those who are living morally pure, upright, and godly lives, and who lead by example in teaching others to follow suit. And we are to be people of integrity who live what we teach and who are not hypocrites.

Sadly that is not the case with many who profess faith in Jesus Christ. Even many who call themselves “pastors” are not living morally pure and godly lives. Many are living in addiction to sin, especially in sexual immorality which is running rampant in today’s “church” here in America. And so many who are sexually addicted have no conscience and no compassion for those they are sinning against, so no true remorse, either.

They are like what is described to us in Revelation 18 about Babylon. They are a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit. They are those who also lead others to commit sexual immorality with them. And their sins are heaped high as heaven. And they have all this history of evil stored up in their hearts and they won’t let go of it because of their pride, and because of the stronghold that this addictive sin has on their lives.

So, they have left the door open wide to keep adding to this pile of sin because they will not unload all the evil which is stored up in their hearts. And all this evil stored up in their hearts has to do with pride and lust and hate and unforgiveness and being contemptuous and disdainful of others who are walking in holiness and in righteousness. So they are a lot like many of the Israelites who sinned against the Lord in the wilderness and who died.

For in their stubbornness, and in their rebellion against the Lord, they will not let go of what is stored up in their hearts, but they keep adding to it, instead. And in the case of the Israelites in the wilderness who maintained their sinful practices and would not repent, and would not change, the Lord had them put to death. And they did not enter into his eternal rest, because they wanted their sin more than they wanted God.

But sometimes the Lord will strip away the facades, and he will expose to others what is stored up in the hearts of those who will not yield control of their lives over to the Lord but who continue to sin against the Lord and against other humans. And when this then comes out into the open and is revealed, then the Lord uses that to move them to repentance and to getting rid of all that is stored up in their hearts. But they still have the choice to say “Yes!” to God or to still tell him “No!”

But this is where we need to understand the true nature of God’s grace. For many people today are teaching and preaching a false grace, a diluted and altered grace message which is not biblical grace. For they are teaching that you can make a mere acknowledgment (profession, confession) of Christ as your Savior and Lord, and now all your sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), heaven is now guaranteed you, and nothing can take that away.

But God’s grace is not a free ride into heaven regardless of how we live our lives on this earth. God’s grace trains us to renounce (say “No!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (cf. Ephesians 2:10).

So we need to understand that how we live will impact where we spend eternity, regardless of what some people are teaching you to the contrary. For all throughout the New Testament we are taught by Jesus and by his NT apostles that we must die with Christ to sin, and we must now live to him and to his righteousness. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord, and not righteousness, then we’ll not inherit eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Broken Cord

An Original Work / August 29, 2018

Your bond is broken with your Lord and Savior
And your testimony is separate from Him.
Your words not matching your actions today.
Repent of your sin and bow down and pray.
Live what you testify in truth always.

Purity’s lacking in your life and witness,
For you profess one thing, but other you do.
Not moral, spiritual. Still of the flesh.
Not living in truth to what you confess.
Lying about it puts you in a mess.

Living a lie is your practice, ‘tis true of you.
Masquerade righteousness – none of it true.
Your heart is not given to your Lord God.
Because of how you live, you are a fraud.
Turn from your sin and give your life to God.