Weekly Grace

Most people don’t know how to correctly divide what they read in the Bible. Contrary to what religion tells us, the New Testament doesn’t begin with the gospel of Matthew; it begins with the cross and Jesus’ death and resurrection. It was at this point that Jesus ended the Old-Testament law and replaced it with grace. The world still lives under religious law and knows nothing else; however, the cross changed everything.

The law focused on work, not faith. It was man’s schoolmaster, designed to bring people to Christ, so that when He did come we could be justified by faith. Jesus is the end of the law to everyone who believes. For this reason He’s the mediator of the new covenant—now that He’s died to set us free from the sins committed under the first covenant. After all, a will, the New Testament, is in force only when the one who made it has died.

On one hand, there’s an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness; the law never made anything perfect. One the other hand, there’s the bringing of a better hope which allows us to draw near to God. If the first covenant had been faultless, there would’ve been no need for a second covenant to replace it.

When Jesus shed His blood, not only did He take away the sins of the world and re-open heaven to mankind, but He also became the mediator between God and man. Job spoke of this mediator in the Old Testament. Just before His death, Jesus told His disciples that He’s the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. Later, Paul wrote to Timothy that there’s one God and one mediator between God and men—the man Christ Jesus.

Understanding what Jesus did greatly impacts the quality of our lives. He came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. This puts the Scripture, “…With all your getting, get understanding” in a whole new light.

Prayer:
Lord, You radically changed life for the better when You sent Your Son to save us. We can now live in the abundance of your favor, even when we don’t deserve it. Thank You for this. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Galatians 3:24
Romans 10:4
Hebrews 9:15, 17, NIV
Hebrews 7:18, 19, NKJV
Hebrews 8:7, NLT
Job 9:33, NLT
John 14:6
1 Timothy 2:5
John 10:10
Proverbs 4:7

Without an understanding of the nature of grace, life is a constant struggle to do good things through our self-efforts, but failing. The requirements for pleasing God changed between the Law of Moses of the children of Israel and the grace of God for born-again believers. The difference in mindsets is radical; if we don’t pick up on it, we go back to trying to live by the old, expired law. By contrast, properly dividing between the systems gives us much better results.

The old covenant was conditional and based on the concept that man had to do something, first, to get God to bless him. If the people were willing and obedient, only then could they eat the good of the land. Only if man observed all of the commandments would God set him high above all the nations of the earth; if not, multiple curses would overtake him.

Most churches still preach this, which instills fear in people and traps them in the same place. Thankfully, the finished works of Jesus Christ released us from bondage to constantly striving in dead works. Salvation is one example. Before Jesus’ death and resurrection, eternal life was attainable only by following all the commandments; afterward, the only requirement was to believe in Jesus.

Prayer is another example. Before the cross, mankind had to beg God not to cast him away from His presence; after the cross, God promises that He’ll never, ever leave us. Forgiveness is a third example. Before the cross, man was required to forgive others, first, before he could receive forgiveness from God; after the cross, we can forgive others because God has already forgiven us.

Mankind couldn’t keep the law because it was too perfect. Thankfully, under grace, the Holy Spirit helps us keep God’s new covenant law of love. God working in us giving us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him takes the pressure off us. This is a game-changer.

Prayer:

Lord, under the Law of Moses, life was difficult and frustrating, and man was unable to follow all Your commandments. You had mercy on us and sent Your Son to replace the law with grace, which has the added benefit of the Holy Spirit to guide us in love. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Isaiah 1:19

Deuteronomy 28:1-3, 15

Matthew 19:16, 17

Acts 16:30, 31

Psalm 51:11

Hebrews 13:5, AMPC

Mark 11:25, 26

Ephesians 4:32

Philippians 2:13, NLT

It’s impossible to live in our external environment without developing a set of values and beliefs that help shape our philosophy. Philosophy has several definitions, including “the pursuit of wisdom,” or “the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group.” The trouble is that these definitions focus on our physical world and leave out God. As Christians, we need a philosophy modeled after Jesus.

Jesus is grace in human form. The irony of looking at philosophy without Him is that from an eternal perspective, this kind of philosophy doesn’t even exist. The wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he asked where this truth leaves the philosophers, scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters, adding that God made the wisdom of this world look foolish.

God saw to it that the world would never know Him through human wisdom. However, since we’re taught worldly “wisdom,” we must see to it that no one carries us off or captivates us through so-called philosophy, intellectualism, and plain nonsense that follows human tradition. These simply reinforce the teachings of the universe and disregard the teachings of Christ. For instance, grace gives us blessings that we don’t deserve; worldly philosophy says we must work to earn them. This mindset leads to wrong thinking. Wrong believing gives us the wrong results in life.

Spiritually, we should be at war with worldly beliefs and values. It’s important to be aware of our thoughts, examine each one, and discard those that contradict God’s Word. We do this by refusing to be conformed to this world and changing the way we think so that we can learn God’s will for us. This is called embracing the philosophy of grace.

There’s nothing wrong with learning, as long as we’re learning the right things. There’s no way to tell the difference without spiritual discernment from God. Setting our minds on things above, not on things on the earth, makes us students of grace.

Prayer:

Lord, it’s critical that You, not the world, teach us how to live. You warned us against the dangers of worldly philosophy that’s hostile to You. Thank You for being our heavenly Father who instructs us in grace and mercy. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

1 Corinthians 3:19

1 Corinthians 1:20, 21, NLT

Colossians 2:8, AMPC

Romans 12:2, NLT

Colossians 3:2, NKJV

We can all recall times when we felt ashamed, either because of a particular situation or from a mistake we made. Shame is a sense of failure in someone else’s eyes. It can cause us to see ourselves as failures and make us want to run away and hide. It’s excruciating and emotionally painful; however, this isn’t God’s will for us.

Shame ties us to our past and keeps us from receiving God’s favor. Jesus went to the cross to take it away from us by taking it onto His own body. He gave His back to the smiters and His cheeks to those who plucked out the hair; He didn’t hide His face from shame and spitting. God helps us so that we won’t be ashamed.

Shame is tangled up with fear; it can only control us and define who we are if we’re afraid. This evil emotion first surfaced in the garden of Eden after Adam and Eve sinned and became afraid of God. They heard Him walking in the garden and hid themselves. When God called out to them, Adam admitted he was afraid.

The destructive nature of shame traps us in fear and holds us back from moving on in life. God commands us not to tolerate it; however, this commandment carries a promise with it: “Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame…” His grace in this area has real power over shame. We’re set free from it when we trust in how the finished works of Jesus destroyed it.

Shame lies to us by making us feel rejected, unloved, and unworthy. Thankfully, no matter how many mistakes we make, God will always love us and never reject us. He made us accepted in the beloved, redeemed us through His blood, and forgave us our sins, according to the riches of His grace. There’s no undoing what He did.

Prayer:

Lord, Jesus’ death destroyed the power shame had over mankind. Your grace has freed us from its devastating effects, and we’re grateful for this. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Isaiah 50:6, 7, AMPC

Genesis 3:8, 10

Isaiah 54:4, NKJV

Ephesians 1:6, 7

Our minds are powerful tools that significantly impact our quality of life. Most of us have things about ourselves we’d like to change or improve, but any real change must be preceded by a change in thinking, first. What we believe can either put us in bondage or free us. Accepting the grace of Christ radically transforms the way we think.

During His ministry, Jesus told the Jews who believed Him that if they continued walking in His Word, they would know the truth and the truth would make them free. The specific truth He was referring to is the truth of God’s grace. Grace is unmerited, undeserved favor from God, which is what Jesus died to give us. The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

For us, one of the most significant changes in our thinking is a shift in the awareness of our identity. When we get born again, we receive new identities based on who God says we are. If any man is in Christ, he’s a new creature; old things are passed away and all things are new. Our past is gone, which means we no longer have to define ourselves according to the way we used to be.

Being in Christ has multiple benefits that we could never claim through our own merits. We’re declared holy, righteous, and perfect; we’re God’s children, and therefore no longer sinners, but saints. Believing this causes our behavior to eventually line up with our belief. Studying God’s Word changes the way we see ourselves so that we’re not conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Accepting who we are in Christ frees us from our self-efforts at trying to improve ourselves. Trusting in what God says about us makes us increasingly like Him and enables us to do what others can’t. His grace puts us in a win-win situation.

Prayer:

Lord, accepting Your favor toward us allows You to change our way of thinking. Faith in Your Son makes us aware of our new identities as saints who have been made perfect. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

John 8:31, 32

John 1:17

2 Corinthians 5:17

Romans 12:2

The ability to see is a wonderful gift God gave us to enhance our lives. As great as it is to have physical eyesight, however, having spiritual vision is even more important. While being physically blind makes life challenging, being spiritually blind is a tragedy. If we’ve been born again but we’re still trying to live by the Law of Moses, we’re spiritually blind.

The absence of spiritual vision causes us to drift through life aimlessly. It blinds us to the grace God offers and causes us to struggle to accomplish things Jesus has already accomplished; where there’s no vision, the people perish. Religion actually prevents us from knowing God through a personal, life-saving relationship with Jesus. This relationship prevents God’s warning, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” from coming to pass in our lives.

Setting aside religion and embracing a relationship with Christ opens our eyes to God’s goodness. The experience Paul had when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus illustrates this. Paul strictly adhered to the law until Jesus gave him a mission and the spiritual vision he needed to accomplish it. Paul’s assignment was to open the people’s eyes and turn them from darkness to light.
Jesus gave Paul the job of sharing the gospel of God’s unearned, undeserved favor. The revelation knowledge Paul received from knowing Jesus inspired him to confess that the ministry he’d received from the Lord was to testify of the Gospel of Grace. Paul became a new man with perfect spiritual vision.

If the gospel is hidden, it’s hidden from those who are lost. The god of this world has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe, lest the glorious gospel of Christ shine on them. As believers, we need to make sure we’re not spiritually blind as well. Our ability to open others’ eyes to Christ changes lives.

Prayer:

Lord, Your Son came to remove the veil that the Law of Moses put over our spiritual eyes. He did this so that we could see You as You are and enjoy the close, personal relationship with You that You’ve always wanted. We’re grateful for that. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Proverbs 29:18

Hosea 4:6

Acts 26:12-18

Acts 20:24

2 Corinthians 4:3, 4