Weekly Grace

We all want good things from God, and as our heavenly Father, He certainly wants to bless us. However, how we receive His blessings has changed over time. Most Christians don’t realize that God deals with people through covenants, and that the covenant of the Law of Moses has been replaced with the covenant of grace. A covenant is an irrevocable promise between two or more parties to carry out the terms agreed upon; to be blessed now requires that we understand and live under this new covenant.

The old agreement was conditional and depended on man fulfilling all the law before he could get blessed; otherwise, he would be cursed. The law was perfect, but too perfect for imperfect man to keep. Breaking even one commandment meant a person was guilty of breaking them all. The law was given to focus on man’s flaws, and actually strengthened sin; that’s why Jesus came to be the mediator of the new covenant.

Being born again puts us under grace; under this agreement, the focus is on what we believe, not what we do. Grace allows us to be one with Christ; we no longer count on our own righteousness through obeying the law, but now are made righteous through faith in Him. Christ is the end of the law for everyone who believes. Therefore, sin no longer has dominion over us, because we’re not under the law but under grace.

Unlike under the Old Testament, New-Testament believers can live under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit, who helps us meet God’s moral standards in ways the law never could. Understanding which covenant we should live under takes all pressure off us to rely on our self-efforts. We’re now free to receive all the blessings without any of the curses.

Prayer:

Lord, mankind struggled unsuccessfully to keep the law; You showed mercy by replacing it with grace. Thank You for taking away the endless requirements to perform so that we can focus instead on Your love for us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 28:1-3, 15
James 2:10
1 Corinthians 15:56
Hebrews 8:6, 7
Hebrews 10:9
Philippians 3:9, NLT
Romans 10:4
Romans 6:14

Everyone likes the idea of getting into heaven; however, few people know the details of how to get there. Religion teaches that we must constantly do good deeds and hope for the best. It pushes the idea that if we work hard and do everything right, eventually we’ll be ready for heaven. The truth is that when we get born again, we’re instantly made heaven-ready.

Salvation isn’t a “sweet by-and-by,” a gradual state we attain when we cross heaven’s gate; it’s available to us right now when we accept Jesus. When we hear and believe the Good News that God has saved us, He identifies us as His own by giving us the Holy Spirit to live in us. The Spirit is His guarantee that we’ll receive the promised inheritance, and that He has purchased us to be His people.

We’re spirits possessing souls and living in physical bodies; being born again unites our spirits with the Holy Spirit. When we sin with our bodies or souls and miss the mark, He protects our spirits from participating in sin. Even when we do something foolish, it’s impossible for our spirit beings—our real selves—to sin. Whoever is born of God doesn’t, and can’t, commit sin.

Being in Jesus makes us God’s children. Our names are written in heaven, our spirits are righteous, and we’ve been made perfect. As brothers and sisters of Christ, we sit together in heavenly places in Him. We receive this gift of righteousness and salvation not because we’re perfect through our own efforts, but because every man is presented perfect in Christ Jesus.

We get into heaven not by works, but by faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross. By one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified. This is God’s grace in action on our behalf.

Prayer:

Lord, the sacrifice Your Son made took care of our salvation. Our faith in what He did grafts us into Your family and assures us of our final destination in heaven. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Ephesians 1:13, 14, NLT
1 John 3:9
Hebrews 12:23, NLT
Ephesians 2:6
Colossians 1:28
Hebrews 10:14

As imperfect human beings with our own flaws and shortcomings, we can all remember bad behavior we’ve displayed in the past. The guilt and shame made us wonder if those actions defined us. Getting caught in our mistakes, unable to change from the person we don’t want to be, is discouraging. Thankfully, relying on God to transform us makes it possible to change for the better.

Transformation begins with knowing who we really are in Christ. Unlike what the world tells us, we’re not what we do, but what God says we are. Our past mistakes don’t matter; when we get born again, we receive new identities in Christ. Anyone in Christ is a new creature; old things have passed away and all things are new.

Paul, a former sinner, completely believed in his new identity after his personal encounter with Jesus. Paul’s previous bad behavior was well-known; he had routinely made havoc of the church and put believers in prison. However, as a new creation in Christ, he could truthfully say he had wronged, corrupted, or defrauded no man. His past was gone, and he was therefore able to declare that he was pure from the blood of all men.

Despite what he had done before, Paul received grace. This caused him to change his mind concerning who he was, which in turn led to a change in behavior. For us, this means that no matter what we’ve done, getting born again frees us from having to continue associating with our old selves; that’s just not who we are anymore. We’ve gone from being from sinners to saints.

Being in Christ makes His identity our identity. We’re holy because He’s holy; as He is, so are we in this world. Holiness isn’t a conduct; holiness is a person, and His name is Jesus. Being sure of our identity in Him makes our transformation inevitable.

Prayer:

God, as Your people, we no longer have to work to be holy or righteous in Your eyes; we are righteous because You’ve declared it so. We no longer carry guilt for our past mistakes, and we can now be who You created us to be. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

2 Corinthians 5:17
Acts 8:3
2 Corinthians 7:2
Acts 20:26
Ephesians 2:19
1 Peter 1:16
1 John 4:17

We’ve all been taught since childhood the importance of obedience, even if it had to be drilled into our heads. We most likely remember the pain of punishment for disobedience, whether it was a spanking or even a time-out in the corner. However, over time, how we obey has changed. This was dramatically demonstrated through the transition from the law to grace.

Under the law if man was willing and obedient, first, only then could he eat the good of the land; if he refused and rebelled, he would be devoured by the sword. He would be blessed only if he strictly followed a long list of rules, but failure to perform perfectly brought curses. By contrast, Jesus has given us a new commandment: that we love one another as He loves us.

The greatest commandment under the law required man to love God with all his heart, soul, and mind. There’s nothing wrong with loving God, but it’s impossible for imperfect man to exhibit perfect love through self-effort. By contrast, we can now love God because He loved us, first. Believing in His love is New-Testament obedience.

Forgiveness is another area impacted. Before Jesus’ death and resurrection, man had to forgive, first, before God could forgive him. Afterward, we can forgive one another as God in Christ has forgiven us. This empowers us to let go of bitterness and forgive from the heart.

The requirements for salvation have also changed. Before the cross, when the rich young ruler asked Jesus what to do to be saved, Jesus’ answer was according to the law. After the cross, when the jailer asked Paul and Silas the same question, the answer was different—believe and be saved. Our salvation is now based on our faith, not on our works.

God is no longer angry. He replaced the Ten Commandments with just one law—Jesus’ law of love—and He wants to be our Father. Faith in His grace makes the impossible possible.

Prayer:

Lord, the finished works of Jesus mean that we no longer have to strive endlessly to follow rules. We can instead simply believe in Your love for us. Thank you for changing everything. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Isaiah 1:19, 20
Deuteronomy 28:1-3, 15
John 13:34
Matthew 22:36-38
1 John 4:19
Matthew 6:14, 15
Mark 11:26
Ephesians 4:32
Colossians 3:13
Matthew 19:16, 17
Acts 16:30, 31

Believers operate in a dysfunctional environment. One of the reasons why it feels so foreign to us is that although we’re tuned to God’s frequency, we’re surrounded by people tuned in to the world’s frequency. Similar to radio waves in the atmosphere, negative emotions—such as agitation—“floating around” pose a hazard to our emotional peace. We must be on the alert because this emotion isn’t God’s will for us.

Agitation is defined as a state of feeling restless or a state of excessive psychomotor activity accompanied by increased tension and irritability. Focusing on the wrong things opens us up to this without us even realizing what’s happening. However, we’ve received a directive to guard our peace of mind; Jesus tells us not to let our hearts be troubled or afraid.

Agitation moves us out of our place of peace and troubles our hearts; as the Prince of Peace, Jesus has specific instructions on how to guard against this. We’re not to let our hearts be troubled, distressed, or agitated. We must stop allowing ourselves to be agitated or disturbed, and stop permitting ourselves to be fearful and unsettled.

God wants us to experience rest, both physical and spiritual. If we’re tired and worn out, spending time with Him shows us how to take a real rest. Taking His yoke upon us and learning about Him lets us find rest for our souls. He also wants us to find peace; He keeps us in perfect peace when we trust in Him and fix our thoughts on Him.

Giving God our agitation and letting Him replace it with peace is a sign of humility; conversely, hanging on to agitation is a sign of pride. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Trusting Him to calm and quiet us when the situation seems out of control keeps us from being emotionally swept away.

Prayer:

Lord, getting too concerned about everything going on around us and not focusing on You causes us anxiety and agitation. By contrast, fixing our thoughts on Your grace and peace gives us peace and protection from negative emotions. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:
John 14:1, 27
Isaiah 9:6
John 14:1, 27, AMPC
Matthew 11:28, MSG
Matthew 11:28
Isaiah 26:3, NLT
James 4:6

Most people lack a biblical understanding of what obedience means under the covenant of grace. Some take it to mean knuckling under to someone else’s orders or instructions. Others define it as changing one’s behavior to follow the rules, but doing so unwillingly. Jesus’ finished works radically redefined what it means to obey, so that we now can have clarity and understanding in this area.

The world still lives with an old-covenant mindset about obeying. Under the law, God required strict obedience to a long list of inflexible regulations and requirements. An “if-then” expectation was in place; if the people obeyed perfectly, only then would they be blessed. Whoever kept all the law but missed on even one point was guilty of breaking all the commandments.

The law was perfect and reflected God’s morality; however, it had no wiggle room and was too perfect for imperfect man to keep. This all changed when God replaced it with grace. The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. By Him, everyone who believes is justified from all things they couldn’t be justified from under the law.

God now measures obedience by faith, not by works. When the people saw Jesus doing miracles and asked Him what to do to work the works of God, Jesus answered that the work of God is to believe in the one whom He sent. This spares us from unnecessary empty works and gives us rest from them. Faith is so critical under the new covenant that God sees unbelief as disobedience.

When God was leading the Israelites through the wilderness, their refusal to obey kept them from entering into the rest He’d promised them. He equated their unbelief with disobedience. For us today, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to all who believe. Simple faith is now what matters most to God.

Prayer:

Lord, we no longer have to work hard or perform perfectly to be considered obedient. We can now simply rest in Your love and grace and receive Your blessings by faith. This is a vast improvement from the law; thank You for making the change. In Jesus’s name, amen.
Scriptures:
Deuteronomy 28:1-13
James 2:10
John 1:17
Acts 13:39, NKJV
John 6:28, 29
Hebrews 3:18, 19
Romans 10:4