OUR VICTORY IS BY THE GRACE THROUGH FAITH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY AUGUST 21, 2020.

SUBJECT:  OUR VICTORY IS BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH!

Memory verse:  "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." (Galatians 2 vs 21.) 

READ:  Ephesians 2 verse 4 - 9:

2:4: But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

2:5: even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

2:6: and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

2:7: that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

2:8: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God,

2:9: not of works, lest anyone should boast.

INTIMATION:

Faith in God is a firm conviction about Him, that produces a full acknowledgement of God’s revelation or truth, occasions a personal surrender to Him, and a conduct inspired by such surrender. God extended grace to man regardless of the sin of man (Romans 5 vs 8). In this way, therefore, grace is a gift (See John 1 vs 12 - 13). It is a gift because it was neither given as a payment of debt by God to those who demanded such through their faith (because there was no faith in Christ in any of us when He offered Himself on the cross), nor for a meritorious keeping of law, and good works (Romans 11 vs 6). 

The condition upon which the grace of God is made effective for the salvation of man is that one must receive or accept the free gift. For this reason, the effect of God’s grace in reference to the salvation of man must be conditioned on the response of man. The condition is obedient faith, and thus, we are saved by grace through obedience of faith. Therefore, obedient faith is our response to the grace of God.

We become Christians through God’s unmerited grace, not as a result of any effort, ability, intelligent choice, or act of service on our part. Therefore, we must learn to lean totally upon the Lord, freely acknowledging that it is not by faith but by grace through faith that we receive any of the good things that He wants us to have. We must remember that the most important thing in receiving God's blessings is not our great faith but His great faithfulness. It’s noteworthy that we often keep our faith on the line, and keep believing that what we need we are going to get by faith. We need to look beyond our faith to God's grace and say, "Father, I need You to come through my faith by Your grace to bring me what I need." 

If we place too much emphasis on our faith—on our belief and our faithfulness, then we frustrate God's grace which is based not on our works but upon His unmerited favor toward us. In our memory verse, the apostle Paul warned against our becoming legalistic about this attitude: "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." (Galatians 2 vs 21.) Although faith is important, because it is our faith and trust in God that carries us through the hard times, as we wait patiently for the grace of God to work out our deliverance. Faith is really not the actual power that delivers; it sustains us until God's power—in the form of grace—arrives on the scene to set us free. 

When we say that we are believing God for something to happen, we also need to be praying to the Lord, saying, "Father, my trust is in You, my faith is anchored on Your unalloyed faithfulness. I need Your grace, Your power to come and deliver me." Our victories come "by grace through faith." Since God created us free-moral individuals, and placed us in an environment that demands choice, He allows us the choice of having faith in what Christ wrought for us in redemption to obtain our salvation or reject it and be condemned. Our choice of faith in Him allows a His grace to come through for our deliverance.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for Your grace that abound in my life. I have only prevailed by virtue of Your grace working in my life. Even in my unfaithfulness, You have remained faithful. Let me be sustained by Your grace in all things as I put my complete trust in You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!