THE WORD, OUR WORK, AND THE GRACE OF GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 10, 2024.

SUBJECT : THE WORD, OUR WORK, AND THE GRACE OF GOD!

Memory verse: "And if by grace, then no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work."(Romans 11 vs 6.)

READ: Romans 7 vs 15 - 25:

7:15: For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that ain't do.

7:16: If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.

7:17: But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

7:18: For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.

7:19: For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.

7:20: Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

7:21: I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.

7:22: For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.

7:23: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

7:24: O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 

7:25: I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

INTIMATION:

Revelation into, and the understanding of the grace of God starts with the understanding of the dynamics of the Word of God, and limitations of our work. The grace of God enables the working of the Word of God in our lives. Without the grace of God the Word of God would not profit us anything. The Word of God could be frustrating when we try to work the Word rather than the Word work in us. The most frustrating aspect of the Word of God is that it keeps convicting most believers. Incidentally this is what the Word should do to us. But how do we react to, and handle the conviction?

As the Word would convict us of our wrong doings, we turn completely to our Lord for the grace to change, instead of relying on our self will or efforts to change. When the Word convicts you in one thing or the other (which it ought to do), turn to God completely to accomplish the change you desire through His grace (unmerited favor). Do not get frustrated when the devil will come to minister condemnation (which it ought to) because the devil's mission is "to steal, and to kill, and to destroy" (John 10 vs 10). Remind the devil of what Christ had already wrought for us in redemption; "There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus..." (Romans 8 vs 1.) 

When we look into the Word and see our need to change from our sinful ways, let us then turn to Christ for the grace to bring about that change in us. We will pray earnestly, and seek the grace of God to allow the Spirit of the Lord come into our lives and cause the things to happen that needed to happen as we believed Him and exercised our faith. We cannot do it all by our own power.

We are not alone in this predicament. In the passage we read today the apostle Paul states his struggle with sin. He understood that self-determination, that is, struggling in one's own strength, doesn't succeed. He found himself sinning in ways that weren't even attractive to him. He knew it requires more than his strength to get rid of the sin.

When you try to change yourself, trying to make yourself be everything the Word said you ought to be, you get frustrated because you cannot do it by your will power, but only by the grace of God. You have to submit yourself to the Lord and wait patiently on Him to accomplish all He planned for you. Trying to do something about something you can't do anything about is frustrating. It takes the grace of God to change to what the Word wants you to be. It is not automatic but gradual, being changed from glory to glory (Second Corinthians 3 vs 18). You conquer your enemies little by little (Deuteronomy 7 vs 22). When convicted by the Word, allow God (trust and surrender yourself to Him) to walk His perfect Will in your life.

Becoming a Christian doesn't stamp out all sin and temptation from a person's life. Being 'born again' takes a moment of faith, but becoming like Christ is a lifelong process. No one in the world is innocent; no one deserves to be saved. All of us must depend totally on the work of Christ, that is, the grace of God, for our salvation. We cannot earn it by our behavior.

We must never underestimate the power of sin and attempt to fight it in our own strength. Instead of trying to overcome sin with our own human willpower, we must take hold of God's provision for victory over sin; the Holy Spirit, who, by the grace of God, lives within us and gives us the power to overcome sin. And even when we fall, He lovingly reaches out to help us up.

There is great tension in daily Christian experience. The conflict is that we agree with God's commands but cannot do them. As a result, we are painfully aware of our sin. The inward struggle with sin was as real to the apostle Paul as it is for us. From the apostle Paul, we learn what to do about it. Whenever we are overwhelmed by the spiritual battle, we should return to the beginnings of our spiritual lives, remembering how we have been freed from sin by Jesus Christ. When we feel confused and overwhelmed by sin's appeal, let us claim the freedom Christ gave us. It is only His power and grace that can lift us to victory.

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to live above sin. Keep me back from those presumptuous sins that easily ensnare me and let them not have dominion over me, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!