The greatest frustration in a Christian's life is not being able to get what they believe to work in their lives.
You've got people who have studied and believed that it's God's will to heal them. They know from scripture that Jesus bore our sicknesses and carried their pains and by His stripes they're healed, but they just can't get it to work.
They know they ought to be changing, to be transformed into the image of God but the only image they've become is the image of the person they were before salvation.
20 years later they're still the same; they haven't conquered their thoughts, or their desires that plague them. The same torments and fears are still there. They had a bit of a change after they got saved, but unfortunately the same sins that plague most people before they were saved seem to make their way back to take up residency once again.
Galatians 5:4 says that "You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace."
If you've got something tormenting you and you can't get free of it ? Christ is of no effect to you.
If you've got some sickness you can't shake. If you've got no joy or peace in your life, if you've got some habitual sin you can't get free of, then Christ has become of no effect in your life.
Simply put you no longer have contact with Christ in your heart and His divine nature and power is having no influence upon your life. When it's all of us and none of Christ we loose all connection to the saving power that is resident in our spirits.
Some people think falling from grace means you're not going to heaven, but it's really just reaching the place where Christ is of no effect to you.
In defining grace, we need to find out what grace is not.
1.Grace is not God's ability to overlook sin. Paul refuted that in Romans 6:1-2 "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
Grace is God's ability to get you out of sin.
2.Grace is not God's ability to accept you where you are, that's God's mercy that makes him able to do that.
The bible says about the New Testament, that mercy and grace have kissed.
While God can accept you as you are, His grace becomes your ability to change.
3.Grace is not unmerited favor. If I were to buy you a car as a gift, you wouldn't tell your friends that I gave you unmerited favor. You'd tell them I bought you a car. Although the gift was unmerited favor, that's not what it is, that's how it came to you.
Grace is the divine influence that works on your heart to conform you to the image of His Son.
Dustin Gray publisher and author of Christian Bible Study Manuals. For free local church publishings please contact dustin@publisherhouse.com or visit dustin@publisherhouse.com or dustin@publisherhouse.com
no-contract cleaning service Glenview ..I am not enlightened, and yet,... Read More
Several months ago, I read an... Read More
Back in 1992, Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise co-starred in... Read More
One of the "loopholes" in my philosophical belief system when... Read More
ADDICTION: - There are numerous obsessions and addictions which prevent... Read More
The expression "Spiritual Enlightenment" has been used often in reference... Read More
There's a lot of talk in meditation circles about emptying... Read More
"Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because... Read More
The more that "little me" allows surrender the more is... Read More
Each of us has far more potential to serve the... Read More
Why Abandon Religion?It is so commonly believed today that religion... Read More
THE PREMISEFeng Shui is an ancient Chinese art that has... Read More
Forget what you have read or seen about vampires. The... Read More
Anyone who tells you that the path to self-actualization is... Read More
After more than three decades of church ministry, I have... Read More
You will become as great as your dominant aspiration...If you... Read More
The first gospel written by Matthew,who is Levi, is the... Read More
I honestly am not sure why this hit me so... Read More
Some may ask what is the true will of God... Read More
What the Animals Tell Us"I am the Sun's son. I... Read More
Did you ever see something go wrong around you and... Read More
Jesus said, "No one can see the Kingdom of Heaven... Read More
What's a cosmic 2 x 4 you ask? It's actually... Read More
In Corrogue the air is chill and the frost is... Read More
Stress & Spirituality ? How Spirituality Affects Stress LevelsTake a... Read More
house cleaning company Glencoe ..Connor, a man in his late 40's, has achieved everything... Read More
Last week I talked about the need to practice emotional... Read More
There's a Native American belief that before we are born,... Read More
Maybe once in a lifetime, we find ourselves seeking spiritual... Read More
I have sent out hundreds of press releases for my... Read More
In Corrogue I am finding it's a wonderful life.Let me... Read More
We are living in highly challenged times. Our mass consciousness... Read More
The formula for spiritual growth is given briefly in 2... Read More
How many Christian people do you know who are bearing... Read More
When we feel that something has gone wrong and are... Read More
1. Identify a woman who is "like minded," who has... Read More
In His graciousness, God has blessed us to enter a... Read More
"They're crazy!" That's what they're saying about us. The majority... Read More
Let me say that marketing can be a corrupting experience.... Read More
Freedom....The cherished goal of humanity throughout its history.No society has... Read More
One day Gilligan ventures off as usual into the jungle.... Read More
I am beginning a journey starting tomorrow. I have decided... Read More
Is it really possible that Don Juan could command the... Read More
Jacob had sent his family on across the river Jabbok.... Read More
I recently had the pleasure to interview Richard Rudis, a... Read More
This statement sounds incredible. ASK and it shall be given.... Read More
The more that "little me" allows surrender the more is... Read More
The tongue is such a tiny little organ. Yet, it... Read More
Do you ever get into those moods where you just... Read More
Ok, let's start with the amazing story of Robbie and... Read More
Spirituality |