LIVE UNDER GRACE
“But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain;…” (1 Corinthians 15:10 KJV)
When the message of grace is preached, religious spirits would say you are now saying people should go crazy and begin to live anyhow. No! People are already living anyhow without a license. But the truth is that when you believe right, you will do right. When you believe the wrong things, you will do wrong and your life will become a struggle. They asked Paul, “…Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” (Romans 6:1 KJV) Paul said “God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:2 KJV) Then he goes on to say in verse 14 (KJV) “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law but under grace.” In other words, if you live under the law, sin will have dominion over you. But if you live under grace, it will not.
In Romans 8:1, Apostle Paul goes on to say, “There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” The phrase “who walk not after the flesh” was not in the original manuscript. Is it wrong to do good works? No! Is it wrong to fast? No! Is it wrong to give tithes? No! Is it wrong to be involved in church activities? No! But when you think you need to do those things to be right, then you are getting it backward. When you accept your right standing with God, you will naturally do those things. Just like the fish does not struggle to swim, you will not struggle to do right when you accept your righteousness.
So if you do not understand grace, anytime you come to God, you may not say it like the Pharisee in Luke 18:11-12 but deep in the inner most recesses of your being, you are not different from him. Rather than come to God with the attitude of the Pharisees, thank Him for having moved on your behalf. Thank Him because He has already taken care of that thing. It is already done. Thank Him for it. Thank Him for His mercy. The devil is a liar. You will testify.
Further Reading: Romans 5:12-21, 6:1-15
Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Jeremiah 48-49; Evening- Hebrews 7
