Unconditional Grace Series

Now, let me shift gears a little. Because although may of us can accept that we need to rely on God’s grace for our initial entry into the faith, we often live as if everything after that depends on our work. As if we need grace to be forgiven, we need grace to be saved, but then our daily walking with God is by our own effort. But that’s not how it works. The way we come to God is the way we continue with God. It’s just as presumptuous to think we can grow spiritually by our own effort, as it is to think that we can save ourselves by our own effort. It’s just as foolhardy to think we maintain our standing before God by works, as it is to think we can be accepted by works in the first place.

"Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" - Galatians 3:3

Let me ask you a question: Do you feel more confident praying for something on a day when you’ve gotten up early to read your Bible? Do you feel as if God likes you better when you’re able to control your temper? Are you more confident of God’s acceptance after you’ve just finished preparing your Bible study, or after you’ve done some kind of work for the Lord? On the other hand, does it feel as if you can sense God’s disapproval, God’s rejection, when you go for a week without prayer, or when you yell at your husband or wife? If so, then you aren’t living by grace; you’re living by works. That’s the way other people respond to us, but it isn’t the way God responds. God’s attitude toward us is not affected by anything we do, good or bad. His love for us is boundless, limitless, infinite. His love isn’t any stronger if we do what pleases him, nor any weaker if we do what displeases him. He will not reject us, no matter what we do, because we are in Christ.

Let me give you a personal example. Every Sunday morning, I stand up here and proclaim the Word of God to these precious souls the Lord has placed in my care. It’s a great privilege, and a great responsibility. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. But you know what? I’m going to let you in on a little secret. There are Sunday mornings when I feel spiritually dry. Maybe I’ve neglected prayer that week, and so I’m not feeling close to God. Maybe I had a hard time preparing the sermon. It just didn’t seem to "click", and so I’m not very confident of what I have to say. Maybe I’ve got some sin I’m dealing with. Maybe I’m sick, or tired, or just preoccupied with something else. When that happens, do you know what I pray before the service? I say, "Lord, please use me as your instrument of blessing this morning. Not because I’ve earned it, and not because I deserve it, because I don’t. But just because you love me and you love these people. Work through me, work in spite of me, but reveal your grace and mercy this morning for the sake of your Son." That’s what I pray when I don’t feel up to the task. And often the times that people have told me they’ve been the most blessed is on mornings like that, when I know for sure that if anything good is going to happen it has to be God. And now I’m going to tell you another secret. That’s what I pray every week. Because I know that I never deserve God’s blessing, no matter how many hours I’ve spent in prayer, or how many hours I’ve spent preparing the sermon. Anything of value that happens is by the grace of God. I pray I never forget that.