StriperAddict
Senior Member
When yer down and out, the grace of Christ is your only strength. Enjoy ...
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One of the fears we have, is that we will abuse such freedom. We fear that without the threat of God turning His back on us if we sin, we will not be able to restrain ourselves from indulging in sin (Romans 6:1). This is the “grace could be used as a licence to sin” argument. If we stop for a moment and just ask ourselves why we are afraid of such grace, the sad answer is that we each have such a poor record at self-control, that we don’t trust ourselves to be free. We actually believe that where grace abounds, sin will much more abound, despite the fact that the promise of God is the exact opposite (Romans 5:20). Part of the reason for our deep suspicion that grace will not result in victory over sin, but weaken our defences, is the common misunderstanding of what the grace of God actually is.
Many believers see grace as merely the absence of a penalty for sin, akin to an eternal amnesty for crime. They see grace as the forgiveness of all our sins. Great though that is, the grace of God extends much further than the forgiveness of our sins. The grace of God is not merely the absence of something hanging over our lives, it is the living presence of someone in our lives (Eph.3:17). With grace, not only are our sins forgiven, but we are made an entirely new creation, indwelt by a power much greater than sin (2Cor.5:17). Being afraid that the grace of God will cause us to sin, is like fearing that when the sun rises, the darkness will be able to resist it and remain! This is confirmed by Strong’s definition of the Greek word “Charis” which we translate as grace. Grace: The Divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life, including gratitude. (Strong’s ref.G5463)
This divine influence is the ministry of the Holy Spirit, whose revelation is like light to our souls (John 16:13). He reveals the things which have been freely given to us (1Cor.2:12) and in the light of God’s generosity, our attempts to merit His blessing through our own efforts are revealed to avail nothing. “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love”. (Gal.5:6).
From:
By The Grace of God: The Power of The Gospel to Bring us Out of Religion & Into Relationship With The Father We Never Knew
Phelim Doherty
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One of the fears we have, is that we will abuse such freedom. We fear that without the threat of God turning His back on us if we sin, we will not be able to restrain ourselves from indulging in sin (Romans 6:1). This is the “grace could be used as a licence to sin” argument. If we stop for a moment and just ask ourselves why we are afraid of such grace, the sad answer is that we each have such a poor record at self-control, that we don’t trust ourselves to be free. We actually believe that where grace abounds, sin will much more abound, despite the fact that the promise of God is the exact opposite (Romans 5:20). Part of the reason for our deep suspicion that grace will not result in victory over sin, but weaken our defences, is the common misunderstanding of what the grace of God actually is.
Many believers see grace as merely the absence of a penalty for sin, akin to an eternal amnesty for crime. They see grace as the forgiveness of all our sins. Great though that is, the grace of God extends much further than the forgiveness of our sins. The grace of God is not merely the absence of something hanging over our lives, it is the living presence of someone in our lives (Eph.3:17). With grace, not only are our sins forgiven, but we are made an entirely new creation, indwelt by a power much greater than sin (2Cor.5:17). Being afraid that the grace of God will cause us to sin, is like fearing that when the sun rises, the darkness will be able to resist it and remain! This is confirmed by Strong’s definition of the Greek word “Charis” which we translate as grace. Grace: The Divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life, including gratitude. (Strong’s ref.G5463)
This divine influence is the ministry of the Holy Spirit, whose revelation is like light to our souls (John 16:13). He reveals the things which have been freely given to us (1Cor.2:12) and in the light of God’s generosity, our attempts to merit His blessing through our own efforts are revealed to avail nothing. “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love”. (Gal.5:6).
From:
By The Grace of God: The Power of The Gospel to Bring us Out of Religion & Into Relationship With The Father We Never Knew
Phelim Doherty
2 Cᴏʀɪɴᴛʜɪᴀɴs 12:9…Aɴᴅ Hᴇ ʜᴀs sᴀɪᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ, “Mʏ ɢʀᴀᴄᴇ ɪs sᴜғғɪᴄɪᴇɴᴛ ғᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜ, ғᴏʀ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ ɪs ᴘᴇʀғᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴡᴇᴀᴋɴᴇss.” Mᴏsᴛ ɢʟᴀᴅʟʏ, ᴛʜᴇʀᴇғᴏʀᴇ, I ᴡɪʟʟ ʀᴀᴛʜᴇʀ ʙᴏᴀsᴛ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴍʏ ᴡᴇᴀᴋɴᴇssᴇs, sᴏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ ᴏғ Cʜʀɪsᴛ ᴍᴀʏ ᴅᴡᴇʟʟ ɪɴ ᴍᴇ.
