12/04/2018
Concerning your salvation, are you meeting God half way? He has sent His Son Jesus Christ to suffer and die for you, thus securing your redemption, but do you come to Him? In what condition is your faith today, and are you honoring Jesus? In as much as God has, and is, doing His part in repairing the relationship that was broken by Adam.. we must do ours. We must guard our gift of grace with our faith. This is our agreement in the contract which binds the relationship, and eternal promise we have made with God. This is our marriage covenant with Christ.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
1 Peter 1:3-5 ESV
I hadn’t really thought of our redemption and faith in quite this way before this morning when I read this scripture anew. It suddenly dawned on me that this is a two part transaction... an agreement if you will. Andrew Murray saw this in light of God preparing an inheritance for us, and our learning how to manage that inheritance, but I look at it in a different light...
God’s Word is His bond, and He has given it to us, and made it real in the form of Jesus, so the question becomes this... are we holding up our end of the bargain? Are we loving Him as we should, seeking Him with fear and trembling, believing Jesus to be His Son, Expecting God to send Him to fetch us again, and living our lives of faith in full compliance with His wishes, His will for us, and the intent of His Word?
“He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?" And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live."”
Luke 10:26-28 ESV
This is the foundation of our contract of faith with God. Jesus was asking this question of a lawyer in this scripture... He was testing him to insure that he understood the basis of the agreement we have with God. Lawyers deal in law, and legal language, so Jesus was speaking to him in terms he would understand.
United States congressmen write and vote on laws... it is what they do, but once written and passed, the Supreme Court is left to determine how they fit together with the existing Constitution of the United States, and to judge their practical application within that framework. The first thing they do in this regard is to determine what congress intended when they wrote and passed the law, followed closely by whether it adheres to the framework of the Constitution, and then finally... if the case before them is practically in compliance with these two. We do something similar every day in gauging whether our actions are adhering to the Word of God, and if they are in compliance with His will. We are determining if we are upholding our end of the bargain, our commitment as believers... we ask ourselves if our faith and obedience are actually true to the will of God.
Many of us like to believe that we are participating in a one sided deal; we will hold God to His promises, and yet there is little to no binding language that governs us. We believe that God’s Grace is given without anything expected in return. To realize the folly in this we only need to listen to the instructions Jesus gives when He heals and forgives...
“Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."”
John 8:10-11 ESV
Jesus says this, and similar things, as He goes about healing. So why would He say “from now on sin no more” unless there was a commitment expected in return? We have a part to play in our salvation, and it is in belief, faith, and obedience. Grace is not something we have earned, but it does require that we accept it, and maintain it by our good faith.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV
So we have not bought the grace of God, but is something attached to it? Are we to maintain it in some way? The answer is by faith...
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”
Romans 3:23-24, 28 ESV
There is one thing that God does give us unconditionally... His love for us, and like all of us who love, or have ever loved... He can suffer from a broken heart. So are we living up to our end of this marriage contract? Are we, the betrothed of Jesus Christ, being faithful? Are we keeping ourselves in full compliance with God’s Word, and His will for us? Is our faith maintaining our justification through grace?
The wonderful thing about this covenant we have with God is that there is remedy for our failures, and it is not necessarily eternal damnation, or a fall from grace. God has made provision for us to come to Him in sincere contrition, and upon asking His forgiveness He will do so. As a matter of fact He will totally separate us from that sin and hold us harmless. Our God judges us and forgives us based on His undying love for us. His mercy, and His grace are indeed founded on His love.
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.”
Psalms 103:11-13 ESV
So it is that our faith should be founded on not just our belief, not just our reasoning, but in our love for God, and Jesus Christ. In this regard, let’s examine our compliance with the relationship contract we have with God... is our faith true? Are we in obedience? Do we Love Him with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your love for me and the grace that you have allowed to flow through your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you for my redemption and my salvation that He suffered, died, and was resurrected to secure. Thank you for our relationship that has been restored to fullness in spite of my unworthiness, and propensity to sin. Thank you for your ongoing provision that allows me to secure forgiveness through my contrition. You love me so deeply Holy Father, so help me to love you with all my heart and convey that love to you by way of my faith and obedience. I know that our relationship is not governed by a legal document, but by love which knows no words by which it can be described, and no judgement besides yours. Help me Merciful Father to demonstrate this love by pursing righteousness, and by demonstrating an unwavering faith in you. Great are you Father, and wonderful is your Word! Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who pours His grace over all those who believe and have faith. None can boast or detract from your mercy and grace, for you gave it to us despite our fallen nature... all Glory is yours throughout eternity. Praised be your name!
Rich Forbes