10/28/2022
As Christians we all believe that Jesus, the Son of God, was born, lived, suffered, died, was resurrected, and ascended into Heaven. We all trust that by believing in Him that these things will happen, and are happening, to us as well, but we are often uncertain about why, how, or what comes next. We think about the joy, the peace, the rest, the singing, and all of the other things going on in Heaven, but more than all else there is one thing that awaits us… we will be seated there at the right hand of God with Jesus. You see, all of this has been done, and is being done by God… by His mercy, but moreover by His grace, and because He loves us.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”
Ephesians 2:4-6 ESV
We like to insert the words “I” or “we” into scripture when we think about it. We say that that if “I” believe, or if “we” believe, as if our salvation is predicated upon something we do, or in some way because of us, but it is not. Our scripture reading above begins with two words… “But God”, and when we read John 3:16 & 17 there it is again; the first two words…”For God” in each of these verses.
““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17 ESV
Then we ask ourselves why God would do this, and the answer is not a very difficult one… He has redeemed us because He loves us, and He loves us because that is who He is… love. In truth we are not very lovable, and yet He loves us anyway. Our transformation in Christ was never because of anything we did, or do, but through our acceptance, and belief, in God’s unbound love for us. It is quite simply our acceptance of His grace; His unmerited love for us.
“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, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”
Romans 3:23-25 ESV
So it is grace, but we also wonder about works as they relate to our salvation, such as those in Matthew 25, and how the righteous were saved because the performed works, and the others were not because they did nothing. Well if we read this scripture carefully we find that the righteous did these things purely out of love for those in need; not knowing that it might gain them favor with the king. So this too is about the love, and not the acts… it was the motivation of love that drove these works to be performed. Listen…
“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
Matthew 25:37-40 ESV
So what was the difference between the righteous and unrighteous? Some like to say it was the works, but it was not… it was the love that prompted them in the first place. The righteous didn’t realize that the king would relate their deeds to having served him. “when did we see you hungry and feed you?”
This is a good time for us to look at why we do good deeds, and help others. Do we do this out of the love we have for others, or to please the king by placing a checkmark in the box that said “works”, or “showed mercy”? Would the righteous have been truly righteous if they had fed the hungry, not out of love, but to gain favor for having done so, and to simply please the king? Let’s ask ourselves… where is the mercy and grace be in our actions?
“Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’”
Matthew 25:45 ESV
So where is the I in grace? What part in God’s redeeming grace do we play?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Son Jesus Christ through whom your grace flows, and our gift of eternal life is realized. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who loves us us, and loves the love within us. Praised be your name for the love that drives your grace, and for the love in each of us that prompts us to not only love our neighbors, but to show them mercy by our actions; just as you do for us. Wash us clean in the blood of your Son Jesus, and cleanse us of our sin as He takes it, and its consequences, upon Himself through your grace and mercy towards us. Judge us worthy in Him, and by Him. See His image in us as we are transformed by your grace, and made worthy of being seated eternally at your side with Him… heirs and joint heirs forevermore. Loved by you without reservation.
“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Titus 3:4-7 ESV
Rich Forbes