The Grace of God

Do you realize that Christ did not die for rebellion? He died for the sins of man.

And that is the reason the devil is not a candidate for grace.

I will paint with bold strokes so that we can get the point very quickly and clearly.

The only reason some people were condemned and others were pardoned is this simple fact. And I want us to realize that nothing has changed that reality even today. God is the same as He has always been.

Cain lost it for that simple fact. He cared for his safety than for his relationship to God. That is why there was no room for him in God’s scheme of things.

We see the same with Pharaoh when confronted with the reality of the God of Israel.

Balaam the prophet died the death of the wicked because his desire for their wealth had a greater pull for him than obedience to the God he knew.

Korah and his partners were swallowed by the earth for that reason.

Saul the king is clearest we get of this reality. We find him explaining away his sin instead of facing it squarely in confession. He finds greater security with his troops than with a right relationship with God.

God’s people also sinned, some of them gravely. But we find them again and again prostrating themselves to God for grace, grace that was extended to them again and again. Some of the sins they did were worse than those of the rejected, but they always faced them head on when confronted for the same. They never explained away their sins. They never sought excuses for their sins.

For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10: 26 – 30)

On which side are you?

Have you stopped preaching against sin because you fear offending your wealthy financiers, even starting to call them supporters and partners as if God can partner with people living contrary to His holiness? Do you fear for the finances (tithes and offerings) of the church than the displeasure of God?

Are you in a relationship that is clearly sinful yet choose not to leave it because that is what pays your bills? Do you still stay in that workplace even when God has shown you that your faith is being corroded by the institutional rottenness yet you can’t leave because jobs are hard to come by? Are you pastoring that church when God sent you to another location because the new location offers no assurance for your children’s education yet they are now in high school and college?

Do you still watch that program and movie after God clearly showed you why you should stop?

Do you still maintain friends God has ordered you to disconnect from?

In short are you doing something you know is wrong in the eyes of God? Are you pursuing a course you know does not please God?

Could you have disconnected from the grace of God?

I just feel a great urgency for this message because it is possible that some of us are living on the fringes of God’s grace by our choices and preferences.

You see doing the right thing is not enough in God’s eyes. Doing what He requires is what counts. And I believe that is why we have ministers wondering why they are being sent to hell in Matthew 7: 21 – 23. When we serve God on our terms we will be shocked to realize that we are not really serving Him. Serving Him in obedience to His revelation is what counts. That obedience is better than sacrifice is demonstrated wherever we look in the Bible.

By the way even changing the Bible to agree with our rebellion does not change that fact at all. I read with shock Romans 8: 1 where our responsibility is removed in some versions, I think to make grace all inclusive. I will quote it in full and underline the second part which has been removed.

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Being in Christ without following it up with a life of obedience is living in deception, a deception that has the capacity to send us to hell.

Are we willing to take an about turn (repent) so that we can get back into God’s grace?

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. (Psalm 51:17)

There is always grace for the repentant. There is never any grace for the one who has chosen a way away from God’s revelation.

The sacrifice for excising rebellion is sometimes very costly. But the rewards for the same are eternal.

Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. (Matthew 18: 8, 19)

Is that compromise and source of rebellion worth losing eternal life? Will you gamble with the grace of God by changing the doctrine you preach? Do you think changing it will change God’s eternal standard?

I will repeat; there is no grace for rebellion.