Grace & Faith
"For
by grace are ye saved through faith; and
that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
(Ephesians
2:8-9)
Grace and faith are totally dependent upon
each other. These verses in Ephesians 2
show us that we are saved by grace through
faith, not one or the other. I've heard
many people who have centered their teaching
on grace or on faith, but God's Word teaches
us that they must be combined. Failure to
do this has been the reason for much frustration.
First we have to have a common understanding
of what these terms, grace and faith, mean.
It is most commonly accepted that grace
literally means God's unmerited favor. It
is something God has accomplished for us
totally without our help and independent
of what we deserve. You can't earn God's
grace.
Faith has many facets, and many, many books
have been written trying to define it. In
its simplest terms, faith is your positive
response to God. Many sincere Christians
have made a major mistake in thinking that
faith is something that we do to earn or
gain a positive response from God. God does
not move in response to your faith. God
has already moved through His grace, and
your faith is simply your response to what
you believe God has already done.
Let's take an example. Ephesians 2:8 says
that we were saved by grace through faith.
God, by grace, made an atonement for our
sins. It was not based upon something we
had done to deserve it. Quite the contrary,
God commended His love toward us in that
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
us (Rom. 5:8). It was totally God's grace
that provided salvation.
But God's grace alone doesn't make salvation
a reality in us. Ephesians 2:8 says it is
by grace through faith. God's grace doesn't
change us until we respond to it in faith.
As we mix faith with what God has already
provided by grace, then the miracle of the
new birth takes place. But there must be
grace (what God has already done) plus faith
(your response to God's grace).
Titus 2:11 says that God's grace has appeared,
or come, unto all men. If grace alone saved,
then all men would be saved. But, you see,
all men have not responded to God's grace
in faith.
Your faith didn't make God move to provide
salvation for you. It was provided by grace
before you were ever born. This is the reason
you were able to believe for forgiveness
of sins so easily. All of the burden to
produce was upon God, where it should be.
Your only requirement was to believe. Your
believing didn't move God. Rather, it moved
you.
By His grace God has already blessed us
with everything we'll ever receive from
Him (Eph. 1:3). Faith changes us and circumstances
and demons and puts us in agreement with
God. But faith doesn't change or move God.
Many people who are becoming aware of faith
today have made this mistake of thinking
that God beholds our faith, and when it
reaches a certain level, then He moves to
answer our prayers. They think, "Lord, I've
been fasting and praying. I've gone to church,
and I've paid my tithes. Will you heal me
now?" They are actually putting faith in
what they have done instead of what God
has already done through grace.
If we had approached forgiveness of sins
that way, we would have never been born
again. We came to God not on the basis of
what we had done or with a bargain to present
to Him about what we would do. But we came
just as we were and put our total dependence
on His grace (unmerited favor), and we received
the biggest miracle we'll ever receive,
the new birth. If we would continue to keep
our faith in Him the same way, then we would
continue to see the same results (Col. 2:6).
When it comes to prosperity or healing,
most Christians think, "I know He can provide
this need, but I haven't prayed enough,
or I haven't been living the way I should."
Well, let me ask you this: When you came
to the Lord for forgiveness of sins, had
you been living the way you should? Had
you fasted and prayed enough to earn God's
unmerited favor? Of course not. Galatians
3:3 says, "Are ye so foolish? having begun
in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by
the flesh?" If we would just continue to
put faith in God's grace, we would see every
answer to prayer manifest in the physical
realm.
God our Father has already provided everything
by His grace. If you need healing, God won't
heal you. He has already done it!
First
Peter 2:24 shows that we were healed by
the stripes that Jesus took on His back.
When you pray to be healed, Jesus doesn't
get off the throne and take more stripes
so you can be healed. It's already been
done.
That's
grace.
All
you have to do is respond to that grace
in faith, and your body will manifest what
Jesus has already provided.
Joshua
1:8 tells us that when we meditate in the
Word day and night and observe all that
is written in it, then we make our way prosperous,
and then we have good success.
God,
by His grace, has already released His prosperity
upon every person on the face of the earth
(Titus 2:11). But as we get in God's Word
and act on it, it changes us so that we
can receive by faith.
God
doesn't need to be changed; He's already
on our side!
If you will put faith in God's grace, you
will always overcome the world (John 16:33
and 1 John 5:4).
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