Obsessed with Grace

“You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” Romans 8:9(NIV)

by Alexandra Copeland

Luke 8:17 (NKJV) tells us, “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.” All of us have done things or we’re engaging in activities presently that we do not want exposed. Our past or present transgressions are secrets we’d like to remain hidden, but Luke 8:17 tells us affirmatively that the things we do in the dark will ultimately come to light. We don’t want this to happen. We realize that people’s opinions of us matter, and that if they saw us in a less than positive light, they might think differently about us. In some cases, our little secrets can potentially impact us professionally and jeopardize our ability to support our families. God’s grace is what we crave when we face the possibility that our wrong doing and sin might be brought out in the open.

Grace is not a license to sin, and many of us have become obsessed with it; counting on God’s grace to cover us when we repeatedly behave contradictory to His Word. Some of us even make the mistake of thinking that we are not capable of keeping God’s commandments. We think that it isn’t possible to live without sin in our lives. This isn’t the truth according to His Word. God tells us in 1Peter 1:16(NKJV), “Be holy, for I am holy.” If we had to rely only upon our flesh, that would be a half-way decent excuse, but you and I have been empowered by the Spirit of God that indwells us. This power is limitless and without reproach. This is the same Spirit that was working in Jesus Christ, helping him to accomplish all that he did in the earth. We have more than sufficient help to victoriously journey through life.

God tells us through the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:9(NIV), “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” Our commitment to Christ through our new birth reality is to turn from operating in the flesh. We are obligated to renew our minds to God’s Word, and to begin to walk in the spirit. The vast distractions of this world can cause us to forget who we are.

There’s a bunch of stimuli coming from the world environment on a moment by moment basis. We have access to it through our phones, TVs, radios…you name it. It’s coming from every angle and from so many different outlets that we can’t possibly name them all. We’ve developed habit patterns that prompt us to respond to this stuff without much thought; in many cases our responses are on automatic. We hear about something political and immediately formulate an opinion. We see something violent, and instantly become fearful. We’re engaged by something sensual, and we act upon it for temporary pleasure. The enemy has designed the world to provoke us. As God’s people, we must open our eyes, confront the situation with the Word, and make a choice to walk in the spirit by responding as Christ would.

1Timothy 2:5 (KJV) tells us, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” Our precious Lord and Savior is the mediator between us and God. Heavenly Father is the Judge of all. James 4:12(NLT) tells us, “God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?” God is a faithful Judge, and His righteousness cannot be compromised. He grants us mercy and grace because of the blood of Christ. If Jesus Christ had not given his life as a perfect sacrifice for our sins, we would be doomed for all of eternity. We could not come before God’s Throne of Grace, and petition Him for a ruling in our favor. Because of the blood we are free from the law of sin and death; for Romans 8:2 tells us that the Law of the Spirit has freed us.

Romans 8:1(NKJV) declares, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” We can stand before God with no sense of guilt, sin, or condemnation because of Jesus Christ. God demands that we bring with us a level of gratitude that embraces the grace that allows us to stand before His throne with absolute liberty. A mind-and-heart-set of thankfulness would not allow us to continue the same poor choices, wrong actions, and bad behavior over and over again.

We know from 1Timothy 1:17 that our Heavenly Father, the Great I Am, is the only wise God. It would be foolish for us to think that He would allow us to continue behaving in spiritual immaturity without correction. Our whole purpose for existing is to let our roots grow deep into Christ, so that we become the very embodiment of him. The good news of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us isn’t about doing whatever we feel to do without consequence. It’s the great truth that because of him, we can please God with every facet of our beings by living in the Spirit. That’s the best news of all.

God’s grace does not allow us to escape consequences. We cannot afford to behave as if there is no cost to being disciples and ambassadors for our beloved Lord. The cost is a radical and transformative shift in our lives. Let’s wake up! Know that if you commit an action that is in direct violation of God’s Word, you’ll receive back a payment that exceeds the sin investment you have made. You’ll yield a poor return on your poor investment. God’s grace surrounds us and guides us through the consequences in such a way that we can still move through life with greater maturity, wisdom, and stamina; in spite of the setback. But the consequences we will not get around.

Romans 10:17 (NIV) tells us, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” No one has any more power, strength, ability, and love than that which has been made available to each of us through our precious Lord Jesus Christ. You are healed through him! You are made whole through him! This isn’t a future occurrence; it’s already been done. You just have to walk in it with the boldness of your faith. You CAN be the person that God has called you to be!

Don’t be obsessed with God’s grace to the point that you are a repetitious responder to defeatist tricks and distractions. We were created to be overcomers, more than conquerors through Jesus Christ! We cannot experience his power by remaining infants in the faith. And if we’re continuing in sin, always assuming and expecting God to cover us in it, that’s exactly what we are; infants refusing to grow. Instead, let gratitude be your obsession. Develop a habit pattern of demonstrating how truly thankful you are to God by living according to His Word, and walking by the Spirit of Christ. ■

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Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.