Is Grace Too Easy?

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9)

At a recent gathering of our association of churches for its annual meeting, I had the privilege of hearing the executive director of Operation Inasmuch speak on the issue of the grace of God and how it transforms the lives of whomever it touches.  As I sat in that church sanctuary as part of the worshiping congregation, I was struck by the question that you see printed above.  Is grace too easy?  Now please understand that by "easy" I do not mean grace itself for the grace of God is what it is.  What I meany by that question is simply: "Is the response of many to God's grace often too easy?"  Consider with me for a moment several reasons why people choose to make a "profession of faith" and to claim to put their trust in Jesus Christ.

First of all, many turn easily to the grace of God because they feel it is expected of them.  I was raised in a Christian home by godly parents.  I heard and learned the name of Jesus almost as soon as I learned to talk.  Not a day passed in our home where there was not a focus upon God's love and His mercy to us in what Jesus did on the cross.  As soon as they felt that I could understand the consequences, my loving parents began to share with me the reality of the gospel - that God loved me so much that Jesus went to the cross to pay the price for my sins.  As a result of their faithful witness and at the prompting of the Holy Spirit within my heart, at the age of 7 I made a conscious choice during Vacation Bible School to ask Jesus to come into my heart and to save me from my sins.  For me it was then and is today a very real and eternal choice.  Unfortunately, that is not always true for everyone.  Sometimes people will make a public profession of faith because they feel that it is expected of them to do so, that to not do so is somehow to fail in their personal responsibility somewhere.

Secondly, some people will profess their faith in Christ because they feel it will make someone happy.  Sometimes during revival services teenagers will respond to the invitation in a group, holding each others' hands and kneeling at the front in prayer.  At such times it is possible for such young people to "go along with the crowd" because they want their friends to be happy with them.  As a pastor I have personally encountered such decisions more than one time in sharing the gospel.  I recall another occasion when some members of one Sunday school class walked the aisle together to honor the memory of a fellow member who had just passed on.  A number of them were even baptized as a result.

Thirdly, some people will profess their faith in Christ today because they crave the security of feeling like they belong.  Church membership should be and is usually a very "bonding" relationship, beloved, and those who feel isolated in society are often drawn to close-knit church fellowships because it is what they crave.

As we have noted already, then, grace is not too easy.  But very often our response to grace may be.  Scripture gives us clearly only one reason why we should ever respond to the grace of God in Jesus Christ.  In the verses leading up to the ones upon which we are focused here, the Apostle Paul made the astounding statement that "you were dead in your trespasses and sins" (2:1).  The only reason that any one of us should respond to the grace of God in Jesus Christ is that we realize that we are sinners and that only the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross can save us.  What is the reason for your response to God's grace, beloved?

Ron  

What Ever Happened to Truth?

"Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is truth" (John 17:17)

What ever happened to truth?  Now that is a question that has been on my mind a lot lately, beloved, and one that I sincerely believe has been on the minds of many as well!  If ever this world has seen a time when"truth" is under attack - genuine all-out assault - then I believe that this is that time.  Consider by way of example just what has come under unbelievable attack in this very generation.  First of all, the truth of the family as the basis of society is under assault.  In answer to a question from the Pharisees concerning the issue of divorce, Jesus responded:

4 And He answered and said, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh.  What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate" (Matthew 19:4-6)

One man, one woman, joined together by God in marriage, and one flesh for life.  That is truth, beloved, God's truth.  Yet it is being set aside casually today as if God had never spoken it at all!  Nor is it being dismissed only be certain elements of society from whom we have come to expect such attitudes.  It is being set aside officially and publicly by the highest levels of government.  We have lived to see the day when the truth established by the Creator has been declared by the created to be irrelevant and non-binding anymore.  Is that not, however, what the Apostle Paul warned would happen at the hands of unrighteous men?

25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.  Amen (Romans 1:25)

When confronted in any venue with the words of Scripture, beloved, those who are so nonchalantly dismissive of divine truth respond with the argument that the Bible is archaic, that it is out of date, that it was written by men.  When that happens, we discover yet another front for the current assault, the truth of God Himself as the sole authority for man's living.  The thinking of such people is clearly: "If we can just invalidate the Word of God, we can rid ourselves of God Himself."  The desire in every such heart is for man to become the standard-setter, the central point around which all of life revolves, the end in view as he seeks his own good and his own glory.

But Jesus Christ Himself made the powerful and irrefutable statement in His prayer here that God's Word is truth!  It was God's truth, it is now God's truth, and it will always be God's truth.  It can be ignored, avoided, even disobeyed, but it cannot be destroyed.  It is the one standard by which God judges all of mankind and it will be the same truth that every man will face when finally he stands before his Creator in eternity.

What ever happened to truth?  I am thrilled to assure you, beloved, that nothing at all has happened to truth.  It is still here, it is still operative, it is still effective, it is still all-powerful, it is still transformational, and it is still centered solely upon the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Truly, let not your hearts be troubled nor let them be afraid!  Jesus Christ is Lord and the day for the "knee-bowing, tongue-confessing, world-encompassing" acknowledgment of that fact is coming on like a freight train.  Maranatha!

Ron