Above is a pic of my youngest daughter and me.
My Husband, My brother in Christ
Phriday Philippians: Grace to You...
In verse 2 of Chapter one Paul greets the Philippians with the blessing of grace and peace. I'm going to focus on grace this time. Actually, I need to focus on grace everyday, all day, but you know what I mean.
Grace is a "concise expression of the effect of Christ's saving work." (so is peace... but I'll write about that next week). What is the source of such grace? "God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." This grace is a far better grace than that of the world. This is a perfect grace that is not earned, but is based on unmerited favor. This is the grace that, if not provided by "God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ", one could never stand before God because they would not be made righteous through the redemptive work of Christ both in His life and in His death. It is a grace that is purely divine and it permeates into our heart which will be evident in our lives.
A few of the excellent verses that speak of this grace are at THIS link. Read them and then consider if you have experienced God's grace as described in those verses. If you have, consider pondering and sharing with others specific instances in your life of that marvelous grace. (If you question whether or not you have, consider contacting me via e-mail at lisa4given@hotmail.com)
This brings me to Justification by grace alone. Sola Gratia.
"God's grace in Christ is not merely necessary but is the sole efficient cause of salvation." --Monergism.com
THESIS THREE: SOLA GRATIA We reaffirm that in salvation we are rescued from God's wrath by his grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life.We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerated human nature.--The Cambridge Declaration
Go to THIS link to read up on passages that support "Grace Alone."
Read this article called "Free Will or Free Grace?" and another article on Irresistible Grace
"Just as the sinner's despair of any hope from himself is the first prerequisite of a sound conversion, so the loss of all confidence in himself is the first essential in the believer's growth in grace."--A.W. PINK
So when Paul says, "GRACE to you..." it is not something to be overlooked as we so often do when reading the "greeting." It is a powerful and humble blessing that he begins and ends within the book of Philippians and most of the books penned by Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit.
So how does this grace work in my life after becoming a believer, sola gratia? Why would Paul, when writing to the Philippians, specifically "To all the saints IN Christ Jesus" say to them "grace to you" if said grace was the sole efficient cause of their salvation already? Does this mean that the work of grace is ongoing? Yes, for we are to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." Good works are a genuine response to God's grace—not the cause of it. And we must know that any true "good work" is by His grace alone... for nothing is truly good apart from God.
The most important thing for us to think about when we get up in the morning, is not what WE are going to do, but to pray about how we can serve the Lord IN what we do for His glory, by His grace. We should daily thank God for the grace we have recieved through the work of Christ our Lord. You weren't saved because you have money and bought your way into heaven, or because of your race, or who you are, or what you have done or have not done, but only by His grace alone. Think about that and be blessed.
Comments
At first glance I thought you had a problem with spelling Friday!
Posted by: Carrie | July 28, 2006 09:15 AM
Yes... well, I was trying to be consistent and I couldn't bring myself to spell Philippians with an "f"... I was afraid it would offend someone. But then, spelling Friday with a "ph" seemed fun. :-)
I have been consistently spelling Philippians wrong... so you can't say that I am completely inconsistent. (If I could only remember that there are NOT two "L's" and there is NOT just one "p".) I will try not to redefine the word "phriday" like what has been done to the word "cute" and many other words... and if I do redefine it, I will let everyone know so that they can comprehend what I am really saying. :-)
Posted by: 4ever4given | July 28, 2006 09:20 AM
Good post on grace. Also, excellent quote from A.W. Pink. I've just posted an excerpt from "The Sovereignty of God" by Pink on my blog. His ministry was clear and effective.
Blessings,
CR
Posted by: Christopher Redman | July 28, 2006 06:37 PM