HEBREWS 3:7-14. As great as God’s Grace is, and as much sought after as it is among those who seek redemption in God, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, yet we must know that Grace has limits.
Having said this, I must be quick to add, though, that this limitation is not in its power to save the sinner but, rather, under the condition in which it can save them.
People say so much about Grace but make so little of it! They ask for it more than they are willing to submit to its rhythm. This is so sad.
No doubt God wants all sinners to be saved, so He ordained it such that “.. where sin abounded, grace did much more abound..” Romans 5: 20.
What, though, is Grace, and why does God give it to us in so much abundance?
Grace is that divine impartation which enables its recipients to live, do, or act as God expects them to. Without Grace, we could never live up to God’s expectations. Grace is God’s divine enabler for fallen mankind, and it is given to them in a measure which surpasses the weight and/or power of their sins, so much that they could live above those sins, which once ensnared them, unless they’re not willing to do so.
God’s Grace is given to us so much in abundance that no person could be condemned to eternal damnation for want of it.
Titus 2:11 KJV emphatically states that “.. the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to ALL MEN ..”
No man, living or dead, can deny that they’ve encountered God’s Grace, yet we see so many sins and compromises every day, even among those who claim they have been saved by this same Grace; albeit Grace can save the greatest of all sinners and convert the blackest of all hearts! Grace is not limited in its power to save the sinner, but the sinner must want to be saved from their sins!
In the business of redemption, there is no compulsion. There’s no invasion of a person’s privacy. God simply deals with whoever is willing to receive His Grace without any conditions; this is where we have the limitation factor!
Until all men come to the realisation that God is not out to pursue any sinner, wrestle them to the ground and inject His saving Grace into their sin troubled soul, more and more people will keep dying in their sin and going to eternal hell fire even when there’s so much of God’s saving Grace in the world than there is sin!
How I wish that the tables were turned, and that Grace now pursues and overtakes the unwilling sinner! That way we would have more saints and less sinners. That way hell would shrink and the coast of heaven would be enlarged!
This, however, is just a wishful thought ; it will be unrighteous for God to save a sinner who does not want His salvation. Any one who is still in love with their sin cannot be saved by Grace, no matter how fervently they have prayed for it. Anyone who wants to enjoy the blessings of Grace through the merits of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary must also of necessity be willing to imbibe the virtues of His resurrected life; until this is fulfilled, Grace is limited to them.
2 Corinthians 6:1 says:
“We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. “
Anyone who is waiting for God to spoon-feed them with Grace is not yet hungry for salvation; a hungry and thirsty soul would seek it with all earnestness!
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
Matthew 5:6 .
In the chorus of her song titled GRACE GREATER THAN ALL OUR SIN , Julia H. Johnston aptly captures the prevalence of Grace on sin, thus:
” GRACE, GRACE
GOD’S GRACE
GRACE THAT WILL PARDON AND CLEANSE WITHIN
GRACE, GRACE
GOD’S GRACE
GRACE THAT IS GREATER THAN ALL OUR SIN . “
But today we witness the prevalence of sin, both in the church and in the society at large, not because of a lack of God’s grace, but because people are no more hungry and thirsty for what’s right in the eyes of God; yet this is the condition for the operation of God’s saving Grace!
Grace has a scope within which it operates to benefit the saint as well as the sinner. Based on this scope the sinner who wants to be saved must demonstrate by deeds that they really need God in their lives, while the saint who wants to remain saved must also demonstrated in the same way that they’re done with sin for good!
” But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance : “
Matthew 3:7-8.
The sinner must run to Jesus Christ for salvation from their sins, while the saint must run away from the sins which Jesus Christ has saved them from. Unless they do this, Grace is limited to them.
No one can enjoy the blessings of Grace outside of its scope of operation.
” For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men ,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts , we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.. “
Titus 2:11-12 .
The time is short; the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is at hand! We must awake to this solemn fact and avoid the delusion that we still have a long time to wait before Jesus Christ’s return.
But what if He tarries? Will that revoke the sentence of death which has been passed on to us from our first parents, Adam and Eve? Of course not! People die every day and anyone could be the next victim of hell unless they died enwrapped in the saving Grace of God, through Jesus Christ.
The watchword for this hour is “BE READY FOR JESUS CHRIST’S RETURN”, and there’s no better way to be ready than to be saved by Grace now!
No one needs to die a Christ-less death and be eternally lost when there is enough Grace to atone for their sins!
Provided you do not limit the rhythm of God’s Grace, it can cover the multitude of your sins and lift you above the reaches of sinful lusts and desires with which Satan tempts the whole world.
” Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end..”
Hebrews 3:12-14 .
MAY WE NOT RECEIVE GRACE IN VAIN‼️
Joseph Dominic Achi