Balancing Grace
The Lord is so forgiving that some Christians foolishly mistake
Him tolerating slipping for those rebellious steps they take.
God’s mercy though freely given, is hardly for pardoning sin,
But just repentant sinners, who're no longer wanting sin within.
God’s grace is not just mercy, for it’s divine enabling too,
Producing changes within us, when God’s will we desire to do.
It was never our God’s intention that His grace should cover sin,
But that through His enabling, victory over sin we’d win.
'Though folk might say God’s love is unconditional, not so salvation,
For it’s here that faith and works must have a very close relation.
There has always been a standard that God expects all to uphold,
And that it’s His Ten Commandments — we via His Holy Word are told.
God cannot allow just taking grace, as if such is all we need,
Therefore — we’re told repeatedly — that His Commandments we must heed.
For He knows that change is needed, His Law showing us where to start,
And He wants it to reside very willingly within our heart.
God needs to know that we’re genuine, that we do mean what we say,
Thus, by keeping His Commandments, our genuineness we'll convey.
Though God's grace is freely given, He seeks the corresponding fruit,
For such is only how it shows that we’re connected to the Root.
Yes, God accepts us where we are, but there, gives no excuse to stay,
And hence why it is that we’re judged by this Law that He’s said obey.
Sure eternal life has been promised on acceptance of His gift,
But not responding to His clear will, simply makes this whole thing shift.
Tell me, why should His grace excuse us from carrying out His law?
And why would we, (if genuine), let sin control us as before?
For sin, we’re told, is lawlessness — therefore, to break His Law is sin,
And wilful sin will void His grace, as rebellion is still within.
Although it’s grace alone that saves us, only works see it retained,
For tell me, what would be the point of grace if nothing more were gained?
If all we did was take His gift of grace, and thereon, saved remained,
We could just carry on sinning, just as long as we such grace claimed.
Some Christians think now's the Age of Grace, but God’s grace has always been,
For there is simply no other way that God humans can redeem.
Hence why pre-Fall, God made provision for salvation to take place
Right at that very moment that anybody accepts His grace.
The whole object of Calvary's cross was to save and then transform,
So clearly, any transformation needs the saved one to conform.
For God to change us inwardly, He needs our co-operation,
Given that any growth within our lives requires application.
Thus we busy doing what we should, and knowing that we're covered
By that blood shed on the cross when our Saviour the world recovered.
God's gift of grace hardly for playing with, but simply the beginning,
'Cause once it's been accepted, it’s meant to help keep us from sinning.
"Put your money where your mouth is," we so often hear people say,
And here such is needed more so, if under grace we want to stay.
So don’t let the devil convince you that God’s grace is all you need,
For while that is true in context — out of, it’s far from true indeed.
By Lance Landall
The second to last verse of this poem was altered on 12 September 2020.
Check out the diagrams under the poem "God's Gift of Grace".
You may also wish to read the following poems "Once Saved, Always Saved",
"A Deep Conversation", "Grace And Obedience".
There
are those who think that in Old Testament times people were saved by
works, but that now, we are saved by faith. This is not correct.
Everyone who is saved, is saved by faith in the sacrifice of Jesus [who died on the cross]. All those saved, from Adam to John the Baptist, were saved by looking forward in faith to the cross. Everybody who is saved today is saved by looking back in faith to the cross.
REMEMBER:
In the context of salvation (Justification – right standing before God), law keeping is of no avail, but in the context of Christian conduct (Sanctification – right living before God), God’s law has value and validity (James 2:12).
Obedience to God’s commandments (Ex 20:3-17; Matt 22:36-40; Rom 13:8-10) ——
A) Gives proof of our genuineness to truly follow Him in every way.
B) Is our appreciative response to his love and sacrifice.
C) Brings glory to god.
D) Witnesses to his transforming power in the life.
E) Witnesses to God’s will.
F) Is recognition that God knows what is in our best interest.
G) Is the natural fruitage of the Christian walk and growth.
Thinking that people are basically good causes us to downplay the moral seriousness of the wrong we do. It prompts us to search for external reasons to justify what people do. Ever since Adam and Eve committed the first sin, the human race has been born morally corrupt. We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are by nature sinners. If each day we step out with a sense of conviction about the depth of sin in our souls and the pervasive impact it has on our lives we end up experiencing: A clearer sense that our problems are more internal than external; a true sorrow and humility about our sins that leads to change on our part; a deeper motivation to focus on and do good; a greater sense of accountability to God and others that He might use in our lives to mature us. Christ did not come to tell you ‘you’re ok’. He came to tell you that your not ok, but deeply loved, that you need radical surgery of the soul, and that He is just the surgeon to do the job. The idea that people are basically good is a belief that tickles our ears and makes us feel good about ourselves, but it is like the Pharisees – a white washed tomb that is pretty on the outside but full of death and decay on the inside. We need to confront our sinfulness honestly on a divine basis no matter how painful that will be.
This last paragraph was taken from the book — ‘Self-Help or Self-Destruction’ by Dr Chris Thurman.