Since everything God does in our lives is by grace through
faith,[1] we
must constantly look for the undeservedly good things God is doing in us and
around us, and recognize what he is doing to lead us to join his work by faith.
Whatever he is doing by grace is poured into our lives through the gift of
faith.
This means that, when we have a sin problem, a doubt
problem, a distracted problem, or any other kind of problem, and we look to God
for his solution, we will never begin by working on the problem. God will never
confront us with sin in our lives in order to get us focused on trying to stop
sinning.
What God will do in his constant work of grace through faith
is graciously draw us to have faith in him about our sin problem, or our
doubts, or worries, or fears, or confusions. He will not turn us away from him
to deal with our sin problem, but he will turn us to him so his grace can pour
into our lives through faith.
It is when we are looking at him, and receiving his grace
towards us in our sin, our doubts, or our insecurities, that faith rises within
our hearts, and we are able to join him in whatever he is doing about our problem.
Whatever ails us in our souls is addressed in this constant work of God to pour
grace into our lives through our responsiveness to him by faith.
We see this so clearly when God’s Book tells us to, “work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his
good pleasure.”[2]
The work God is doing in us, “both to will and to work for his good pleasure,” is grace actively
showing undeserved favor to us. There is not one work of God in us, one thing
he would graciously lead us to will, or anything he would graciously lead us to
work, that we could possibly deserve. Everything he does in us is for his good
pleasure, meaning the highest possible joy that exists. What sinful creature
could possibly deserve that?!
Our response to this activity of God is to “work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling”. This is not the starting place, as though we were under law and
had to do something good to earn God’s blessing. Rather, this is what we do
because God is already graciously working in us.
This is faith. This is the trusting heart of God’s children
working out in us the same things we see the Father working in us. God’s grace
is working in us to will things, and that turns into real experiences of
transformation as our faith joins him in that work, and wills the same things
that are according to his good pleasure.
God’s grace is working in us to work things, and that turns
into real experiences of transformation as our faith joins that work, and
begins working the things the Father is leading us to do by grace.
My concern is that, when I hear people trying to address
problems in the lives of God’s children, the direction often gets focused on
the problem, and how necessary it is that we do something about it. Groups form
to help us work on our problems. Counseling sessions direct people in how to
work on their problems. Support groups spring up where God’s children can hold
each other accountable to work on their problems.
Yes, I firmly believe that God can work in groups, and
counseling, to express his grace to his children so they can respond to him in
faith. I merely raise the question for us in testing all things, to consider
whether the focus of any group, or ministry, turns people to look at what they
are to do about their problem, or to look at what God is graciously doing to
build up their faith.
When we consider anything God is doing in someone’s life,
and any problems involved, let us always begin with what the grace of God is
expressing, and the condition of our faith.
If you recall what Jesus repeatedly said to his disciples
when they had problems with something that was going on, his words were, “O you of little faith!”[3] There
was Jesus standing with them, the fullest personification of grace we could
possible imagine, “full of grace and
truth,”[4]
as his Book describes, and the one thing he kept addressing in them was their
faith. His gracious activity required one thing from them before anything else (and
this also was a work of his grace in their lives), and that was their faith.
Until there was faith, the grace of God had no opening into the soul through
which to pour all the undeserved goodness that was overflowing from the riches
of God’s glory.[5]
When we see the whole of the Christian life as the grace of
God operating through faith, absolutely everything we do will begin with first identifying
what the grace of God is doing, and what faith we are to express in order to
connect with that grace. When faith opens the door of our souls to God, his
grace can freely pour into our lives everything his good pleasure delights to
give us.
On the negative, this is why God’s Book tells us, “And he did not do many mighty works there,
because of their unbelief.”[6]
Even though Jesus was fully able to express all the grace and truth of God to
the people he was visiting, they would not receive him by faith, and so he
could not pour the works of God’s good pleasure into their lives.
On the positive side, God’s book tells us about so many
people who experienced the grace of Jesus Christ in their lives because they
welcomed him by faith. This is seen in the ways Jesus commended people for
their faith during his ministry,[7]
along with all the teachings of faith in the Bible,[8]
and the testimonies of faith given in such places as Hebrews 11.
Whatever you are facing now, or whatever comes to you for
the rest of your life, or whatever you are trying to do to minister to others,
always identify first what the grace of God is working in us to will and to
work for our Father’s good pleasure, and then find that mustard seed of faith[9]
that must be planted in that gracious work of God in order for us to receive
what the Father is doing.
Once we identify the grace of God at work, and the faith
that grace is stirring up within us, we can then do the “good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in
them.”[10]
God’s Book says, “without faith it is
impossible to please him,”[11]
and, “apart from me you can do nothing.”[12]
The Bible also tells us that, “if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this
mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be
impossible for you.”[13]
This does not meant that faith moves mountains. It means that, when God is
graciously working to move mountains in our lives, as long as we keep
responding to his gracious work by faith, nothing God is addressing in our
lives will be impossible for us.
If we recognize God is working in our lives to lead us to
experience him in all the ways revealed in his Book, let us be diligent to
settle first of all what God is doing by grace, and how to open our hearts to
that work by faith. Everyone who responds to God’s gracious work by faith, is
sure to find themselves joining God in what he is doing.
© 2016 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
No comments:
Post a Comment