GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

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TRIUMPH IN CHRIST
By Dick Johnson



Scripture Reading: II Corinthians 2:14

We have no right or excuse, as members of the Body of Christ, to hide behind our faith and stand silent and ashamed in the face of adversity. God gave us victory over sin and death because of the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ at the cross (I Corinthians 15:57). In fact, by being one with Christ, we are sustained by the power of our Lord's resurrection (Ephesians 1:19, 20).

In the context of our passage, the Apostle Paul knew that he and his co-workers were being led in triumph in Christ by faithfully speaking in Christ in the sight of God. He was experiencing the victory and power of the resurrection.

Can we make the same claim as Paul? Yes, at least in terms of our position in Christ. By God's grace, we indeed have the victory in Christ and we are ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20). We know for certain that He who began a good work in us will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

However, God wants us to experience the glories of our position in Christ. Since we are ambassadors for Christ, let us live as ambassadors. Since we are light in the Lord, let us walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8 ). Since we have the power of the resurrection, let us be strong in the Lord (Ephesians 6:10). Since we are saved, let us take hold of the eternal life to which we were called and fight the good fight of faith (I Timothy 6:12). We can know the joy of being led in triumph in Christ!

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"NEITHER CAN HE KNOW THEM"
By Robert Hanna

Scripture Reading: I Corinthians 2: 14

Many of the world's great intellectual giants have been diligent scholars of Scripture, yet have gone to their graves without ever having understood what the Word of God really says. Most of us have pondered over this at one time or another (those of us who are Christians). It appears on the surface, that if we of average mental capacities can understand the message of the gospel, then surely men of up to twice our intelligence quotient can easily do so.

Such, however is not the case. Science, medicine, law almost any other topic imaginable would be child's play to such geniuses as these of whom we speak. Why, then, should the meaning of the Word of God be so elusive to them? Because "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are· foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, BECAUSE THEY ARE SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED."

Regardless of the degree of a man's intelligence, his spiritual discernment is governed by his relationship to God. Paul tells us, "They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:5-7). The gospel of the grace of God reveals a simple message to an open heart and receptive ear. But the hardened heart and the deaf ear cannot be penetrated without the penitent desire of their host.

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CHRIST - OUR PEACE
By JEFF SEEKINS, Pastor

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 2:14

Jesus Christ equals peace, for He is our peace. Peace is the absence of turmoil, the end of war or argument. It is when two agree. In this passage the two are Jews and Gentiles. Historically we find them at odds, and hostile to one another. In this verse we see that this hostility between them is termed a wall, a middle or dividing wall. We might picture the Berlin Wall with its imposing hostility and absence of peace. In 1987, President Reagan challenged the Soviets to display peace by destroying the wall that divides people. Christ removed the wall between the Jew and Gentile by dismantling it. By so doing, He made peace.

The wall is described in v. 15 as enmity. This word is at times translated enemy and denotes hostility. Divisions create and promote hostility as this wall did in dividing two races. What was this wall?  Looking a bit further we see that the wall, the hostility, was the law of commandments contained in ordinances. The same breath that points out the wall as the law also points out that Christ made peace by abolishing it! The meaning of abolish is to make useless, or of none effect. The law created and promoted the hostility between Jew and Gentile, but it was made useless and was dismantled by Christ in his flesh on the cross.

This truth is unique to this dispensation of Grace. Christ gave his life to provide forgiveness, and to dismantle and nullify the middle wall of partition which is the hostile law of commandments contained in dogmas. His death removed the obstacles to peace, so we can say with the Scriptures- "He is our Peace."

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FAITH'S FORTITUDE
By Miles Stanford

"Therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you" (Isa. 30:18 ).


Waiting upon the Father is not a matter of longsuffering, but of expectant faith - quiet, restful, confident dependence upon One who is fully trusted. Often the God of circumstances must teach this waiting by placing us in situations that offer no other alternative.

"When the testing comes, does our faith prove true? Does our confidence in the Father become shaken and our hope prove uncertain? When the clouds have gathered and the thunder rolls and the lightning stabs the darkness and the roar of the storm is in our ears, can we keep our eyes and thoughts off the tempest and continue in the quiet and peace of the Father's presence?

"When the enemy of right and wrong has thrown down the gauntlet and is trampling ruthlessly upon that which affects the honor of our Lord, and when he seems about to bring ruin upon that which our Father has purposed, can we refrain from rushing in to strive with him, and wait for Him 'in quietness and confidence,' with a true sense both of our weakness and of His faithfulness and strength? When we have no word from the Lord except to wait and everything seems to be at a standstill, does the certainty of hope remain undimmed?" ~A.H.

"When you are in faith you will find that the Lord Jesus does not remove the pressure from off you until you are asleep in it, until you are able to take it quietly. You learn His grace first, and then His mercy."

"Faith possesses all things, and hope stretches on to the fulness of the possession, yet in no restless mood, for patience sits by the side of hope in the believer's soul, and teaches him to wait for the glory of his Father. 'If we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.' (Rom. 8:25)." ~H.F.W.

"I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto me" (Ps. 40:1).

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PEACE WITH GOD
By DONALD W. WEFFALD,

Scripture Reading: Romans 5: I

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Justification that brings "peace with God," is a free gift from God and is the present eternal possession of the believer. "Justification" is the judicial act by which God declares the believer righteous in Christ. In the fifth chapter of Romans the Apostle is giving assurance that justification by faith will last; that the hope is well founded.

There are three points to the Apostle's argument to show the secure ground upon which the believer's hope rests. First, the tribulations the believer will face in this life will strengthen not destroy that hope (Romans 5:2-4). Secondly, the hope is based upon the great love God has for the one justified (Romans 5:5-11). As he was loved by God while yet a sinner, how much more when he is justified! And thirdly, as surely as man's relationship to Adam has brought death, so the union the believer has with Christ brings eternal life (Romans 5:12-21).

Adam's sin resulted in death for all but Christ's obedience (the Cross) brought eternal blessing to all who believe in Him.

The believer has "peace with God" although he was once an enemy of God (Romans 5:10). Peace here is not a state of mind but a relationship to God Who is holy. God is at peace with the believer because His wrath is removed through Christ at the Cross. And because the holiness of God is satisfied through Christ's death for sin, the believer need never fear God's wrath. Knowledge of this should bring tranquility of mind.

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SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH
FAITH ALONE
DICK WARE, Pastor


Scripture Reading: Ephesians 2:8, 9

People are determined to have to do something to win God's favor. In Romans chapter four where God shows us what Abraham's faith was not in, He shows us what people do put their faith in. Study it carefully. They put their faith in: their own merit or good works; religious ceremony (circumcision) or affiliation; and in their keeping the Law or some other rule. It's a faith in a human work of some kind. The problem is not faith. It's what the faith is in! God says man's faith will be put into his account for righteousness if he puts it in the right place or person (Rom. 4:5).

On the one hand, you have a salvation attempted on a works basis. It's received by works through faith. On the other hand, we see God offering today salvation on a grace basis. Grace can't be earned nor bought! It's not only more than what we deserve, it's just the opposite! In the early chapters of Romans, you have every man deserving the wrath of God, being offered the righteousness of God - BY GOD'S GRACE! God's grace is the BASIS for His offer. How is this offer received? By faith, and faith alone!

In the book of Romans we see "the righteousness of God," "justification," and "eternal life" are synonymous terms and are God's gift to those deserving His eternal wrath (Rom. 3:21, 24; 5:1, 17; 6:23). The same is true as we come to Ephesians chapter 2. The same ones who are dead in trespasses and sins and who are headed for the wrath of God (vrs. 1-3) can be saved by God's marvelous grace. God says: "For by grace --you have been saved -- through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (2:8,9). He is saying: the gift of God is eternal life; God's grace is the basis for His offer; and man's faith alone is means of receiving God's gift. God holds man accountable to believe and receive His gift (II Thess. 2:10;12)!

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OLD REJECTED, NEW ACCEPTED
By Miles Stanford


"You were set free from the tyranny of Sin, and became the bondservants of Righteousness" (Rom. 6:18, Wey.).

The principle underlying resurrection life is, of all things, death. "For since we have become one with Him by sharing in His death, we shall also be one with Him by sharing in His resurrection .... Surrender your very selves to God as living men who have risen from the dead" (Rom. 6:5,13, Wey.). Let the facts of your position overwhelm the feelings of your condition.

"By exercising faith in the Word, apart from any feelings, be 'planted together with Him in the likeness of His death' (Rom. 6:5). Only by thus standing in your position will you begin to experience 'the likeness of His resurrection.' Reckon on your life-union with Him. Reject the old life on the basis of your death in Christ on the Cross, and count yourself alive in Him until He makes experiential your resurrection position. Do not forget that you must stand firmly upon the specific truths: 'dead indeed unto sin - alive unto God in Christ Jesus' (Rom. 6:11).

"The sharing of His life is our blessed experience just in the measure in which we share His death. So many of us are content merely that the Cross should be the power to save us from the penalty of sin, but death was not the end of the manifestation of Christ. It was resurrection, and it is the risen life, shining forth in the believer, that alone can carry out the purpose of God in redemption. The believer, in whose daily attitude the mark of resurrection is seen, becomes what the world is looking for, a convincing witness to the power of the Living Redeemer." - G.W.

"That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection" (Phil. 3:10).

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The Party
by Steve Me Vey


I've changed a lot over the years, in many ways. Maybe the way I've changed the most is centered on how I see God. The church-god I envisioned as a child and even during the early years of my ministry is nothing like the Father I have come to know in recent years.

It's true that God never changes. He really is the same yesterday, today and forever. But as the barnacles of the rigorous, rules-keeping, regimented religion of my yesteryears have been scrapped away by the growing revelation of His outrageous love, I've come to see Him in a different light than I ever knew in my past.

I grew up seeing God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as a team who each had their own unique perspective and approach to me. My view was that God hated sin and, since that was one thing I was good at doing, I needed help to know how to keep Him at bay. That's where the Holy Spirit came in. His role was to come to me and tell me in no uncertain terms to "stop it!" Sometimes He would use feelings of guilt and shame. At other times He would sternly remind me that God brought me into this world and He could just as easily take me out if I didn't straighten up and fly right.

Then came Jesus - my view was that He came to keep God from doing what He was itching to do - zap me. I felt like God had one last nerve and I had gotten on it. Jesus was there to shush God when He was about to go off on me by holding up His hands and saying, "Father, remember - the scars, the scars!" "Oh, yeah," God would say and then He would calm down for a while until I screwed up royally again and it became necessary for Jesus to repeat the whole thing.

Is it any wonder I had trouble feeling intimacy with God? The sad thing is that I don't think my perspective was unique. I meet many people today who still believe that there is somehow a dichotomy between the Father and Son when it comes to their acceptance of us. Many think that the Father is the nervous, on-edge type and that Jesus is the One who sits by His right hand to calm Him down. The Holy Spirit? They see Him as the behavior-policeman.

In reality, it's not like that at all. The good news is that, contrary to what many have believed, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are really all on the same team. There has never been one moment when they weren't of the same mind and heart toward you.

In the inner sanctum that exists between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, there has always been nothing less than a loving intimacy that defies human definition or even description. Think of the most passionate and tender and touching and enduring love relationship you've ever had with another person in this world and multiply it by an infinite number and you won't even begin to get close to the love shared among the Trinity.

The amazing news of the gospel of grace is that this divine dance isn't a closed party. Their love is so great that it's too big to be contained and too intense to be restrained so the Trinity threw the doors of this private club wide open at the cross and cried out across time and eternity, calling in "the poor and maimed and blind and lame."

The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost all see things the same way, do things the same way and see you the same way. They're all on your side. There's a party going on right now and, by His grace, you're in.

Is that how you see God? I hope so, because it's true. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit love you and want you to relax and enjoy the party. That's what abundant living is all about.

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Out of Fellowship With God
by Steve McVey



It is impossible for a Christian to ever be out of fellowship with God. Do you believe that? I begin this article with such a bold statement because I want to shake you into serious thought. As we grow in our grace walk we sometimes find ourselves having to rethink some of the things we've heard all our lives. This whole concept of being "out of fellowship" is one of those things we've all heard, but it just isn't true. It isn't true for one simple reason: the fellowship you have with God isn't up to you. Your Father has embraced you with an eternal grip that makes it impossible for you to wiggle out of His love and acceptance.

If it is possible to be out of fellowship with God, what would cause that? Sin, of course. That's the silver bullet against the Christian, right? Don't be so quick to agree. The truth of the matter is that Christ has dealt a death blow against sin that will eternally keep it from ever interfering with how God sees you. Sin has been defeated. When Jesus said, "It is finished!" that's exactly what He meant.

John wrote in I John 1:7, that "if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." Know this: You do walk in the Light. Even when you sin, you are in the Light because He is the Light of the world and you are constantly in Him. Our perception of the light may be obscured, but that doesn't change the fact that we are in the light. If I go outside into the bright sunlight and put on a sleep mask so that I see nothing but complete darkness, am I in the light? Yes, I am still in the light. My only problem is that my perception of the light has been blocked.

That's what sin does in our lives. It blinds us to the fact that we are standing in the Light of His love and grace at every moment and to the reality that nothing can change that. John said that "the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." The word "cleanses" in the verse is the Greek word (katharizo), a word which has powerful implications. The word is present, active, indicative - meaning that the blood of Christ at this moment and at every moment is keeping us cleansed of all sin. If we are being constantly kept cleansed of sin, what would cause God to be out of fellowship with us?

When the prodigal son was in the pig pen, his perception of fellowship with his father was totally changed. He would have said that he was out of fellowship but, in reality, his Dad's attitude toward him hadn't changed at all. His Dad still loved, adored and accepted him the way he always had done. The problem was in the son's mind, not in the Dad's attitude.

The same is true of us. Our Father adores us and nothing ever changes that fact. Our perception may be that we are "out of fellowship" at times, but God never sees it that way. He embraces and loves us even when we feel like we have broken fellowship with Him. You are cleansed of your sins and your Father accepts you. So put aside the notion that fellowship with Him can be broken by your behavior. It isn't about you. It never has been. It's all about His unconditional acceptance. He is in fellowship with us and we aren't big enough to ever change that!

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A  BOND SLAVE OF JESUS CHRIST
by Russell S. Miller

          In Paul's epistles he always opens with his name and, in most instances the phrase, "an apostle of Jesus Christ." But in his epistle to Titus, he opens with the declaration:

 "Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness" (Titus 1:1).

Saul, as he was also known, commissioned with authority from the chief priests, was anything but godly in his persecution of Messiah's followers. But suddenly, on the road to Damascus, in Acts 9, the Lord stopped him in his tracks:

 "And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? And he said, Who art Thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? ..." (Acts 9:4-6).

 When the Lord appeared to Paul, at Damascus, he was most acutely aware of how wrong he had been, and of how ungodly his life had been without Christ, and it greatly humbled him. Years later this once proud Pharisee wrote that it was only God's grace that had made him the man of God he had become--"an apostle" and the devoted "servant of Jesus Christ" in ministering "the gospel of God" to the Gentiles (Rom.1:1-5). In Ephesians 3:7 he further tells us that he was "made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God, given unto me by the effectual working of His power.

 "Unto me, who am LESS than the LEAST of all saints, is this GRACE given, that I should PREACH among the Gentiles THE UNSEARCHABLE RICHES OF CHRIST" (Eph. 3:7,8 ).

 In our text the word "servant," doulos in the Greek and rendered "bondman" in Textus Receptus, refers to one who serves. Paul was now the willing "servant" of Jesus Christ. Thus he exhorts believers not to be blinded by the devil's lies, "For we preach not ourselves, but CHRIST JESUS THE LORD; and ourselves your SERVANTS for Jesus' sake" (II Cor. 4:5). And because Paul was a faithful "bond slave" of Jesus Christ, he wrote Timothy:

"Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen" (II Tim. 4:17,18 ).

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THE TRIUMPH OF THE FAITH
By HAROLD STEINBRON

Scripture Reading: I John 5:4

"Whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world; even our faith." Our faith is born of God and therefore enables us to overcome this world system. Notice the threat is not from the devil, formidable as he is; the threat is not from Hell, or where-ever Satan has his stronghold and supply base, BUT, the most dire threat to the faith today is this world system.... Society in general!

Why does God permit Satan to carry on and work his wiles as he does? One reason is shown in the story of Job. If there were no real challenge to our faith, it would wither and die! When we are challenged, we are driven to the Word, and our faith is strengthened and grows. Why did God allow Job to be tested as He did? So that we in the 2000's could read the moving story of Job's reaction to terrible tragedy, and learn that Satan had a big hand in Job's nightmare. Did you know that Job is probably the first book to be written, timewise, in the canon of Scripture? Isn't that just like our great Heavenly Father? If we see all sin as sad and tragic realities in the light of what the story of Job tells us, we will see all of life in proper focus. God is not weak nor is He uncaring. God has a plan and He is right on schedule, just as He outlines it in the Bible. Job did not know about the Grace of God in Christ as revealed at Calvary, yet his faith in God saw him through the harsh circumstances he had to face, with no Bible! Shame on us for even being down in the mouth when the bottom falls out! We have THE BOOK with the details right down to the wire! HAVE FAITH!

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THE HOPE OF GLORY
By JOEL FINCK, Pastor



Scripture Reading: Colossians 1:27


One of the key words in this dispensation is the word "grace." Paul uses this word some ninety times in his epistles. But did you realize there is another word he uses over ninety times? That's right, the word "glory." Grace and glory seem to go together. Perhaps this is why Paul called the grace message he preached, "the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust" (I Timothy 1:11).

In today's text we read, "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). Many people hope for glory, but unfortunately most go about attaining it in all the wrong ways. The talented athlete may receive glory for a time, but it will count for nothing in eternity. Unsaved religious people also hope for glory, but seek it by works, not by faith. When asked if they are going to heaven, they will often respond, "I hope so." This kind of hope is actually nothing more than wishful thinking.

A true Bible hope is more than this. The word for hope in Scripture actually means a firm confidence or conviction. According to Colossians 1:27, there is only one way to acquire this kind of hope, and that is through Christ. Our unique hope under the Mystery program is to someday be caught away to Heaven where we will live eternally with our Lord. Paul calls this .."that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). Do you have this hope?
Falls Bible Church,

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THE BELIEVER'S WALK

This chapter concerns the character of the believer's walk. This is a very important subject, especially since many of 'Our antagonists contend that too much grace leads to a life of indulgence, and that dispensationalism is a mere mental exercise that produces intellectualism instead of spirituality. We do emphasize the gospel of the grace of God and the dispensation of the mystery, but we also emphasize the fact that this truth brings with it the responsibility of the believer to live on the very highest spiritual plane. Our doctrinal statement sums up this belief in these words: "By reason of Christ victory over sin and of His indwelling Spirit, all of the saved may and should experience deliverance from the power of sin by obedience to Rom. 6:11, but we deny that man's nature of sin is ever eradicated during this life (Rom. 6:6-14; Gal. 5:16-25; Rom. 8:37; 2 Cor. 2: 14; 10:2-5)."

Grace Defined

Before we can understand one another we must define our terms. Apparently many people think 'Of grace as simply a means of getting off easily, 'Of sliding through on the generosity of another, of absolving self of all responsibility while expecting another to assume it. To such, of course, grace is a dangerous principle. They would say that a man who takes too much grace is taking too much license; grace must lead to indulgence; liberties must be curbed; man must be placed under a strict law if any obedience is to be expected.

How different from all of this is grace in its Scriptural sense. It is so different that Rom. 6:14 declares: "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid." This passage says at least the following things: the believer is not under the law; he is under grace; not 'only does grace not give any liberty to sin, but being under grace is the only condition under which the believer can be delivered from the dominion of sin; and finally to be under the law means also to be under the dominion of sin.

Grace begins at Calvary, where Jesus died for sin. Grace does not overlook sin; it judges sin and righteously pays the price of sin and puts sin out of the way. The believer's life under grace is founded upon the fact that he died unto sin in the Person of a Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ, and that he was raised up with Christ to walk in newness of life. God would never call upon a natural man to live under grace, for he would do nothing but frustrate that grace and use that grace as a means of indulging the flesh. But the believer's old man has been crucified with Christ and he thus reckons himself to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God. In other words the life of grace is a life upon resurrection ground. Believers will always misuse grace when they fail to reckon themselves dead to sin. Merely writing these facts down in a doctrinal statement does not assure the believer of victory through grace--there must be the personal reckoning of our identification with Christ to be true--but grace is the only means of victory. It should be evident from all of this that even the thought of sin being granted any permission in our lives is completely foreign to the teachings of grace.

Grace-walk Is Superhuman

We believe that under grace we are expected to live, superhuman kind of life, far higher than was ever demanded by the law. But we do not believe that every Christian lives that kind of life, merely by subscribing to our doctrinal statement or that of any other group. We believe that there must be constant study of and meditation on the Word of God and constant, conscious dependence upon the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit in order to realize the victory that grace can give. We are fully aware of the dangers that beset the believer because of his old nature of sin (which is dead only by the reckoning of faith). We know that it is possible to become heady and high-minded, and to be puffed up in knowledge, but this is no peculiar trait of dispensationalists. Many who never heard of that word have become cold intellectuals in their handling of the Word of God. We know also that it is possible to turn the grace of God into lasciviousness, but that is no reason for minimizing the grace of God. We all know the dangers of counterfeiting the currency of our country, but we do not therefore. destroy our money. We rather caution one another to be observant lest we be deceived by the counterfeit. And so we believe that it is our duty constantly to teach and preach the grace of God, to so indoctrinate believers with the true meaning and the full responsibility of a life under grace that they will be enabled to discern that which is contrary and to live a positive life of godliness.

So far from grace leading to carelessness and sinfulness, Titus 2:12 states that grace disciplines us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age. This discipline continues throughout life. Never does the time come this side of heaven that we do not need it. God has made it possible for us not to sin, but He has not made it impossible for us to sin. As long as we are in this body the Spirit will lust against the flesh and the flesh against the Spirit. But if we walk by means of the Spirit we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

Grace-walk Is Spiritual

Our walk is to be a spiritual one, which is just another way of saying that it is to be controlled by the Spirit. Many suppose that spirituality consists in being sweet and kind, in praying much, and in engaging in certain pious acts. As a matter of fact, a person may do all of these things and not be spiritual at all. Spirituality consists in being filled with the Holy Spirit, so that He produces the life of Christ within us. To be sure, true spirituality will produce the fruit of the Spirit in the life, but we believe that it is impossible to have true spirituality apart from the knowledge of the Word of truth, rightly divided. God's Spirit always works through His revealed Word, and if we are to walk circumspectly, as wise men (Eph.5: 15), it will be necessary for us to know the will of God, as revealed in His Word. Merely knowing the Bible as such is not enough; we must know it rightly divided. That is, we must know what God's particular will and instructions are for the Body of Christ in this present dispensation. We believe that particular will of God and instruction for our walk is to be found in the Pauline epistles, even as we have quoted Dr. C. 1. Scofield before on Ephesians 3:6, "In his [Paul's] writings alone we find the doctrine, position, walk and destiny of the church" (Scofield Reference Bible, p. 1252). The worthy, well-balanced walk of the believer in this present dispensation is therefore dependent upon a knowledge of the revelation which Christ gave from the glory to Paul. In his epistles we are carried to the highest spiritual heights in the Bible.

Grace-walk Is Scriptural

Here are some of Paul's references to our walk: "we also should walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:4); "who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" ( Rom. 8:4); "Let us walk honestly, as in the day" (Rom. 13: 13);

"Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh" (GaI. 5:16); "that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called (Eph. 4:1); "walk not as other Gentiles walk (Eph. 4:17); "And walk in love as Christ also hath loved us" (Eph.5:2); "walk as children of light" (Eph. 5:8 ); See then that ye walk circumspectly" (Eph. 5:15); "That ye might; walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing" (Col. 1:10); and it is interesting here to note that this is said to be the result of being filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him" (Col. 2:6); "Walk in wisdom toward them that are without" (Col.4:5); "as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more" (I Thess.4:1); ''not walking in craftiness, or handling the word of God deceitfully (2 Cor. 4:2). When We consider that almost half of the occurrences of the word walk in the New Testament are found in Paul's epistles, and that practically all references to the actual character of the believer's walk are Pauline, we should be convinced of the necessity of being Pauline if our walk is to be worthy of the Lord. We are saved wholly by grace; our walk is entirely in the sphere of grace, and our service is the manifestation of that same grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 8:7-9).

[nChrist]

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LEGITIMATE PRAYER
by C. R. Stam




Prayer, in Old Testament times, was based upon a covenant relationship with God, or it was an appeal to His revealed nature as merciful, gracious, etc. Today it is based upon the redemptive work of Christ, whose death opened the way for us into the Father's presence. This is why acceptable prayer today is offered “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ”. With our Lord's departure from this world in view, He said to His disciples:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me” (John 14:6).

“Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name…At that day ye shall ask in My name: and I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you, for the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved Me…” (John 16:24-27).

Thus today we pray directly to the Father in the name of the Son.

Our prayers, however, are often faltering and sometimes the way is so dark before us that we do not even know what to ask for. Thus Paul declared: “We know not what we should pray for as we ought” (Rom.8:26). But he was quick to follow this with the declaration:

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom.8:28 ).

This is why the Apostle Paul encourages God's people:

“Be careful [merimnao--anxious-- take thought] for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God:

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep ( phroureo--to mount guard as a sentinel ) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil.4:6,7).

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb.4:16).

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ABOUNDING GRACE



In the Word of God following the statement in Romans 5:20, "Where sin abounded grace did much more abound," this question is asked: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"

"Christ died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them and rose again" (II Cor. 5:15).

"For in that Christ died, He died unto sin once; but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God" (Rom. 6:10).

"Christ died for our sins." If Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man, then by that same grace of God every believer is dead unto sin. Very few of God's people have fully appreciated, or even appropriated, the blessed truth of identification; that is, the glorious fact that the redeemed sinner is identified with Christ in death, burial, and resurrection. He has been baptized into the death of Christ; and by the same Divine baptism he has been raised to walk in newness of life. He is also seated with Christ where Christ is, far above principality, power, and dominion (Eph. 1:20 and 2:6).

It is very interesting to study the 4 "much more's" in the fifth chapter of Romans, and learn that God's grace is altogether sufficient for every, task, every test, every trial, every temptation, every tribulation, and every thorn of every believer. What a wonderful statement we have in II Corinthians 9:8, "God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency, in all things, may abound to every good work."

Surely this super-abounding, inexhaustible grace, this ample provision for all things, leaves all believers without excuse. When the child of God blunders and fails, stumbles and falls, it is not because of any shortage of Divine grace. This marvelous provision for the believer's spiritual life of victory is definitely stated in Titus 2:11 to 13, which we quote: "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; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."

And when that blessed hope is realized, believers shall be saved from the very presence of sin. They shall then appear with Christ in glory and come into a new realization of that eternity of grace expressed in Ephesians 2:7; "in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." -Selected