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More G R A C E

I recall that after receiving Jesus as Saviour and Lord, one of my first reactions was that the colours of the natural world around me seemed to be more vivid and intensified - had they changed or had I ?? (As the song goes .... "earth around has deeper blue, something lives in every hue, Christ-less eyes have never seen" )

Then, decades later, I went to Bill Gothard's Seminar called Basic Life Principles
A full week of Bill and his scriptures on overhead projection, as he explored the far reaching practical effects of scripture in the many facets of life and experience.
It was a time of being washed by the gentle rain of the pure 'word' of scripture, for hour after hour, day after day.
After that week, I vividly recall my next morning walk, and the feeling of pure exhilaration that the time of gentle washing had produced. A rare and precious experience indeed for me !

But recently .... surprise, surprise .... it has happened once again !
After finishing reading the book DESTINED TO REIGN by Joseph Prince
a similar type of experience within .... of absolute FREEDOM and JOY
It was almost almost as though I have been 'born again' .... AGAIN !
To me it is G R A C E ABOUNDING.

The deeper freshened realisation that ' CALVARY covers it A L L '
That Jesus sacrifice was and is for past, present and future sins.
That we constantly being cleansed of all our sins .... our commissions and omissions.
That we are completely and totally FORGIVEN (which destroys the power of sin in our life)
A 'Forgiveness-consciousness' that brings the experience of victory over sin
FORGIVEN, RESTORED, F R E E E E .... how can I help but spread it around !
A deeper insight into GRACE ..... pure and unpolluted by LAW or WORKS
Nothing I can do to add to it, nor earn it, nor detract from it .... amazing

May I retain that realisation .... please Lord

My wife is reading this book for the third time ! And each time, she says, she sees deeper aspects of the wonder of pure GRACE .... unpolluted

To repeat the Foreword of his book yet again ....
He had heard God say clearly to him "Son, you are not preaching grace ... every time you preach grace, you preach it with a mixture of law. You attempt to balance grace with the law like many other preachers, and the moment you balance grace, you neutralize it. You cannot put new wine into old wineskins. You cannot put grace and law together"

Grace is only grace when it is undeserved, unearned and unmerited.

And, might I add .... received, experienced, and savoured

But to me, the problem in the western world is simply this ....
At most evangelistic crusades, meetings .... whenever, wherever, however, the good news of the gospel is presented .... the gift of salvation is invariably presented as being free, without price to the seeker - recipient, on the basis of simple faith in Jesus sacrifice.

For by GRACE are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, Not of works lest any man should boast Ephesians 2:8,9 KJV

But .... as soon as this transaction is done, salvation is experienced, then usually something else happens .... a second conversion is added ! "Now you are a believer, we expect you to conform to the style and standards of this particular assembly or group"
And so elements of the LAW is added, and the traditions of that particular assembly or group, and the particular style of the leaders.
The newly born spiritual babe begins to be introduced to the style, tradition, doctrine, and fringe beliefs of that assembly .... which all lead to CONFORMITY to the group, and a giving up of ones personal individuality and personality !
(Just consider those pairs of young men in dark suits on their push-bikes who go from door to door for a constant example of clones !)

"Well, you received salvation here, and this is how we expect you to behave"
and that is GRACE plus LAW (or the remnants of such) and which pollutes GRACE
and which keeps unbelievers away in droves - they can 'smell' it from afar.

Attendance at meetings, eventually a 'dress code', and yes - even a haircut style ... and then inevitably.... - you can be sure of it.... the TITHE !

How unlike the book of Acts Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch - he was led by God to speak to the man, he led him to the Lord from where he was at in the Word, and in his chariot, then HE WAS CAUGHT AWAY - NO follow up at all. From that moment on it was the responsibility and function of the Holy Spirit who had called him freely, to led him on his personal pilgrimage - he who had begun it would continue it on.

And Saul, called while on a journey, transformed, even his name later changed to Paul

And Peter speaking, preaching , and 5000 believed !
and the believers continued meeting from house to house Acts 2:46

Note - no addition of the LAW, no necessity to CONFORM, no expectations of the 'oversight', no divisions between clergy and laity,
Just pure GRACE evident, and the Holy Spirit allowed to function

We tend to forget that Jesus is the head of the Church, not any one of us !
He is quite capable of prompting, leading, guiding and directing his own 'sheep' thank you very much, and continually releasing GRACE sufficient for all our needs, situations and circumstances.

If there is any thing added to GRACE it only serves to pollute it - nothing can be added to Grace ...... absolutely NOTHING !
Works cannot be added to pure Grace - either before salvation ..... or after it !
'Good works' after salvation, faithful service to Jesus, the loyal following of Jesus, bring REWARDS 1 Corinthians 3:14, 15 which are very different and independent of the free gift of salvation and Grace
GRACE stands alone .... unpolluted and unequaled !

Grace brings liberty from sin, not a license to sin Romans 6:1,2
But there are those who see Grace as just as an excuse for lasciviousness or license Jude 4, but not so - it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance Romans 2:4
not the Law which was a 'ministry of condemnation' 2 Corinthians 3:9
and a 'Schoolmaster' to bring us to Christ Galatians 3:24
Paul called his message the Gospel of the Grace of God Acts 20:24
God is called the God of all Grace 1 Peter 5:10

My wife and I left a 'holiness ministry' after 25 years, and have continually had to modify our attitudes over the next 25 years - what we somewhat jokingly privately refer to as 'peeling the onion' as the layers of condemnation and conformity are stripped away, one by one, over time.
But recently, after reading this book, we looked at each other, and smiled, and said in unison ..... "the onion has been finally peeled" We are both finally FREE from such condemnation - we are finally who we really are - but for us it has taken 50 years of pilgrimage!
As Paul says, the veil has been taken away - lifted 2 Corinthians 3:14-18
and we can say by the Grace of God I am what I am 1 Corinthians 15:10
To have our own personality restored, our identity known ..... we can be ourselves, FREE at last ! Precious indeed.
It's just like being born again .... AGAIN
My wife says that she has had the JOY of her salvation restored .... wonderful !

Again ..... the moment you balance grace, you neutralize it.
You cannot put grace and law together

I do not frustrate ( nullify, invalidate, set aside) the GRACE of God, for if righteousness (justification) came by observing the Law, then Christ is dead in vain (he died to no purpose) Galatians 2:21 RSV

Just read the book of Galatians again ..... and the third chapter of Romans
Its so simple and clear !

And believers are simply to be known as ....
DISPENSERS OF G R A C E !