God's Grace
Is Not Earned
In the world we have been accustomed to earning what we receive. We are paid wages for doing work. Most of us do not expect to get something for nothing. Unfortunately, this attitude has been transferred to how we perceive God. We feel that we have to be “good-enough” to earn His blessings.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The mercies and blessings of God are bestowed upon us, not because we have earned them, but because we have faith to receive them. It is good to want to be the people that God wants us to be, but we must accept that we will constantly fall short, because of the flesh. This is not an excuse; it is just a fact. The bible tells us that our righteousness is as filthy rags. In other words, we can never measure up to the perfection that Jesus exemplified. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can be better than we used to be.
If we constantly put ourselves down because we are not the people we would like to be, the guilt will cause us to not expect God’s best. We have to come boldly to the throne of grace to find help in a time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
If we read the scriptures, we will find that Jesus went about healing ALL that were sick. He fed a multitude with five loaves and two small fishes. He never failed to heal anyone because they were not perfect. In fact, the scriptures state that when an elder prays for a sick person, if the person has committed sins, they will also be forgiven of those sins (James 5:14-15). The multitude that was fed did not have to qualify individually to receive from Jesus, they just had to be in His presence.
Satan likes to tell us that we do not qualify to receive from God. He likes to point out all the ways that we have fallen short. He is called the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10). He likes to point out to us all the ways we have fallen short and tell us that we cannot expect to be forgiven and we should not expect to get God’s blessings. He is the father of lies and that is just another of his lies.
We are not under the law but under grace. The law showed us that we are incapable of living up to God’s standards. Grace shows us that when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we are clothed in His righteousness, and we can stand before God blameless with all sins blotted out. This gives us the right to all that God has promised to bestow upon His children.