The Undeniable
Ephesians 2:8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Sometimes we begin thinking we are a really good person, and that goodness drives us to be a better person, and all of that is generated by a tendency to be self-righteous. You may say "Well, David shouldn't we strive to do better things and live a moral life?" My answer would be "yes" with reservation. In our salvation, it is important to remember that our salvation is a gift from God and has nothing to do with anything we can offer. To put anything of us in the redemption process will fall miserably short of the sacrifice that Jesus gave on the cross. Jesus took the sins of the world and paid the penalty for those sins and He died as a gift for us. With His payment for "our" debt His sacrifice completed the need to "pay in full" the price for salvation and gives it to us as a gift!
The Undeniable is the truth of God's grace and the power of that grace. You sinned today. COVERED. You sin every day. COVERED. There is no partial forgiveness when that forgiveness is given by God. Complete. If there were anything of us in the mix, the mix would be spoiled. This process is totally holy, as God is holy. Our human pride might have the desire to put some of us in it, but The Undeniable is "it is all about God!" As the above scripture says God saved you by his grace when you believed.
It is also undeniable that our belief was our part and receiving this gift by faith was the first of many steps of faith that follow as we grow in that faith. The ways we grow in our faith are centered around a relationship, and that relationship has to be our priority. We grow in that relationship by spending time with God in prayer. That communication portal has been opened up by God and He loves spending time with us as we lift our prayers to Him and in turn, listen to Him as He speaks to our hearts. The relationship takes a noticeable step up when we immerse ourselves in the study of the living Word of God. John wrote that Jesus is the Word, so our study in the Bible is like Jesus speaking that truth to us and over us. There is "life" in the Word of God and we need that to grow in our faith.
An under-emphasized part of the Christian walk is our fellowship with other believers. This element cannot be left out of the relationship we have with Jesus. The early church experienced a "special" fellowship called koinonia and the definition of this fellowship is intimate spiritual communion and participative sharing in a common religious commitment and spiritual community. In Acts 2:42 scripture says 42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. This is a great example and model of how our modern-day church should look and exist. If this type of fellowship exists in a church I believe the addition of new converts on a daily basis will be seen again. This time we desperately need to "make disciples" and not just converts and the gospel will come alive in their lives and they will be "living witnesses."
The gospel is still powerful and life-changing and the gospel is The Undeniable, but we must share the message that never gets old. When that happens we will see true revival in the souls of believers. You can lead that charge with your life commitment. God is ready to make YOU The Undeniable!!
The Pilgrimage Continues
David Warren