Lived in God's Grace

 

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

(Acts 1:8 ESV)

 

As believers in Jesus, we know that we are recipients of God’s grace. We know, in fact, that we can receive his blessing only by grace. It is not something that we earn.

 

We know and believe that we are forgiven because of Jesus.  We know and believe that we are saved because of Jesus.  We know and believe that, because he died on cross and rose from the grave, these blessings are available to all mankind.

 

They are given to us by the grace of God. They’re, in other words, a free gift that God bestows upon us. And they are received by us through faith.

 

Yet, although we understand this when it comes to our forgiveness and salvation, we think very differently when it comes to the life of faith. Although forgiveness and salvation are gifts of God’s grace, we tend to think that the Christian life is lived in our own strength. We tend to think that we live in it by our own effort.

 

We tend to think that any change in character is achieved by our own willpower. We tend to believe that others are blessed by our effort in serving them. And we believe that the gospel is proclaimed and disciples are made as we force ourselves out of our comfort zone to do so.

 

However, if the Christian life is dependent upon our effort, it is doomed to fail. If character reformation is dependent upon our willpower, we will absolutely remain unchanged. And if ministry is dependent upon our own strength and resources, it’s all in vain.

 

As we enter into the season of Pentecost, we’re reminded that all of life, as a Christian, is lived in God’s grace. We’re reminded that no aspect of our life is dependent upon our effort. Our forgiveness and salvation, our repentance, along with our service of both God and man, result only from the grace of God.

 

We’re reminded of this in the above passage. As Jesus left his followers to ascend into heaven, they asked him if, at that time, he would restore the kingdom to Israel. They wanted to know if, at that time, he would bring about the fulness of his blessing. And he told them that it’s not for them to know the times or the seasons fixed by the Father.

 

They, however, would receive power when the Holy Spirit had come upon them. And they would be his witnesses. They would be his witnesses right there in Jerusalem. And they would be his witnesses to the end of the earth.

 

Again, if this great work was dependent upon them, it would easily overwhelm them. It would be absolutely hopeless. But the good news is that it was not dependent upon them.

 

They would receive power from the Holy Spirit. He, in other words, would enable this work. It was by his strength that this seemingly impossible task would be carried out.

 

The same is true today. And this is a great comfort to us. It’s a comfort as we do not have to muster up the strength and willpower to carry it out. It’s a free gift that the Spirit of God will accomplish in and through us.

 

We must not hinder his work in our life, of course. But the victories will result from his power. They will result only by the grace of God, which he freely lavishes upon us.