Saved by Grace and Not by Works

When you go through the old testament, you will notice some kind of pattern. The Israelites obeyed and disobeyed. Consequently God would be blessing them, while at other times He would be angry because of their disobedience, thereby setting His wrath upon them. See, the Israelites lived under the law and their lifestyles were guarded and guided  by the same law. However they could not meet the demands of the law. As I was going through the book of Ezekiel 20, I noticed that a generation after another transgressed against the Lord and was not able to walk by His statutes. The Lord talks about how He asked the Israelites in the wilderness to do away with the ways of the Gentiles and walk by His judgments, "which if a man does he shall live by them." verse 11. But they did not.  So He asked their children not to live by the statutes that their fathers did, but they too disobeyed. 

You will also notice that grace always existed and there was always a plan for salvation for the people even after the Lord had set His wrath upon them. Romans 7:12 and 8:3 say that though the law is holy, just and good, it became weak through the flesh. The law required works, human efforts, in order for righteousness to be met, whereby grace requires faith. Jesus came to fulfill that law, however, just to be clear, not to abolish it Matthew 5:17. In that a spotless man as He is referred in bible Hebrews 9:14 bore for all, the sins and the wages of sin, which is death Romans 6:23. That way everyone who believes in Him, Jesus, is justified by His righteousness through faith and not by his own works. Jesus fulfilled the law because He met all the requirements of law, where man could not, because he was ruled by flesh. Thereby, we are saved by grace and not by works.

 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. Ephesians 2: 8,9

See, when one is born again, they become transformed into new creations. The Spirit of the Lord lives in us and so we are transformed into new beings and brought into understanding of the Truth. The reason I always hesitated to accept salvation or to become born again is because I thought that there are all these statutes that I needed to meet and a guarded lifestyle, which I was not ready for. That is actually the first fear that I had the next day when I realised that I had become born again. I reflected and immediately I also noticed and felt that my heart had been changed. The desire that I had to do the things that kept me away in the past I did not have anymore. Such things were actually not alluring to me as they had been before, o rather hazikuwa zinanivutia tena.

So when I could have been listing all the things that I needed to do or follow, now that I was born again, I found that they came naturally. Because the law did not change me, but the grace of God did, His unconditional love and coming face to face with the Truth; Jesus is the Truth. The Truth is in my heart. We are changed not because of the effort that we have put in, but because God loves us anyway and His love does not change 1John 4:19. I may not be perfect, may make mistakes and transgress against Him, but His love remains the same and He will forgive when I confess. And so we do not walk by obligation, but in love; the unconditional love that is able to transform man. "Grace is not freedom to sin but freedom from sin."

The law is no longer a script led out to us, but it is written in our hearts.  Hebrews 8: 10 "...I will put my laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be My people." At no point should we feel burdened from following Jesus, for He came to set the captives free, neither do we receive the spirit of bondage to fear Romans 8:15. In conclusion we are not saved because of the way we have performed or of the work which we have done, nor can we save ourselves by the works we do. But we are saved and justified by the work, which Jesus has already done. Regardless, our good works will be rewarded.

I love to share music, think it communicates effectively, plus I  just love music. "No longer Slaves" by Jonathan and Melissa Helser