Delivered From The World…Through Grace

Last time we saw how Jesus Christ gave Himself for our sins as a display of God’s grace and in this post we’ll proceed in our consideration of Galatians 1:4 as we open our hearts to take in more of the beauty of God’s grace.

“…who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father”¹

Our focus now is the second phrase in the verse:

“…that he might deliver us from this present evil world…”

God’s message to us here is that Jesus gave Himself for us to bring us deliverance from this present evil world. “But we still live in this world” someone may interject. The usage of that word “world” in this verse does not refer not to the earth as a physical location or to the planet earth. The word means “age”, “course” or “order of things in a particular time frame”.

 The present course of the world is an evil one. Unrighteousness and sin are woven deep into the fabric of our societies. It is very obvious for everyone to see; one just needs to look around. Every sphere of human life is tainted by evil-from personal life and family life to politics and governance.

Albert Barnes 18^th century American Theologian made this comment about that term “world”: “…it means the world as it is…a world of bad passions, false opinions, corrupt desires; a world full of ambition, and of the love of pleasure, and of gold; a world where God is not loved or obeyed; a world where people are regardless of right, and truth, and duty; where they live for themselves, and not for God”. He was very accurate. The present world order and pattern is to be precise, satanic. What else would we expect since as Scripture says, “… the whole world is under the control of the evil one”²? 

Once we were part and parcel of this system. We operated by the rules and principles of the world and our sins held us captive to the evil order and pattern of the world. But now through the grace of God things are different.

The vital link that made the devil lay claim on us has been broken because Christ gave Himself up for us. Jesus said, “…the prince of the world cometh, and hath nothing in me.”³ In the same way all of us who have believed in the death of Jesus can boldly and rightly say that the prince of this world has no hold on us; he has nothing in us and we’ve been completely delivered from this present wicked age and world order.

 This means we are no longer under any obligation or compulsion to follow the evil pattern in the world. God by His grace has now constituted us a unique community; we should not be governed by the prevailing maxims, or influenced by the patterns of the people of this world. We are different now. We have a distinct culture, a new pattern of life in which we demonstrate an alternative lifestyle to what exists in the world-God’s own pattern. Jesus did not give Himself for us to leave us in bondage to the world. We have been delivered from this present evil world through His grace.

And this is just another snapshot of God’s abundant grace. Have a lovely week.

Notes

1.       Galatians 1:4 King James Version

2.       1 John 5:19 New International Version

3.       John 14:30 King James Version

“He Gave Himself For Our Sins”

From this post, I would like us to turn to the letter Paul wrote to the Galatians as we consider more of the depth and breadth of God’s dealings with us in His grace. Why Galatians? The epistle was written as an eloquent defense of the gospel of Jesus Christ and God’s grace to a group of people who were being pressured to look away from God’s chosen path. I believe its message very relevant to us in these times we currently live in.

We’ll begin from the very beginning of the letter. Chapter 1 opens with simple greetings but at the same time we find tucked in there a mine of wisdom and wonder. Let’s look at verse 4 (speaking of Jesus)

“…who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.”

This verse alone is so rich & so full! I will restrict myself to the first phrase of the verse in this post “…who gave himself for our sins…” One of the main pillars of the gospel of Christ is the message that God gave us His Son to save us from our sins.

As we read our Bibles we’re faced with this recurring theme of salvation from our sins through Jesus Christ. He was “…delivered to death for trespasses…” (Rom.4:25), He is the one “who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity…” (Titus 2:14). “Who in his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree…”; “…who has freed us from our sins by his blood…” (Rev.1:5). In fact, when the angel of the Lord conveyed the news of Jesus’ birth to Joseph, he explained the reason for the name Jesus-“…because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew1:21 NIV).

This isn’t the only thing Jesus accomplished for us by coming to the earth but make no mistake about this: He took our place and died for us. God did not attempt to save us with gold or silver (see 1 Peter 1:18). He did not even send an angel to take our place. Our Lord Himself freely gave His own life to save us from our sins!

We are tempted sometimes to reject this awesome grace of God in Christ. We try to pay for our sins by ourselves. We attempt through some human effort on our own to earn the freedom that Jesus has made freely available. But I have some news that should delight the soul of every believer in Christ: we don’t owe any debt of sin or sins anymore my friends. The price has been paid in full already. Jesus paid the price. He gave Himself for our sins.

Now and again as I interact with people and share this message, some folks say to me: “Is it really true? Is this not too much? Can God really do such a thing? You mean Jesus took my place and died for my sins? But I don’t deserve it!” My response is usually very simple: it is all very true. God chose to do it and we do not deserve it but that is why it is grace.

This is not an issue to entertain doubts about. It is not a matter to debate or quarrel over. It is a facet of grace that drives us to faith in God and increasing thankfulness to Him. This is the only appropriate response to such a wondrous act of Christ Jesus in which He willingly laid down His life for you and I.

May our hearts be established in grace this week and always. May our lives be transformed by this powerful truth of how God by grace gave Himself for our sins. May His Spirit impress this reality upon our hearts and drive doubt and despair from our souls. May we with conviction and untainted persuasion bask in the glory of His amazing grace. Amen.


Note: Unless otherwise stated, Bible quotations are from the King James Version (KJV)

The Sufficiency of Grace

Last time, we briefly considered that grace is God’s method of dealing with us in this new relationship we have with Him. I also shared that His grace is overflowing and ever present for us. This time I’d like to share another aspect of God’s amazing grace.

Let’s consider God’s answer to the Apostle Paul who in the midst of his misery cried out for a divine intervention. He was evidently in a lot of agony at that point in his life and he asked God for some way out. The experience is chronicled for us in 2^nd Corinthians 12: 1-10.

God’s response was simple: “My grace is sufficient for thee…” 2nd Corinthians 12:9 KJV

I like how both the ISV and GNB translate that phrase: “My grace is all you need…”

So you see, God not only tells us that the terms of our new relationship with Him is on the basis of grace; He tells us that His grace is ever abundant and He goes further to assure us that His grace is all we need!

His grace is sufficient. John Gill, 17^th century English Pastor, Bible scholar and theologian wrote this in his commentary about the sufficiency of grace for believers:

“…it is sufficient to all saving purposes, to the acceptance of their persons before God, to their justification in his sight, to their pardon and cleansing, to their regeneration and sanctification, to the supply of all their wants, and to their perseverance in grace unto glory; and it is sufficient in all their times of need, in times of bodily affliction, of violent persecution, soul desertion, Satan's temptations, and at the hour of death, and in the day of judgment.”

From the cradle to the grave, from first breath to the last, through all seasons and times, God’s grace is abundant, and sufficient. His grace is all you need. So stop running helter-skelter or from pillar to post searching and looking for something extra. God’s grace is able to provide the needed answer, the needed solution or needed help. Grace will meet your need!

So my friends, no matter what your present circumstances are, just depend on His grace. There is an ever present, ever abiding dynamic of grace available-the grace of God working mightily in you. Depend on and walk in the enablement of His grace, then you’ll begin to discover so many strengths, abilities and capabilities that are beyond your own human summoning-you will begin to experience the power of God’s grace at work in your life.

Have a great week, remember this is still just another snapshot of God’s amazing grace.


Note: KJV is King James Version, ISV is International Standard Version and GNB is Good News Bible