The Bible says a false balance is an abomination to God (Proverbs 11:1). As Believers, we must have a proper balance when reading the Scriptures to avoid “extremes” in our Christian walk. Grace and faith are closely linked; and both can be taken to the extreme. For example, we should not use grace as an excuse to do nothing, and we should not use faith as an excuse to rely on ourselves to make things happen. If we take grace to the extreme, we can find ourselves in lasciviousness, and if we take faith to the extreme, we can get caught up in legalism. And legalism leads to a phony, powerless Christian journey.
Having faith in God is synonymous with trusting Him. We cannot have an authentic relationship with anyone without trust. Even when we do not see it in the physical realm, we trust that His promises are true and working on our behalf in the spiritual realm. Our faith is the bridge that connects the spiritual to the physical. Our faith brings God’s grace into reality on earth. We are the just because of Jesus Christ, and the just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17).
As Believers, we fight daily to maintain our stance on what we believe is true according to God’s Word. The enemy is our adversary in this fight, and we cannot allow him to knock us off our faith. Faith is the evidence of unseen spiritual things. It is the assurance and the title deed of what we hope for, the proof of what we do not see, and the conviction of its reality (Hebrews 11:1, 2, AMP). Faith comes to us when we hear, comprehend, and accept the Word of God (Romans 10:14-17). The Word is what strengthens our faith. And without faith, we cannot take possession of what God’s grace has made available to us.
For example, the prodigal son was justified by the father because he repented and relied on his father’s grace (Luke 15:11-32). The same is true for us when we rely on our heavenly Father’s grace and mercy when we miss the mark. This does not give us a license to take advantage of Him and jump right back into the horrible pit He delivered us from! We don’t want to return to that dark place in our life. Neither do we want to go back to being a slave to lasciviousness. However, the good news is when we fall God is there to help us get back up.
When we take faith to the extreme, we rely on our mere human ability to restore ourselves. And guess what? Our human abilities are limited at their best; and at times fail us horribly. Then, what do we do? Do we give up hope? No, we learn to trust God.
We can, and should be confident in God’s grace. God’s grace is awesome; He causes His sun to shine on those who are saved and those who are not. He allows His mercy to be extended to people, even in their most sinful state. God’s grace gives us the ability to do things well, to fulfill a call He has on our lives. His grace lifts us up, and gives us a supernatural boost when we are weak. By God’s
By Chris Adams
hfci.wordpress.com 