Getting Grace

What does it mean to have God's grace in our lives? How do we get it? Where do we even get this phrase? The first time that we hear the word grace in the Bible is in Genesis. We read that Noah found favor (grace) in God's eyes. So how'd he do it? Well, let us take a look at the verb here. Found is an active verb in the perfect tense. The fact that it is active shows us that he DID something. God could have easily said this in many different ways, but chose to show it in the active tense. Noah found grace. This is like the Shepherd finding the lost sheep. There was action involved. Noah longed to walk with God, he strove for it. And God did indeed walk with Him.

So what was Noah's secret? Did he live in a better world than ours? Maybe a simpler time would make it easier to walk with God? Actually, the whole reason Noah was told to build the ark was the corruption of all the people around him. Their hearts were always bent on evil. Even after years of preaching the only people who listened to this man were his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law. If we had an eighty year ministry that produced results like this, we would shut it down and blame the preacher. But God didn't. Instead, God used this man to repopulate the entire Earth. All of creation was saved by this man's faithfulness. It could not be measured by his success in converting those around him. Instead, God's grace in his life was only evident in obedience and God's judgement upon those around Noah and sparing the family of this righteous man.

So are we saved by action? Not our own. Jesus action in our stead is what saved us, just like Noah's action saved his family. We must walk with God in order to have any real righteousness. There is a form of pseudo-righteousness that looks good for awhile, but in the end, it leads to condemnation. So how do we have real righteousness and not just be self-righteous? (To see where self-righteousness gets you check Matthew 23)

Conclusion

So would we be like Noah? Could we stand for right when the world was that evil? Before we ask ourselves that, check your life now. Are we walking with God? Would we be ashamed or nervous if God did show up? Do you have something that jumps to the top of your mind when you think of God's return?

If something does come to mind, ask yourself. Is it sin? Is there something I am trying to justify before God? We humans so quickly want to explain to God why what He calls wrong isn't really wrong. We know its foolish when we hear it aloud, but we end up doing it all to quickly. Instead, let us call a spade a spade. Indeed, let us call sin, sin. Repent, give it to God, and ask Him to replace that sin with something that glorifies His Name. If we try to remove things from our lives and do not allow God to replace them with something new, we put ourselves in grave danger.

So what is a Christian to do. Read. Read your Bible. Nothing helps us overcome sin like God's word.
D.L. Moody once said. “The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.” Let us live by that.