James Kraft 74 year old retired pipeline worker

Romans 11:6 All grace no works. Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believe on Him who justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. 

As Jesus told the woman at the well, one drink of my living water and you will never thirst again. The GIFT of God is eternal life. His grace is greater than all our sin. It is impossible to sin more than grace because the blood of Jesus covers us from all sin. 

Colossians 2:13 He has forgiven us all trespasses. Romans 4:7-8 Blessed is the man whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. 

First John 2:2. Romans 4:5 Justified means just as if I never sinned. Romans 3:26-28 For He is the just and the justifier of them that believe in Jesus. John 6:47.

June 09 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Murray Runge

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. James 2:26. We cannot 'use' God's free gift of grace. We must repent (turn from) a sinful lifestyle which is a demonstration of faith, which is a work or deed that we do when we receive the Holy Spirit.

We cannot receive the grace of God without realizing it or making it a reality in our lives. Faith is trusting in God, and the demonstration of this trust we now have makes us desire to continually please him, serve him, worship him in deed and in prayer.

Hebrews 13:15-16 states we should continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of the lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Sacrificing our TIME is living our lives doing things that please the Lord God Almighty. James 2:20 says we are foolish not to think faith without deeds (works) is useless. We must humbly accept the word planted in us. James 2:21.

How much do we appreciate Christ's sacrifice for us to receive God's grace? How much does eternal life with God mean to a person?

We live in the light of the truth so what we do can be plainly seen. John 3:20-21 says that those who do evil hate the light for fear their deeds will be exposed.

Romans 5:1-2 states we are justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through him we have gained access by faith into this grace. So without faith we do not have justification into grace. 

To receive this grace we must humbly accept the fact that we do not deserve it, turn from a sinful lifestyle, believe with our whole heart in the gospel of Christ, recognize what he has done for us before we receive the Holy Spirit and be born again into Christ.

God's offer is a continual for sure, it’s not something received by everyone. If we do nothing we receive nothing in return. 

We must be slaves (servants) to Christ, not to sin. You do not just get his graces automatically with out knowing it, although some of his graces we can easily recognize when we see God's creations and how perfect they are.

Recognizing there must be a creator does not get us saved but it should evoke the need to know more and as we increase our knowledge we come to realize our sins against Him that are preventing us from the gift of eternal life that is a promise given to those who earnestly seek him.

In John 15:5 Jesus says, “Apart from him you can ‘do nothing’ [parentheses mine] but in the following verse he says, “If you do not remain in me you are a branch that is thrown away from the vine.” Therefore doing nothing will just get a person tossed into the fire.

If you do not recognize Christ's sacrifice and to do nothing is rejecting the free gift of salvation. You even have never been grafted into the vine as to wither out and die. You are a non-believer without faith, or possibly a fake Christian or being mislead.

One must continually train for the battle against our inherited sin nature, so when our faith is challenged we will have victory over the enemy. If not we will become weak and fall into the devil's snares.

The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. Ephesians 6:17. It is our only offensive weapon. We must train ourselves daily in order to know how to use it. Study the scriptures and understand. Other sources may help us but only the bible is divine authority. Do not neglect the Bible; use it to determine if a statement or doctrine is the truth.

Defeat sin by applying the Word. Become familiar with it so you can share the gospel of truth in Christ with others who are lost and confused. Show them the entrance with the narrow gate for it will bless others and bring blessings to ourselves as well.

It has been said that "The desire to learn is the desire to live." So never stop the learning process when it especially consists of coming to know the true essence of God, of Christ and that of the Holy Spirit. 

All praise and glory be to God.

June 10 2022 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report