Are You Under the Law or Under Grace?

Are you under the law or, are you under grace? Why does it matter?  Well, according to the scriptures, it matters a whole lot.  Let's take a look at Romans 6:14 that says:  "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."  I don't know about you but, I don't want sin to have an upper hand on me!  And according to this scripture (and many others) Grace is the solution for that problem.

I personally get so much hope, freedom and peace when I focus on God's grace and what Jesus has done for me.  When I remember that He gave his life for me and all that that provided(s) for me, regardless of my own performance (past, present or future), I get so encouraged. But, even in knowing that, I can still find myself struggling to stay in a place of resting in God's grace for me. Sometimes, I find myself falling back into trusting in or looking to myself. When I do that,  I can become edgy, confused, afraid, and even ultimately end up feeling condemned. The reason that happens is, I have gone back to being "under the law" or  become "law conscious" again  verses being "under grace" or "grace conscious."  I am becoming convinced that God truly meant for us to live 100% of the time being "grace conscious," or conscious of Jesus and what He has done for us in the 100% finished work of the cross.  Remembering that He did this for me, not because I deserved it, but because of his unconditional love for me, keeps me from falling into the trap of measuring myself by my own measure or self efforts.  Resting in that grace (undeserved favor), allows the grace of God to flow freely in my life, changing me without my even realizing it.

I originally heard a pastor, Joseph Prince, who is from Singapore, teaching this good news of the gospel of grace (very much like Paul preached), back in 2007.  It resonated within me as he shared some of the very things that God had put in my own heart.  As I listened, it breathed life and hope into me.  Because of that, I want more than anything to encourage others that may find themselves struggling with the same challenges of being totally "grace minded" verses "law minded."  I am including below, an excerpt of a message given by Joseph Prince called, "Over-Supplying Grace".  I pray that it encourages you, ministers grace and hope to you,  and that you will find peace and rest in the the finished work of Christ that He has accomplished on your behalf at the cross.  God's grace is God's love for us.  God's grace is Jesus. 

Grace, grace,

Ruben Cortez

EXCERPT from Joseph Princes message titled, "Over-Supplying Grace" below:

"You know, I asked the Lord once what it meant to live under grace.  He said, 'When you are conscious of My constant supply to you, you are living under grace.  Conversely, when you are conscious of the demand put on you to achieve, you are living under the law.'  Simply put, the principle of grace is supply, while the principle of the law is demand.  The law says, 'You shall...You shall not...You shall...' But under grace, God says, 'I will...I will...I will...'  (Hebrews 8:10-12). Can you see the difference?  Under grace, God is the one doing all the doing and supplying, not you.  Praise God, this is our relationship with Him under the new covenant of Grace!

When you are demand-oriented, you see everything as a demand placed on you - 'I must do this...I must do that...'  The result?  You feel stressed and pressurized to perform, meet people's expectations and achieve results.  But when you are living under grace, you see the rich supply from God providing whatever you need for your situation despite the demands.  The result?  You walk in peace and always see God's provision because your eyes are focused on His unfailing supply.  As we deal with life on a day-by-day basis, we can be demand-oriented or supply-oriented. So, let me ask you this: Are you demand oriented or supply-oriented?"

Link to Joseph Prince Ministries Here

Guiltless Not Sinless

Are you a Christian but, still find yourself feeling guilty?  Do you often think about your performance or sin in your heart? Do you get down on yourself or feel confused about your failings?  Do you ever feel like you are chasing your tail, like you can never be quite "good enough" and can never stay in a place of peace?  It may be that you have unknowingly fallen into a trap of wrong thinking rather than wrong doing.  God did not promise to remove sin from our heart; that my friend, will not happen until the rapture.  He promised that He would forgive our sin, once and forever.  He did that through the work of his son, Jesus Christ, on the cross.  That finished work at the cross makes us no longer guilty of our sin in the eyes of God.  Aren't you glad that God does not see our sin before His eyes, because of the cross?  BUT, when we take our eyes off of the cross and put them back on ourselves, our efforts, our failings, our sins, we then can find ourselves feeling guilty again.  We feel confused.  We lose our peace.

But God has given us peace because of Jesus and His (Jesus') perfection.  It's not about our perfection.  God's kind of peace doesn't come once we are good enough, or when we have totally quit sinning. It is a peace that comes when we receive the gift of righteousness or perfection from Jesus, the gift of forgiveness of all our sins.  That kind of peace passes all understanding, because it was given to us, not earned by us.

God also sent us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.  The scriptures tell us that the Holy Spirit will always point us to Jesus (not to ourselves). So, when we look inside ourselves, we are trying to make ourselves sinless, rather than receiving what Jesus has done for us and given to us.  By His sacrifice on the cross, He once and for all made us no longer guilty of our sins. He once and for all made us guiltless.  He made us righteous.  When we start focusing on ourselves, we are actually mixing our righteousness with the righteousness of Christ.  That my friend, is actually mixing the law with grace, which will only bring confusion.  No wonder we are losing our peace.

Because of Jesus dying on the cross for us and being raised from the dead, those of us who believe and receive that great gift are considered guiltless, shameless, and we are no longer condemned.  Jesus has given us our victory. That's grace.  It is finished.  We don't have to DO anything else, other than "receive" what has already been "done" for us. That is great news! The more we remember and focus on Jesus and what He has done for us, the more His grace can work in our lives and we will actually find ourselves being changed by Him, rather than trying to change ourselves.  We will be living guiltless, not sinless.



Mat 12:1-8
Hosea 6:6
Galatians 4:28-31