The Grace of God
Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, TN
A few people think God's grace is like a water faucet that turns on when they sin. They think that if they keep on sinning they will come to know more and more of God's special favor.
The truth about this is that it is not sin that brings grace, but God's covenant mercy and faithfulness. Sin brings about God's judgment and wrath.
Romans 6:1 AMP asks the question: "What shall we say [to all this]? Are we to remain in sin in order that God's grace (favor and mercy) may multiply and overflow?
vs. 2 gives the answer: "Certainly not" (NKJ); "May it never be" (NAS); "God forbid" (KJV).
God is not obliged to forgive us, neither is He obliged to do anything for us. It is sin on our part to think we can do whatever we want and God will forgive us. (The person who thinks this is probably not a Christian simply because Christians love God and desires to live according to His purpose).
God does forgive His children; however sin has consequences and unrepented sin brings about the sowing and reaping effect. The sins we sow, like placing seeds in the ground, springs up later on.
Blessings and Curses
1. Jesus gives blessings for obedience (Matthew 5)
2. Jesus gives curses for disobedience (Matthew 7).
The blessings and curses depend upon our obedience.
"Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the flood came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. and great was its fall" (Matthew 7:24-26 NKJ)
Why does God bring about blessings and curses in our lives?
The basis for all of God's dealings with us is the Everlasting Covenant, the relationship of intimate friendship we Christians have in Him.
"I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your generations after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you (Genesis 17:7 NKJ ). I will be their God and they shall be My people (2 Corinthians 6:16; and again,"I will be their God, and they will be My people (Hebrews 8:10 NKJ).
Is God's covenant relationship with us one of constant blessing, regardless of our behavior? No. Listen to what God says about our behavior: "Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at -- scorned, disdained or mocked [by mere pretensions or professions, or His precepts being set aside]. - - He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God. For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap. For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap life eternal" (Galatians 6:7,8 AMP).
Think about it!
Do you discipline your neighbor's child when they disobey? No, of course not. I don't either. The neighbor's children do not belong to us, and we do not love them as we love our own. This is why you and I do not discipline them. God disciplines those He loves, those who belong to Him.
"For the Lord corrects and disciplines every one whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes" (Hebrews 12:6 amp). This is one of the ways we know we belong to the Lord Jesus.
Old Tobacco Barn being torn down that once belonged to my family a 100 years ago !!!
How should we view blessings and curses?
1. Nothing happens apart from the will of God, even though it may be an enemy that delivers the blow (Ephesians 1:11).
2. The design of trouble is to bring us to fear God, causing us to pray and depend on Him (Psalm 86:7).
3. Curses sets us apart. They bring us to a crossroad. Their effect is never neutral. We are either injured or improved. We either benefit from our curses or we become worse. Job had the right idea when he said: “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him,"(Job 13:15 NAS).
4. Prayer soothes and comforts us. It is a blessing to have an understanding friend; however, it is of greater benefit knowing we have an understanding God. If we are willing to obey we will rest in His healing balm and find comfort for our souls. We will find the same satisfaction an infant finds sleeping on it's mother's breast (Matthew 11:28-30).
5. Prayer is the means by which God delivers us from curses. This deliverance isn’t ours automatically. God has ordained that we should ask, seek and knock on the door of heaven until God’s will and our wills become one (Luke 11:9).
What is the non-Christian and the Christian's concern regarding God's blessing and cursing?
The non-Christian's concern is to rail against God and escape His curses. The Christian's concern is to seek the reason for the curses, repent and turn from specific sins that brought the curses about. The non-Christian sees God as an oppressor and is tormented by curses. The Christian sees God as a loving covenant-keeping God and is blessed, and wants more than anything to glorify Him.