THE GOODNESS AWAKENING Part 1 (page 2)

The ABUNDANCE OF GRACE AND THE GIFT of RIGHTEOUSNESS

The ultimate ONE-TWO PUNCH. There has NEVER BEEN, nor WILL EVER BE, a more magnificent, beautiful, and outstanding EVENT like our SALVATION. Nothing compares to our SALVATION, as it is the foundation of ALL GOODNESS. God created Grace and Righteousness for us before He created us, knowing we would need them. Now that’s GOOD!

Isaiah 61:10 "I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."

Do you know what “FREE” means? How about the word “GIFT”? Do you understand what “GIFT” means? What about the word “GRACE”? Do you know what these three words mean? They are ONE IN THE SAME. Because of Jesus and His FINISHED WORK, every GIFT OF GOD is FREE.

Galatians 5:4 "You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace."

Grace is God’s unearned and unmerited FAVOR, WISDOM, MERCY, and LOVE, all rolled up in ONE. Grace is God’s absolute goodness, and IT’S ALWAYS FREE and ALWAYS OFFERED AS A GIFT. We either RECEIVE IT, or not. By default, if we fail to RECEIVE GOD’S GRACE AS A FREE GIFT, we essentially reject it.

Romans 3:24 "BEING JUSTIFIED AS A GIFT BY HIS GRACE through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;"

Grace is the ABSOLUTE GOODNESS OF GOD. There is no bad, no evil, and no possibility of bad or evil, in GOD. God is the GOD OF ALL GOOD and ALL GOODNESS. Our Father created ALL GOOD, and He has given it to us as a FREE GIFT. He has placed this GOODNESS into our hearts.

Romans 11:6 "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace."

As part of GOD’S GOODNESS, He made us RIGHT WITH HIM, FREELY. Jesus PAID FULLY, so with God our Father, there is no more wrath, no more condemnation, and no more punishment - EVER. God is completely FOR US. There’s NO POSSIBILITY OF WRATH OR PUNISHMENT FOR THOSE IN CHRIST JESUS. Jesus did a complete work, and that is why HE IS THE GOODNESS OF GOD.

2 Thessalonians 1:11 "To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and FULFILL EVERY DESIRE FOR GOODNESS and the work of faith with power,"

Again, GET THIS, let the truth of God’s Grace soak into your heart. Go past your head. Don’t just skip over this truth. Grace is the unearned, undeserved, unmerited, unlimited, and PERPETUAL FAVOR, MERCY, and LOVE of GOD given as a FREE GIFT. Our part is to RECEIVE IT. When we BELIEVE IN OUR HEARTS, which is our IMAGINATION, then we’ve RECEIVED IT. This is the Gospel of God’s Grace.

Galatians 2:16 "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS, even WE HAVE BELIEVED IN CHRIST JESUS, so that we may be JUSTIFIED BY FAITH IN CHRIST and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified."

You have to see this… the very best of God, which is HIS GRACE, can only be received by faith; it’s TRULY a free gift and cannot be earned, ever; that’s THE POINT. Now, that is good!

Romans 5:18-21 "So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Do Not Be FOOLED, There is an ENEMY

There is a real enemy. For example, in the Scriptures above, if you believe the BIBLE, we learned from Romans that while yet sinners, WE were enemies of God.

Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"

The truth is, WE WERE ENEMIES OF GOD UNTIL JESUS COMPLETED HIS WORK ON THE CROSS. Get this… Jesus finished His work 2,000 years ago. Jesus’ finished work is PAST TENSE. The only thing left to do is to RECEIVE IT BY FAITH. However, not all HAVE RECEIVED THIS FREE GIFT OF GRACE.

Ephesians 1:10 "And YOU WERE DEAD IN YOUR TRESPASSES AND SINS, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and WERE BY NATURE CHILDREN OF WRATH, even as the rest. BUT GOD, BEING RICH IN MERCY, BECAUSE OF HIS GREAT LOVE with which HE LOVED US, EVEN WHEN WE WERE DEAD IN OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, MADE US ALIVE TOGETHER WITH CHRIST (by grace you have been saved), and RAISED US UP WITH HIM, and SEATED US WITH HIM in the heavenly places IN CHRIST JESUS, so that in the ages to come He might show the SURPASSING RICHES OF HIS GRACE IN KINDNESS TOWARD US IN CHRIST JESUS. For BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED THROUGH FAITH; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES, IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them"

This is a two-part series on THE GRACE AWAKENING:

YOUR GRACE AWAKENING Part 1

YOUR GRACE AWAKENING Part 2