Overcoming the Spiritual Laziness Trap: Embracing God’s Grace
A key concept in the understanding of grace is that God, not man, is at work in us. Unfortunately, an unwanted consequence has resulted from this.
Grace in no wise puts us to sleep on a comfortable bed of spiritual apathy and laziness waiting for the next round of “favor” coming with a tray of cupcakes for us.
The Paralyzing Effect of Spiritual Laziness
For some, the message of grace has become like a paralytic drug, numbing their spiritual muscles and leaving them in a state of idleness and inactivity. The slogan “Jesus has done it all” has been misunderstood as a reason to sit back and watch while our relationship with God erodes and the world around us crumbles. This belittles the importance of our actions in fulfilling God’s plans on earth.
Grace will remain fruitless until men act. There is a epidemic of spiritual dryness and emptiness in the Church, a faithful parallel to the pandemic of prayerlessness and lack of knowledge of the Word of God among us. The lost are perishing, the government in this nation is crumbling before our eyes and sinners are doing all they can while believers remain passive in the most part. We need to get aggressive with what we have.
Grace: A Call to Diligent Labor
Rather than spiritual idleness, grace will cause you to labor in the vineyard like never before
But by God’s grace I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not ineffective. However, I worked more than any of them, yet not I, but God’s grace that was with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10 HCSB)
Faith appropriates grace. Faith works out grace. Grace fulfills its purpose as we step out of the boat. It is useless to continue to bewail the deplorable turn America has taken from its Christian foundation and never share the gospel to those God brings our way. Grace came not to put us to sleep, but rather to get us up and about. Because grace has made us the very hands and feet of Jesus on the earth. He is not inactive! There is more to do in grace than the works of the Law. And the work of grace is fun, as you watch God lives His live through you.
The spiritual rest in grace is not inactivity on our part. It is resting from our own works, the burdens of sin and every bond master of our soul. Grace releases us from bondage to serve God in freedom. It does not put us to sleep like an anesthetic or cause us to stay in bed paralyzed like a paralytic drug. There are provisions of grace that will not happen on the earth, some things in our lives that will not change until we step out and act. Because God will not act until we do.
Not the Works of the Law
Rather than laboring in grace, some believers are caught in duplicating what Jesus did. They are busy, but trying to be their own savior. God has not called us to die and make an atonement for our sins. He has not called us to make ourselves acceptable to Him. What Jesus did need not be repeated. Rather, let us go out and preach the gospel, display His glory, show His love, transform lives and subdue the darkness.
Grace has not come to abolish prayer, growth in our knowledge of God, a giving attitude, hard work or preach the gospel, etc. We should not sit and watch our lives take a downhill course and do nothing. Grace remains silent until we begin moving, then it gives meaning to our actions. In grace, the eternal purpose of prayer is fulfilled. In grace, there is the real meaning of giving. In grace, fasting does what it is really meant to do. Grace and truth( or reality) came by Jesus Christ.
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