Received God's grace in vain?

"...By the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which [was bestowed] upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." 1 Corinthians 15:10

"We then, [as] workers together [with him], beseech [you] also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain." 2 Corinthians 6:1

I can pose the same question in my own life: Have I received God's grace in vain?

I believe that we, the beneficiaries of God's unmerited favor, sometimes make two sad mistakes in our Christian walks: (And by these, we make it seem as if we have truly received God's grace in vain.)

1 - We lift ourselves up in pride.

2 - We lift others up unnecessarily.

How so?

1 - How do we lift ourselves up? Well, let me answer that question by asking a few others: What righteousness do you: cling to, trust in, depend upon? Is it your own or is it Christ's? Have you ever elevated yourself, in any way, above other believers or above even those who don't believe? If you have, what righteousness were you standing upon? According to God's word, not Christ's!

Because in Christ...

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28

"One," it says. We who truly believe in Christ Jesus are ALL one in Him; there is no difference. Every Christian is on equal ground, the Solid Ground of a Holy God. And this is ALL by God's grace through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. His righteousness, and His alone, is what we should be clinging to, trusting in, depending upon. Now when it comes to comparing ourselves to those who don't believe, we can only say that we are who we are by the grace of God...it is not from ourselves, it is not from our own works.

2 - How do we lift others up? Once again, let me answer that question by asking a few others: Do you focus too much upon other believers, and compare your walk with theirs? "He is such a man of God! I'm not like that." "She is so spiritual. I cannot be like her." He may be a man of God, and she may be spiritual, but it has nothing to do with his or her own efforts. Also, do you have a tendency to focus too much upon what other people think about you and your Christian walk? YOU are not to be the focus my friend, only CHRIST is. It is truly ALL about Christ; it is about His righteousness, and this righteousness is ONLY received by God's grace through faith in His Son.

Christian, let me put it to you this way: If you believe that somehow other believers have attained a certain righteousness (one which is acceptable before God) through any kind of effort of their own, or that they somehow added to the righteousness which they had received when they first believed, then you do not understand God's grace.

Every single believer is to submit himself or herself to the righteousness that God accepts, the righteousness of God, which is only received by faith in Jesus Christ. That is true grace ... unmerited favor.

You mean all I have to do is have a simple faith in Jesus Christ and I have a righteousness that is acceptable before God...the righteousness of Christ?!

God's word says:

"...He hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Corinthians 5:21

"...If Abraham were justified by works, he hath [whereof] to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Romans 4:2-5

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, [I say], at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where [is] boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." Romans 3:23-28

"Behold, his soul [which] is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith." Habakkuk 2:4

"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." Romans 1:17


The answer to the last question is a resounding "YES!" From the beginning of your walk with Christ, throughout your time here on earth, into eternity, you have the righteousness of Christ. You cannot add to it and you cannot take away from it.

Christian, when the just live by faith in everything said and done, they are truly showing that they have not received the grace of God in vain.

Continue, my brothers and sisters, to grow in God's grace,

Enjoy His gift,

One Clay Soldier among many