How much do we
understand God’s Grace?
God’s
Grace is free to us. But, not cheap to purchase. It was given to us through the
redemptive price that Christ had paid on the cross.
On and off
I came about with the issue whether a person who’d accepted Jesus Christ, then
turn away from god, will still be save. I for instance, stood firm with my
Christian believe, “Once Save Forever Save “. Why is that so?
It is
our ‘ First Love ’ towards God that changes our life destiny. When anyone
uttered the ‘Sinner’s Prayer’ with repented heart, they received Jesus Christ
as their personal Saviour. From that moment, God’s grace flows in us and invoke
the Holy Spirit that dwells in us. Our childlike faith in Christ becomes the
bridge for us to commune with our God~Our Father
in heaven. In another word, we are heirs of God and joint heir’s with Christ
(Ro. 8:17).
How
then, a person who’re swayed or denounced their faith is no longer save even
though God’s grace still flows in them? It puzzles me when the issue been raise.
Herewith is an outline of a simple analogy I form about the bond between God
and fellow Christians.
When a
child is born in a family, they carries their parent gene in their blood(grace). Thus, by default they
intimately became part of the family. Then one day, the child decided to rebel
and chose to walk a wayward life. The parent can easily disowned them
physically. But, can they remove their gene from the child’s blood? Astounding ‘No’. It can’t be done. The gene is part of
the blood cell(life) and will always
remain in the child for as long as he/she lives.
Therefore,
the child infinitely belongs to the parent and the parent will always be the
protector of the child no matter what the circumstances is, because the gene in
their blood binds the relationship with or without anyone consent.
This scenario applies in
our relationship with our Father in heaven. We are called the child of God. As
Christian, we addresses God as ‘Abba Father’ because we are “adopted through
the Holy Spirit”. (Ro. 8:15). God simply receives us as who we are; with or
without blemish! We are encourage to live an obedience life through the process
of sanctification as to imitate Christ likeness. We are encourage to serve in
God’s ministry as to laid up treasures in heaven. Unfortunately, often, along
the way when our joyful obedience turns dutiful(dead leader running), the uprising
human nature within causes us to rebel and walk away from God. However, this
rebellious action does not evict the
Holy Spirit that resides in us. Instead, our action simply force the Holy Spirit to stay dormant until God’s Grace awake it again. When this happen, only God will decide whether the person is still
being His child or not because He sees the heart, mind, and soul of a person; Not
by their action, as we, being human always purview.
The
keyword on this issue lies on, “the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in
our lives, is the evidence that we are saved.” (Ro. 8:9). In another word, “the Holy Spirit is the deposit that guarantees our Salvation.” (Eph.
1:13-14).
Having said so, I stand firm that once a person is save by grace, they are forever save disregard whatever action he/she takes. However, the question on whether the person uttered the 'Sinner's Prayer' with repentant heart or not, is between them and God. Ultimately, we are in no position to judge their personal conviction.
Having said so, I stand firm that once a person is save by grace, they are forever save disregard whatever action he/she takes. However, the question on whether the person uttered the 'Sinner's Prayer' with repentant heart or not, is between them and God. Ultimately, we are in no position to judge their personal conviction.
Written on 11 March 2015, Wednesday
by Ling Chin Hing
by Ling Chin Hing