No More "I Have To"s: All is Blessed Grace

"What is to be done?"

Such was the question that Communist ideologue Lenin posed, and the hateful, heinous tyranny that he and his minions unleashed created untold havoc, killing millions, displacing millions more, and depriving the world of many potential innovations both in mind and might.

The only question that we must ask is:

"What has Jesus done?"

He has Finished all things. His work on the Cross is the Finished Work, reconciling us to God and freely according us all things through Him.

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galatians 2:20-21)

Christ does more than give us life; He IS our life! And His life live and moves and has its being in us! We believe, we receive; He conceives, He achieves!

If we attempt to work our righteousness ourselves, atetmpting to obey the law in our strength, we frustrate His grace working in us!

Paul purposely corrects himself on his account two other times in the scripture. It is so easy for believers to lapse into wrong believing, that we must do, that we must earn, that we must strive:

"But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?"
(Galatians 4:9)

We do not find God or know Him independently; instead, He makes Himself known to us, and we receive Him.

And

"But 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 do not labor! His grace labors in us!

What is our "job"? To believe on Him!

"Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 2

"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:28-29)

It's that simple!

"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
(2 Corinthians 11:3)

Here, Paul not only makes clear that Christ is simple, but through our own efforts, trusting ourselves as opposed to the word of God, we can become easily misled, like Eve thinking that we have to take something for ourselves, when God has given us all things in His Son! (cf Romans 8:31-32)