“By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.”
in which you stand
If the Christian is to live spiritually solid lives during adversity, they need to “stand” in “true grace.” Grace is both a gift and a responsibility. Grace is the provision God gives for living the Christian life.
It is not enough to have the grace of God; we must stand in the grace of God (1 Pe 5:9). We need to make ourselves firm in God’s grace. If we operate under the illusion that we have something to offer God in ourselves, we lose our orientation to grace. The tendency to fall back upon our merit, worth, and personal strength is a stubborn failure of Christians. The devil continually tries to persuade us to take pride in ourselves and our accomplishments.
“Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God” (Acts 13:43).
“But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).
“We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain” (2 Corinthians 6:1).
“Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled” (Hebrews 12:15).
PRINCIPLE:
The central operating focus of the Christian life is God’s grace.
APPLICATION:
We not only need God’s grace to live the Christian life, but we need to stand on his grace to be effective Christians. It is one thing to accept God’s grace occasionally, but it is another thing to make grace the central operating principle of our lives.
The Christian stands eternally in grace from God’s viewpoint. This grace is unalterable because of Christ.
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2).
When God disciplines the child of God, it is an issue of grace, not punishment. His discipline is remedial, not punitive. The Greek word for “chasten” (He 12:6) means to train a child or discipline. God designs His chastening to correct the behavior of the believer. It is God’s process of educating and developing believers. He refuses to let us get away with sin as a faithful Father. He will not allow us to get away with something that will hurt us. When a believer recognizes this, he moves toward stable Christian living based on grace.
