5)
Not by works
of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6)
Which he shed
on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7)
That being
justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of
eternal life.
8)
This is a
faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they
which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These
things are good and profitable unto men.
9)
But avoid
foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the
law; for they are unprofitable and vain.
10)
A man that is
an heretick after the first and second admonition
reject;
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should be aware that many look to justify their actions. It seems to give
courage, as opposed to hindering what one wants to do. Our justification is by
the grace of God. There is no other justification. This is how the Lord places
us in a position of safety. We are now members of His kingdom through the
shedding of His blood. We are “allowed” a place in Him.
Too
much “grace” preaching is incorrect. Grace saves. It is the “gift” of salvation
that allows us a way out of sin. We need deliverance from the bondage of sin in
the flesh. Sin is in the flesh and always will be. This is why we cannot simply
clean ourselves up but must be raised to a new life. Without newness we cannot
operate in a life of holiness. We must be different to be saved.
Justification
makes us “just as if” we have never sinned. We cannot continue to live in sin
but must claim justification by God. Look at most “self-help” programs—they
allow one to boast what they have done. Only because of the baptism of the Holy
Spirit and water have we been able to change. We cannot boast anything but must
understand that only God can save and that He can save anybody.
We
must remember how we tried to live like a “good” person before salvation, but
could not do it. All of our attempts equaled failure because of sin.
The
Lord is asking for someone to set a standard. He has a better plan for us then
just to get saved and keep going in circles. When one does not want to live
right, trouble will be everywhere. If you eventually do the will of God, you
will align yourself and have the victory.
The
Lord wants us to have the victory, but we cannot as long as we complain, find
fault, and back-bite. We need to praise the Lord because the devil cannot dwell
in the midst of praise. God’s plan for the church as been
laid out. We need to stop acting like we want nothing to do with Him and
turn everything over to Him. We have not been saved to have “problems but we
have been saved out of problems.
We
have been justified by His Grace and commanded to walk in the newness of life,
giving Him the praise.