Thursday, July 6, 2023
Joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:12-14
Qualified
This week we have been talking a lot about sin and what to do when we mess up. One of the beautiful paradoxes of God is that we may feel conviction from God lavished with grace. Why grace and why does God automatically see us as qualified to receive this amazing gift?
The best news is that there is nothing we need to do to qualify for God’s grace. It is God’s grace that qualifies us. We are naturally separated from God because we are sinful, and He is holy, and the nature of God is righteousness. Grace and salvation bridge the gap between our sinfulness and God’s holiness.
Salvation comes through the payment of sin in death, the forgiveness of sins, the righteousness of God given to us leading to the ultimate change in our hearts. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins with His death on the cross. In our own power we can never qualify for heaven, but He did it for us. Through salvation in Jesus Christ, He qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. We are no longer separated from God because of the work of the cross. God’s mercy allowed Jesus to take the punishment we deserve for our sins. As a result, Jesus’ sacrifice serves as a substitute for anyone who accepts it. We have been ransomed, redeemed, bought back out of the bondage of Satan to live free and joyous by God’s grace. To be redeemed means we need a redeemer who can pay the price demanded. Jesus paid that price and He is our Redeemer!
His grace is enough. His grace is all we need, yet we rarely feel like it is all we need because even if we can have grace for others, we usually don’t believe there is enough grace for all our mistakes. Yet God didn’t even ask us to provide the grace needed to cover our own sins. He gave us everything we would need so how could it not be enough? He handed us everything we need to come to Him. It is enough for the King of Kings, so we need to accept the gift of His grace that qualifies us for salvation and eternity with Him. The only thing He requires is for us to open our hearts and drop all our sin and shame at His feet and receive His grace in return.
…and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 1 Peter 2:24
