GRACE ALONE

The Apostle Paul, in Galatians 5:4, uses the term “fallen away from grace.” Some think that when a person has “fallen from grace” it means that he has lost his salvation, but that’s not what the Apostle Paul meant. It is the grace of God that saves us, it is the grace of God that sustains us, and it is the grace of God that’s going to present us to the Father blameless and holy in that day of glory. The grace of God is a complete job from beginning to end.

So, what does Paul mean by “fallen from grace?” Falling from grace is when you cease to believe that only God’s grace can save you. Falling from grace is when you trust in some external rule or some man-made ritual or church dogma to get you to heaven. Falling from grace is when you add something to the grace of God to receive the favor of God.

To fall from grace is to fall into legalism. Legalism says that you are not saved by God’s grace alone, but rather, you are saved by God’s grace, plus keeping some external rituals and rules. In choosing legalism you have turned away from the all sufficient grace of God for salvation. When you teach that salvation is through grace plus something–whatever that something is–you repudiate the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ. If a person is trying to be saved by works, that person has fallen from grace into legalism, and therefore, he cannot be saved at all, since no one can be saved any other way. Legalism is man;s way, not God’s way.

Some people say that the natural response to salvation by grace alone is something like this: “Now that I am saved by grace, I can break every one of the commandments.” Anyone who believes and practices that is not saved. The Bible tells us so clearly that those who are saved by grace keep the law. They are not habitual lawbreakers.

Those who have experienced the love and the grace of God are not only going to keep the letter of the law, they are going to keep the spirit of the law Those who receive the grace of God by faith alone and receive the Lord Jesus Christ into their lives not only don’t kill, because that’s what the commandments says, they do not hate,s which is the first step that leads to murder. That is the spirit of the law. Those who have freely received the grace of God by faith alone, believing the Lord Jesus Christ, not only don’t take revenge, they forgive those who hurt and despise them because they love their enemies. That’s the spirit of the law.

Grace changes the heart. How, then, can a Christian who is saved by grace alone keep the spirit and the letter of the law? When you are saved by grace alone, the Holy Spirit of God comes to dwell inside of you and He empowers you to do the impossible.

Legalism imposes an outward code. it can never change our hearts and inner desires. Grace, on the other hand, provides the inner desire and the power to obey God.

To fall from grace is to reuse to accept that it is grace alone that makes us acceptable to God the Father.

If you want to live in victory and in power, receive the overwhelming grace and love of God today.

You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. - Galatians 5:4

Copied from My Journal, The Awesomeness of God’s Grace by Dr. Micheal Youssef