WHOOPS! Looks like we got a little behind on our blog
recaps. Let me catch you up with what
has been going on in AIA at CSU.
The last two weeks (with one week in-between with no meeting
because of a national holiday) have been Unmistakable Grace and Unmistakable
Rest. I spoke on the former, and Samba spoke
on the latter. You can find the videos at http://www.youtube.com/
Ephesians 2 explains that we are objects of wrath. Humans are not good. We are BROKEN. We are guilty of rebelling against our
Creator. However, in His grace, God took
our penalty upon Himself and gave us the opportunity to receive eternal life if
we would only believe in Him. Grace is
defined as a FREE GIFT. It is not
something that we can repay. Isaiah 64:6
says that even our best deeds are filthy rags in comparison to the magnitude of
what God did for us.
Think of it this way.
You are a convicted criminal standing before a judge. If the judge(God) is to be just, He needed to
give you your penalty. However, as the bailiff
goes to put the handcuffs on to take you to serve your penalty, the judge steps
down from his bench, takes his robe off, allows the cuffs to be put on Him
instead, and proceeds to serve your penalty.
That is what God did for us by sending his Son! That is God’s
grace. Giving us something that we did
not deserve. After that happened, it
wouldn’t make sense for us to continue standing there to tell the judge all the
good things that we have done which fail in comparison to our actual
crime. Likewise, we should not do things
to try to earn our salvation or to repay God for what He did. Rather, we should
serve God as a response to the grace He showed us.
Now we get into Samba’s territory: REST. You see, if you are trying to earn your
salvation, you can never take a break.
What if you have only gone to church 99 times in your life and God
expects 100? How do you know where the
line is? And, what happens if when you
inevitably mess up? The beauty of grace
being a free gift is that since there is nothing we did to earn it, there is
also nothing we can do to lose it. We do
not need to wonder about what will happen to us. If we have chosen to trust in Jesus, our
future is secure.
After hearing Samba speak, I reflected upon Jesus’ last word
on earth. “Teleo.” Meaning “It is finished.” Salvation is not something we have to
earn. Jesus paid the full price once and
for all. Our sin was finished at that moment.
All we have to do is believe in Him.
-Brandon
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