Grace vs. Holiness

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Psalm 23:6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me

all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.

When I walk in a right relationship with God, HIS blessings pursue ME! I don't have to hope for His blessing, or contend for His blessings, they actually chase me down. When God sends something to chase you down, you can't stop it! I can't get away from His blessing!

Walking in a right relationship with God takes some effort, though. It takes a searching of our own spirit, and a willingness to be searched by God. To listen to where He is leading us...to allow Him to correct us.

The message of grace has gone out powerfully into the church in america. So much so, that most of us pursue grace more than holiness. There is grace for all of our mistakes, for sure. And we are saved by grace alone. Period. Nothing we could do could earn us salvation, and we accept it as a free gift to us (although salvation was very costly to God). But to pursue grace...to live carelessly because of grace, this is not a right relationship with God.

To live in pursuit of grace, satisfying our selfish desires and taking for granted God's grace for those things, it is like a child that is forgiven a big mistake, who goes back and does the same thing again with renewed confidence that there is no consequence for the mistake.

All sin carries the weight of consequence, and abuse of grace will not go without consequence. For us to do what we want under the banner of grace is not living in a right relationship with a loving and merciful dad who doesn't want to see us get mired in the consequences of sin. His blessing can't pursue us when we don't agree with Him about what is right and what is wrong.

I want to live in full appreciation of grace. I want to agree with God that holiness produces blessing in my life. I want to live as a testimony that agreeing with God is possible because of grace. I want to learn to live to please the one who is so generous with forgiveness! I want to give Him more and more of my life to agree with. He enjoys me, even while I am immature and make mistakes, but He doesn't enjoy rebellion fueled by his generous forgiveness.

Proverbs 21:21 Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love

will find life, righteousness, and honor.

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