GRACE AND THE CHRISTIAN *

The Christian is not to:

1.     Receive the grace of God in vain:

And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain - 2 Corinthians 6:1

2.     Fall away from grace:

You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. - Galatians 5:4

3.     Insult the Spirit of grace:

How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? - Hebrews 10:29

4.     Fall short of the grace of God:

See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled - Hebrews 12:15

5.     Turn the grace of our God into lasciviousness:

For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ - Jude 4

On the contrary he is to:

1.     Continue in the grace of God:

Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God. - Acts 13:43

2.     Stand in grace:

Through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. - Romans 5:2

Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him), I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it! - 1 Peter 5:12

3.     Be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus:

You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. - 2 Timothy 2:1

4.     Draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace:

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. - Hebrews 4:16

5.     Be established in heart by grace:

Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited. - Hebrews 13:9

6.     Grow in the grace of Christ:

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - 2 Peter 3:18a

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* Adapted from: The Collected Writings of W.E. Vine, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2.230-231