By Grace Through Faith - Ephesians 2:8

From All of Grace by Charles Spurgeon  "By grace are ye saved, through faith" (Ephesians 2:8 ).  THINK IT WELL to turn a little to one side that I may ask my reader to observe adoringly the fountain-head of our salvation, which is the grace of God. "By grace are ye saved." Because God is gracious, therefore sinful men are forgiven, converted, purified, and saved. It is not because of anything in them, or that ever can be in them, that they are saved; but because of the boundless love, goodness, pity, compassion, mercy, and grace of God. Tarry a moment, then, at the well-head. Behold the pure river of water of life, as it proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb!
What an abyss is the grace of God! Who can measure its breadth? Who can fathom its depth? Like all the rest of the divine attributes, it is infinite. God is full of love, for "God is love." God is full of goodness; the very name "God" is short for "good." Unbounded goodness and love enter into the very essence of the Godhead. It is because "his mercy endureth for ever" that men are not destroyed; because "his compassions fail not" that sinners are brought to Him and forgiven.
Remember this; or you may fall into error by fixing your minds so much upon the faith which is the channel of salvation as to forget the grace which is the fountain and source even of faith itself. Faith is the work of God's grace in us. No man can say that Jesus is the Christ but by the Holy Ghost. "No man cometh unto me," saith Jesus, "except the Father which hath sent me draw him." So that faith, which is coming to Christ, is the result of divine drawing. Grace is the first and last moving cause of salvation; and faith, essential as it is, is only an important part of the machinery which grace employs. We are saved "through faith," but salvation is "by grace." Sound forth those words as with the archangel's trumpet: "By grace are ye saved." What glad tidings for the undeserving!
Faith occupies the position of a channel or conduit pipe. Grace is the fountain and the stream; faith is the aqueduct along which the flood of mercy flows down to refresh the thirsty sons of men. It is a great pity when the aqueduct is broken. It is a sad sight to see around Rome the many noble aqueducts which no longer convey water into the city, because the arches are broken and the marvelous structures are in ruins. The aqueduct must be kept entire to convey the current; and, even so, faith must be true and sound, leading right up to God and coming right down to ourselves, that it may become a serviceable channel of mercy to our souls.
Still, I again remind you that faith is only the channel or aqueduct, and not the fountainhead, and we must not look so much to it as to exalt it above the divine source of all blessing which lies in the grace of God. Never make a Christ out of your faith, nor think of as if it were the independent source of your salvation. Our life is found in "looking unto Jesus," not in looking to our own faith. By faith all things become possible to us; yet the power is not in the faith, but in the God upon whom faith relies. Grace is the powerful engine, and faith is the chain by which the carriage of the soul is attached to the great motive power. The righteousness of faith is not the moral excellence of faith, but the righteousness of Jesus Christ which faith grasps and appropriates. The peace within the soul is not derived from the contemplation of our own faith; but it comes to us from Him who is our peace, the hem of whose garment faith touches, and virtue comes out of Him into the soul.
See then, dear friend, that the weakness of your faith will not destroy you. A trembling hand may receive a golden gift. The Lord's salvation can come to us though we have only faith as a grain of mustard seed. The power lies in the grace of God, and not in our faith. Great messages can be sent along slender wires, and the peace-giving witness of the Holy Spirit can reach the heart by means of a thread-like faith which seems almost unable to sustain its own weight. Think more of Him to whom you look than of the look itself. You must look away even from your own looking, and see nothing but Jesus, and the grace of God revealed in Him.

The Remedy for the Downcast and Disquieted Soul...Psalm 43

Vindicate me O God.  And plead my cause against an ungodly nation.  Deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.  For You are the God of my strength; Why do You cast me off?  Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?--Psalm 43:1-2

David is being accused unjustly, maligned and slandered and has been forced into exile.  He asks God here to be his divine judge as well as his defense attorney. Literally it says, Judge me O God, and argue my case. What a difference it makes when we commit ourselves to Him who judges righteously.  What a difference it makes when we know that the God of the Universe is on our side! What a difference it makes when we realize that He is our defender.

He is the God of our righteousness.  When we are attacked or maligned by evil men, it is not our righteousness at stake..It is God's.  His righteousness is imputed to us when we believe.  He will defend it.   The ungodly and unconverted cannot be expected to deal rightly with us.  They hate God and therefore will hate His people.   

God is our deliver always. We are no match for the ungodly, the deceitful and the unjust.  When you are being slandered or misrepresented...when your good is spoken of as evil...when the people of the world persecute you because you name the name of Christ--Know this...He is on your side.  The battle is His.  The Lord will fight for you and wants you to hold your peace.  He wants you to be still and know that He is God.  (literally hands off)  Don't get in His way.  Wait on Him  for strength and vindication.  Don't fret...trust Him.  The Bible says He delivers us because He delights in us!  He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. 


Now we may feel cast off for a time especially when we take our eyes off God and put them on people and circumstances.  God, however, does not cast off His people.  He who keeps you does not slumber, He will not allow your foot to be moved.  We may feel oppressed and overwhelmed by what we are facing.  It may seem that everyone and everything is against us.  It may even at times cause us to doubt and lose hope. Often we will not understand why the unjust and deceitful seem to prevail, but God is the author of the trials we face.  Go to Him...seek His wisdom...His explanation.  Wait on Him and allow Him to be your strength.   Know this also...God is working in your heart even in your darkest hour...especially in your darkest hour...for your good and His glory.  Cling to His word and His promises.  Psalm 42 verse 8 says this:

The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me— A prayer to the God of my life.

He will command it.  His lovingkindness will be with you daily and His song at night.  Curl up and rest in Him...you may feel cast off but feelings are irrelevant.  God will never leave you or forsake you.  Psalm 94:14 says:

For the LORD will not cast off His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance.

I love these next few verses.   

"Oh, send out Your light and Your truth!  Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill.  And to your tabernacle.  Then I will go to the altar of God.  To God my exceeding joy; And on the harp I will praise You, oh God, my God."

Where do I go when I feel this way...When the darkness begins to surround me...I go to the One in whom is no darkness at all.  I cry out for Him to lead me by His light and His truth.  I pray that His goodness and mercy also will follow me. Where do I want them to bring me?  First, to His holy hill...and then to the tabernacle...and then to the altar of God and finally to Him...to God Himself.  Nothing else will do...nothing will satisfy me but to be in His presence.


The last verse says it all...

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.  

Why do we feel cast down???  Why are our souls disquieted within us??? Here is why?  We, like David, lose sight of God.  Seeing Him and feeling the light of His countenance reminds us of what we have in Him.  Whatever is happening now we can get through because He is with us.  We see the end of the ungodly that are slandering us and persecuting us and our heart is grieved for them! They walk the narrow edge of a precipice. When their end comes, it is without remedy and beyond hope.

We forget that even in the face of the darkness we must shine our light for Him.  We must not react like the world reacts when  attacked. The people around us should see Jesus in our times of trial not us!  Show them  the One who was wounded for our transgressions and was bruised for our iniquity. Show them the One upon whom is the chastisement for our peace.  Can we expect less than what He faced.  Are we greater than our master???  Jesus washed the feet of His betrayer.  He humbled Himself for those who were unworthy and unthankful...you and I...and died in our stead for our sins.  Talking about these truths in your Christian life is great, but facing them and actually walking as Jesus walked is where the blessing lies.  Truly, the sufferings we face in this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us...to the glory of an eternity in His presence.  Downcast...no way!  See all your suffering and sorrow and persecution as an opportunity from Him to shine His light and live for Him.

 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake."

Love
Mom