GRACE LABOR
The Truth About Grace

There is a ‘Labor in Grace’ according to (1 Cor. 15:10) “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
Today’s grace message will often over-reach the finished work of Christ and conclude that the believer need not do anything, from asking for forgiveness to learning to live holy. The finished work of Christ was the work required to take away the sin of the world. Everything about christianity stands on the foundation of this work. However, the work that remains is the work of learning and living the knowledge of Christ and His word.
Revelation knowledge by the Spirit is the secondary work of grace that needs to be activated continuously in order that the image of Christ be completed in us.
Jhn 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; Jhn 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
The finished work of Christ – we could never do.
. . . “but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. ” (Heb 9:26)

. . . “when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;” (Heb1:3)

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” (Heb 2:9)

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph 2:8,9)

His primary work of grace places us in position for the secondary work of grace to be done.
The mainstream grace teachings only point to the grace concerning the finished work of Christ. They omit the grace to run the race, to grow in grace, to be sanctified through the truth, or to go on to perfection. This is the grace labor we are called to do.
When grace and the finished work of Christ are misappropriated, people who want to remain confined to their fleshly lusts are provided with an excuse not to grow. People are left with a misaligned understanding that leads them to do nothing because they are led to believe grace has done everything.
The message of holiness is left out for fear of sounding like the legalistic demands of the law.
While Christ is the end of the law, He is not the end of holiness. The grace of God requires our involvement without depending on our ability.

Some of today’s teaching on ‘grace’ say that God is not measuring, judging or monitoring us. Well that would be true if specified to the flesh and sin. He does not measure/judge the outer man. Flesh and sin were judged at the cross. He judges the inner man. He judges righteous judgment. This means He looks upon a man’s born again spirit as being righteous due to God’s righteous seed in that man’s spirit. He measures how much the inner man will be given opportunity to hear the word and do it. He measures the inner growth of that man in the knowledge of the word. In fact, that born again man will eventually appear before the judgement seat of Christ to be rewarded accordingly.

Our work in christianity begins where the work of Christ (took away sin) was finished. The finished work of Christ is the grace that serves as the foundation to bring us to regeneration (born again), and justification (made righteous).
Then there is a grace to build us up after the foundation is in place.

Acts 20:32 which says, “Now brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace which is able to build you up and give you and inheritance among all them that are sanctified.”
2Ti 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Our work in grace is to learn the truth that is in Christ. We are commanded to eat His flesh and drink His blood. Then His life will be in us.
Without this labor we can never be one with Jesus.

 

In fact, It is why God gives us the gift of His Holy Spirit; to seal with additional grace to further us unto our inheritance.
Eph 1:13
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

John 16:13, “Howbeit when he the Spirit of truth is come, He shall guide you into all truth.”

 Sanctification through the truth is the labor in Grace that the church tends to ignore. If the grace for sanctification is ignored then the path to the inheritance (To come to the fulness of Christ) will be aborted.

Babes will not inherit. Only them that are of full age will qualify for the inheritance. Those that remain babes will have received the grace of God in vain. Paul said, “and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain:” (1 Cor 15:10.) The word ‘vain’ means – empty. Grace to become like Christ is gift from God. But to receive grace for the sake of being forgiven while remaining in the mud hole to wallow in fleshly lusts is grace that will come up empty. Sad to say there will be people in heaven void of their inheritance and empty of their rewards.
Everyone can come to Christ and receive the grace to be born again into a new creature in Christ. And every new creature is offered additional grace to become fully like Christ, full of the word and conformed to His image through that word. As Paul said, Let us labor more abundantly than they all. Yet not us, but the grace of God which is with us. The highest rewards are reserved in the heavens for you!!!

Love The Pure Truth

Pastor Le Yonn Armstrong