Gaining Balance 

By:  Daniel Peter

Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

(Rom 11:22 KJV)

The subject of grace is something that has been misunderstood and misinterpreted by many; a lot emphasize the free favour in its package to the extreme, leaving out its empowering capability and the justice system of God. Though this error has been ever since the earliest time the gospel was preached (2 Peter 3:15-16), it is God’s will that we have His full counsel, gaining balance in our walk with Him 

Apostle Paul, who was an Apostle of Grace, understood the need for this balance. In his explicit teachings in his epistles, making clear the subject of grace, he came to important conclusions such as salvation is simply by believing and confessing (Rom. 10:10), no more condemnation to them are in Christ (Rom. 8:1), we’ve been set free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2) etc. These conclusions have formed some of the basic tenets in Christianity today, and they express God’s love and the freeness of His redemption offer to man. However, in his letters, statements such as ‘if you live after the flesh, you shall die (Romans 8:13)’ was made. Again, he revealed the possibility of being cut off from the faith (Rom. 11:22) and exposed the relationship between unbelief and sin (Heb. 3:17-19). The double-edged nature of the word is clearly seen by all who sincerely seek the Lord. But the love of sin can make some misconstrued the word, and make them focus on the free favour aspect of grace only, falling into deception (Jude 4).

The solution to falling into this deception is to behold the goodness and the severity of God as expressed by Paul himself in Romans 11:22. The word “behold” was translated from the Greek word “eidö“, and some of its root meanings include: “to look”, “to see”, and to “know” etc. Therefore, as we look at stories written in the bible (both the old and the new testaments), we will be able to see and understand God’s justice, which is unchanging. God’s goodness will help us to walk in righteousness knowing it is the best response to His love and that there is reward doing so (Gal.2:20, Rom. 22:12), and His severity will restrain us from sinning knowing that there is a sure consequence (Rom. 8:13, 11:22).

Apostle Peter also understood this concept, that was why in 2Peter 2: 1-9, he reminded the receivers of his letter of God’s judgment of fallen angels, the destruction of the ancient world by flood, and God’s judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah. He went further to reveal God’s goodness expressed in saving Lot from judgment because he was righteous (2 Peter 2:7-9). We see he was presenting the goodness and the severity of God to his readers, not just an aspect of God. Another thing to note is that all the instances Peter referenced were stories written in the Old Testament, indicating that the justice system has not changed.

The devil has power, and the devil can give prosperity. But the devil cannot imitate the character of God. Therefore, the distinguishable difference of those who are children of God, especially in this end time, is in their character. Gaining balance in our doctrine and practice will help in the manifestation of our Sonship (Rom. 8:19).

Prayer Point

Let us ask God to help the entire body of Christ to understand the doctrine of Christ and to follow all His counsels.

God bless you all.

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