(Pastor Chen)
We have been looking at the subject of faith and its relationship to grace. We pointed out last time that grace cannot be merited with works. We can only approach God based on the merits of Christ, which is His grace. Understanding of this is very crucial in preventing us from entering a system of works. Faith is not works. Faith is a rest - resting in the finished work of Christ. Faith is not a price that we pay to get what we need from God but rather hands to receive what God has already provided for us. Faith is simply the method that God prescribed for us to access His provisions.
In dealing with the provision of God, there are two ditches that we can easily fall into. One is the over emphasis of grace, and the other is the over emphasis of faith. It is true that everything that God has for us is by an act of His grace. We can neither earn it nor deserve it. He has freely given us all things through the merits of Christ. But this does not take away the responsibility that we have to receive from Him. What God does by grace, we have to receive it by faith. On the other hand, we can put so much emphasis on faith that it seems like we have to earn it. There are actions involved in the exercising of faith, but the actions are merely positioning us to receive from God (more on this in the lessons to come). When we can keep a proper prospective between faith and grace, we can operate in the "works" of faith from the standpoint of receiving from God and at the same time, being thankful for what He has freely provided for us.
The relationship between faith and grace can be illustrated in this way. Suppose a very rich relative of yours decides to open an unlimited account for you in his bank - a type of grace. You can withdraw what you need at any time. However, this account can only be accessed through a bankcard - a type of faith, which your relative has given you. It would make no sense for you to cry and beg this relative of yours to give you something when you already have the bankcard in your hand. All you have to do is to go to the bank and use the bankcard to access what you need. The bankcard activates the account that already exists. Activating the account requires an action on your behalf. This action, however, does not earn what is inside the account but rather receives what has already been deposited. When you receive what you need, you do not give thanks to the bankcard but to your relative.
God in His grace has already given each one of us an account in heaven with everything that we need in this life. II Peter 1:3 tells us, "His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness." Eph 1:3 states, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." Everything we need for our natural and spiritual life has been given to us through His "exceedingly great and precious promises." God not only provided for us what we needed in this life, He also provided us faith to receive them. Rom 12:3 tells us, "God has dealt to each one the measure of faith." It does us no good to cry and beg God for something that already belongs to us. All we have to do is to access what we need with our faith. Faith activates our heavenly account much like the bankcard. It has corresponding action, but that action does not earn us the provision but rather brings us to the position to receive it. All praise, glory, and honor ultimately should go to the One who made the provision possible. More to come in the next lesson.