-The Bondage of the Human Will and the Grace That Breaks It
Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10; Romans 8:5-8
One of the most confronting truths in all of Scripture is that the unregenerate heart is not neutral. It is not sitting on a fence, weighing the evidence, deciding which way to lean. Paul makes clear in Ephesians 2 that apart from grace, we are dead, not merely sick or confused, but dead. The mind of the flesh is hostile to God, as Romans 8 declares. This is why Jesus told the religious leaders in John 8 that they could not hear his word. It was not a matter of insufficient information. It was a matter of spiritual inability.
This truth should not drive us to despair.
It should drive us to our knees in gratitude, because if you love Christ today, it is because God in his sovereign mercy invaded the dark fortress of your heart and granted you new life.
You did not choose your way to God on your own.
He came for you.
Reflection Questions:
One of the most confronting truths in all of Scripture is that the unregenerate heart is not neutral. It is not sitting on a fence, weighing the evidence, deciding which way to lean. Paul makes clear in Ephesians 2 that apart from grace, we are dead, not merely sick or confused, but dead. The mind of the flesh is hostile to God, as Romans 8 declares. This is why Jesus told the religious leaders in John 8 that they could not hear his word. It was not a matter of insufficient information. It was a matter of spiritual inability.
This truth should not drive us to despair.
It should drive us to our knees in gratitude, because if you love Christ today, it is because God in his sovereign mercy invaded the dark fortress of your heart and granted you new life.
You did not choose your way to God on your own.
He came for you.
Reflection Questions:
- How does understanding your own spiritual helplessness apart from grace change the way you view your salvation?
- Does this truth produce in you humility and gratitude, or does it produce anxiety? Why?
Posted in Thousand Hills Daily Devotional