The Exaltation of Grace

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

As Christians, we are called to humble ourselves before the cross of Christ, so that we can experience the exaltation of His grace.

You see, Jesus is a god who by His very nature shows us both the seriousness of our crimes against God and the certainty of His compassion toward us. And He does this in one fell swoop—at the cross. At the cross, Jesus swallowed the fullness of the judgment against our sin and, by that, demonstrated the fullness of His love. Therefore, approaching God through the cross, both humbles us (it shows us our guilt) and lifts us up (it shows us His grace).

The great French thinker and mathematician Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) put it this way:
“Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair.” The good news of Jesus attacks both our arrogance and our insecurity.

And so the Scriptures say: “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble... [Therefore,] Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” Humility and exaltation are not mutually exclusive.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

~ James 4:6-10 (NASB)