Frustrating God's Grace

I do not frustrate the grace of God:  for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galatians 2:21)

Self-salvation, either by personal worthiness, by repentance, or by carnal resolve is a hope ingrained in human nature and very hard to remove. This foolishness is bound in the heart of every man on the face of the earth. This false idea arises from ignorance of the Law of God and of what holiness really is. Even an 'evil thought' is a violation of the Law and the Law once broken in any point is altogether violated. There can be no righteousness by the works of the Law to those who have already offended it. Your 'very best' works are filled with pride and self-congratulation afterwards. It is not only ignorance which leads men to self-righteousness - they are also deceived by 'pride.' Man cannot endure to be saved by pure mercy-he hates to plead guilty and throw himself on the favor of the great Savior- he cannot stand to be treated as a bankrupt sinner who needs a handout of charity.

The natural man desires to have a finger in his own salvation and claim at least a little credit for it. Proud man will have not have Heaven, itself, upon the terms of Grace alone. As long as he can, he set up one plea or another and holds to his own righteousness as though it were his life. This self-confidence also arises from wicked unbelief, for through his self-conceit, man will not believe God. Boastful man will in some shape or other, stick to the hope of legal righteousness. They must 'prepare' for Grace, or 'assist' mercy, or in some degree 'deserve' eternal life. There is none that doeth good, no, not one is cast aside and refused.

Man will not seriously examine his condition and fancies himself and has thoughts of self-justification. He is living in a fool's paradise, living on the verge of eternal wrath and the lake of fire. Many think well of themselves because they never think seriously. They do not look below the surface and are deceived by their own heart's pride. It troubles man to start weighing his actions, testing his motives, and pondering his ways to see whether things are right with them. Self-righteousness is strongly entrenched in the heart of men and cannot be driven out but by the power of God. Self-righteousness is evil, for it makes light of sin! It brags of its goods works and boast of self-merit. It speaks of mistakes, little faults, small failures, and slight omissions and so makes sin to be a minor wrong or a spiritual slip - not SIN AGAINST GOD.

Self-righteousness frustrates the grace of God and makes Christ's death in vain. Frustrate means to make void, to reject, to refuse, to regard as needless. The carnal mind hopes to saved by his own righteousness and rejects the Grace, or free favor, of God! He regards Christ's finished work as incomplete and useless. The frustration of the Grace of God is a heinous crime in the sight of God. Many think that they are to merit as much as they can by their exertions and accomplishments and 'then' the Grace of God will make up for the rest.

The mixture of works and grace is most dishonoring to the salvation of Jesus Christ. It makes the Savior's work to be incomplete, though on the Cross He cried, "It is Finished!" It treats the Son of God's sacrifice utterly worthless, since it appears to be of no use until man's works are added to it. This is arrogant treason against the majesty of Divine Mercy. This is a capital crime which will condemn all who commit it. This insults the Throne of Grace.

He who trusts in himself, his feelings, his works, his prayers, or in 'anything' except the Grace of God virtually gives up trusting in the Grace of God altogether. God's grace will never share the work with man's goodness. As oil will not combine with water, so neither will human goodness and Heavenly mercy mix together. (Romans 11:6) You must either have salvation wholly because you deserve it, or wholly because God graciously bestows it, though you do 'not' deserve it. A combination of works and grace is utterly impossible. Trusting in your 'own' works in ANY degree absolutely shuts you out from all hope of salvation by Grace - and frustrates the grace of God.

As long as a man can maintain any hope in himself, he will never look to the Redeemer of Calvary. As long as there remains one drop of hope in your heart that you can clear yourself from sin and win the favor of God by your own works, you will never accept the free pardon through the blood of Christ. Any hopes of saving yourself by your own righteousness rob God of His Glory. You say in your heart, "I do not need Grace, my work will save me." Your secrets thoughts say, "My human works are as good as the sinless life and substitutionary death and glorious resurrection of the Son of God himself." It cries, "We will not have this Man to save us." Self-salvation attempts to pluck the Royal Crown from the head of God and disgrace the Throne of His Glory.  Self-glory wickedly boasts of innocence and pretends to be clean in the sight of God. This is a sin which even the devils don't commit.

Self-salvation also attempts to make Christ's death to be in vain. If salvation can be by works, then why did the Lord Jesus die for us? If you can save yourself or help save yourself by your own righteousness, the death of the Incarnate God, the bleeding Lamb of God, was a waste of suffering and needless and a vain thing and insufficient. Some say that the death of Christ goes only part of the way and that man must 'do' something in order to merit eternal life - they make the death of Christ ineffective. If it is even 'hinted' that the blood of Jesus is not price enough till man adds his two-bit works, then Jesus' blood is not our redemption at all and Christ is no Redeemer. "It is finished" was Jesus' cry from the cross before he died: this must have been all a mistake if it must be finished by man's works. Man thinks he must do something, himself, to complete Christ's work, to finish his salvation and lend the Saviour a hand to make up for His deficiencies. What blasphemy lies in such a doctrine that supposes that Christ on Calvary made a needless and useless offering of Himself.

Are you careless with the Gospel? Do you go to Church now and then to hear a sermon, but you hear without heart? You read the Scriptures occasionally, but you do not search them as for hidden treasure. Is the Grace of God of no great value in your thoughts? Do you not think the Gospel is worth the trouble of prayer, Bible-reading and attention? The death of Christ is nothing to you - a beautiful story - you know the story well, but you do not care enough to seek the Gospel with your whole heart. To be saved by the atoning blood Christ doesn't strike you as being half as important as to carry on your business at a profit and get gain for your family.

Do you have a sense of guilt for sin? You may think yourself certainly as good as others and in some respects even better. It is highly probable that you are good as others and even better than others, but still, you are not good enough to save yourself by your own goodness. In your own opinion, you have done nothing worthy of death. You claim that you have done nothing very bad, but you are very bad because you are so proud as to think yourself righteous, though God has said that there is none righteous, no, not one! You tell God that He is a liar! His Word accuses you and His Law condemns you, but you will not believe Him and actually 'boast' of having a righteousness of your own! This is high presumption and arrogant pride that will doom your soul if you continue in it.

Oh, believe that JESUS is able to save even you and freely, at this very moment. Do not be despondent, for if you do not trust Him - you will make void His Grace. You must be saved by Grace alone, and not by 'anything' in you. It is not what you 'are' or 'feel'. Place your sole and entire reliance upon the great Substitute, the Lord Jesus, who loved and lived and died and rose for you. God smote sin while it was laid on His Son on the Cross, so He could spare a sinner like you. God spared not His own Son, so that you could be spared and forgiven.

Nothing can be tolerated as an 'aid' to the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. The Grace of God cannot be frustrated by human goodness, and Jesus Christ died not in vain. Throw back your soul and rest in His Grace and that Grace will never fail you. Rest in the Saviour's Divine Grace and His precious blood and you are saved. Calvary's finished work by the Lord Jesus Christ has never failed a lost sinner in 2,000 years. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. (Acts 16:31)

I do not frustrate the grace of God:  for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galatians 2:21)