By Cindy, United States
Grace is from God, and refers to His care and protection, pity and love for mankind. It includes material blessings and even more the sustenance of life. Since God created us humans, His grace has always accompanied us. Counting God’s grace, many brothers and sisters will say: “God has cured my sickness; He protects my family from sickness and disaster; He makes everything go smoothly in my family and makes my family happy; He has provided me with enough food, clothes or things that can be used, and I’m not lacking anything. …” All of these are God’s grace. What God bestows upon us is indeed abundant, rich, and beyond number. God’s deeds truly are wonderful. However, what is most beneficial for our lives is God’s words. God’s words can serve as the power of our life, shows us the way of practice and guide us in living under His protection and blessing. As long as we live by God’s words, we will gain life and God’s grace and blessings, live in God’s light, and be freed from Satan’s harm.
When Adam and Eve obeyed God’s words, they received God’s grace and blessings.
After God created our ancestors Adam and Eve, He set them in the Garden of Eden, and told them: “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16–17). Adam and Eve acted accordingly after hearing God’s words. They plucked and ate fruit from the trees in the Garden of Eden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They watched over the plants and animals there, loved each other, and lived in peace and happiness. However, one day, the serpent came to tempt them to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and because of their lack of discernment, they fell for Satan’s crafty scheme—they defied God’s words and ate the fruit, which God had forbidden them to eat. As a result, they were driven out of the Garden of Eden; thereafter, they had to suffer the pain of labor, and sweat to provide for their family. This is the result of their defying God’s words—they lost God’s grace and blessings.
In the Old Testament era, when people kept God’s laws and commandments, they received God’s grace and blessings.
In the age of the Old Testament, people didn’t know how to conduct their lives, so Jehovah God proclaimed laws and commandments, telling them how to live, how to worship God, what kind of person God blesses, what kind of person God curses, and what sin is. All the words of Jehovah God were what man needed and what they should follow. When the Israelites acted in accordance with the laws, they received God’s grace and blessings: They lived peacefully together on earth, and God was with them at all times, caring for and protecting them. As it says in the Bible, “And keep the charge of Jehovah your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do, and wherever you turn yourself” (1 Kings 2:3).
However, toward the end of the Old Testament age, mankind had been deeply corrupted by Satan to the point that they could no longer abide by the laws. They began to make poor sacrifices and sell cattle, sheep, and doves in the temple, turning it into a den of thieves. What they did was loathed and despised by God. They betrayed God’s laws and commandments, and so they were faced with the danger of being convicted by the law.
In the New Testament era, whoever accepted the Lord Jesus’ gospel received His grace and blessings.
When the Lord Jesus was incarnated on earth, He brought the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, preached the way of repentance, told people to confess and repent, and taught people to love their enemies, be humble and patient, forgive others, love their neighbors as themselves, and so on. Those who acted according to the Lord Jesus’ words received forgiveness of sins, no longer faced the danger of being punished by the law for committing sins, but lived under God’s grace and blessings. Whereas, those who refused to accept the way of repentance the Lord Jesus preached lost God’s salvation, and still lived the bitter life of being bound by the laws.
From God’s previous work, we understand that God’s words are the greatest grace and blessings that God bestows upon man. As long as we follow the way of God and practice in accordance with His words, we will live in His care and protection. The Lord Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). These words tell us that we don’t live by food alone, but more importantly, we can’t leave God’s words. Only God’s words can be our life, and are the foundation of our existence.
In the last days, we must accept God’s new utterances in order to receive God’s grace and blessings.
The Lord Jesus said, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come” (John 16:12–13). The Book of Revelation prophesies, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; He that overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death” (Revelation 2:11). The Lord’s words send us a message: When the Lord returns to appear and work in the last days, He will utter more words and express the truth to save us; once we receive the words that God bestows upon us as our life and our sins are cleansed, we will be able to be brought into the kingdom of heaven and enjoy the blessings of heaven. That is to say, in the last days today, the Lord will return in the flesh to work, and bring us the way to eternal life. So we must be wise virgins, and take heed to listen. Once we hear someone bear witness that God is expressing new words, we should hurry to seek and investigate, follow the footsteps of the Lamb closely and accept God’s new utterances. Only then will we be able to gain God’s salvation of the last days and receive the greatest promise God gives us—eternal life. On the contrary, those who only accept the Lord Jesus’s work but don’t accept the work of the returned Lord Jesus are people who believe in God but don’t follow Him to the end. Their belief is all for naught and ends in failure—they shall never attain eternal life. They will lose God’s grace and blessings, and regret it for eternity.
