Saved by Grace

Genesis 6:5-8

5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

We live in world that grows increasingly darker with each passing day. There is no denying this fact, if you read the Word of God, and hold to godly standards. There is no sense in trying to whitewash it, or convince ourselves that it's just a little bump in the road, a little turbulence, and everything is going to smooth out. We need to be honest and face the facts.

We are in the times the Bible speaks about. In Isaiah the prophet speaks about a people that pull sin like a cart with a rope. And he describes them as a generation that has no shame and don’t even blush when they sin. He says that this generation will call evil good, and good evil. Isaiah says that they put light for darkness and darkness for light – notice how the liberals call themselves 'enlightened.' The truth is that their souls are dark and they no longer even fear God.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

I know this is sounding really bleak, and depressing and that is intentional because it is the plain simple unvarnished truth - these are dark, evil, times, and I feel mandated by God to truthfully and accurately present to your minds the reality of the times we are in.

I feel like there are very few today that are really speaking accurately and truthfully concerning the conditions and the atmosphere of these times. The majority of the voices that we are hearing today are not speaking accurately or truthfully. Jeremiah 6:14, the weeping prophet spoke of these 'marshmallow' men of God;

“They have healed the also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”

Jeremiah said, “For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest everyone dealeth falsely.”

I wish I could tell you that we are just going through a rough patch, that it’ll be over soon, but if I am going to be a true to God’s Word, to speak truthfully and accurately to you, then I can't tell you that, because I would be lying. The truth is, all the evil we have seen and experienced up until now has been just a trembling, just contractions, just the birth pains of what is coming.

Brother Clayton, why would you say such things? We read your posts to be encouraged. We read you to receive a ‘bless me word.’ We want to read how everything is turning around and how our society is suddenly going to wake up and be good again. We want you to say that Jesus loves everybody, that He is not mad at anyone, He doesn't judge anybody, and that everyone is saved already, but they Just don't know it yet.

We want to hear how Grace is this great big blanket that covers all of our sins, past, present, and future, so it doesn't matter what we do, because it's already covered. We want to hear that the Holy Ghost never convicts us of sin anymore, all he does now is convince us how righteous we are. Well, if that's what you want to hear, you got the wrong preacher and you clicked on the wrong link, because I'm glad the Holy Ghost is still convicting the sinner of their sins.

Grace is not just a giant blanket for sin, grace is the divine gift of God working through my humanity to give me power over sin. Grace is not a life preserver that that I wear to keep me from drowning so I can swim in a sea of sin and still call myself saved. Grace delivers me from the sea of sin. I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, drowning from the poor choices I had made, but Jesus the master of the sea heard my despairing cry and lifted me and now I am saved.

2 Corinthians 5:17 – “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature old things are passed away, behold all things are become new....”

I might make somebody angry with this post today, I might knock over somebody's sacred cow, but I'm going to say it anyway. I am not a sinner saved by grace. There's a beautiful song that says, “I'm Just a sinner saved by Grace.” That’s not biblical! It's may beautiful, it may make me emotional, but it's not biblical! I can't be a sinner, and be saved by Grace. I can't be both. Because salvation is not just about saving me from the sea of sin that I'm floating in – the work of The Holy Ghost has made me a new creature, He took the sin nature out of me and made me His dwelling place.

If it is still natural for you to sin, if you still have an appetite for the lusts of the flesh, then you haven’t been born again. I am sorry if that offends you, but you just haven’t. When you’re born again, you get a new nature, and that new nature has no appetite and no desire for sin. That doesn't mean that we are not tempted by sin, or that we do not stumble from time to time, but sin is not our occupation anymore. If you are born again, it is not sin that controls you, it is the Holy Ghost.

I'm not a sinner, I was a sinner I had the nature of sin in me. But I have a new nature, and for me to call myself a sinner now, is to deny the power of the blood that was shed to set me free from the law of sin and death, and to deny the transforming power of the Holy Ghost who has taken residence in my soul.

We are in the world, but we are not of the world. Friendship with the world is enmity with God, whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Come out from among them and be ye separate, touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you. And will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters saith the Lord.

In our text God said: I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. Now listen to the words of Jesus:

And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. [27] They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.… Luke 17:26-27.

This is what is happening in the world today; it is no surprise, it is Jesus’ words being fulfilled. And I’ll be honest with you, if that was all the word said, I would be completely overwhelmed and cast down without hope. But I want us to go back to Genesis. There is a word here we need to hear.

Genesis 7:19-24

[19] And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. [20] Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. [21] And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: [22] All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land , died. [23] And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive , and they that were with him in the ark. [24] And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

That doesn’t sound very encouraging, but this is the encouraging part...

Genesis 7:17-18

[17] And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. [18] And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.

This is the word that we need in this hour; we don’t need someone deceiving us with smooth, sweet, silky, flowery words of how great everything is, we need to know and hear the truth: it is bad, it’s getting worse, Jesus said it would. But Just like Noah and his family inside of that Ark, (they were safe,) they were protected; and those who have their hope in Jesus Christ, are Just like Noah. Just like Noah was hid inside of that ark, and rose above the waters that drowned everyone else, those that are hidden in Christ times will rise above these dark times.

Colossians 3:1-3

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

As the flood waters rose; as destruction came on every living thing upon the earth; the ark rode on top of the waters. The waters increased and bare up the ark, and the ark went upon the face of the waters. The waters increased and bare up the ark. Which means that, that which was destruction to one was salvation to the other. And the worse it got around them, the higher they went.

That’s the word the Holy Spirit gave me for his followers today: ‘The darker it gets, the more our light should shine.’ As the world sinks deeper and deeper in the sea of sin, we must rise above it, we must maintain holiness. We cannot let our standards descend so low that we blend into the sea of sin, or we may drown.