How to Rest In Christ

Works may boast and say to us, I can get you to heaven, if you try hard and labor to do your best. Salvation is the gift of God to be received. We don't work to earn a gift, we simply receive it. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). It's not by your works, but by resting in the finished work of Christ alone. Rest in Christ through faith alone.

Rest in Christ by God's grace alone. It's about what God has done for us in Christ. It's what God is doing in us and through us. That's called grace, and its fulness is found in Jesus Christ our Lord (John 1:16). 

Jesus says to you,"Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"(Matthew 11:28). Jesus invites all who are weary to come to Him and find rest. The word rest refers to our relationship with God in Christ. Faith in Christ means we are completely depending upon Him to do in us what we cannot do for ourselves.

Rest in Christ through faith alone. That means your confidence, trust, and reliance is in Christ alone, to do in your life what you are unable to do by yourself. Only Jesus Christ can save you. That means you rest in Christ. Rest in God's love, mercy, and grace, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30-31).

Grace Must Save Us

Charles H. Spurgeon said, "Men need to be told that, unless divine grace brings them out of their enmity to God, they will eternally perish." He went on to say "that if they are to be saved, it must be by grace, and by grace alone."

Spurgeon recognized that we are not saved by our works. If salvation is by works, we could boast of what we have done. However, salvation is by grace alone, which means it is the gift of God. Salvation is the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ, in Christ alone. If you are saved, it's by grace alone to the glory of God alone!

Spurgeon knew that grace alone must save us, not by grace plus our works. Many teach that salvation is initiated by God's grace and must be completed by our works. Not so. If you are saved, it must be by grace alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). God's grace begins and completes our salvation in Christ (Philippians 1:6). 

Grace must save us in Christ as the gift of God. Faith receives the gift of God in Christ. The gift of grace is found in Christ alone. He alone died for our sins. He alone is risen from the dead as our living Lord. Grace is trusting the finished work of Christ for us, and the work of Christ in us. If we are saved, "it must be by grace, and by grace alone."

Faith that Pleases God

"But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). Your relationship with God is based upon faith. You can never please God without faith. Therefore, you need to understand the faith that pleases God.

Faith that pleases God is more than an intellectual assent to the teaching of the Bible. Faith is a gift of God's grace, an abiding gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 13:13). The indwelling Holy Spirit gives faith to God's people as a gift which endures.

Faith that pleases God is trust. All good personal relationships are built upon trust. To know God in a meaningful relationship is to trust God through Jesus Christ (John 14:1; Ephesians 1:13). In the Greek New Testament, the word pisteuo means to believe or trust. The Bible describes God as trustworthy. Those who trust in God and His Son Jesus Christ are not disappointed (Romans 10:9-11).

Faith that pleases God is confidence. The believer's confidence is in God who works in us to please Himself. "For it is God who works in you both to will and do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). God works in our hearts to trust Him and believe on His Son. Faith that pleases God is "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2).

How to Experience God

"Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good" (Psalm 34:8). To taste and see is to experience God. The Bible was not written simply to give you academic information about God. It was written that you may experience God today in a personal way. The Bible is your guide to experience God. 

Experience God through the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31). Come to God through faith in Christ. Jesus is the only mediator between God and you (1 Timothy 2:5). Jesus is the true and living way to God (John 14:6). Experience God's assurance of your salvation through faith in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

Experience God through prayer. The Bible teaches us how to pray. Prayer is our personal conversation with God. It's more than speaking words from memory. Your heart is open to God in true prayer. Talk to God about anything and everything on your heart. Pray in the name of Jesus (John 14:14).

Experience God through worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Understand that worship is your personal response to God's love and goodness. Worship God daily with your songs of praise and prayers of thanksgiving. Present yourself to God through worship (Romans 12:1-2).

God Will Accept You

God will accept you in His only begotten Son (John 3:16). Our sin is always unacceptable to God. He sent his Son into this world to take away our sins. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). At the cross, Jesus died for our sins. We are accepted by faith in God's beloved Son. "He made us accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6).

God will accept you through the righteousness of Christ. God takes away our sins and accounts us righteous in Christ alone (2 Corinthians 5:21). Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, we receive the righteousness of God. That's why we can sing, "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness."

God will accept you in Christ, though you are not perfect, and never will be in this life. We have failed God in many different ways. The Bible calls it sin. We can never earn our way into God's favor. His unmerited favor is called grace, and it's always a gift received by faith in Christ. Then we may testify, "by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:10).

God will accept you with love divine. His love for us is personal. God's love for us is reality seen at the cross of Jesus (Romans 5:8). He died for our sins. His sacrifice takes away all our sins (1 John 1:7). His resurrection gives believers life abundant and everlasting. God accepts us by faith in Christ (Romans 5:1). God's love for us is forever (Romans 8:38-39). 

God's Sure Mercies

"And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the sure mercies of David" (Isaiah 55:3). Sure mercies are promised to you in a covenant relationship with God. You know from the Bible, that it is God's will to extend mercy, even the sure mercies of David. God made covenant with David concerning the coming of Christ (2 Samuel 7:12-16). It was a sure promise, because it was the promise of God fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ.

God's sure mercies are in the everlasting covenant through Christ (Hebrews 13:20-21). God promises to have sure mercies upon us in Christ alone. It's God's sworn promise through the everlasting covenant. Simply stated, it means that God will never change His mind.

God's sure mercies are seen at the cross of Jesus. He died for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus in our place. God declared it to be true by raising Jesus from the dead (Romans 10:9). 

God's sure mercies cleanse us from all sin through Jesus Christ (1 John 1:7-9). Believe the covenant sure mercies of God in the Lord Jesus Christ to save you (Acts 16:31). God's everlasting covenant mercies are sure by faith in Christ.