Established and Growing in Grace

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace , not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.
Heb 13:8-9 NKJV

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen
2 Peter 3:18 KJV

3 1/2 years ago, through a series of events that would take too long to write about here, I decided to get my own web domain. I asked the Lord something like, "What should I name my website?" Almost immediately, "graceroots.org" came to my mind. Long story short, I had never, ever thought of a name like that before. After questioning the Lord about it and praying some more, I realized that this indeed was from the Lord.

One of the frustrating and yet amazing and wonderful things that I've come to accept as a reality of life in Christ is that God doesn't reveal everything to you all at once! As I began to design a site, I was still asking the Lord all kinds of questions regarding what it was supposed to be about. Is this to be a "ministry?" Is it just a website where I can write about grace? What is "graceroots" really supposed to be about?

With not much to go on, as far as clear direction from the Lord, I eventually came up with a tag line that went something like this: "Let everything you do rooted in grace." It's been amazing to look back and see how my thinking has evolved during this time. It's not that there's no worth in that first tag line, but I think I've grown in my understanding of how life in Christ is much deeper than having our "doing" rooted in grace. There is something that comes first, before the "doing." Or perhaps better said, I believe "doing" is a fruit of being established in something else.

I was just thinking about all this the other day. I was thinking heavily about the two highlighted phrases in the scriptures above. I do want to say that in the passages themselves, there is a lot of context that is very important and worthwhile and my intention is not to ignore all of that. I do, however, see that the concepts that come out of these two phrases are spread all throughout the New Covenant.

It is good that the heart be established in grace.

Grow in grace.

I've come to understand that this is what 'Grace Roots' is all about. It's about getting the heart established in grace, and growing in grace. Grace is fertile soil. Grace is far more than forgiveness of sins. Grace is the power and source of the Christian life.

I believe our hearts need to be established in grace, and we need to grow in this. Not just a dab here and a dab there. Not just a sermon series now and then. My frustration, as I think about churches I've been in and as I survey Christian media, and as I simply look at the lives of people I know who are trying to live this Christian life, is that so much of the teaching and preaching is about establishing people in what to do and how to live as a Christian. Now, aside from some teachings that I don't agree with, I think that a lot of the "doing" that's taught isn't necessarily wrong. It's just that it's very rare to find ongoing teachings about grace and our identity in Christ. It seems as if the church is established in doing, and that grace is merely a supplemental teaching.

What I've found to be true in my own life, and what I believe to be Biblical, is that when the foundation is grace - which is found in the living Jesus Christ, with whom we've been made alive together - the "doing" becomes an outflow of our relationship with Christ and His life in us.

If your life is established in "doing" the things of the Christian life, it may seem very noble and it may appear very wise. But I hope you'll consider taking a breath and taking a step back and reevaluating and readjusting your thoughts, and asking God to help your heart to be established in grace. I don't believe for a minute that you'll ever regret it!