James 4:6

NIV: But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

The Message: It's common knowledge that "God goes against the wilful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble."

So what is all this about grace then? Well, reading through this, I reckon this is the grace to endure whatever it is we are going through, the grace to withstand the envy, the desires that rage within us. It comes from God and is the only thing, in my opinion, that can get us through the tough times.

Have you ever wondered how sometimes, it just seems as if life is against you? That no matter what you do, things just go from bad to worse? The illnesses get worse, the finances are even less, you only have to open your mouth and there are arguments, despite all your efforts at work, you are looked down on, ridiculed, ignored?

I believe God is with us in the good times and the bad times, and that He gives us His grace to help us along the way. It is by grace you can carry on even though the world is against you, it is by grace you persevere despite the illness of yourself or a loved one. It is by grace you are able to withstand the desires of this world, the temptations, the encouragement of others to fit in and go along with the crowd.

And what is grace? There is an acronym for grace which is:

God's

Riches

At

Christ's

Expense

John MacArthur puts this as:

It's not that he doesn't have anything to say to believers because secondarily he has been calling to believers to fully live up to the things which are characteristic of them. It's as if he says believers know how to handle trials but they still ought to handle them better. Believers know how to respond to the Word and be doers but they still ought to do it better. Believers pursue purity of life but they ought to pursue it more. Believers are gracious to people in need but they ought to be more gracious. I mean, there's word here for us as well. We too speak the Word of God with our mouth but we ought to do it more often and speak evil less often. Secondarily then these instructions definitely come to bring impetus on the life of a believer but primarily they have to do with that person who may be a professor of something he or she does not possess. And if that's your case the promise of verse 6 is wonderful. Even if you're a person who is characterized by worldly wisdom, characterized by the lust of the flesh, an enemy of God, driven by your own fallenness, even if you're a proud person God gives more grace. That's the wonderful promise of verse 6. That's the grace of salvation I believe. He is saying no matter what your life is like, if you're proud and you love the world and your wisdom is earthly, demonic and sensual, if you're a person who didn't pass the tests, God has grace for you. He gives more grace. I believe it's justifying, sanctifying, glorifying grace that he's talking about, the grace of salvation, saving grace. (Taken from http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/59-24 )

He goes onto say that grace is God's favour to undeserving sinners:

And within that favor is forgiveness and love and the promise of heaven and the Holy Spirit and all spiritual blessings and understanding of God's Word and joy and peace and all the fruit of the Spirit. And all of that comes as God's favor given to sinners who do not deserve it. And God has that grace available to all who will come in faith to Christ...greater grace than the strength of depravity, grace greater than the power of sin, grace greater than the might of Satan, grace greater than the pull of the flesh, grace greater even than death. No matter what your life is like, no matter how sinful you are, no matter how much you love the world, no matter how proud you are, no matter how your lusts drive you, no matter how your wisdom may be that of the world and even below the underworld, still God has grace.

Isn't that just amazing? No matter who we are, no matter what we have done, no matter what our circumstances in life, God's grace is freely available in abundance to each and every one of us, and then even more! I am in awe over a love like that, that just keeps pouring out no matter what I do. Can you imagine doing that to your teenage child when they are rude, disrespectful, stomp about the house as if they own it, pay no attention to anyone else and think the world revolves around them? When they demand this, that and the other, without so much as a please or thank you but automatically assume that what they want, they will get and they have no regard for anyone else's feelings? Or the times you have to tell them to tidy their room, clean their mess up, get their homework done and they completely ignore you, or answer back and tell you exactly what they think of that idea? No matter hwo kind and considerate you are, eventually there comes a point when you say enough, no more. But not God, His grace just keeps pouring you over us.

But just read the second half of this verse. God's grace is a free gift to each of us, but we have to be humble to receive it. After all, if you are proud, arrogant, full of your own self importance, knowing you have done well in the world, you are a "good" person, feeling respected, looked up to, a person of standing in the community, will you really want God's grace? Or will you be too proud to even know you need it?

The thing is, until you are a believer, you will never know just how much you need the grace of God. It is so easy to go your own way, doing your own thing, living for yourself. I mean, I did this for years, never really noticing others around me, more interested in myself than anyone else. I did all sorts of things that I know I have now been forgiven for, but God did not really factor in my life at all. I was too busy living my life to think about God. But gradually, He drew me back and yes, I still mess up. There are times when one of my children only has to say something in the morning when I am rushing around doing packed lunches, getting breakfast organised, and trying to get everyone out of the house on time, and I explode. Not literally, of course! But they know they need to stand well back!

Look at Proverbs 3:34:

Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly (KJV)

This does not mean that if you are a humble believer you will receive God's grace, but if you are a proud, arrogant believer, you won't. No, the contrast is between believers and unbelievers, the wicked and the righteous. Because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, all believers are seen as righteous by God, so God's grace is freely available to each one of us in abundance. But the unbelievers, the wicked? Not so.

So where do you stand on the question of grace? Have you received this from God or do you think you don't need it, that you can carry on without it because, basically, you are a "good" person, and are bound to get into heaven because you aren't really bad or evil? Just remember, grace is God's riches at Christ's expense but in order to receive this, you have to have accepted the payment made on your behalf.