God’s grace has blessed Harmony Plains Singing School. Skipping one year for COVID, 2024 is the 60th session. We have made lifelong friends, had Spirit-filled assemblies, experienced great classes, and enjoyed volleyball competitions. Great memories! In grace, HPPS will go on and on. May 2024 bathe each sinner’s heart in our Lord’s eternal love.
Our 2024 theme is “Grace Sufficient”. The 2024 hymn is number 290 in the OSH#11—“Come All Ye Chosen Saints of God”, and our HPSS bible text for 2024 is II Corinthians 12:9. Grace is an unmerited favor bestowed by an unobligated giver upon an unworthy recipient. Believe it or not, Christianity is not primarily about good people being good. Grace is the good news that sinners coping with their failure to be good, may still rejoice because, “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound,” (Romans 7:14-24, Romans 5:20).
The gospel is not good rules, and great obedience. In fact, we either believe in works or grace, there is no in between. Romans 11:6: “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise, grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise, work is no more work.” Works are a mindset that equate our goodness and identity directly to our performance. Works make our achievements our all in all, and the failures of others our great reproach.
Often the good news of God’s grace is thought to be all about doing more and getting better, for us, our kids, our spouses, our friends, our enemies, and our culture. But, “What is to become of those who miss the mark (that’s all of us)? What is the recourse for those who have not measured up (that’s all of us)? What is to happen to those who have failed (that’s all of us)?” When we hatefully judge others, we do not define them, we alone define ourselves.
Jerry Bridges has written, “My observation of Christendom is that most of us tend to base our relationship with God on our performance instead of on His grace. If we’ve performed well—whatever ‘well’ is in our opinion—then we expect God to bless us. If we haven’t done so well, our expectations are reduced accordingly. In this sense, we live by works, rather than by grace. We are saved by grace, but we are living by the ‘sweat’ of our own performance. Moreover, we are always challenging ourselves and one another to ‘try harder.’ We seem to believe success in the Christian life (however we define success) is basically up to us: our commitment, our discipline, and our zeal, with some help from God along the way. We give lip service to the attitude of the Apostle Paul, ‘But by the grace of God I am what I am,’ (I Corinthians 15:10), but our unspoken motto is, ‘God helps those who help themselves.’”
Of course, grace is not a license to sin. God forbid (Romans 6:1). Grace understands though, that there is none righteous no not one. It is the realization that I am a sinner as well as the next one, and as desperately in need of grace as anyone. It is so easy for Pharisees to believe in grace a lot but not believe in grace alone.
Paul was converted from Pharisaism. When it was said to him, “My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness,” (I Corinthians 12:9), the word weakness meant “a state of incapacity comprehensive of the whole person.” Paul said, “Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more,” (Philippians 3:4). Paul’s 1st C equivalent would today be PhD Fortune 500 status. The contrast Paul makes here is between a righteousness of his own by obedience and a righteousness of God by Christ alone. One is earned, the other bestowed. One is pride, the other is humility.
If we rest in grace for eternity, “Wonderful!” Are we aware, though, that every one of us only continues each day because of grace? The tragic truth is we often turn to works in our daily belief! If we are to be biblical, we as Paul must anchor our identity in Christ’s accomplishment, not our own; in Christ’s strength, not our own. Reputations, accomplishments, strengths, family, morality, and education still exist, of course, and are to be pursued, but only for their own sake, not to give us a sense of self-assessed superiority. They are not the gauge of an “I have arrived” Christian club. A Pharisee’s basic sin is a sense of superiority. We must have an awareness of our own sinfulness and a sense of our own need, or we are one of them. Paul compares his own righteous living to dung. That’s gross, but in God’s sight our righteousness is just that, dung. Get it? Our best deeds need repentance. Dear God help us to be humbled.
Our only sufficiency for eternity or time is His grace. His grace alone saves us; His grace alone blesses us; His grace alone allows us His presence. You are not who others see you to be; you are not who you see you to be, you are who God sees you to be—His beloved child. That’s it, grace sufficient for sinners, for eternity, and for each day. Amen!
God willing, see you at HPSS the 21st of July, 2024. Please come praying. In Christ, Brother Dickie