Grace (grace grace grace)

I suppose this should have been tagged on the end of what i posted from Challies last night. Reading that got me back to thinking something that i'd thought a lot a bout whilst reading about Ted Haggard. Now, there was a lot of comment about this in the blogosphere, and i would imagine amongst most Christians in America. And yeh, it's terrible when well respected and apparently Godly Christian men fall like that. But the whole issue reminded me a lot about grace in the face of sin.

What is it that keeps me from sinning in the same way, or in a worse way than Ted did? What is it that keeps me from drug abuse and paying for sex? It's nothing in me i promise you. All my lust wants to be adultery, all my anger wants to be murder, if i liked the taste of alchohol, i'd want to be an addict. It's just grace that keeps me from these things. The blood of Christ shed for me on the cross keeps me from being totally and utterly depraved. And i know that the doctrine of total depravity means that we're all depraved and not that we're all as bad as we could be, but if it wasn't for grace, and salvation, i would be as bad as i could be. I know that.

And it's not just that i do bad things. I am bad. My heart wants to rebel against God. Large, although, thankfully decreasing, parts of me don't want to be faithful, don't want to read the Bible or pray, don't want to serve UniSCU or the people in it. Now large parts of me do, and find great joy in doing all those things, but those parts are there because of grace. It's all of grace, and its none of me. And realising that is humbling and liberating. Humbling because it means i lose my 'right' to sneer at those who fall, and because it brings to my knees before the Lord. And liberating because it's all about Jesus. The grace that saved me will keep me to the end. I know that, and i know God. And know those things liberates me from fear and worry...and from sin. It's the power to say no, it's the strength to fight when all thats in my wants to rebel.

It's all about grace, and it's all about Jesus. And thats great.