You Need Grace First

BIBLE MEDITATION

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord…” 2 Peter 1:2

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Have you ever noticed how God puts things in sequence in the Bible? For example, the Bible says, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you.” It never says “peace and grace”—always “grace and peace.” Why? Because you’ll not know peace until you know grace.

The Bible also says “Believe and be baptized,” not “Be baptized and believe.” The Bible teaches believers’ baptism, “....if you believe with all your heart…” (Acts 8:37)

If you were baptized before you gave your heart to Jesus and truly believed, you haven’t been “baptized” at all. True baptism follows true belief. Believer’s baptism signifies “buried in the likeness of His death. Raised to newness of life.” If you’re baptized before you truly come to know Jesus Christ as Savior, that’s like having your funeral before you die. God’s order is “believe and be baptized.”

That’s not all. Here’s another order God has put in the Bible: repentance and faith, always in that order: repentance first, then faith. If you’re having difficulty with faith, first try repentance.

ACTION POINT

There’s nothing more debilitating, more smothering to faith, than a sin you’re harboring in your heart. The Bible speaks of a sin “that so easily besets us.” We all have our “besetting sin.” Do you know what it is? Have you confessed it to God and repented from it? If you’re going to run the race of faith, you’ve got to do some personal conditioning.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers