Hebrews 13:9 …it is good that the heart be established by grace.
As a new Christian beginning to read the Bible, it can be an intimidating and overwhelming thing. Because sooner or later you will come across so many scriptures that seem impossible.
Scriptures like:
Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart… (Mattew 12:30)
Seek God with ALL your heart… (Deuteronomy 4:29)
Serve God with ALL your heart… (Deuteronomy 11:13)
Trust God with ALL your heart… (Proverbs 3:5)
Hold Fast to God with ALL your heart… (Joshua 22:5)
The reason they seem impossible is because they are. In all honesty, you cannot do all this loving, seeking, serving, trusting with ALL your heart. You can try to do it. In fact, many will try and try and try… but sooner or later they will fall short every time they do try.
The truth is, you were never meant to try to do ALL this in your own strength. And that’s why the author of Hebrews says “it is good that the heart be established by grace”. What does it mean to have your heart established by grace? Often, grace is best understood by knowing what grace is not…
When you think that a breakthrough to your challenge depends upon your ability to obey God, this is not living by grace – Why? Because you can never obey God perfectly.
When you think blessings will come more quickly because you are keeping all of God’s laws, this is not living by grace – Why? Because blessings are not dependent on your ability to keep God’s laws, but on what Jesus did to fulfill the law.
What it means to have your heart established by grace is you know the ONLY thing that qualifies you to receive God’s blessings is faith in the finished work of Christ at the cross. In the same way salvation and righteousness come through the perfect work of Christ at the cross, so does every other blessing from God.
In the Old Covenant, you received God’s blessing only if you kept all of His laws (Deuteronomy 28:1-2). But if you sinned or failed to keep even just one of the laws, you were disqualified from receiving God’s blessings. But today, in the New Covenant, your sins no longer disqualify you because Christ has paid the debt for every sin at the cross. And God now says, “I will remember your sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12)
So let your heart be established by grace and know that ALL of God’s goodness, favor and blessings flow into your life – at home; in the workplace; in your relationships; in your studies; in all of your dealings - not because you are working hard and striving to live a perfect life, but because of what Jesus did at the cross for you.