A Recipe for Truly Living
Over the past couple of months, the new normal created an opportunity to cook more at home. For some individuals, this opportunity provided the chance to attempt new recipes or rediscover recipes they had not used for some time. The key to successfully making a dish from a recipe rests in the focus on included the needed ingredients at the right time and in the right amount. Likewise, ingredients should not be replaced by different ingredients that are close but not the same. When one thinks about truly living, the recipe has been given to us by the Lord. The recipe consists of three ingredients that the Apostle Paul spoke of in Romans 4:16-21. To truly live the way Christ called, include these three ingredients into life.
First is the ingredient of Grace. Grace is the ingredient of conversion. Grace provides the foundation by which salvation occurs. The Apostle Paul told the church in Rome to “rest in grace.” This declaration called the believer to trust a foundation that consisted of God’s love and His work of redemption. At the same time, grace provided the recipe for truly living with the certainty of conversion. The Apostle Paul wrote, “and be guaranteed to all his offspring.” The certainty of conversion rests not in the ways, character, or worthiness of man, but instead one receives the certainty of conversion due to grace because of God’s character, work, and desire. In grace, Christ offered himself as the needed sacrifice in the work of redemption. In grace, God desired to work on behalf of people for the opportunity that they could be reconciled with Him.
The ingredient of grace provided a completeness of conversion. Paul wrote, “God was able to do what he promised.” God’s work of conversion met the grave need of man and conquered the drastic condition of sin. The grace of God was more than enough to cover the weighty nature of sin. The promise of God is realized in the work of Christ, but also experienced in the grace of the Lord. Thus, truly living rests in the ingredient of grace.
Second is the ingredient of Faith. If grace is the ingredient of conversion, then faith is the ingredient of connection. The ingredient of faith is an elusive connection. Paul wrote these words to the church in Rome, “For the promise of Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.” (Romans 4:13). The connection to Christ is elusive to those who attempt to scale the gap between God and man that exists due to sin. When one bases a connection with the Lord on the status of doing good and being a good person, then the needed redemptive connection to the Lord remains elusive.
The ingredient of Faith is the connection ingredient that is exclusive. The Apostle stated, “this is why it depends on faith.” True life remains elusive when we attempt to gain it on personal merit. At the same time, the ingredient of faith is exclusive as the needed connection to the offered redemption of the Lord comes through faith alone in Christ alone. The ingredient of faith points to the declaration of redemption coming in Christ alone and the reality that any other way or attempt fails to bring forth a connection with the Lord.
The ingredient of faith forms a connection that exists as an eternal reality. The connection of faith is not momentary or temporary, but is an everlasting connection grounded in an everlasting promise of the Everlasting God. Faith is not based on circumstances, but on the eternal character and nature of God. Likewise, the eternal connection ought to strengthen our faith as we understand that faith is not a fleeting reality, but a certainty for life.
Third is the ingredient of Hope. The hope ingredient is the ingredient of confidence. When speaking of hope that flows from the connection and redemption with the Lord, one does not speak of a wishing for a good outcome, but instead of a hope that is certain. Hope is grounded in the character of God. Hope finds confidence in God’s promise. Hope is believed with the confidence of God as a promise keeper and a promise keeper that is trusted because of His character of holiness. Hope that comes in faith is not a wishful thinking of what lies ahead, but a complete trust in the will, ways, and leading of the Lord. True hope rests in the true Lord. Hope finds confidence in God’s provision. God provides for his own and fulfills his promises. God provided a child to Sarah and Abraham. God provided redemption to those who respond to His grace in faith. One’s confidence in God’s provision is an overflow of trusting in the promise of God and trusting in the truth of God fulfilling these promises.
Hope finds confidence in God’s power. Our confidence of hope is in the truth that God reaches into our lives that deserved death and offered the avenue to bring forth life. The power of redemption appears in the power that raised Christ. The same power rescues us from spiritual death and brings us eternal life. The power of God delivers us from what we cannot overcome and brings forth victory.
The recipe to truly living only contains three ingredients: grace, faith, and hope. These ingredients combined offer an amazing life that rests in the character, promises, and power of the Lord. The ingredients of true life are available today. Have your combined them to form the beautiful life with Christ?
