16 When Grace Goes Deep - Come Thirsty (MP3)

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Look with me at the book of Galatians. Paul's readers have gone from grace-receiving to law-keeping. Thanks to an outbreak of legalism, God-dependency was replaced with self-improvement. Paul confronts the prodigal children, "I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who in his love and mercy called you to share the eternal life he gives through Christ. And yet we Jewish Christians know that we become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by faith in Jesus Christ. For no one will ever be saved by obeying the law" (Galatians 1:6; 2:16 NLT). He was equally abrupt with the Jewish believers in Rome and Philippian Christians.

The churches suffered from the same malady: grace blockage. God makes the down payment on your redemption, but you're left with the monthly installments. Fill your mouth with mercy, but don't swallow. Can you imagine such instruction with earthly water? Who would dare put a sign over a fountain that read, "No swallowing, please." Absurd limitation. Why drink if you can't swallow. Yet, you may be doing the same with grace. You may be filling your cheeks, but not your soul. Are you refusing to let God's grace go deep?