How to Grow in Grace

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"Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

2 Peter 3:18

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Got More Grace? 

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Get Busy Growing in the Lord

How do you get more grace? 

Such a question may seem odd to you.  After all, grace is given, right?  It's a gift.  You can't just pile on more gifts like you would plie on potatoes at a buffet dinner, right?

It is true.  Grace is sovereignly given.  However, you can grow in grace and obtain more of the immense saving blessing in your life.  As a matter of fact, Scripture encourages you to do so.

"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:18

Peter commands his audience to grow in grace.  He uses his apostolic clout to require us to get more salvation in our lives.

We begin to understand the meaning of this injunction when we grasp the fact that we are sanctified by grace just as much as we are justified by it. 

God saves His people from sin.  He does it by bestowing His undeserved favor.  When we come to faith that very first time the Spirit pours down upon us the riches of His mercy and our sins are washed away. 

The same sort of thing happens throughout our lives.  God, in his grace, delivers us more and more from our daily sins and shortcomings.

Key in on that "more and more" part.  Understand that our God is more than ready to renew us.  He's eager that we "grow up in our salvation" (1 Peter 2:2).  What's more, we can grow in this grace as we make use of the means He uses to communicate this grace to our hearts.

That last sentence may have sounded a little technical.  Let's break it down.  The Lord doesn't just zap us to make us holy, does He?  It would be nice if He would just drop grace down from time to time like a good old spring rain.  We'd be righteous in no time.

The Lord takes a rather different approach.  He uses specific means to accomplish this. 

Think of your sanctification like your physical growth.  You don't just wake up to find that you had a 6 inch growth spurt one night.  Neither do muscles pop out of your arms without any warning.  You must eat and exercise.  These are the means God uses to grow your body.

Similarly, the Lord uses certain means to produce holiness in your life.  What are these means God uses to cause you to grow in righteousness?  

That's what we'll be looking at over the next few issues of the Hopewell Weekly.  Here at the outset, it's necessary just to learn these great points:

1. GRACE: We grow in Christ by grace through faith.  Our salvation, from first to last, is all of God.  

2.  GROWTH: Our growth in Christ after our conversion is inevitable.  The Lord stirs us onward towards holiness and will not let us remain stagnate.  That's the glory of His grace!

3.  MEANS: Our growth doesn't have to sputter along.  We can further our growth by giving our attention to the means that He uses to bring that grace to bear on our lives.