Hosanna Restoration Church

Obviously, to miss God’s saving grace and fail to receive Christ is a sad end for too many, but does it cause greater sadness to God than when those who receive salvation go on to waste the grace that God provides for the fullness of their salvation.

Paul made of a point of saying that God’s grace was not wasted on him and then explained how that grace carried, led, and empowered him. So you may ask, “How is it that we waste grace?” I am glad you asked. I will do my best to begin to share what God has begun to show me. Firstly, any failure to appropriate and activate what God has provided for us through His grace is a waste of grace. In other words, when we have something available and do not bother to put it to work it is a waste.

For instance, when we entertain doubt, we are wasting God’s grace. Notice, I said entertain doubt. It is quite normal to have doubtful thoughts, but it is a waste of grace to entertain those doubts and allow them to occupy our minds when we know that God’s grace is sufficient.

It is a waste of grace to even allow wrong attitudes to control and direct our minds. We all know that actions quickly follow attitudes if the attitude is given the opportunity to brew. Grace enables us to know what is right and in knowing what is right we can overcome even the deep things of our hearts. Grace enables us to act, so failure to act on that empowerment is also a waste of grace.

In verse 33 Paul warns them not to be fooled. He tells them that bad friends will ruin good habits. God’s grace is present to provide discernment and direction. To fail to follow is a waste! Paul goes on to warn them to come back to right thinking and stop sinning. Then he drops the bomb on them and tells them that some of them do not know God.

These were the people in the church that He was letting know that they did not know God. When our words and actions provide more proof that we do not know God than that we do know God, we are literally pouring grace down the drain.

Grace supplies hope at a level that puts God on display so that we can defend that hope which is in us. If we are hopeless, we are wasting grace. Grace heals, empowers, delivers, provides, directs, protects, assures, and never fails to provide all that God intended for His children. I am very aware now that I have in fact wasted grace, not realizing that this was what I was doing. Now that God has made this clear, I have a mission to accomplish. Check yourself and see if in fact you have wasted grace unaware that you were in fact wasting grace. The grace of God also restores. Don’t waste it!