GRACE OFFERS REST

Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light." (Matthew 11:28-30, NLT)

In the above passage, Jesus makes a call to all who were weary, burdened, struggling and in need of rest. He says “come to me… and I will give you rest”.

What is rest? It is relief from work, exertion, worry and anxiety. From the effects that stress and unrest has on our physical bodies, we understand that rest is essential. Rest offers us a refreshing. See how The Passion Translation (TPT) renders the above passage thus:

“Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Then come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis.  Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me.  For all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.” (Matthew 11:28-30, TPT)

God understands the importance of rest. He created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day. God rested because He had completed the work of creation. And He offers us rest because Jesus has completed all that is required to make us acceptable to Him.

‘For the Christ is the end of the law. And because of him, God has transferred his perfect righteousness to all who believe.’ (Romans 10:4, TPT)

‘So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God's rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world.’ (Hebrews 4:9-10, NLT)

Legalism places a lot of burden on us, a burden often too much to bear. A legalist is required to be perfect by his/her own strength. He/she must always get it right, always respond the right way, act the right way, talk the right way, and even think the right way, all by his/her own effort.

God offers rest from this ugly ordeal, He offers cessation from struggle. Isn’t that great news? The fact that you neither have to struggle to ‘live right’ nor to produce right results. It is great news indeed. But, how will this be? You wonder. It is through the grace that our Lord Jesus provides. Grace is not license to sin; it is our victory over sin!

Grace is ability, an inner working, by the Spirit of God that causes us to do right. Where you’re not struggling to respond the way God wants, instead His Spirit in you helps you, causes you to respond correctly. Living by grace is the best way a man in Christ can live, relying on God to help him function the right way. This is the end of struggle.

The key to opening the door of grace is surrender. We must come to the end of ourselves, surrender all to Him. Let Him be in charge, let the Spirit of God direct our lives, this way, we will function not by struggling, but by responding to the working of the Spirit of God in us, responding to grace. No struggle, just acting according to God’s leading. This is functioning in God’s rest.

But you might ask “so what is the place of the good works that Ephesians 2:10 speaks about: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago”?

This does not refer to striving to live a holy life, or struggling to live a life that pleases God. This instead talks about responding to this same grace, which is the divine influence of the Spirit of God upon our hearts. Responding to this grace by doing the right thing every time the opportunity presents itself, is the good works the Bible is talking about. These works are a result of our salvation, the outcome of being born again. This connotes living the life of a Christian. When a man becomes saved, what is next, he/she begins to learn the modus operandi of his/her new life; he/she begins to learn of Jesus, he/she begins to manifest the life of Jesus.

The Bible records that Jesus went about doing good, Acts 10:38. He gave life, brought solutions, ended pain and difficulties. He destroyed the works of the Devil; we can also say that He went about showing Who He is, a good and compassionate God. When He died, and resurrected, He put in our hands the same ministry, John 20:21. He made it our job to do like Him, point to the Father, show the goodness and greatness of our God. Good works consist of all we do that brings glory to our Father, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 KJV). This is our primary assignment, to manifest the life that we have been given, to manifest Jesus.

We must understand that even to do this is impossible without Grace, without the help that the Spirit of God gives. It is the grace that God provides that causes us to do the right things, even if it is a simple thing as to say the truth, or something serious as to preach the gospel, whatever it is, whatever we do, we accomplish all by the grace of God. Paul recognized this and that is why he said in 1 Corinthians 15:10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am…”. For we who are in Christ Jesus, our functioning is dependent on God and the grace He alone provides.

In Conclusion

Grace is God’s invitation to rest—rest from striving, from self-effort, and from the burden of legalism. Jesus calls all who are weary to come to Him, not to struggle but to surrender. The law has been fulfilled for us, so we simply trust in what Jesus has done. True rest is found in relying on the grace of God, which empowers us to live rightly, not by our own strength but by His Spirit working within us. Good works are not a means to earn righteousness but a response to the grace we have received. In Christ, we do not labour to be accepted; we function from a place of acceptance, manifesting His life and love to the world.