The Foundation of Grace
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein. We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp.”
Hebrews 13:9–11
In 1845 after a long and successful military and political career, former president Andrew Jackson lay dying at his home in Tennessee. He had survived many battles, being shot in a duel, and the first assassination attempt on an American president. Now at seventy-eight, suffering from tuberculosis and heart failure, the old general knew that his time was drawing near. He asked those present for a song—the favorite of his beloved wife Rachel—“How Firm a Foundation.”
Everyone who has trusted Christ as Saviour has a foundation that can never be shaken on which to base faith and hope. Under the old covenant, the offerings and sacrifices couldn’t really wash away sin; they were merely a sign of faith in the coming Messiah who could make a true atonement. The faith in God’s promise, not the sacrifice itself, was what mattered. “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4).
Under the covenant, established by Christ’s death and sealed by His resurrection, we have the assurance that our sins are gone, our salvation is settled, and our eternity is secure. This foundation is based on God’s grace. That is why it is firm and settled. If we trusted in what we do, we could never have confidence that we had done enough. But when we come in faith and take God at His Word, we can rest with complete assurance that He will do what He has promised.
Hebrews 13:9–11
In 1845 after a long and successful military and political career, former president Andrew Jackson lay dying at his home in Tennessee. He had survived many battles, being shot in a duel, and the first assassination attempt on an American president. Now at seventy-eight, suffering from tuberculosis and heart failure, the old general knew that his time was drawing near. He asked those present for a song—the favorite of his beloved wife Rachel—“How Firm a Foundation.”
Everyone who has trusted Christ as Saviour has a foundation that can never be shaken on which to base faith and hope. Under the old covenant, the offerings and sacrifices couldn’t really wash away sin; they were merely a sign of faith in the coming Messiah who could make a true atonement. The faith in God’s promise, not the sacrifice itself, was what mattered. “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4).
Under the covenant, established by Christ’s death and sealed by His resurrection, we have the assurance that our sins are gone, our salvation is settled, and our eternity is secure. This foundation is based on God’s grace. That is why it is firm and settled. If we trusted in what we do, we could never have confidence that we had done enough. But when we come in faith and take God at His Word, we can rest with complete assurance that He will do what He has promised.
Today’s Growth Principle:
Because our standing with God depends on His grace rather than our merit, we can have complete confidence.
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