Daily Devotions
God's Grace & Human Responsibility
Reading for May 19th: 2 Chronicles 32-34
Weekly reading for May 17-23: Acts 25-28
Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved."
Acts 27:31
Questions sometimes arise about our responsibility to work in light of God's promises. If God has made a promise to us, does that mean there is nothing we have to do?
A guy I was studying with once asked if it was wrong for a Christian to have insurance. If God has promised to be our protection, doesn't insurance imply a lack of faith in us.
I used this passage in Acts 27 where God had made an unconditional promise to Paul that there would be no loss of life on the ship (v 24). However, when the sailors were trying to escape from the ship on the life boat, Paul told the centurion that they couldn't be saved without those sailors. Did this mean Paul had lost faith in God's promise? Was he trusting in those sailors instead of God?
No, Paul understood that they would be saved by God's grace, but God's gracious promises do not nullify human responsibility. And using human agents to fulfill God's promises does not diminish God's grace in the slightest.
All we have comes from God. All of our blessings, both material and spiritual, comes from the Giver of all good and perfect gifts. But we must still be diligent and work and use what God has given us. God's grace does not take away our responsibility to do what we can do.
Father, help us to trust in your promises so that we might work and not lose heart when we endure the physical and spiritual storms of life.
