The God of Second Chances

We are still considering our series is on-The God of Second Chances; and our objective is to drive home the point that our failures do not disqualify us from God’s plan and purposes for our lives. So far we have seen that many of the characters God used in the bible did not get it the first time. In the last Episode, we explored the stories of some bible characters that God offered second chances and we need to allow the lessons from their stories to impact our lives.

In this Episode, we are going to consider what goes on behind the scene. What does God see beyond our actions; our failures; our stubbornness and disobedience that make Him give us second chances?

The fact is that God sees beyond our weaknesses and failures; He sees things differently from us. God sees something more in you. He sees us in our new identities as people who have dominion over the earth because that’s what His word says. God restores the authority of His children to reign over the earth once they give their lives to Him. He declares man’s authority and power to reign on earth in Romans 5: 17- “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

According to this scripture God restored the authority of His children to reign in life through Jesus Christ by granting us two gifts- 1-The abundance of grace. 2- The gift of righteousness. (Remember He declared you righteous at the cross!)

Let me remind us that we did not earn salvation by our actions and good works but by the benevolence of God.

At the time God saved you, you were still living in your weaknesses. You did not change immediately He saved you. He saved you by His Grace; not because you deserved it. He knows where you are coming from. So he does not give you instructions thinking that you are perfect person. He gives you instructions expecting that you would depend on His help. But He also knows we have problem relying on Him.

So God does not really see us the way we see ourselves. He sees beyond our weaknesses and failures to the people He created us and gave us the authority to be. He sees us in the perfection in which He created us. But He also knows that there is a struggle going on between our soul and flesh which were programmed to be weak and trained to obey the sinful nature and our spirit which has been recreated and made into the image of God. God understands that the struggle between the flesh and the spirit is the reason why we fail. A review of the story of Peter would help us understand what I am trying to explain-

Peter’s response here showed him as a potential leader. This response revealed Peter as outspoken, confident, focused and someone with understanding. In this response, Jesus saw in Peter a trustworthy person who He could rely on for the future of His body.

Yet within a short time, this same Peter, at a time of weakness denied Jesus Christ three times.

Like most of us, Peter faced the struggle between the natural man and the spiritual man. He was both carnal and spiritual. Sometimes, he succumbed to the flesh. At other times, he functioned in the spirit. Sometimes he gave in to sin. At other times he acted like a righteous man.

Jesus saw Peter’s leadership qualities and insight into His kingdom. But He also knew that Peter was weak in the flesh and needed help. God sees beyond our weaknesses and failures. He understands that the struggle between the flesh and the spirit is the reason why we fail. He knows that though He has perfected us in the spirit and provided all we need to have dominion over the devil and reign with Him on earth, we are still struggling. God sees our struggle with the flesh and the devil. He sees that we are not taking the authority He has given us as we should. But He decides not to give up on us but to make His Grace more and more available to us. And that is why He continues to give us second chances.

Before Peter’s temptation, Jesus had already seen into the future and knew that Peter would deny Him. So He prayed for Peter. In Luke 22-31-32, He said to Peter–Simon Simon, indeed Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. Satan desires to shake you up. But I have prayed for you; that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to me; strengthen your brethren.

Peter was shaken. He denied Christ, his ego was deflated, his confidence annihilated, his pride suffered. His faith tested. But Jesus’ prayer for him restored him and gave him a second chance. In the same way Jesus continues to pray for us today that we will stand firm in our spiritual lives. And when like Peter we miss it, He will give us a second chance,

Most of us want to obey God and please Him. We desire to live as children of God. But according to Mark 14:37-38-the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. So we find ourselves failing; making mistakes and not living the life we want to live. In the well known scripture in Romans 7, Apostle Paul lamented his frustration that he could not do the things he wanted to do.

People quote this scripture to support the argument that all through our life, the intensity of the struggle between the flesh and the spirit cannot diminish. But Paul was in this scripture, describing the life of a person who is recently born again and therefore has not realized that Jesus set him free from a life of sin and weakness. A person who was yet to realize that the Spirit of God lived within him and would help him to subdue the flesh if invited.

The truth is that, we do not have to remain in a state of immaturity, struggling with our flesh and emotions and remaining prisoners to the law of sin and death. Like Apostle Paul, we need to receive the revelation of the work that Jesus Christ accomplished in our lives. In Romans 7:25, Paul exclaims-Thanks be to God who delivers me through Christ our Lord. And in Romans 8:2 says-And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

So because we belong to Christ, the Holy Spirit has freed us from the power that sin had over us. In Romans 8:9-12, Paul calls our attention to the fact that we can overcome the struggle between the flesh and our desire to do good because the Spirit of God now lives within us and has given us the power to live new lives, free from the control of sin. Paul makes it clear that the Spirit of God has given us the power and enablement to grow in our faith, the power to grow in the knowledge of God and the power to reign in the earth.

The gift of second chance is rooted in the Grace of God. It is rooted in His nature of unconditional love; His nature of mercy and His goodness. Second chance is about God forgiving us, restoring and giving us new beginnings. The gift of second chance shows that God’s love is greater than our mistakes. It shows that God’s nature is greater than our failures.

However, whilst God’s gift of second chance is always available to us, His deepest desire is that we allow His spirit who is indwelling us to work in us and help us to increasingly conquer the struggle between the flesh and the spirit so that ultimately we can accomplish His purposes for our lives without needing a second chance.