Green Street Baptist Church: Audio Podcast

As Christians, we know there is nothing we ever could have done to earn our salvation; it is completely a work of God’s grace. But, we often don’t live like that’s true. While we were saved by grace, we try to grow by our own hard work. In other words, we “forget grace.” In his letter to the Galatians, Paul reminds us that we grow as Christians the same way we became Christians: by grace through faith. In this series titled “Remembering Grace,” Our Disciple-Making Pastor Quentin Self guides us through the book of Galatians, showing how God wants you to depend on his grace to grow as a follower of Jesus.

Solomon recognizes that a person can have an abundance of wealth and still lack the power to enjoy it and see it in its proper light. Rather than enjoying it, they are enslaved by it. They may drive a brand new vehicle, wear the latest fashions, and have the greatest stuff that money can buy, but they lack inner contentment. The key phrase here is this—“…God does not give him power to enjoy.” It is yet another reminder from the pen of the Preacher that enjoyment doesn’t come from what we have or don’t have under the sun. Rather, enjoyment is a gift that God must give. It is something that can only be possessed through knowing Christ.

No matter what century, no matter what place and time, there is a characteristic that seems to be true of every generation of humanity and it is this—people are interested in accumulating wealth. People want to make money. In 1848, it was the “California Gold Rush” that took 300 thousand people from east to west. Then it was the stock market and investment banking. Men and women burn the candle at both ends to work their way up the corporate ladder so they can have a bigger piece of the pie. For others, when the lottery goes mega millions, they flock to the convenience stores to buy Powerball tickets hand over fist. Why? Because money is enticing. Solomon now begins a section where he addresses the subject of money, wealth, and possessions. Remember that he has been on a quest to find satisfaction, and he tells us here that it can’t be found in money nor the things that money can buy.

As Christians, we know there is nothing we ever could have done to earn our salvation; it is completely a work of God’s grace. But, we often don’t live like that’s true. While we were saved by grace, we try to grow by our own hard work. In other words, we “forget grace.” In his letter to the Galatians, Paul reminds us that we grow as Christians the same way we became Christians: by grace through faith. In this series titled “Remembering Grace,” Our Disciple-Making Pastor Quentin Self guides us through the book of Galatians, showing how God wants you to depend on his grace to grow as a follower of Jesus.

Ecclesiastes is a remarkable book that shows us how true happiness, lasting contentment, or real satisfaction cannot be found under the sun, but only in Christ. We find life, not in the pursuit of temporary things in life, but by losing our lives for Christ’s sake. It is only as we delight in Him that we discover true satisfaction. In the past couple of chapters, Solomon uses the language of the courtroom and the language of the palace. Here we will find him using the language of the temple. We have already seen how he took a close look at what would seem to be secular matters, such as issues of pleasure-seeking, work, justice, and the value of relationships. He now takes up the subject of worship.