2Co 5:14 For
the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has
died for all, therefore all have died;
2Co 5:15 and he died
for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him
who for their sake died and was raised.
Living by grace instead of by works means you are free from
the performance treadmill. It means God has already given you an “A” when you
deserved an “F” He has already given you a full day’s pay when you worked only
an hour. It means you don’t have to perform certain spiritual disciplines to
earn God’s approval. Jesus Christ has already done that for you.
You are loved and accepted by God through the merit of
Jesus, and you are blessed by God through the merit of Jesus Christ. Nothing
you ever do will cause Him to love you any more or any less. He loves you
strictly by His grace given to you through Jesus.
How does this emphasis on God’s free and sovereign grace
make you feel? Does it make you a little nervous? Does it seem a bit scary to
hear that nothing you do will ever make God love you any more or bless you any
more? Do you think, Well, if you take the pressure off like that and tell me all of my
effort will never earn me one blessing, then I’m afraid I’ll slack off and stop
doing the things I need to do to live a disciplined Christian life?
The Bible sees the possibility that the grace of God can be
misunderstood and even abused. It speaks of “godless men, who change the grace
of our God into a license for immorality” (Jude 4). Anticipating the question,
“Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” (Romans 6:1) The Bible also
warns us not to use our freedom to indulge the sinful nature. (Galatians 6:13)
And just keep on reading!
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