For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:8-9)
For I know that nothing good dwells in me (Rm 7:18)
Lord, you are my redemption, my salvation, my hope. If I lean on myself, I lean on nothing and fall, but if I come to you, I come to a Rock and to a King full of grace to the sinner. Praise you.
God is a God of grace, and grace is for those who are weak.
A king once ruled a great land. One day the authorities brought to the king a man who had instigated a rebellion. The man confessed his crime and asked the king for mercy, which the king granted despite the fact that the criminal justly should have lost his head. This is grace.
The daughter of wealthy parents enjoyed a life with many pleasures: food, drink, family, and much more. Every good thing she had was something she did not earn or deserve. She had these things because her parents were immensely wealthy and because they loved her. This is grace.
A mother took care of her newborn son. She washed him, changed him, suckled him, dressed him, sang to him, rocked him, burped him, and protected him. She did these things for him because he was helpless to do them himself. This is grace.
All of these earthly examples mimic something of God’s grace. When God forgives sin, He does so because He is a gracious God. When He gives us air to breathe and rain for the crops, He does so because He is a gracious God. When He grants peace to the soul and gives power over a sinful habit, He does so because He is a gracious God. We must understand that God is radically committed to showing kindness to sinners.
But this kindness presupposes that we are actually sinners, and there lies the rub. The grace of God assumes human depravity, and human depravity requires grace if humans are to ever have any real joy. Depravity and grace fit together. Depravity is the diagnosis, grace the cure. And the thing of it is that the only people who ever fully embrace the cure are the ones who fully embrace the diagnosis. Ni To-sheng was right when he said that heaven is for sinners, and hell is for good people.
Morality is the enemy to the knowledge of God. Moral people have problems finding God. Only sinners truly find Him. This is because God operates on the principle of grace, and moral, respectable people have difficulty understanding grace. They miss God because of their “goodness.” Or to put it another way, they are too good for God.
This doctrine of God’s grace is one of the least understood and most abused teachings in the Bible. Some see it as scandalous. “You mean that a serial killer who humbly and truly repents will enter heaven while many of his victims may not?” Yes. That is the scandal of grace. Some reject it outright and say it is unjust. Some twist it to take advantage of it. But most people ignore it. They act as if their spiritual well being depended on their moral goodness. These people think themselves too good for grace, so they shall never experience it. Since they think themselves good enough for God, God shall leave them to their own devices. After all, if you’re good enough for God, you don’t much need His help, do you?
This doctrine of grace cuts against the grain of religion. In one sense, it is too easy. You mean all I have to do is say, “thank you”? In another sense, however, it is harder than religion, for it goes deeper. Grace cuts down pride. If God makes you clean, then you do not make yourself clean. If God provides for your needs, then you are dependent upon Him. If God redeems your soul, then He gives you your worth.
Grace means that you and I have nothing to bring to God except a broken soul. It means that all of our noble thoughts of ourselves are delusions. To embrace grace is to embrace a new way of thinking. The old heart that likes to praise itself must die. This is hard. And this is why religious people often rebel against grace.
Religious practices can be deceptive. Fiona may pray and fast and give to the poor, but she may also take pride in her praying, fasting, and giving to the poor. Many religious people use religion as a replacement for grace. They think they are OK because of what they do. They go to church every Sunday; they read their Bible and take communion; they are nice to their neighbor. They do not understand that their religion is not the cure they need. They do not need more good works. They need God.
This is the great problem. To accept grace requires humility, but most people lack humility. To accept grace requires honesty about our sin, but most people prefer to gloss over their sin. And from heaven’s perspective, such an attitude is the scandal of morality.
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