"Grace to You"

There must be something we can do to contribute to our salvation! Right? If God is ruling over a moral universe, holding the scales of justice in his hand, then it is up to us to contribute more to the moral side than the evil side of those scales. In a recent survey George Barna discovered that 72% of American Christians believe that it is possible to earn your way into heaven through good works. It’s all about accumulating enough “brownie points” to convince God to not send you to hell. In this balanced, moralistic world, some good works are worth more brownie points than others, and some sins are worth more demerits than others. Living this kind of religious life requires a clear understanding of how this whole system works, and hoping you don’t die before getting a chance to balance the scales.

The story is told of how C. S. Lewis once walked into a theological discussion at his favorite pub. The “Inglings” were discussing the question, “What is the one thing most unique about Christian faith?” They suggested a belief in a Messiah, belief in a savior, belief in resurrection, etc. Finally, Lewis said, “That’s easy. The most distinctive Christian belief is the doctrine of “grace.” “Grace” is one of those words we often use – it is part of our “Christianese” – but we rarely take the time to define it. Simply put, “grace” is divine ability (as opposed to human ability). Grace is “unmerited favor”; it is a free gift from God with no strings attached. “Grace” is God rescuing us because we are completely powerless to rescue ourselves.

When Jesus came as the perfect picture of God, he came “full of grace” (John 1:14). We are rescued from sin and the consequences of sin by grace (Ephesians 2:8). As Christ-followers, everything we are and everything we are able to do (that matters for eternity) is due purely to God’s grace (1 Corinthians 15:10).

If we can’t do anything to earn or deserve grace, how do we receive it? What makes us a candidate for grace? Consider the scripture in James 4:6: “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." It is God who freely gives us his grace, and who gives us as much as we need. However, we must be positioned in a way that will enable us to receive the grace God is pouring out on us. According to James, the one essential factor to receiving grace (and more grace) is “humility.” God gives grace to the humble. Not only that, God resists the proud. A proud person says, “I don’t need help. I can do it by myself.” The humble person understands the depth of his/her need. They have come to realize that apart from grace, no lasting progress is possible. A humble person is not above saying, “I need you. I need help.”

Jesus wrote a letter to the church in ancient Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22). This church was “lukewarm” because their attitude was, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing” (v. 17), or literally, “I have no need.” As human beings rescued by the grace of God you would think they would have known better. Their pride (spiritual pride is the worse kind) led them to conclude that they had no need. Jesus had to adjust their attitude by saying, “You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (v. 17). In fact, apart from God every human being is only wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. It’s only God’s grace that has the power to lift us above our fallenness and pride. Jesus is the only one who has the ability to give us what we truly need.

After Jesus healed the blind man in John 9, he stated, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind” (v. 39). We don’t read any examples in the Gospels of Jesus making someone blind, so what was he saying? The fact is, every human being, apart from God’s grace, is blind. It’s just that not everyone knows they are blind. And Jesus cannot heal their blindness until they know they are blind and position themselves to receive healing. That meaning is clear in the response of the Pharisees: “What? Are we blind too?” (v. 40), to which Jesus answered, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains” (v. 41). In other words, because the Pharisees did not recognize their own blindness, Jesus was not able to heal them so they could really see. They were not candidates for God’s grace.

The first step of Alcoholics Anonymous is, “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.” Real transformation flows out of a deep understanding of one’s powerlessness, of one’s fundamental neediness. Only then can step two be confessed: “We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” Receiving a greater Power is only fully realized when we are fully convinced of our absolute dependence on that Power – on God’s grace. Grace – more grace, greater grace – is available to us. To be a candidate for grace, we must be fully convinced of our need for grace. And we have a desperate need for grace every moment of every day. The Good News is this: There are no brownie points in heaven; all sin has an equally destructive effect on our souls; all good works are dead apart from the energizing of God’s Spirit; Jesus came full of grace, ready to exchange his life for ours. All we have to do is humble ourselves, open our hearts and lives, and freely receive his grace. Are you ready?!