Grasping True Grace
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
One of the things I have learnt over the years as a Christian is that the devil is subtle. A little lie mixed with the truth. Just enough of a lie to make it not the truth. We’ve become so used to the sinful condition of the world we don’t see the lie mixed in anymore, we think its close enough, but it is only the truth that will make you free (John 8:32).
The Shift
Even though I was saved as a child, over the years, a subtle shift took place. A subtle addition to the gospel. Paul deals with it in his epistle to the Galatians:
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. (Galatians 1:6-7)
But, what exactly was this other gospel? What other gospel had the Galatians believed?
This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? (Galatians 3:2-3)
The Galatians believed that though they were initially saved by faith, after salvation they kept it through works; specifically keeping the law. They believed they had to become perfect in the flesh after salvation. The Galatians weren’t aiming for sinless perfection. The Greek word translated ‘perfect’ in verse 3 is actually a word that can also mean perform. They believed they had to perform their Christianity for God and each other to see.
The Performance
“Performance Based Christianity” has been used as a concept for more than a decade to describe the belief that we earn our standing with God through works or by how well we ‘perform’ our beliefs. The extent to which we read and pray, attend church, and avoid sin determines the level of blessings we receive. It leads directly to spiritual anxiety and a constant state of guilt. And we don’t just put on a performance for God, we also perform for other Christians, presenting a polished religious image on Sundays, hiding our real struggles behind a glossy facade. Sin becomes a sign of weakness not a human reality, and is therefore hidden from others. My Christianity is no longer based on what I confess to believe. It is based on whether my actions can convince others that I believe, so I have to keep proving that I am in fact a Christian.
I grew up at the beach, any local can see a rip and avoid getting taken out to sea, its obvious to the trained eye. But an undercurrent cannot be seen while your standing on the sand. The surface looks right, but underneath its dangerous, its only when you are in the water that you feel an undercurrent. Many churches from the surface appear to have their doctrine right, they preach the gospel from faith alone, salvation is a free gift, we can come to Christ as sinners and believe, and he in his mercy saves us. It is only once you are in the church you will feel the undercurrent: perfection of the flesh.
The Undercurrent
I spent years in a church that subtly practised performance based Christianity. Anyone who knew better was expected to follow a set of unwritten rules. But the rules weren’t even God’s rules, they were man-made. I had to hide behind a facade, and pretend life was perfect. And I constantly felt guilty and exhausted, like I was missing something, a nagging feeling that I didn’t measure up, that if I just served more, gave more or just acted right I would finally get it.
I believed once I was in full time ministry the nagging feeling would finally disappear, but it didn’t. And I still struggled with it on the mission field. A nagging feeling that there must be something more. That I was missing pieces of the puzzle. That I was never doing enough.
The underlying idea of being perfected in the flesh or performing your Christianity will infiltrate many areas of a church:
Call yourself a Christian?
“Yay! Next week, just make sure you dress to meet the Lord, like the rest of us.”
Recently saved by grace through faith?
“Fantastic! Perform your Christianity for a few years so we can know you really are saved and then we might baptise you.”
Been attending for a while?
“Great! We rely on the financial support of all our regulars, we expect a minimum of 10% of your income in the offering plate every week. You can even give online whenever you can’t be here on a Sunday.”
Recently baptised?
“Excellent! Perform your Christianity a bit longer so we know if you are good enough to be a church member.”
Want to serve?
“Marvellous! But you don’t always come to the Bible Study that finishes after 9pm on a weeknight, and even though I know you work full time and have a spouse and kids who also need you at home, you have to be faithful at that Bible Study to serve in our church.”
Ready to take communion?
“Brilliant! But first stop and examine whether you’re good enough to take it this week.”
The Truth
But God broke through and showed me the truth: his true gospel of grace. There is nothing I can do, no works of the law, no act of the flesh, no performance I can give that will make me justified. I am justified through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, through his actions not my own. This is how I receive salvation, and this is how I come to God the Father every single day:
I will never be good enough to be baptised,
I will never be good enough to meet the Lord,
I will never be able to give God enough,
I will never be good enough to be a church member,
I will never be good enough to serve,
and I will never be good enough to take communion.
Except for what Christ did for me on the cross.
Think about it, every baptism in the New Testament immediately followed salvation. The apostles never waited to “make sure a conversion was real.” The first time communion is taken, it is by 12 men and in only a few hours: 10 of them desert Jesus, one denies him three times and one betrays him to death. Except for Christ none of them were worthy to take communion.
If we are perfected forever and our sins are no longer remembered, if we have boldness to enter into the holiest in full assurance of faith (Hebrews 10:14-22), why do I need to prove my Christianity to others? Why do I need to perform?
I am not good enough even when I do know better. And that’s the whole point of the gospel. If we could be good enough by knowing better than Israel would have been saved when the law came. Because the coming of the law meant they knew better (Romans 7:7). Instead, the giving of the law highlighted just how sinful they were. Just as the gospel shows us just how sinful we are. What we need is Christ alone and to live every day in faith of what He has done (Galatians 2:20).
The Guilt
Performance Based Christianity is a gospel based on guilt. Guilt that we haven’t done enough, guilt that means we perform to avoid the judgment of others, guilt that I’m anxious, guilt that I’m still struggling, guilt that leads to exhaustion, guilt that overwhelms, guilt that we aren’t good enough, guilt that leaves us cowering, guilt that becomes a burden.
But Jesus said:
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)
The word laden is actually a Greek word that includes the meaning: to be burdened with spiritual anxiety. Jesus is inviting us to put down the spiritual to-do-list, and the guilt that comes with it. Because the true gospel of grace is easy, it’s light, because Jesus took your guilt when he took your sin.
The Unmasking
Now, I know the Bible clearly teaches repeatedly that all Christians should strive not to sin, but when we inevitably do, we have forgiveness, not condemnation. So, I still want to follow the rules God has left us in his word, but I act from a place of obedience and conviction. But never guilt. I no longer perform any form of ‘religion’ and I don’t feel guilty about it. And nothing, not even my own intentional sin, can ever stop me coming to my Father’s throne of grace (Hebrews 4:15-16).
And now I truly grasp the gospel of grace, I no longer feel guilty. Because when Christ died for my sins, he also took my guilt. God didn’t wipe my slate clean at salvation and then start keeping a tally again. My slate can never ever be written on again. Ever. It doesn’t matter how many times I stuff up because all judgement is gone. It’s gone forever. God will never declare me guilty of any sin ever again. And if God doesn’t hold onto my guilt, he doesn’t expect me to either. Not even the guilt that I was carrying about my mental breakdown, the guilt that I was responsible for stuffing up my family, or the guilt for stopping our ministry in Niugini. And that nagging feeling of not being good enough, of not doing enough, disappeared when the guilt did.
The Grace
The gospel of grace says you aren’t good enough to receive salvation but I’m giving it to you because I love you. The gospel of grace says there isn’t a single day you will be good enough but I’m still with you and you are still saved. The gospel of grace says nothing can ever stop you coming to your Father. The gospel of grace says stop wallowing that you stuffed up again and thank the Lord that that sin is forgiven and forgotten too. The gospel of grace says the guilt is gone.
Perfection of the flesh will leave you cowering, grovelling your way back to God, like there is an barrier to overcome again, and again, and again, and again…
But the gospel of grace says: no more sin, no more guilt, just grace.
So, boldly come to God in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:10-12), enter boldly into the Holiest, (Hebrews 10:18), come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrew 4:16), and boldly declare ‘the Lord is my helper’ (Hebrews 13:6). Because one day we will boldly stand in the day of judgement (1 John 4:17).
Now is the time to be bold.
