In 1517 Martin Luther posted his 95 thesis declaring salvation by grace through faith. Today the church desperately needs a second reformation of sanctification by grace. Christians are chained to a treadmill of trying to please God by their behavior, of trying harder and sinning less. If they can just discipline themselves enough and be determined enough, they are deceived into thinking they can become righteous and holy and be close to God and He will be pleased. Grace tells us that our relationship and intimacy with our Father in heaven is no longer dependent upon our behavior...or lack there of. Grace tells us we no longer have to strive to become righteous, because He has given us a new nature that is righteous. Grace tells us that it is the only thing powerful enough to deal with our sin. Grace tells us that God is already head-over-heels in love with us and nothing we do can change that. Welcome to "Formed by Grace."

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Is Grace Opposed to Effort?

NO! Grace is not opposed to effort...it is opposed to earning! But a word of caution, as believers trapped in the prison of performance, we can have a lot of misdirected effort that does us no good. Effort that keeps us immature. More on that later. For now - remember, nothing we do ever makes God our debtor.
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2 comments:

  1. JeffApril 28, 2010 at 8:01 PM

    Good Post. very short, but very true!

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  2. BonesApril 29, 2010 at 11:32 AM

    So glad that my prison doors of performance have been blasted open, and I've been released into the freedom of a new heart and life in Jesus! Such a different paradigm from when I was striving to earn His pleasure and acceptance. I now know I had it all along in Jesus! Thanks again for your insights here, Bill. Hope to connect sometime soon in COS!

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