Grace for Sale!

Good Friday and Easter are fast approaching, and I've been thinking a lot this week about what occurred at Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.  On Good Friday we remember that Christ was crucified upon the cross for our sins...it's not something I take very lightly.  It's something I think about with reverence, sadness, and even conviction.  My sins weigh on me a little bit more heavily this time of year, as I take the time to think about the One who died to remove them and wash me clean.  I'm not for living our lives in shame (as I wrote about in my Shamelessly Redeemed post), but it's also important that we don't take our salvation for granted.  There's a delicate line there, between understanding the true weight our sins carry, and living in the freedom that was purchased for us on the cross.  Of course on Easter, the mood has slightly shifted.  From sadness at the sacrificial death of our King, to joy at His sweet resurrection!  We serve a God who lives, and gives us life in Him! (Insert "Hallelujah!" here.)

It was with this train of thought that I found myself reading in the scriptures a little about grace this week.  Defining grace, trying to better understand it, and taking a closer look at my heart in regards to it.

For me, it is sometimes difficult to accept the free gift of grace.  I have a good understanding of my shortcomings and my sins, to the point of sometimes struggling with feelings of shame and condemnation...it's hard for me to accept that someone has loved me through all of that, loved me relentlessly - to the point of dying a gruesome, painful death to be a covering for me.  I have to be careful that I'm not making my salvation "about me".  I'm an American after all...I know that "nothing is free" (unless you buy one first), and that "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is".  Not so with God...he's not an American.  He's not a person.  He's beyond my understanding.  You see, it's not about what I have done, what I am doing, or what I will do.  My salvation is not dependent on my tithes, or the good deeds I'm doing for others.  It's not about how many sign-up sheets I put my name on at church, or how loudly I sing during worship service. 

Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (NASB)

It's so easy to fully believe the "wages of sin is death" part, but I think many of us aren't fully understanding the "free gift of God" part.  FREE.  GIFT.  OF GOD.  Those are some important words, ya'll. 

I've heard others talk about a verse of scripture that says "faith without works is dead".  They are under the impression that works are somehow a requirement for salvation.  I can't begin to tell you how sad, and angry that makes me.  Sad because of the bondage that must come, the weight that must come with "earning" your salvation through works.  The insecurity of never knowing when you've truly done enough to be saved.  And angry because it takes away from what my savior did on that cross.  It makes Him and His sacrificial free gift not enough.  Who am I to say that God isn't capable of doing enough to save me? If anyone can save me, isn't it Him?  If you were standing at the foot of the cross, seeing Christ suffer for you and your salvation...would you look up and say to Him "What you're doing isn't enough for me! YOU are not enough!" ? Of course we wouldn't say that to His face.  But sometimes...by our actions and our hearts...we are doing just that.  

The verse they're referring to when making those comments is in James chapter 3.  But I'm assuming they didn't read through Romans on their way there, or didn't read the rest of James.  

I do believe that faith without works is dead...but I'm saved by the free gift of grace.  There's nothing I could ever do myself to deserve any measure of heaven, but I'm given it all -I am a joint heir in the kingdom with Christ, because of what He has given me freely.  Our works and our obedience shouldn't come from a place of somehow trying to make ourselves worthy of heaven.  Nothing we can do ourselves will ever make us worthy of an ounce of it.  When we accept salvation through Jesus Christ, we are accepting that what HE has done really was enough.  Our sins are washed away, and God remembers them no more.  Then, because of the transformation of our hearts by God's complete, redeeming love, the works flow naturally.  When we understand His love, His grace, His salvation, we desire to serve and follow Him.  We keep His commandments because we love Him.  We help our neighbor because the love He has freely poured over us is in such an abundance that it naturally overflows into the lives of others.  The works prove that the faith and the free gift were real.  If we're not living in that overflow of love, we need to look at our hearts and see if maybe we haven't had a real encounter with Christ and His Grace.  

Romans 3:23-24 says "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is Christ Jesus". 

It's a good time of year to make sure we aren't trying to purchase our salvation from God, that we aren't trying to buy His love or grace, or make ourselves worthy of them.  It's a good time of year to accept that gift, and allow Him to transform us into His image.  In His image we were created - sinless, perfect.  And that is what we should desire to be transformed into through Jesus Christ.  

And in regards to Christ... "..there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12, NASB)

Lord Jesus, thank you for a the free gift of your grace.  Please help me to accept it, and to truly believe that you are enough.  You are more than enough for me.  

"..if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.."