Four Meditations on God’s Grace

I find myself amazed at the amount of growth God cultivates in our lives through excellent books, and I can think of several authors that have grown in me a greater love for Jesus. After reading Jerry Bridges’ book Transforming Grace: Living Confidently in God’s Unfailing Love, I can say that no other book has granted me greater insights on the reality of God’s grace in my Christian walk. In his book, Bridges gives several applications on how Christians can live joyful lives considering God’s mercy and goodness. Truthfully, I wish I would have read the book sooner; when I first became a Christian, I was frequently over-critical of others and seldomly quick to show kindness in conflict or tension. Of course, this was an outworking of the fact that I had not taken time to meditate on the mercy God has shown me in Christ. Thus, I value this book greatly, as I believe God has used Transforming Grace to strengthen both my love for Christ and my love for others. Having read and processed Transforming Grace, there are four applications which God has used to teach me how His grace changes the way Christians live:

1.      God’s grace changes how we relate to others.

The grace of God necessitates change in how Christians handle relationships with others, both in refraining from selfishness or pride and in joyfully serving others. To open his book, Bridges begins with a list of observations on how Christians can display a low view of God’s grace, one of which is that “You don’t understand God’s grace when you can think of someone you look down on.” Such a statement can provide discomfort in me, because I can think of several ways I quietly see myself as superior to others in my life—if I deny that there are people who I actively see as unworthy of my time, I am fooling myself. Christians who succumb to pride or disdain have in fact forgotten who they were before conversion; prior to our walk with God, we once stood rightfully underneath the judgement of God, “having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). Rather than giving us the penalty that we deserved, God has mercifully granted us “Redemption through Christ’s blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Ephesians 1:7). There is no room for arrogance in the Christian life, as God has removed any pretense that we are superior to those around us. Additionally, when we comprehend the grace of God in Christ, we will strive to serve and love others well. Thankfully, we serve a savior who exemplified the greatest display of grace and love, who humbled himself to die for us (Philippians 2:8). Since God has rescued us from a life of vanity and selfishness, He calls us to put away any feelings of bitterness or hatred, instead extending forgiveness to others, as God in Christ has forgiven us (Ephesians 4:31-32). If we understand the mercy that God has shown us, all relationships in our lives will be changed.

2.      God’s grace changes how we fight against sin

My favorite chapter in Transforming Grace is chapter six entitled “Compelled by Love,” where Bridges addresses the motivation behind obeying God and turning from sin. He begins the chapter by stating “You are loved and accepted by God through the merit of Jesus… Nothing you ever do will cause him to love you any more or any less. He loves you strictly by His grace given to you through Jesus” (73). In this context, Bridges is speaking of believers and pointing out that there is no possible way Christians can nullify the grace that God has extended to them. If this is true, why then should the believer seek to obey God? If our salvation is hinged upon Christ rather than our works, what does it matter how we live? Bridges points out that the apostle Paul expects his readers to make this objection in Romans 6:1, stating “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” In other words, some may misinterpret the teaching of salvation by grace through faith to imply that we have license to live however we want, considering that our works are not the basis for our standing before God. Here, Bridges makes a strong statement that “This response is always a possibility. In fact, if our concept of grace does not expose us to that possible misunderstanding, then we do not thoroughly understand grace” (74). To assist in understanding the role of works in the Christian life, Bridges offers several helpful passages, most notably Romans 12:2, which says “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship,” and Philippians 2:12-13, which says “… work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” In summary, these verses show that the Christian should strive to obey God in response to “the mercies of God” and with the knowledge that “it is God who works in you.” Practically speaking, when we see how precious our salvation is in Christ, that all of our hope is founded in the fact that we have forgiveness in Christ, we live to honor Him out of gratitude for His work. Not only this, but God has promised that He will work in us to cultivate a heart of obedience as we strive for him—We refer to this concept as sanctification, or the idea of becoming more like Christ; God Himself produces within us the ability to grow in Christlikeness. In fighting against sin and temptation, our greatest weapon is a reliance on God’s grace, as understanding the freedom and hope God has given us in salvation grants greater satisfaction or fulfillment than any sin we could think of. As Richard Sibbes once said, “There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us,” and this reality is a tremendous comfort to all Christians. Although we will never fully kill sin in our lives, we can freely strive after Christ, and we must do so without a twinge of guilt or uncertainty.

3.      God’s Grace changes where we find our confidence

Looking back on my Christian life thus far, I am thankful for the ways God is working in my life. However, if I examine myself, I see that many of the same flaws in me still remain, and some of them are extremely discouraging in that they provide a daily challenge in my walk with God. Christians commonly speak of “bearing fruit,” which is a term for growing in our Christian walk—but what if I am still bearing “bad fruit,” or there are still practices in my life that are unbecoming of my walk with God? This is where many Christians perhaps give lip-service to the idea that we are saved by the grace of God, but we function as if the evidence of our salvation is defined by our obedience. To be sure, good works are necessary in the Christian life, but if I find myself looking for certainty of my salvation in what I have done instead of what Christ has done, I have settled for a low view of God’s grace. To challenge where believers are finding their confidence before God, Bridges states “To the extent you are clinging to any vestiges of self-righteousness or put any confidence in your own spiritual attainments, to that degree you are not living by the grace of God in your life” (33). This brings up the question of assurance, or whether we can truly know we are a Christian. The New Testament speaks of believers as being “sealed with the Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the prize of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14); similarly, Christians are exhorted to “not grieve the Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:29). I believe these verses affirm that Christians can know if they are in Christ, the question is on what basis we find our assurance of salvation. To answer this question, Bridges asks “Have you renounced all confidence in your own moral or religious efforts and turned in faith completely to Jesus to be clothed with His righteousness? If so, you do have eternal life” (44). What this means is that we see that our own actions are insufficient to meet God’s standards, that Christ paid the penalty for sin on our behalf, and that looking toward Christ and trusting in His work is the basis of our assurance. Our confidence is found in looking to the work of Christ, which is the fullest extent of God’s grace and mercy. How freeing it is to know that my assurance is based entirely upon Christ, who is faithful where I often fail and holds a perfect righteousness where I am constantly imperfect.

4.      God’s grace changes how we approach spiritual disciplines

There is no denying that I sometimes judge the success of my day on whether or not I spent sufficient time with God. There is danger in this, as a day gone without adequate time in prayer or Scripture reading brings feelings of guilt. I suspect many Christians feel the same way, that some of us feel trapped rather than freed in the disciplines of prayer and Bible reading. Bridges offers a timely word for believers on the subject of our pursuit of God, saying “Spiritual disciplines are provided for our good, not for our bondage. They are privileges to be used, not duties to be performed” (127). He continues by saying that spiritual disciplines—chiefly, reading the Bible and praying—are necessary, though they are given for our benefit rather than our bondage. Yes, we must seek God in prayer and study, even when we don’t feel like doing so; considering this, how does one refrain from seeing themselves as duty-bound to their daily spiritual disciplines? In short, this calls for continued prayer, that God would cultivate in us a heart of joyful worship rather than a heart of begrudging obedience. Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:15-19 was that believers would come to a greater understanding of their hope in Christ, the promise of their redemption, and their reliance on God’s power. Similarly, Christians do well to pray that God would increase their affection for Christ and to fight for joy in God on a daily basis. Ultimately, a set amount of time in prayer or reading is not the goal, but an increased love and reliance on Christ is our goal.

Christian, do you find yourself living in a continual state of guilt or shame? I sympathize with you, as I must strive to regularly overcome these thoughts. I encourage you to look to Christ, that you may see the complete work that He has done. All striving, all self-righteousness is diminished when we recognize that Christ is our righteousness and our hope. I am praying that you will live confidently in light of God’s grace and goodness. May we see the precious salvation that has been purchased for us, that He has saved us “to the praise of His glorious grace” (Ephesians 1:6, 1:11, 1:14).