"Yes, but..."

"You have been saved by grace because you believe. You did not save yourselves. It was a gift from God. You cannot brag that you are saved by the work you have done." Ephesians 2:8,9 (NCV)

I was talking with a friend several days ago about grace when he told me about a conversation he had had some months previous with someone who is a Christian. In their conversation, my friend said how wonderful it is to be saved by grace. This other person's reply went something like this, "Yes, but..."

Have you ever had a similar conversation about grace with someone. They appear likewise to be thrilled by God's grace, only to respond, "Yes, but..."

Now normally I don't have a fascination with "buts," however, in this instance I'll make an exception! What's with the "but?" Are we saved totally and completely by God's grace, or aren't we? I think that's what the "but" is all about. On the one hand, God does call Christians to live exemplary lives through His power. But do our exemplary lives lived through His power save us? Absolutely not! They bring Him glory, but they don't save us.

For those Christians who would suggest that we are saved by a combination of God's grace and our works, what is that formula? Where would you draw the line? Where does the "but" appear?

Grace Alone l_____________________________l Works Alone

As human beings, we seem to have a natural tendency to protect ourselves--to make ourselves look OK. And we try to do that in the spiritual arena by our "but."

"I'm saved by grace, but isn't it wonderful how much I give to charity?"

"I'm saved by grace, but look at all the nice things I do for others."

"I'm saved by grace, but isn't my church attendance record outstanding?"

"I'm saved by grace, but look at how well I've adhered to Biblical health principles."

Charity, being nice to others, church attendance, and healtful living are all fine and good, but none of those things contributes one iota to our salvation. We are saved solely and completely by God's grace and His grace alone--no ifs, ands, or "buts" about it!

A Perfect Gift

"Every perfect gift is from God." James 1:17 (NCV)

Yesterday my daughter and son-in-law had their first baby (my first grandchild!) and named her Eloise Grace. Those of you who are parents and grandparents understand me completely when I say that these precious babies are miraculous gifts from God.

Isn't that what grace is really all about? It comes to us as a miraculous gift from God who loves to give His children wonderful gifts. Those gifts may be as simple a supportive note from a friend, the beauty of a crisp autumn morning, or the unconditional companionship of a family pet. Sometimes those gifts though may be a bit more complex. The recovery from an addiction, the unexpected job offer at just the right time, the promise of a relationship with Jesus that will never end, or a beautiful granddaughter. All gifts of grace.

Between now and Thanksgiving look at the world and all that is good in it as the gift from God that it is. The runny-nosed child that wakes you in the middle of the night is a gift from God. The paycheck that enables you to take care of your family is a gift from God. The neighbor who rakes your leaves for you is a gift from God. The internet that helps you stay connected to friends and family around the world is a gift from God. As James says, "Every perfect gift is from God."

So on Thanksgiving day, give thanks to the Gift Giver for all His perfect gifts to you. There are so many for which to give thanks that if you talk about them all as you gather for dinner next Thursday, the food may be in danger of growing cold! Remember, though, to say thanks for His gifts.

Whatever you may be giving thanks for, I'll be gathered with my family to thank God for a perfect gift--Eloise Grace!

Receiving Grace

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." Ephesians 2:8 (NIV)

I celebrated a birthday this week. Friends and family showered me all kinds of gifts--some wonderful, some practical, and some whimsical! But I can assure you I accepted each and every one of them with gratitude.

It hasn't always been easy to accept gifts from others, however.

Seven years ago my wife had surgery for breast cancer. It was a stressful time and I wanted everything to be kept as normal as possible so that our children would be able to cope with the trauma we were facing as a family. Friends and family generously offered to help us in a variety of ways, from bringing us home-cooked meals to ironing our laundry. I was overwhelmed by this outpouring of generosity, but I resisted at first. I wanted to be seen as strong, and capable, and the anchor that was holding the family together.

Then one day a friend said something that really got my attention. It went something like this.

"Gale, we need to be blessed by the opportunity to be able to give to you, as much as you need to receive."

All of a sudden it hit me--they were offering me their gifts of grace and I was hesitating to receive them! And then another thought hit me--a very troubling one. Was I finding it just as difficult to receive the gift of grace that God was trying to offer me? I had been in a profession where it was my job to meet the needs of others (or so I thought), and I was not accustomed to receiving help from those who wanted to meet my needs. Was I shutting out God's grace by the same hesitancy to receive it?

Rather than teaching about grace, I learned a powerful and valuable lesson about grace that day. Grace is a gift to be received.

I hope that today, and every day, you'll be able to receive grace.

First to Last

One of the great texts concerning grace is Romans 1:16,17.

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.' "

This particular text changed the life of Martin Luther, who in turn, changed the course of history. Tormented by the thought that he could never be good enough to please God (anyone else been there?!)--in spite of his best efforts--Luther discovered this text to be a breath of fresh air to his soul. He had been led to believe that grace could only be received from God in response to a prescribed list of activities and duties that he must perform to demonstrate that he deserved God's favor. But on reading this text, Luther understood for the first time in his life that righteousness does not come as a result of trying, but of trusting.

Let me highlight some of my favorite parts of this passage.

First, Paul makes it clear that the gospel is God's power. It's not my power, it's not your power, it is God's power. No human being can take credit for the gospel--only God can. He alone is deserving of our gratitude and thanks.

Second, the gospel is inclusive. Have you ever felt marginalized in some way? Too young, too old. Too rich, too poor. Too smart, too dumb. Too tall, too short. Too large, too small. Too light, too dark. Too female, too male. Our society has perfected the art form of lauding my characteristics at the expense of yours. Value and worth is assigned to having the right traits. But the gospel cuts across all of that. It is truly radical in declaring that the gospel is for anyone and everyone who chooses to believe. Who you are, what you've done, where you're from does not disqualify you from being a recipient of the gospel. That is indeed, Good News!

Third, God is the source of all righteousness. No matter who we are or what we do, we cannot manufacture nor can we take credit for righteousness. It comes from God to us as a gift--grace! Some of us have busied ourselves trying to produce righteousness and have only worn ourselves out by our working. Others of us have known that we aren't good enough to be counted righteous and have worn ourselves out by our worrying! Here's the one and only solution--we must simply accept that righteousness is God's gracious gift to provide for us what we cannot provide for ourselves--salvation.

Fourth, those who are righteous live by faith. This was the part of the passage that gripped Luther's heart. He had tried with all his might to live to please God by the things he did, yet he did not have peace. Peace only came to his heart when he realized that he simply had to trust God for his salvation rather than trying to work for it.

Understand that living by faith can be a humbling experience. Why? Because we have to admit that we can't receive it in any other way. Our best efforts aren't good enough. And who of us likes to acknowledge that? Do I see any hands of those who enjoy admitting that you can't do something? I didn't think so! Further, as Paul will discuss later in Romans, not only are our best efforts not good enough to qualify us for righteousness, but in fact, our best efforts disqualify us!

Paul emphasizes by quoting the Old Testament--Habakkuk 2:4 to be specific--that God's plan for receiving righteousness has always been by believing. There never was any other way. The righteous have always and will always live by faith.

Finally, I want to come back to my favorite part of this passage: Righteousness is by faith from beginning to end. There is never a point where we mix some of our righteousness with some of God's to get just the right proportions. Absolutely not! Or as Paul himself might say, God forbid! You see, when we try to stir in some of our "goodness" to an already perfect recipe, all it does is create a recipe for disaster--it spoils the whole thing! If we could add some of our "goodness" to the mix, then we would be deserving of some credit. That would deflect credit from the One and Only who is worthy of all praise for our salvation--God and God alone!

There is another aspect of this portion of the passage that has had some practical implications for my own life. As righteousness is by faith from first to last, then every step of my journey with Christ is a step of faith. I don't take one step forward by faith and then a next step by works. No! Every step of the Christian journey--from the time I acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior until the day I see Him face to face--is a step of faith. No more and no less. And that has given me great peace.

Like Martin Luther, I've discovered that peace is not something I do, but is something I receive as a gift from God. I'm not good enough to deserve it. I'm not strong enough to achieve it. I'm not smart enough to earn it. Righteousness is only possible in my life as I trust in Jesus at every step of the way in my Christian journey--from first to last!