Grace-Filled Christianity

My husband and I have been learning a lot about the beauty of grace lately. This was spurred by a book called “Jesus + Nothing = Everything” by Tullian Tchividjian.

This book deals with the two “extreme” views on grace.

·        WORKS- One says “Yes, I believe that faith in Jesus gets me into heaven, but my works help keep me there”.

·        CHEAP GRACE- The other says “Yes, I believe that faith in Jesus gets me to heaven, grace covers all, so I choose to live however I want, all will be forgiven”.

Sadly, this is very representative of many Christians I’ve come into contact with.

Tullian combats both views with the reminder that if we have a real knowledge of God’s grace and the price that was paid by Jesus, we would not be in either position above.

WORKS-- By deciding that “works” are necessary for obtaining eternal life, you diminish the work of the cross. You are essentially saying “Thanks for what you did Jesus, but I can take it from here”. The purpose of the law was to drive us to Christ, so why do we strive to go back to it, when it’s only a reminder of our INABILITY to achieve holiness.

CHEAP GRACE- If we live in the constant reminder of God’s grace, we would not choose to “sin, so that grace may abound”. We would desire to live a life that pleases the one we love and cherish a relationship with. Why would we purposefully hurt Him/ourselves knowing the detriment of the choices we make?

So what does this mean daily?

Daily, I will choose to live a life that pleases God. I will fail at times; I will repent and then remind myself of His perfect covering. I will be free from feeling like a guilty failure.  I will treat those around me, especially my husband, with grace. Understanding his sinful nature is not worse than mine and needs grace just as much as me. I will consistently be in awe and grateful to my Lord, for the work HE’S done, so that I can be with Him in this life and the next. To HIM be the glory forever, amen!

These are my quick thoughts on about a month’s time of pondering. I know this is a touchy and controversial subject, but I would hope all responses would be done in the spirit of love.