No more 'but'

Okay, I just heard a great sermon last night. And during the sermon, I realized something. I've been looking at my Christian life all wrong. I've always thought, "I'm saved solely by God's grace, but He's disappointed, or angry, when I sin." Well, here's the thing: There is no but. I'm saved by God's grace alone, no if's, and's, but's, however's, or when's. Grace alone.

But what does all that mean? Well, it means I can stop trying so hard. I can relax. Does it mean I can sin without remorse? In the words of the Apostle Paul, "By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" (Romans 6:2). Grace is the only lifeline available to us, which is able to keep us from falling into hell. When we realize that, we will grab onto it with such tenacity, that we will never let go. Now that's a fine image, but how does that translate into our daily lives? It means that God's grace is always on our minds. It's the first thought when we wake up, it's the last thought before we drift off to sleep. We meditate on grace, and how much Christ went through to grant us that grace.

That still doesn't answer the question of how we can relax and stop trying so hard to please God...or does it? You see, if God's grace, and the trials and tortures that Christ went through to give it to us, is always at the forefront of our minds, then how could we possibly imagine sinning? Letting go of control means letting God improve us. It means dying to ourselves, and that is what Paul meant when he wrote "We died to sin". Our job is not to make ourselves perfect. That's God's work, and He's the only one who can do it. Our job is to marvel at His wonderous grace and love, and worship Him for both it, and for being such a God as would offer that grace and love to us lowly sinful humans.

The Westminster confession tells us that our chief duty is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. And that is just what I am proposing. Let go of control, and just sit back and marvel at, and prais Him for the wonders of our God and His gifts to us.

Well, that's all I've got for now. I'm planning on reading through all of Paul's letters and posting about what I read, so be sure to come back now.