Every Christian knows that we are saved by grace through faith. We come to Jesus trusting His death for us for our salvation. Yet, when we begin living this Christian life of faith many mistakenly think that they need to rely on their willpower and strength. They believe that a performance-driven life is the key to maintaining the salvation that came by faith in God’s gift of grace. That leads to a tendency to set aside grace and think it’s now up to our efforts to change. That is a way of thinking that the apostle Paul resists.
We begin to hear terms like “cheap grace” and “greasy grace.” Those terms are both inappropriate and dangerous. They imply that something is inadequate with grace and we need to add something to it. What a misunderstanding of grace! Grace isn’t cheap. It cost God dearly to send His Son, Jesus, to die the horrible death we deserved. It isn’t greasy, as though it leads to a careless life that doesn’t treat sin as important. The reality is that grace is the only way we can deal effectively with sin.
When my wife, Gwen, and I began our investigation of the grace of God she came to me one morning with an enlightened insight into grace. Paul wrote Titus and made an important claim about grace. “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11-12). That was a revelation. We always had thought that we needed rules and regulations to make us improve our behavior. Paul says that it is grace that teaches us how to live improved lives. We are not only saved by grace but our behavior is improved by grace.
What is it about grace that requires us to depend on it for the rest of our lives? It is that grace links us with the power of the Cross. That’s where our victory over sin was won and that’s where the power to live the Christian life resides. When we trust Jesus for our salvation we are depending on what He did for us on the Cross as the foundation of our new relationship with God. We never stand righteous before God based on our own merits as though we have earned God’s approval by our behavior. Grace means that what Jesus did for us on the Cross is always the foundation of our relationship with God.
Living under grace means that instead of gritting our teeth and trying harder in our own strength we learn to continually reach for grace. It is always the resource that delivers God’s infinite power. Grace enables us to draw on forgiveness where it’s needed. It is the power of what Jesus did for us on the Cross being available for every battle we face. Instead of coming to the Cross at my conversion then going off to show what I can do (and not doing a very good job of it on my own) grace keeps me in the shadow of the Cross.
Jesus taught the same thing with the Lord’s Supper (Communion). When He said, “Remember me” He was telling us, “Don’t come to me for salvation and then wander off on your own.” Paul is telling Titus that the grace that saves us because of what Jesus did for us is the same grace that will enhance our spiritual growth. We’re never on our own. We weren’t meant to be. Allow grace to keep you in the shadow of the Cross. That’s where our victory now and forever was secured.
Wally | GG Team
