Core Beliefs 4: Grace
I recently had COVID, which gave me a chance to watch some of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. As I was watching, and the Australian medal tally climbed, I began to reflect on the nature of winning. Victory comes in two forms, relative and absolute. A relative victory is a victory relative to the other competitors in the event or one’s personal best. If I cross the finish line 0.001 seconds ahead of the next person, relative to them, I am fastest. But there are a few sports, like high jump, where after all other competitors have been eliminated, the bar is raised, and the victor keeps on jumping until they can’t go any higher. Yes, they won a relative victory over the other competitors, but the event isn’t over until they can’t clear the bar. There’s another standard that no one can beat because it’s higher than anyone can achieve.
What has any of this got to do with the bible, which is what I always write about? Let me ask a question. Just imagine that your life in this world has come to an end and you find yourself standing before God, and he asks, “Why should I let you into heaven?” How would you respond? Because I’ve lived a good life. Because I’ve given to charity or volunteered in the community. Because I’ve been faithful in my relationships. Because I went to church. The possibilities are endless.
But notice that all these answers include the word, “I”. They are all about what I have done to be good enough, and all of them are relative. “I deserve this because, compared to others, I did a bit better. I wasn’t perfect, but I was certainly better than some I could name.” Here’s the problem. The benchmark for admission to God’s presence isn’t relative, it’s absolute. God is perfect and he has set an absolute standard of perfection that none of us can meet. Even the very best person in the world will fall short. The bible says, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23).
What is the solution? Grace. Grace means a free and undeserved gift. The bible goes on, “Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight” (Romans 3:24). Grace doesn’t mean that God has lowered the bar. It means that the only person who could meet God’s standard, Jesus, has freely stepped in to act as our substitute. He has cleared the bar on our behalf and let us claim his victory as our own. We can never get to heaven because of we have done, but we can because of what Jesus has done. Please get in touch if you’d like to know more.
Neil Percival
What has any of this got to do with the bible, which is what I always write about? Let me ask a question. Just imagine that your life in this world has come to an end and you find yourself standing before God, and he asks, “Why should I let you into heaven?” How would you respond? Because I’ve lived a good life. Because I’ve given to charity or volunteered in the community. Because I’ve been faithful in my relationships. Because I went to church. The possibilities are endless.
But notice that all these answers include the word, “I”. They are all about what I have done to be good enough, and all of them are relative. “I deserve this because, compared to others, I did a bit better. I wasn’t perfect, but I was certainly better than some I could name.” Here’s the problem. The benchmark for admission to God’s presence isn’t relative, it’s absolute. God is perfect and he has set an absolute standard of perfection that none of us can meet. Even the very best person in the world will fall short. The bible says, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23).
What is the solution? Grace. Grace means a free and undeserved gift. The bible goes on, “Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight” (Romans 3:24). Grace doesn’t mean that God has lowered the bar. It means that the only person who could meet God’s standard, Jesus, has freely stepped in to act as our substitute. He has cleared the bar on our behalf and let us claim his victory as our own. We can never get to heaven because of we have done, but we can because of what Jesus has done. Please get in touch if you’d like to know more.
Neil Percival