Goodness Doesn’t Equal Salvation

Years ago I had a conversation with someone about salvation. They insisted that if a person lived a good life, their salvation must be secure.

The premise was that this person couldn’t be that good without God, so surely the goodness was evidence of salvation.

I understand the logic, but I often think that logic can be a stumbling block to receiving God’s grace-filled, free gift of salvation.

We think if we live a life “good enough” that we will secure our place in heaven, but here’s the thing about goodness:

It is the EFFECT of the grace of God & thus cannot be the CAUSE of our salvation!

This idea of “work” is the very antithesis of “grace”.

Work involves a claim. If someone owes you a debt & then pays it, it wasn’t done by favor or grace. You have a claim on what they owe & there’s absolutely no favor when they pay what is due. It is purely transactional.

Grace, on the other hand, cannot be grace unless it’s free. What comes from grace isn’t connected to debt, but given IN SPITE of debt owed. It is free favor doused with unmerited love & is purely relational!

Here’s a simple Simon summary:

WORKS - I do work, I get paid. 

GRACE - I do NO work, yet my tremendous debt is paid.

Paul writes about this contrast in Romans 11, concluding that grace & works cannot coincide as causes of salvation.

If a person is saved by work, it’s not a matter of favor, but of debt. It contradicts the very idea of saved by grace!

We’re saved by God’s free & undeserved grace alone. It’s His great pleasure to grant us His grace because of His (often unrequited) love for us!

And here’s the kicker…we ALL have sinned in some way & carry a sin debt we can’t pay.

But God in His inherent goodness, sacrificed His sinless Son SO THAT our debt CAN be paid, free of charge, no work involved, but simply receiving His free gift of salvation. That’s it! 

Jesus, when we follow You as Lord, Your goodness overtakes us in such a remarkable way that the effect of Your Presence becomes visible in our lives! Onlookers might call the effect good works, but we know that it is tangible evidence of God’s grace & Your Lordship! Use our lives to lead many to God’s loving place of undeserved grace!

#OneYearBible #July

July 27th One Year Bible Readings

2 CHRONICLES 19:1-20:37

ROMANS 10:14-11:12

PSALM 21:1-13

PROVERBS 20:4-6

When You Let Your Spirit Lead in Lock-step with the HOLY Spirit, God Puts His Super in Your Natural

Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor for only fools insist on quarreling.

King Solomon wrote that tidbit of wisdom & it’s sometimes hard to remember in the middle of a disagreement😬

I sometimes think that if external badges were possible in life, (like when I was a Girl Scout), that I’d be more apt to “do good”. I loved that silly sash with all of the badges I earned. I think we all like external accomplishment on some level…& that’s probably why the kingdom of God is a lot less about doing & far more about following.

I’ll never forget when my guys were little & I made the novice mistake of praying for patience.🙄

The problem with praying for patience, is, well, it has to be tried so you have opportunity to CHOOSE patience, right?

Well,…not really.

If becoming patient (or loving, kind, joyful, etc,) were completely dependent on us white knuckling our way through, then yes, we’d need to be tested to show what we know.

BUT, when we remember that all those things aren’t simply feelings, but actual fruits of the Holy Spirit who resides inside, our perspective completely changes!

It becomes far less about earning a badge of honor & far more about following His lead!

When we let our spirits lead our body & soul in lock-step with the HOLY Spirit, God puts His super in our natural! (Got that line from my pastor 😉). No striving needed!

Another version says that it is honorable for a man to stop striving. Did you know that striving & strife share the same root!😳 I’d venture to say that anything we STRIVE to do, allows strife to quickly surface.

When we strive to accomplish things in our own will & insist on our own way, it leaves no room for the Holy Spirit to operate.

Father, we thank you that there are no external badges as we follow Your lead! It’s so easy to boast in our own strength, but we want to boast only in the name of the Lord our God!

Holy Spirit, have your way with us so when times of testing DO arise, Your fruit will also rise!

Tune our ears to hear Your voice over the tantrums of our own for that’s when striving ceases! We know that when we come under bit & bridle of Your counsel, we honor the Lord, the only One with honor due 💞

#OneYearBible #July

July 26th One Year Bible Readings

2 CHRONICLES 17:1-18:34

ROMANS 9:25-10:13

PSALM 20:1-9

PROVERBS 20:2-3

We’re All in Service to Someone, but the Quality of The Master Determines the Weight of the Yoke

We’re all in service to someone or something all the time, but the quality of the master determines the weight of the yoke.

I rarely make all or nothing statements, but as far as I can tell, this one rings true unto eternity.

The motto, “Land of the Free” is the very fabric of our culture, & “the freedom to ____” is at the heart of most political platforms. Yet, rarely do we ask what freedom is for.

We know freedom comes with a cost. It’s why we celebrate with national holidays, but once freedom is won, then what?

Freedom from ANYTHING becomes a hamster wheel pursuit unless The One Who bought our eternal freedom with His very life is involved in the process. If we don’t allow Him the helm, His protection lifts & we’re vulnerable to other masters.

That’s what happened to King Rehoboam, the son of King Solomon. The success & freedom his forefathers secured is shattered by self-serving pride within moments of his kingship. His kingdom splits in two & he’s left with a fraction of a nation.

He eventually establishes his rule, however, in his success, he forgets his God, abandons the Law of the Lord & all of his people follow suit.

Not long after, his blatant sin takes human form as God allows the King of Egypt to attack. Rehoboam repents, & God relents. God doesn’t completely destroy them, but does make them subject to Egypt, “so they will know the difference between serving me & serving earthly rulers.”😳

If we’re completely honest, we’re all serving someone ALL the time…every single choice we face, & every subsequent decision we make serves some sorta master: God, others or self.

Jesus secured our freedom SO THAT we can live free from the wiles of sin eternally!

Rehoboam has a kingdom handed to him on a golden platter & he uses that freedom for his purposes, forgetting Who placed him there & how he is called to lead!

Freedom & success can tempt us into a state of complacency, causing us to forget Who set us free. When God is not our Master, our borders become vulnerable to attack by little masters who impose a heavy yoke!

Jesus PROMISES to be a light & easy Master.

Of all the masters you permit in your life right now, which one died for you?

#OneYearBible #July

July 24th One Year Bible Readings

2 CHRONICLES 11:1-13:22

ROMANS 8:26-39

PSALM 18:37-50

PROVERBS 19:27-29