Do you remember your ‘born again’ experience?
The overwhelming feelings of peace and joy that come with experiencing God’s love for the first time.
You’re hungry for more. The Bible comes to life. You want to save the world.
It’s real and it’s awesome.
But over time your faith begins to shift.
It becomes less about Jesus and more about doing stuff. Rule keeping.
The idea that Jesus saved me but it’s on me to stay saved.
Performance becomes a big deal.
Serving. Giving. Sacrificing. Conferencing. Trying hard not to sin. Promising God to do better.
All the while doubts begin to arise.
Am I worthy enough? Am I doing enough? Am I saved enough?
The logical response, try harder.
No more peace. No more joy.
It’s a road to religious burnout and plenty of Christians are on it.
The problem can be summed up in one word = mixture.
Mixing new covenant grace with old covenant law.
It was against mixture that the apostle Paul warned the Romans – “You are not under law, you are under grace.” (Rom 6:14)
The warning applies no less today because many people still don’t understand the difference.
Simply, the law was a covenant of earned favour (demand).
Grace is God’s covenant of unmerited favour (supply).
For example, under the law man was righteous through perfect obedience.
But under grace, we have been made righteous by Jesus’ perfect obedience. The apostle Paul explains…
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous. Romans 5:19 (KJV)
Meaning today, we rest our righteousness in what God, through Christ, has done for us. Not what we do for Him.
It is the most amazing and liberating reality.
And that’s what it means to be righteous by faith altogether apart from works (Rom. 3:21).
Being SON conscious. Not sin conscious.
Many folks describe the revelation of grace as being “born again, again!”
Set free from the bondage of performance.
Living in the light of God’s goodness.
Empowered to reign in life.
It really is the gospel that just keeps getting better.
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“My faith rests NOT in what I am, or shall be, or feel, or know, BUT in what CHRIST IS, in what HE HAS DONE and in what HE IS NOW DOING for me.” ~ CH Spurgeon.