The Uniqueness of Grace

I was an avowed atheist. I wanted nothing to do with religion. To me, religion was a problem. Religious people were gullible, ignorant, troublesome and even dangerous. Religious teachings were archaic and wrong. Christianity was the worst one of all, and I believed Christianity was a myth. So I went about with my life, seeking other ways to be fulfilled.

The message I heard and started to believe was that the ultimate goal in life was self-fulfillment.So I pursued self-fulfillment with everything I had. This pursuit took on many forms. First was partying and having fun while ignoring responsibility. That left me depressed and wanting. Then, I tried nutrition and fitness and again I failed to find the fulfillment that would give me lasting satisfaction in life. I pursued good works after that, dedicating my life in an almost overwhelming way to community service. Trying to be fulfilled through community service left me very self-righteous but not very self-fulfilled. I pursued success in various endeavors and after putting all of my energy into those things, realized that didn't fulfill me either. Lastly, I gave everything I had to relationships and yet I still found nothing that would satisfy the deeper yearnings of my soul. I tried my hand at working harder and those things didn't work, and I was severely depressed about it and truly hopeless in life.

At that point, however, I did start to hear the message of Christianity for the first time. I heard the gospel. And I was amazed to learn just how wrong I was about Jesus. Looking back today, I'm almost embarrassed at how thin and weak my belief system used to be.

But now I was learning the gospel! I learned that I was so loved, that Christ died, just for me to be forgiven. I didn't have to earn my forgiveness. It had been earned for me! God's grace was waiting for me, as a free gift to be received by faith! But at that point, I was seeking the answer to this question, "What does grace even mean?!"

I'm no expert, but as I understand it, this is the idea of grace in Christianity: 

God loves sinners so much that He is rich in mercy, and according to His eternal purpose and will God sends His son Jesus into the world. Jesus lived a holy and perfect life, and yet it was God's will that He should die, to be a pure and righteous sacrifice for sin. Christ dies and is resurrected and raised to the place of highest honor. His life, death and resurrection purchase for all those who believe in him justification before God and every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. These blessings that are received in Christ are a free gift, and those who receive the gift of salvation have been saved not of their own doing, nor have they have earned it in any way. Rather, salvation it is a gift of God's grace that is given by faith. Grace is God's blessing, given to those who haven't earned it, but have placed their trust in Jesus Christ.

*(For scriptural basis, see Ephesians 2:5, Isaiah 53:5-6, Philippians 2:9, Romans 4:25, Ephesians 1:3, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:10)*

When you believe in Jesus put your faith and trust in him, you are saved! It is finished. You are saved by grace and declared righteous before God because of Christ's completed work on the Cross. You don't have to worry about your lack of merit, because you get the merit of Jesus given to you! You don't have to work harder and then you'll finally be saved, you are saved! There is no other idea like this in the world! Every other worldview whether secular or religious says you have to WORK HARDER. Christianity says Jesus did it for you.

In his book, Unparalleled: How Christianity's Uniqueness Makes it Compelling, author Jared C. Wilson says this of grace:

"The gospel makes Christianity unique among all other religions, and philosophical systems of enlightenment, approval, or success because while every other system primarily teaches things to do, only Christianity primarily teaches that the things to do are done. Outside of Christianity, both religious and irreligious systems aimed at personal success or fulfillment hold out for their adherents a certain goal - heaven, nirvana, reincarnation, enlightenment, happiness, and so forth - and then list out a set of steps or instructions to reach that goal. (p.180)

This is one of my favorite reasons for my faith. Christianity stands out in stark contrast to every other way of thinking in the world because of this idea of grace. Where every other worldview says "do," and "work harder," the gospel of Jesus Christ says, "done" and "it is finished."

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:30 ESV)

If you are reading this post and growing weary of a life that is telling you to work harder, I urge you to consider Christ. Jesus loves you more than you could ever imagine. He wants you to trust him with your life, so that he can bring you into the family of God and into every blessing therein. He shed his blood to show you how much he loves you, he is pursuing you always, and if you put your trust in him you will receive the gift of God's grace. Jesus will give you rest.

"Come to me, all who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28 ESV)

If you are a follower of Christ and reading this post, I hope you'll join me in rejoicing,

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
(John Newton)


Paul Stiver