God's grace - too good to be true?

It sounds too good to be true. This is how a well-known saying begins and you know that it is rather unlikely. However, when it comes to God's grace, it is actually true. Even so, some people insist that grace cannot be like this and resort to law to avoid what they see as a license to sin. Their sincere yet misguided efforts are a form of legalism that robs people of the transforming power of grace that springs from the love of God and flows into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5,5).

The good news of the grace of God in Christ Jesus, the personified grace of God, came into the world and preached the gospel (Luke 20,1), that is the good news of the grace of God towards sinners (this affects us all). However, the religious leaders of the day did not like his sermon because it put all sinners on an equal footing but saw them as more righteous than others. To them, Jesus' sermon on grace was absolutely not good news. On one occasion, Jesus replied to their protest: The strong do not need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what that means: "I take pleasure in mercy and not in sacrifice". I came to call sinners and not the righteous (Matthew 9,12-13).

Today we rejoice in the gospel - the good news about the grace of God in Christ - but in Jesus' day it was a great nuisance for self-righteous religious officials. The same news will also offend those who believe that they must always try harder and better behaved in order to earn God's favor. They ask us the rhetorical question, how else are we going to motivate people to work harder, live properly, and use spiritual leaders as role models when you claim they are already under grace? You can think of no other way to motivate people except by affirming a legal or contractual relationship with God. Please do not misunderstand me! It is good to work hard in God's work. Jesus did just that - his work brought it to completion. Remember, Jesus the Perfect revealed the Father to us. This revelation contains the absolutely good news that God's compensation system works better than ours. He is the inexhaustible source of grace, love, kindness, and forgiveness; we don't pay taxes to earn God's grace or to fund God's government. God works in the best-equipped rescue system, whose job it is to free humanity from the pit it has fallen into. You may remember the story of the traveler who fell into a pit and tried in vain to get out. People passed the pit and saw how he was struggling. The sensitive person called out to him: Hello you down there. I really feel for them. The rational person commented: Yes, it's logical that someone had to fall into the pit here. The interior designer asked: May I give you some suggestions on how to decorate your pit? The prejudice said: Here you can see it again: Only bad people fall into pits. The curious one asked: Man, how did you do that? The legalist said, You know what, I think you deserved to end up in the pit. The tax officer asked, Tell me, are you actually paying taxes for the pit? The self-pitying person whined: Yes, you should The Zen Buddhist recommended: Take it easy, relax and just stop thinking about the pit. The optimist said: Come on, hold your head up! It could have been much worse. The pessimist said, How awful, but be prepared! It will get worse. When Jesus saw the man (humanity) in the pit, he jumped in and helped him out. That is just grace!

There are people who do not understand God's logic of grace. They believe their hard work will get them out of the pit and see it as unfair that others get out of the pit without having made the same effort. The characteristic of God's grace is that God gives it generously to everyone without distinction. Some need more forgiveness than others, but God treats everyone equally regardless of their circumstances. God doesn't just talk about love and compassion; he made it clear when he sent Jesus into the pit to help us all out. Followers of legalism tend to misinterpret God's grace as permission for a permissive, spontaneous and unstructured way of life (antinomianism). But that's not how it works, as Paul wrote in his letter to Titus: For the salutary grace of God has appeared to all people and disciplines us, that we renounce the ungodly nature and the worldly desires and be prudent, righteous and pious in this world live (Titus 2,11-12).

Let me be clear: if God saves people, He will no longer leave them in the pit. He does not leave them to their own devices to live in immaturity, sin and shame. Jesus saves us so that by the power of the Holy Spirit we may come out of the pit and begin a new life in which Jesus' righteousness, peace and joy may be found (Romans 1 Cor4,17).

The parable of the workers in the vineyard Jesus spoke about God's unconditional grace in his parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matt 20,1: 16). No matter how long each had worked, all workers received full daily wages. Of course (that's human) those who worked the longest were upset because they believed that those who worked less didn't deserve that much. I very much suspect those who worked less also thought they received more than they earned (I will come back to this later). In fact, grace does not seem fair in itself, but since God (who is reflected in the person of the householder in the parable) renders the judgment in our favor, I can only thank God from the bottom of my heart! I didn't think I could somehow earn God's grace by working hard all day in the vineyard. Grace can only be accepted gratefully and humbly as an undeserved gift - as it is - as it is. I like the way Jesus contrasts the workers in his parable. Perhaps some of us identify with those who worked long and hard believing they deserved more than they received. Most, I am sure, will identify with those who have received far more for their work than they deserve. Only with a grateful attitude can we appreciate and understand God's grace, especially because we urgently need it. Jesus' parable teaches us that God saves those who don't deserve it (and really cannot be deserved). The parable shows how religious legalists complain that grace is unfair (too good to be true); they argue, how can God reward someone who has not worked as hard as they do?

Driven by guilt or gratitude?

Jesus' teaching strips the bottom of the guilt that is used as the primary tool by legalists to subordinate people to God's will (or, far more often, to their own will!). Feeling guilty is as opposed to being thankful for the grace God gives us in His love. The focus of guilt is on our ego with its sins, whereas gratitude (the nature of worship) focuses on God and his goodness. From my own experience I can say that while guilt (and fear is part of it) motivates me, gratitude because of the love, goodness, and grace of God motivates me far more. In contrast to legalistic obedience based on guilt, gratitude is fundamentally relational (from Heart to heart) - Paul speaks here of the obedience of faith (Romans 16,26). This is the only kind of obedience that Paul approves because only this obedience glorifies God. Relational, gospel-shaped obedience is our grateful response to God's grace. It was gratitude that drove Paul forward in his ministry. It also motivates us today to participate in Jesus' work through the Holy Spirit and through his church. By God's grace, this ministry is realigning life in Christ and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we are now and forever beloved children of our Heavenly Father. All God wants us to be is that we grow in his grace and so come to know him better and better (2. Petrus 3,18). This growing in grace and knowledge will continue now and for ever in the new heaven and on the new earth. All glory is due to God!

by Joseph Tkach