All by Grace

Imagine you were a million dollars in debt. There was no chance you could ever pay back that amount of money, and if you didn’t pay the debt back in full, there would be drastic consequences. When you were a million dollars in debt someone decided to have compassion on you, and he gave you a check for the entire amount. After you deposited the gift and settled up with the creditor, what do you have to brag about? You cannot boast of your role in depositing the check or writing one of your own when the millions dollars was given to you in grace.

That is how silly it is to think any works on our part contribute to the grace of God. He gave us the million dollars to cover our sin debt, so any boasting must be done in God, not in ourselves. That is the theme of Paul’s letter to the Galatians; they had converted to Christianity, but then began to teach that there are outward works that needed to be added to grace. He wrote, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ, which is a different gospel (1:6).”

Paul championed the gospel of grace because he knew that was the only gospel that saves. Grace has always been, and will be always be the rallying cry of the church because we recognize that God did not ask us to work to come up to Him, but in grace He came down to us. That is why we do not sing, “Amazing works, how sweet the sound,” but “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” We do not sing, “Works, works, man’s works,” but “Grace, grace, God’s grace.” We do not sing “Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing my works,” but “come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing they grace.”

By grace God saved us from our sin. By grace God filled us with His Spirit. By grace God is preparing us a home in heaven. It’s all by grace. Grace is the firm foundation upon which our faith is built. Grace is the door that opens up to life everlasting. Grace is the river that supplies life-giving water to those who are thirsty. Grace is the ship that carries the pilgrims to their new home.

When this life is over we will not be able to boast of our works that earned us a place in heaven, but we will celebrate grace because it did what our works could never do. When I was a million dollars in debt, grace pulled out its credit card and paid my debt. Has yours been paid, or are you trying in vain to do it yourself?