Just Add Nothing

There are many great products that tell customers to “Just Add” something. We can make instant grits or oatmeal by just adding water to the package of mix; we can make beef stroganoff or chili macaroni by just adding meat to Hamburger Helper; we can make lemonade or Kool Aid by just adding water (and maybe a little sugar) to the powder. Even Ore-Ida has a breakfast bowl that says, “Just add an egg.” These items are part of a clever marketing tactic that stresses convenience. All the work has been done already, and you are only on the hook to add one little ingredient. Everyone who has ever made oatmeal from scratch appreciates the convenience of the “just add water” line of products.

Legalists try to apply that same philosophy to salvation. They say Jesus has done most of the work, but we are still on the hook to add something. They say to add works; add church attendance; add tithes and offerings; add the removal of old habits. And while each of those things is important in the life of a Christian, none of them are ingredients for salvation.

In Galatians 2 Paul wrote to believers who were being led astray by legalists telling them they needed to become more like the Jews in order to really be saved. He said they are justified by faith in Jesus apart from good works because good works are futile in their efforts to bring salvation. Paul concludes the chapter by saying, “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose (v.21).”

If our good works were good enough to earn us a spot in heaven, then Calvary was a sad waste of time. This reminds me of MercyMe’s new song Best News Ever that says, “Some say He’s keeping score, so tried hard, then try a little a more. But hold up: if this were true, explain to me what the cross was for.” Anyone who tries to tell us that we are not really saved unless or until we do some extra act has misunderstood the cross. Jesus died precisely because no action on our part could merit salvation. Of course we must trust in Christ and call out to Him, but there is no meritorious deed that we can do to earn God’s favor. That was all dealt with while we were still sinners.

As convenient as it is to just add one ingredient, it is even easier to accept the gift of salvation. It is literally, “Just add nothing.”

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?   

Change of Address

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

The Apostle Paul asked and answered his own question in Romans 6:1-2. The question came in response to his teaching on grace in the previous chapters; he anticipated his audience’s conclusion would be that sin is actually a good thing, because the more we sin, the more God gets to display His amazing grace. To paraphrase, Paul predicted they would say, “If we sin more, God gets to forgive more.” That is how “grace may abound.”

But he answered his own question with an emphatic no. After all, he was saying, if we have died to sin, how can we continue living in it? The Greek word that is translated live more literally refers to a permanent address. Some of you maintain more than one residence, but you have only one legal permanent address. Your vacation house or time share are not recognized as a legal residence; that designation is reserved for the place where you spend 51% of your nights.

Paul’s careful use of the word live implies that we will still sin from time to time. He understood that he was writing to human beings who would not attain perfection under the sun. The point is not that those who have died to sin (Christians) will never sin, but that they cannot live in it. Our permanent address cannot be in sin. Maybe some of you have run back to the sin you once died to. I recommend that you move. Go to the post office, fill out a change of address form, and get out of town.

Have you died to sin? You cannot live there any longer.

Throne of Grace

Most people know what it is like to feel timid around another person. The girl you had a crush on in elementary school made you stutter and forget your name. Being around “Mr. Popular” made you slightly unsure of yourself. Now the presence of your boss makes you speak a little quieter, and perhaps with more thought before each sentence.

For most of us there will always be that person who intimidates us. But God does not intend to be one of those people. He does not picture our relationship as being one based on fear and intimidation. In Hebrews 4:16 we are told that we can “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

We can boldly approach God’s throne with confidence in the fact that He wants to hear from us. I don’t think we need to go overboard with this and make Jesus our “homeboy,” as some have done; we need to maintain a healthy respect for who He is and what He has done for us.

But God wants to have a relationship with us. Just as a child has no problem telling his parents what he wants for Christmas, so we should have no problem making our requests known unto God. That is not to say that God is a divine Santa or Genie, existing only to grant our wishes; but in the context of this verse, God is there when we need to ask for grace and mercy.

And we can ask for them boldly.