Credit for what?

Usually we have to earn credits, don’t we? If we want a college degree, we have to put in the time, go to class, do the work and when we have piled up 126 credits, we are given what we’ve earned. If we want a promotion, we have to show up on time, do the work assigned us, and show initiative. Approval is usually tied to performance. Reward follows diligence. That’s how life works. We learn the drill from the time we are little children.

And then we encounter God’s amazing grace! In the first book of the Bible, we meet a man named Abram. Called from his city of Ur, he was given many promises. Did the Lord offer them to him because he was smarter, taller, or more devout than any other man in the world? No, He chose him by His own will, asking only that Abram, later renamed Abraham, have faith to receive the promise. Now ponder this wonderful revelation! "Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness." (Genesis 15:6, NIV) This man left everything he knew, went on a life-long journey, basing his entire life on the promise of God which he received by faith, even though there was no evidence of fulfillment of that promise for years and years!
Disciple, if you’re trying to earn God’s favor, you are setting yourself up for failure. If you think you can do enough to enjoy peace with God, if you think you can avoid sin by self-discipline alone, if you attempt to keep yourself on the right track by determination and/or gritted teeth, prepare for disappointment! Instead, trust God and accept the right standing with Him that is fully and freely offered through Jesus Christ. Grace makes the difference between religion that deals in Hell and death and relationship that produces life and hope of Heaven! The Word amplifies the call to faith found in Genesis, explaining to us that "Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless. For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!) So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe." (Romans 4:13-16, NLT)

Jesus’ gracious acceptance of social rejects and ‘sinners’ brought scorn to Him. "The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, “He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends.” Their grumbling triggered this story. “Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Celebrate with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!’" (Luke 15:2-6, The Message) Do you see the promise in that passage? If we’re lost (and we are!) God seeks to save us, not because we are worthy or because we did anything to attract His attention. Because of loving grace, He goes to find us and bring us home! Our only part is to surrender to His embrace.

True grace is deeply transformative. Sinners who had dinner with Jesus were changed from the inside out. So, too, we are transformed by grace. When we experience the incredible, scandalous love of God, it causes us to change course, with a new vision drawing us higher. If we respond to God’s invitation with faith, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us. "When you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him." (Ephesians 1:13-14, NLT)
At the beginning of 2010, renew your faith; not in yourself, not in a religious system, but in the Person of Christ Jesus. Receive His grace anew! "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." (Ephesians 2:8-10, NLT) Now, that is grace that is amazing.

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Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt,
Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt!

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss.
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty Cross.

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?

Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within!
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!

Grace Greater Than Our Sin
Johnston, Julia H. / Towner, Daniel Brink
© Public Domain