Real life is long on law and short on grace—the demands never stop, the failures pile up, and fear sets in. We are all in need of some relief.
Listen as Susie talks with pastor Tullian Tchividjian about his new book, One Way Love. We spend time exploring the power of raw, unflinching grace to set us free and set the world on fire.
Tullian points out that we start from a place of grace, of unmerited favor and dependence on God. Over time, however, we start to develop an “undercurrent of self-righteousness.” In our mind, eventually the focus of Christianity shifts from a cross to a ladder. It becomes what we do and not about what Christ did. We lose sight of grace and cling to law.
“The people I’m talking to who resist grace the most… are the people inside the church. You start believing you’re not as desperate as you used to be… Progress and transformation seem to take center stage over redemption in the Christian life. We forget that God is not primarily in the rehabilitation business but the resurrection business.”
We live in a results-based society, so it’s difficult to accept the idea of a God Who would love and accept us based on absolutely nothing we’ve done for Him. However, standing in that truth is the only way we accept Christ. In Tullian’s words,
“The only thing we contribute to salvation is the sin that makes it necessary.”
Our job is to believe in Jesus and walk with Him. Continually preach the gospel to yourself to remember the amazing disproportionate act of love that God has committed on your behalf. Don’t assume grace – put it in front of you every morning as a reminder to walk in humility and awe in an exhausted, performance-based world.
Key Scriptures: Romans 8:1; John 6:27-29
Theme Song: If I Ever Needed Grace by Jimmy Needham
