Do you realize you don’t have to do anything good to get to heaven?
I’m so blessed to go to a church that is very focused on the Gospel. We are constantly reminded that we are saved by grace, not by works, and the more I am reminded of this, the more I realize I need to hear it.
Because the Gospel of Grace is completely counter intuitive
I was sitting in church last night while a friend preached from Hebrews 11 about the righteous being justified by faith. He reminded us that when we die and come before a Holy God, we will have nothing to commend ourselves other than our faith in the righteousness of Christ and his ability to cover our sin.
I found, in that moment, sin in my heart.
You see, I kind of treat Jesus like my back up plan.
I do good things to gain approval with God, and entrance to heaven, and when I fall far short (which I inevitably will), Jesus covers the rest.
WRONG
Jesus covers it all.
It’s hard for me to accept, and may take a lifetime to grasp, but Jesus isn’t filling the gaps where we’re lacking, he’s doing it all. He’s taking the dead (both spiritually and literally) and bringing them back to life.
When I stand before God, I will have nothing to recommend myself, just faith in the fact that Jesus will speak for me.
He’s no backup plan. He’s all or nothing.
sarsrose 