The instinct to self-atone runs deep in our hearts. We want to make amends for our sin on our own. But God has done it all through Christ because of his grace, his undeserved love to us. Grace is so simple to understand and yet so hard to grasp. It’s not its complexity that makes it difficult. The problem is that we seem to be hard-wired to think we must do something to make God favorably disposed toward us. We want to take the credit. But all the time God is saying, “In my love I gave my Son for you. He’s done everything needed to secure my blessing. I love you as you are, and I accept you in him.” God can’t love you more than he does now, no matter how much you change your life. And God won’t love you less than he does now, no matter what a mess you make of your life. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). (23-24)
As my boys grow up, I hear them say things like, "I can fix this. I can do it all by myself. I don't need any help." It's good when they're learning to take initiative and responsibility, but it's bad when they are being defiantly independent and stubborn. The problem is that it's not always easy to know which is which.
If we're owning up to our short-comings and sins, that's a good thing, and I think it should lead to a certain kind of resolve to do what's right. The problem comes when we think that we can make God happy by our own efforts. "Oops. I'm sorry, God-- I know I messed up, but I can fix it. I'll clean up my mess. You don't need to help." It sounds good, right? But God says that all we can do with our sin is confess, repent, and believe in Christ.
Isn't change good? Isn't it necessary? Yes-- that's the point of the book. But we'll go completely wrong if we try to change, and believe that our turning from sin is what makes us acceptable to God. Rather, we must be grounded in the forgiveness that God offers in Christ, and then determine to change by his grace, by his power.
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