Ironically, people who openly speak of Christ as Savior are often the least likely to accept God’s grace as a grounds for peace with Him. And with good reason. They are the responsible type. They tend to earn their keep. They tend to say “Thanks” and “Excuse me.” They know when it is their turn to pick up the check. This makes them great candidates for neighbors but terrible candidates for accepting God’s grace through Jesus. Since they know the value of a dollar and day’s labor, they are on the lookout for ways to repay God. They know full well that forgiveness does not come cheap, so one must get serious. They know full well that anyone dying for anyone else surely meant for the saved life to mean something, so one must get busy. And while faith is supposed to be the real grounds for standing aright before God, well, it just doesn’t seem hard enough. Or fair to God.
And so they get busy. No matter how many times they are told that they cannot do anything to add to the gift of forgiveness through Christ, they still try to add something. No matter how many times they are told that accepting forgiveness through confession and repentance is faith enough, they still work out schemes to punish themselves for past crimes. It is all done in the name of belief, but it is actually a confession of unbelief. They do not believe in grace, in their own forgiveness. They believe in an earner’s world and the weight of a good time card.
Maybe grace as a grounds for peace is unrealistic. After all, what is an earner to do if he cannot earn anymore? That is a great question worth exploring. And the answers are grand.
