Two-faced grace
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 11:13AM 
In many congregations and fellowships today, you'll hear a dual message: "You're forgiven, even "redeemed," yet you remain largely a self-centered person who is bent on falling short."
We bring hope to people through the message of forgiveness, then tell them they're going to need a lot of it because they just can't get it together. It's a duplicitous, two-faced message. We're constantly flipping back and forth between the two masks: hope and shame.
- Forgiven, but never spiritual enough.
- Redeemed, yet told the redemption has had little effect on your heart.
- "New creation," yet not in practical terms -- only as an ideal
- Grace, but not the grace that solves the real problem
We have missed the centerpiece of the Gospel: that grace is more than forgiveness: it is a restored heart. Strong. Holy. Already.
The human heart has always been the problem. Jesus solved the problem by making an offer: "I will give you my own heart. Now." Redemption means you have a pure heart ... now.
If grace does not involve the thorough restoration of a dis-eased heart, then we are Lazarus -- released from the tomb, yet forever tripping over our graveclothes; unable to walk in freedom, hindered by those appetites that have always bound us. Forgiveness alone will leave you crippled.
Grace must include the offer a new heart: "I will give you a new heart..." (Ezekiel 36:26) Without it, we are left with a discouraging distortion -- two-faced grace.
Reader Comments (5)
"grace is more than forgiveness: it is a restored heart"
Amen Jim!
Thanks, Bob!
I shared your thoughts on this with a friend of mine and this was the response I got back...
"I don't think that the "deepest part of us" is dirty or anything, but just that regardless of salvation, we are still human. The Bible tells us that there was only one perfect man, and Paul talks about how he ("he" being Paul) also struggled constantly with his flesh, and we have scores of others who walked with Jesus, and knew Jesus, and yet also sinned. So, our essential nature is of the flesh and sinful. I don't think I'm a terrible person, but I know I'm not a perfect person, I think that's the closest I can get."
I deeply saddened me when I considered how long I carried these same beliefs...
Hey Dave,
In my view, we're not really talking about perfection, or an absence of struggle with sin. Rather, we're talking about an essential change in our nature from "desperately wicked" to holy and good. The old heart remains, yet is no longer central to our identity.
I think the reason so many cling to the belief that they are still primarily sinful in their nature is that it sounds holy. That's what's so deceptive about it.
Agreed. And how long have we lived our lives in a manner that reflects what we believe ourselves to be? How long have we believed that our performance defines us? I mean, we've all heard it before. Heck... it's repeated to us every day. Even in the movies we hear it...
"Stupid is as stupid does."
Because we still act sinfully, we must be sinful to the core, right? Wrong!