Measuring Up To Grace

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ…

Philippians 1:27a

How do I measure up to grace?  How do I live in such a manner as to be worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Sin-Bearer?  How could I ever be worthy of such a gift?  

This verse strikes me as peculiar at first glance.  It tempts me to work hard, to take initiative, to slay all my sin.  Essentially, it tempts me toward self effort.  But self effort is antithetical to the Gospel, so too it must be the enemy of a life worthy of Christ and His Good News.  

We must remain tethered to the truth that no amount of works will ever merit salvation, which is entirely of grace.  Salvation is God’s idea, flowing from His gracious and good will, accomplished entirely by His gracious plan of redemption.  Salvation springs from and is accomplished by grace and grace alone.  A life worthy of the Gospel of Christ must always acknowledge and live according to this non-negotiable, foundational Christian truth.  

But now that grace has reconciled me to God by the blood of Christ, is my own self effort to keep me worthy somehow?  Again, we must reject this thought since Paul labels the Galatians as fools from trying to complete by the flesh what has begun by the Spirit of grace (Gal. 3:3).  Grace will make the Christian more and more like Jesus, and grace will ensure a safe arrival to destination: glory.  

So it seems that a life worthy of the Gospel is a life that is in constant dependency upon the grace of God, ruled by grace, both freely distributing grace to others in their failures and weakness AND receiving it personally for wrongs done and short comings.  

Let me try and illustrate this by speaking of two areas of my life in which I see room to grow in Gospel-worthiness.  

First, when I sin, I often times condemn myself and speak to myself words that tear down.  When I do so, I am not living a life dictated by grace.  I have returned to the shackles of works and performance.  The self hatred I experience has everything to do with self and nothing to do with grace.  Self says, “You idiot, you better shape up or you’ll never amount to anything for the Kingdom of God.”  The God of all grace says, “You are my child.  I am well-pleased with you in Christ.  You have no need to fear rejection.  You don’t need to excel to earn my acceptance.  I give it freely to you in my Beloved Son.  I have separated your sin from you as far as the East is from the West.  Confess your sins and I will make you clean and forgive you.”  Self is a ferociously wicked slave master.  The God of all grace is infinitely kind and generous, quick to forgive, and mighty to save.  He wrote through Peter that His power has granted to me all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3), so I need never condemn myself.  Grieve sin?  Absolutely.  Turn from all ungodliness?  To be sure.  But there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  To live in this manner is to be worthy of the Gospel of Christ.  

Second, when I perform well, I will often look for affirmation from people.  When a sermon hits the mark, when a Bible study has the group marveling at our great God, when an administrative project tightens up the organizational elements of life together, when I resist temptations that I’m susceptible to, I can instantly start looking for someone to affirm and praise my efforts.  The problem is two-fold.  For one thing, anything good I have ever done has been because of the grace of God.  I’ve never spoken truth that originated with me.  It’s always “borrowed” from God.  My words don’t create solar systems.  And I’d still be dead in sin, far from God, but for God’s intervening grace.  I want glory that rightly belongs to God.  A worthy life is one that remembers grace and longs to see Christ exalted in everything.  It’s also wrong to look for affirmation from people, because moth and rust will surely tarnish and destroy that praise and thieves can easily steal the fleeting joy of man’s praise with criticism and harassment.  But my heavenly Father’s pleasure with my weak efforts is enough.  In fact, for God to delight in anything I’ve done is astonishingly great.  His delight is also grace to me.  I don’t earn His pleasure.  He gifts it to me in Christ.  So I don’t need man’s praise if I can stand with a clear conscience before God Almighty satisfied with my efforts.  It is enough that my Father who sees in secret knows me and delights in my best efforts to serve His Church and honor Him with my life.    To live like that is to be worthy of the Gospel of Christ.

I want my manner of life to be worthy of the Gospel of Christ.  I want Jesus to be glorified in and through me.  So I resolve yet again to depend upon His grace in all things.  That life is pleasing to God and worthy of His Gospel.