“Trying to justify yourself by obedience to God’s law is to alienate yourself from Christ. That’s what ‘falling from grace’ really means—not falling into immorality but jumping into self-salvation. For we are saved by grace alone through faith alone—both grace and faith being 100% gifts of our generous God.” (Paraphrase Galatians 5:4 and Ephesians 2:8-10)
Dear Jesus, how counter-intuitive and sobering: To fall from grace is to lapse into law breaking but law idolizing—to choose performance-based spirituality over the Gospel of God’s grace. “Egad!” and “Woe!”—it’s to trust more in my effort to earn acceptance with God than to rest in your perfect righteousness as my only hope. It means…
If I maintain a daily regimen of Bible reading, Scripture memorization, and devotions, but don’t really rely on you as my “righteousness, holiness, and redemption” (1Cor.1:30), it will profit me nothing. In fact, it will be evil.
If I’m scrupulous to avoid evil—even the appearance of evil, but don’t really believe the Gospel of grace, I am self-righteous and lost as a goose.
If I should go on short term missions trips every month and give a big portion of my income to the poor, yet don’t trust the Gospel-plus-nothing for my salvation, I’m just a generous altruistic infidel.
If I weep many tears of sadness over my sin and earnestly repent, yet don’t know myself to be hidden in you and clothed in your righteousness (Col.3:1-4; Gal.3:27), I’m no more than a contrite pagan or shame-filled non-believer.
Jesus, by your Holy Spirit, make the Gospel clear, precious, and real—again, and again, and again. Is it possible for real believers to fall, slip, or jump back into varying degrees of legalism? Tragically, yes, it is. Obliterate our unbelief, Jesus. Restore us to Gospel-astonishment that we might live and love to your glory. So Very Amen.