A Fair Shake?
Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.
-Romans 4:4-5
This idea is a bedrock of Reformed thought. In fact, it’s so central to our system of belief that it is tempting to think that everyone in our tradition probably knows it already. It is tempting to think that I should just pick another passage for this devotion.
However, in my years as a pastor, I have seen how easy it is for us to forget this very central idea. It is so counter to human nature, and it is certainly counter to how we have come to view ourselves as Americans.
After all, there is something very comforting, something very right, about earning what you receive. An honest wage for an honest day’s work. This is what powers our economy. This is what sparks hard work, innovation, and human ingenuity. This is a big part of what is responsible for the incredible level of wealth, affluence, and comfort that we enjoy today living in America. And because we operate daily with that mindset in the marketplace, it is tempting to bring it to church.
Think about how it would work if it were this way in our relationship with God. We have an innate sense that we owe God our best. After all, he created us. But God is perfect. God is holy. And we are not. We are broken by sin. To use the metaphor above, we are unable to give “an honest day’s work.” Even the best we can come up in trying to please our Creator is tainted by sin. More often it’s completely savaged by sin. We deceive ourselves or we are misinformed if we say we just want a fair shake from God.
But God does not give us a fair shake. And we should be ever grateful for that. God does not even give us a second chance. After all, if all he gave us was a second chance, we would hardly be home from worship before we were in trouble all over again. No, God’s grace does not give us a second chance—it gives us a new, different life altogether. “Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old life has gone, a new life has begun” (2 Cor. 5:17).
No, there is no earning a new life with God. There is only receiving new life in Christ.
Gracious God, we know we cannot earn your favor. Thank you for sending your Son to restore our relationship with you. Open our hearts to receive him in faith, that we may be credited with his righteousness.
~Pastor Matt