I don’t think that I ever questioned reality, but I have been in situations, both good and bad, where I’ve said “I can’t believe it”. It’s a nice sunny day here in Ireland, so I’ll mention a happy moment. I failed my driving test first time and wondered if I’d ever pass. Surely, I’d do something amiss. On the second occasion, the tester had someone who was testing his skills as a tester, who sat in the back of the car. I’d thought that I’d surely fail – but I passed! 😀. It did feel unreal – too good to be true.
Getting to heaven by good works is a little like doing a lifelong driving test. Sin isn’t just a mistake, it’s serious and it has serious consequences, sometimes in this life, but certainly in the next life. But God has provided a Saviour. He was tested throughout His life, but He passed with flying colours. And you could say that He passed the test for all those who belong to Him. He bore the punishment for our sins, so that we could be saved. When I first heard of salvation by grace alone, it felt a little unreal or too good to be true. But it is true.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
A very simple definition of grace is Gods Riches At Christ’s Expense.
It’s not that God doesn’t want us to keep his commands. But when we repent and believe, we are in God’s family, on His side. We’re not entirely free of sin, but we are more eager to live for Christ.
Many years ago, when there was a huge backlog for the driving test in Ireland, the government granted an amnesty to people who had been learning for a long period but didn’t do their test. Surely, these people would have been happy to avoid having to do the test, but I’m equally sure that they would still have been motivated to drive well. Some fear that if you don’t threaten Christians with hell or purgatory, they’ll grow careless. But there are other motivating factors apart from threats. And if someone grew ridiculously careless, you might question whether they even truly believed in Jesus to start with. But true believers are never going to feel that they deserve heaven on their own merits, which is why we depend on Jesus.
Hibernia Gospel 