Performance vs Grace or Why I don't care what you think about me!

In the Frank Peretti  book I am reading, he has a line, "Salvation by grace, Christianity by performance?"

Have you ever felt that way?   I know I have. A friend of mine who attended the same Christian High School that I attended put it this way…..  “Grace was for the sinner, not for the saint”.     Have you ever caught yourself saying “I can’t because I am a Christian?”     Our Mormon friends;  and I use the term friends very loosely there is very little if any common ground I can find with that cult, have a t-shirt that says “I can’t I’m Mormon”.     Have you ever heard a sermon or a Sunday School lesson on the Freedom we have in Christ followed up by a list of things we should or should not do.    My favorite line most fundys have is “I can drink all the beer I want to, I just don’t want to! Can I hear an AMEN!”    I have always wanted to respond, “ Well ok then, when I want a beer, I’ll drink a beer!”

So why have I never had the nerve to speak up and say just what I was thinking, you know why!   I would be condemned on the spot,  “If you were really walking with Jesus you would not have the desire, yada , yada, yada… and what about your testimony blah, blah, blah,…..

This is not a post about the consumption of alcohol being a sin or not, that may come later, this is about performance verses grace.    The non-consumption of alcohol is just one of those convenient performance benchmarks that a lot of Evangelical and Fundamentalist have. ( I know, I am using labels I have not defined yet but just go with me on this, I will bet back to the labeling I promise )

 Most of us who take the Bible seriously would agree that we bring absolutely nothing to the table. 

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.  Romans 5:6-11

So there is nothing I can do to earn my salvation, God loved me and died for my while I was still a sinner!  Actually before I was born, so within the constraints of time all of my sins were future at the point in time of the cross.   They were paid for then!  Ephesians tell us it was part of his plan before the foundation of the world.

 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us [fn2] for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known [fn3] to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.  Ephesians 1:3-10

He may be even clearer about that in  2 Timothy:

“ who saved us and called us to [fn1] a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.” 2 Tim 1: 9

I could go on and on, but you get my point, salvation has nothing to do with performance!  Guess what, neither does Sanctification, Fellowship, walking with Christ, or just being a “Good Christian!”   I want to point you to Romans 8 , I love to camp out in Romans 8 I believe it is the high point of all of scripture, but today specifically at verse 29 & 30:

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son!  Who is going to conform me?  I cannot conform myself!  He is!    Notice the progression and that it is all past tense! As far as God is concerned it is completed.  In fact according to Ephesians I have already been raised up and seated with Christ in Heaven!

and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.   Ephesians 2: 6

So if it is already a done deal, who am I preforming for?  Jesus?  If I fast and read the Bible God will be impressed and answer my prayer, right!?  Please,   not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace…  If you think there is anything you can do that would impress Him…well,  you just need to go back to square one, you bring NOTHING to the table.  We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment Isaiah 64:6a   Galatians points out that this applies to works post salvation as well as pre salvation.   For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” Gal 3: 10-11

So who are we performing for? Well most of the time we are performing for other Christians.  “I better not do, (insert anything you want to here) because it might offend ( insert anyone other than Jesus here) “  If you have ever thought that or said that or changed the way you do something because of what someone else might say or think, then you are living your life based on performance instead of the Grace of God.   Have you ever been out to dinner with your wife or husband and not ordered a glass of wine because someone from ‘The Church’ might show up? ( there I go on the alcohol again but it is just too easy)  Have you ever been out with your family on a Sunday afternoon and decided I won’t go to Church because I don’t have time to change? If so, you are a performance based Christian.  Have you ever gone to Church only because if you didn’t someone might think you are a backslidden heathen?  Then you are a performance based Christian!  What does Jesus think of Performance based Christians?   The Book of Galatians was written to a group of people who were doing just that.   The Galatians were a group of people who had received the Grace of Christ, yet had gotten caught up in keeping a lot of rules.  They had been told by a group of people that it is great that you believe in Christ but now you have to keep the Law!  They were trying not to ‘offend’ their brothers down in Jerusalem.  They were trying to please other men ( and women)  They had bought the lie of performance! But Paul lets them know very quickly “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant [fn2] of Christ.”    So if you are doing whatever it is you are doing, in order to please men you are not a servant of Christ.      If you are a performance based Christian you are not a servant of Christ.

We all get caught up in it.  Paul goes on to tell a story about Peter, who had been told in a vision that God had made all things clean, got caught up in hypocrisy at Antioch when he refused to eat with Gentile believers.  Peter who knew better I caught up in performance.   “I don’t have to keep kosher anymore, but see how much better I am than those heathens who are actually practicing their freedom”.     We do the same thing all the time.  We need to remember the only performance that matters is Christ, and He performed it all on the Cross!

 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness [fn2] were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Stay Thirsty my friend!