In my many years of being a Christian and working in evangelical Christian ministry I’ve encountered what I think are three common gospel distortions of how grace, faith, and works are to be understood in salvation. These are so common that I, at one time or another, have held all three of these unbiblical perspectives. And I still have to be careful and diligent so that I don’t fall back into the distortions. In this article, I’ll briefly introduce these three errors and then spend the latter part of my article discussing the meaning and importance of salvation by grace.
Three Gospel Distortions
1. The Legalist There are different types of legalism (or law keeping) as it relates to salvation and the living of the Christian life.1 Perhaps the worst kind is holding the view that by doing good works or by obeying God’s law, a person can actually earn or merit salvation. This is patently unbiblical and contrary to historic Christianity, as we’ll see below.
But my foray into legalism was much more subtle and less detectable. Almost imperceptibly, I came to think that by performing certain behaviors and avoiding others, I would become more fully accepted by God. I did believe in salvation by grace through faith in Christ and not by works. But early in my Christian life I thought that by not drinking alcohol and not watching certain television programs, God would find me more acceptable.
Of course, for some people there are good reasons not to drink alcohol or watch television programs that contain content that conflicts with Christian truth and virtue. So followers of Christ need to examine their conscience in light of Scripture and decide which debatable activities they will or will not involve themselves in (see Romans 14).
My error was in thinking that by avoiding these activities, I was contributing something extra to God’s saving grace. I was similar to the Pharisee in Luke 18:9–14 in thanking God that, unlike others, I didn’t drink alcohol or watch worldly television programs. I’m sure my self-righteousness rubbed other Christians the wrong way.
Yet the reality is that all those who are trusting Christ by faith are already fully accepted by God’s loving grace. As the apostle Paul declared:
“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:21)
All Christians need God’s constant grace to grow in sanctification (transformation into the moral image of Christ). But that growth is the fruit of grace, not something added to it.
2. The Libertine Unfortunately, in reaction to legalism there were other times in my Christian life where I rebounded to the other extreme. I would describe this view as reflecting the sentiment that since I’m now grace-oriented, I don’t need to be as vigilant about living a holy life (called libertinism2).
This view is equally a distortion of how to live the Christian life. As we’ll see later, it’s God’s saving grace that teaches believers to strive for a life that reflects gratitude and godliness.
Again the apostle Paul declared:
“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1–2)
All Christians, in our lifelong process of sanctification, have liberty in Christ. But libertinism contradicts saving grace, which motivates true virtue and the doing of good works.
3. The Unlovable Another position I’ve wrestled with, especially as an older Christian, is reflected in the view that God is so holy and my sin is so great that God could not possibly love and forgive me. My specific struggle here is with the cognitive dissonance between claiming to believe so deeply in God’s grace, love, and forgiveness and yet knowing that my life often doesn’t reflect corresponding graciousness, loving-kindness, and forgiveness to other people. This hypocrisy is sometimes jarring.
But God’s grace, love, and forgiveness knows no human bounds. Once more I draw your attention to the apostle Paul’s declarative theological conclusions:
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)
Believers in Christ must confess their sins and accept the reality of the Lord’s ongoing forgiveness even for besetting sins. As the apostle John says:
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8–9)
Salvation by Grace In understanding our salvation and how we’re justified and sanctified, we must remind ourselves of two important points:
(1) We are saved by grace, not by works.
(2) Saving grace motivates the believer to pursue godliness.
Here again is Paul the apostle:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9)
Regarding these two critical verses, allow me to quote two of my favorite contemporary theologians. Reflecting my ecumenist spirit, one is Reformed and the other Wesleyan.
Presbyterian theologian John Jefferson Davis comments on Ephesians 2:8–9:
“The basis of our salvation is grace; faith is the instrument through which we receive it. This faith should not be misconstrued as a form of spiritual works.”3
And here’s Methodist theologian Thomas Oden on the same passage:
“Grace is the divine good will offered to those who do not deserve it and can never earn it.”4
Oden further notes: “By grace the sovereign God freely moves toward sinners to offer reconciling forgiveness, a new birth of freedom, and adoption into the family of God.”5
Takeaway In contrast to the three tangled gospel views above, here’s the Scriptural pattern for salvation in terms of justification (an event of divine acquittal) and then sanctification (a process toward holiness that isn’t completed in this life).
We are:
Saved by Grace
Through Faith
In Christ
Not by Works
Saving Grace Motivates Good Works
May God’s amazing grace give you abiding peace and rest for your soul.
Reflections: Your Turn Have you wrestled with any of these three gospel distortions?
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