Are You Living In A House Of Fear?

Put bluntly, the American church today accepts grace in theory but denies it in practice. We say we believe that the fundamental structure of reality is grace, not works–but our lives refute our faith. By and large, the gospel of grace is neither proclaimed, understood, nor lived. Too many Christians are living in a house of fear and not in the house of love. Our culture has made the word grace impossible to understand. We resonate with slogans such as: “There’s no free lunch.” “You get what you deserve.” “You want love? Earn it.” “You want mercy? Show that you deserve it. Though the Scriptures insist on God’s initiative in the work of salvation–that by grace we are saved, that the Tremendous Lover has taken to the chase–our spirituality often starts with self, not God…We sweat through various spiritual exercises as if they were designed to produce a Christian Charles Atlas. Though lip service is paid to the gospel of grace, many Christians live as if only personal discipline and self-denial will mold the perfect me. The emphasis is on what I do rather than on what God is doing. In this curious process God is a benign old spectator in the bleachers who cheers when I show up for morning quiet time. Our eyes are not on God. At heart we are practicing Pelagians. We believe that we can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps–indeed, we can do it ourselves. (Brennan Manning)

Most Christians I talk to tell me yes they understand grace they believe in grace. The only problem is that it never shows up in their life. They are generally unhappy, miserable, critical, fearful, filled with anxiety and they are not going to change because they refuse to admit they are bankrupt when it comes to grace. Grace is not amazing to these people at all, and it won't be until they come to the end of themselves, repent and ask God for help.