How Grace Transforms Every Problem
I’ve spent the last six weeks reading through Galatians with my D-group Bible study. I think Galatians has now become one of my favorite books in the Bible because its #1 focus is GRACE.
Grace is something we talk about a lot, but in my experience, it's often misunderstood. It took me almost 15 years of following Jesus to awaken to the true meaning of Grace. And five years later, I’m still wrestling with how to reconcile the fact that I’m saved 100% by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) with the performance culture I grew up in and the world we live in. It’s been very hard to wrap my head and heart around the concept that all I have to do to be saved is believe in Him. I’ve heard it. I’ve read it. But I haven’t acted like this was true. I haven’t really believed it—it just seemed too good to be true.
Especially with my sinful past. I really believed and acted like I needed to do enough good deeds to outweigh the bad and make Jesus pleased with me. So I got busy doing a lot of good religious activities—reading my Bible every day, going to church, serving, joining various Bible studies, trying to pray more, listening only to worship music, or reading only Christian books. The only problem was why I was doing them: to prove that I was worthy of saving—I was trying to save myself, rather than acting from a heart posture of love and gratitude for all Jesus had already done to save me.
Then one day I was listening to a Tim Keller sermon where he discussed how new or immature believers often misunderstand grace. He noted that one can often notice this because early in their walk, they get so busy doing all these good religious activities to appear mature, but really, they are trying to save themselves with good deeds. They don’t truly grasp grace.
Ouch. I realized I was the immature believer Keller described. In trying to appear mature and impressive, I said yes to everything and was trying to do all the right things. But this can only last for so long. Eventually, this leads to burnout and exhaustion because the motives are not pure, and this is never how Jesus designed us to live.
My own burnout breakdown came about a year ago when my anxiety, insomnia, and physical, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion hit me like a freight train. I had no choice but to say no to all the things and take a sabbatical summer—no to Bible study, no to serving, no to all the extras and external pressures so that I could get back to what really mattered: a personal, abiding relationship with Jesus and the internal state of my soul. I needed Jesus like never before to show me where things had gone sideways and to revive my weary soul. Because I was ‘doing’ everything I’d been taught to do, and yet my soul was a weary wreck. Where had I gone wrong?
Over the last couple of sabbatical summers, He began to show me the unforced rhythms of His grace (Matthew 11:28-30 MSG) as I laid down my performance and traded it for His presence, learning to do things from a motive of love, not fear. It’s been nothing short of life changing. As I surrendered, said no, and did less, somehow He showed up and grew me more than when I was hustling. As I surrendered many of the religious activities, He showed up in unexpected ways and spoke through ordinary daily moments. As I focused on being and abiding in Him, I felt more of His love and pleasure than I’d ever felt in my performance. And once He reordered my priorities—being with Him, becoming like Him, and then doing as He does—He placed me in a Bible study to go verse by verse through Galatians. In all the wrestling, I finally have hope that these powerful seeds of grace are starting to take root.
I wanted to share the top five things that He’s been teaching me about grace that are moving from head knowledge to heart transformation. I pray these will help you on your grace journey as well.
1. Saved by Grace Alone through Faith Alone
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV
Faith in Jesus alone leads to salvation by God’s grace and Jesus’ finished work on the cross. This is the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)—the good news—that anyone who would believe in Jesus would be saved (John 3:16). The gospel is all about what God did for us, not what we do for Him.
Tim Keller famously says, “Gospel + Anything = Nothing.” I’m a CPA, so I love Bible formulas, and this one is powerful. God does all the doing, as teachers like Tara-Leigh Cobble remind us. Our sin debt is already paid by Jesus (Colossians 2:14). God doesn’t ask for two payments for the same debt; that would be unjust, and God is not unjust. So, our works gain us nothing when it comes to salvation and eternal life (Titus 3:5). It is finished (John 19:30).
Also, this is probably one of my favorite things I just learned: when God made a covenant promise with Abraham, it was over 400 years before He ever gave the Law (Galatians 3:17). Mind blown. God’s plan was that we’d always be saved by believing in Him (Genesis 15:6). His covenant promise is like a Will—it’s an unconditional promise, and the beneficiaries never had to obey in order to get what’s provided in the will. If you’re in the Will, you get the inheritance—simple. Just like if you believe in Jesus, you’re immediately put in His Will and get promised eternal life (Ephesians 1:13-14). The Will is sealed by the blood of Jesus and can never be changed; your salvation is secure and can’t be taken away (Hebrews 9:15-17; John 10:28-29; Ephesians 1:13-14). It’s always been about the promise > performance.
2. Set Free
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 ESV
Once our faith is rooted in being saved by grace alone, it sets us free from the bondage we’ve been under in trying to save ourselves. Faith leads to Freedom. We’re awakened to areas of our lives where we’ve relied on works and self-righteousness (like excessive religious activity), which are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) because they are often done to feel better about ourselves rather than truly loving and serving others. Whatever we think we need to fulfill ourselves is what we worship, and when we worship anything besides Jesus, it enslaves us and becomes an idol or false God (Romans 1:25).
As Tim Keller states, the root of every problem in life is often because we are trying to add something to the gospel of grace in order to beautify and cleanse ourselves. And by adding to the gospel, we become enslaved and actually subtract from its power. Remember: Gospel + Anything = Nothing.
Early on in my life, rejection led to shame and a lifetime of perfect, people-pleasing performance. I was exhausted. I couldn’t rest and never knew why I was so driven to constantly be busy pleasing and achieving. But in counseling, God showed me that I was still trying to please man above Him (Galatians 1:10) and prove to everyone that I was lovable and worthy. I was adding to the gospel and making it nothing. God never called me to be a perfect people-pleasing performer. So now I can be free from the fear of man (Proverbs 29:25). Free from people-pleasing. Free from performance. Free from it all! He told me that I could stop running and finally rest.
3. Rest
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 MSG
“We find no rest for our weary bones unless we cling to the word of grace.” - Martin Luther
Once I finally knew that I was 100% saved by the gospel and that adding my works to it was absolutely a waste of time, I could finally rest. I can’t save myself, and the great news is that I don’t have to. My perfect, people-pleasing performance and constant Christian religious activity accomplished nothing for my eternal salvation—it only led to burnout and exhaustion.
We’ll talk more about the good works God created for us to do later (Ephesians 2:10), but for now, understand that the Law’s primary job is to reveal our sin and our need for a savior (Romans 3:20). The more we see our sin, the more beautiful His saving grace becomes, and the more we can truly rest from any self-saving efforts.
As Martin Luther emphasized, “No person has ever sunk so low that we cannot rise again. On the other hand, no man’s standing is so secure that he may not fall. If Peter fell, I may fall. If he rose again, I will rise again.” Our best works or worst mistakes don’t change our salvation status—so I can finally rest in God’s grace, rest assured that I’m on my way to heaven to spend eternity with Jesus.
Here are signs to examine if you’re living under grace or the law/works:
Living under Faith/Grace
Rest
Blessings
Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)
Living under Law/Works
Anxiety
Depression
Burnout/Exhaustion
Insecurity
Works of the Flesh - pride, envy, jealousy, guilt, discouragement (Galatians 5:19-21)
4. New Identity
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” Galatians 4:4-7 ESV
The moment we’re saved by grace, we become an adopted child of God with an entirely new family and new identity (Galatians 4:4-7). Now we’re unconditionally loved, chosen, approved, forgiven, worthy, valuable, and known (Ephesians 1:4-6). We no longer have to struggle with feeling superior or inferior to others. Because we are rooted in grace and emboldened by our new identity in Christ, the eyes and opinions of others lose their grip on us. Suddenly we experience being loved, seen and accepted by the only eyes in the universe that count and the chains of competition and comparison are broken. The rejection, the betrayal, the hurt — it’s all washed away by His love, and our souls are finally filled and satisfied. We are freed from the exhausting role of being a perfect, people-pleasing performer. We no longer need to seek love and acceptance from others to feel complete, because we find our wholeness and satisfaction entirely in Christ.
Tim Keller says, “Externalities are about our doing, internalities are about our being, and Christianity is about who I am in Christ, not what I do for Him.” He also explains in his book “Galatians for You,” that clothing ourselves with Christ (Galatians 3:27) implies four amazing things:
Our primary identity is in Christ—our clothing tells people who we are.
The closeness of our relationship with Christ—clothes are closer than any other possession. We are called to practice His presence.
The imitation of Christ—we are to continually think and act as if we were directly before His face. We are called to take Jesus into every area of our lives and change it in accordance with His Will and Spirit. We are to “put on” His virtues and actions. We are to “dress up like Jesus.”
Our acceptability to God—In God’s sight, we are loved because of Jesus’ work and salvation. When God looks at us, He sees His Son. The Lord Jesus has given us His righteousness, His perfection, to wear.
5. New Purpose + New Fruit
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh….But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Galatians 5:16, 22-24 ESV
“By the grace of God we know that we are justified through faith in Christ alone. We do not mingle law and grace, faith and works. We keep them far apart.” - Martin Luther
Only once we understand the gospel of grace and that our eternal salvation is secure can we turn correctly towards works and our new purpose. We now want to obey because of our love for God and our gratitude for His grace; no longer do we obey to gain something from God, for He has already given us all that we need and more.
As Martin Luther taught, faith, born of God's grace, is the root (the tree), and good works are the inevitable result (the fruit), not the means of salvation. He also stated, “Once a person has been justified by Christ, he will not be unproductive of good, but as a good tree he will bring forth good fruit… The Holy Spirit will not permit a person to remain idle, but will put him to work and stir him up to the love of God, to patient suffering in affliction, to prayer, to thanksgiving, to the habit of charity towards all men.”
Which leads me to the Bible verse that would always scare and confuse me:
“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” James 2:17-18 ESV
This verse is NOT saying you have to work to gain eternal life. It is saying that once our faith is established (like a healthy tree), then we will naturally bear fruit as we stay connected to the vine (Jesus). Our #1 priority is always to abide and remain in the presence of Jesus (John 15:4-5), and then by remaining connected to the life source, He will bear good fruit through us and prove to the world that we’re His disciples. Phew, what a relief! He produces the fruit, not me.
As we daily walk by and surrender to the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), desiring God and saying yes to His will above our own, then we crucify the flesh with its desires (Galatians 5:24) and say no to the flesh’s disordered desires for even good things, which can eventually turn into the idols we talked about above. Only from our true being and new identity can we then approach our doing correctly.
No longer does the law or the 10 commandments secure our eternity, but they are God’s best plans for us to live an abundant life on earth. I like to think that God is the best life coach, and His ways lead to the best life until we go to Heaven. As Martin Luther taught, “To divide Law and Gospel means to place the Gospel in heaven, and to keep Law on earth”—meaning we rely on Grace for eternal life in Heaven and can rely on the Law (summed up as loving God and loving others) to guide us toward the best life on earth. This never guarantees an easy life, but if we love God, we will want to follow His ways of loving Him and loving our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40).
And I have another fun formula for you from Tim Keller:
“Believe = Saved >> Obey.
NOT Believe + Obey = Saved.”
He also says from “Galatians for You” about the Fruit of the Spirit:
Christian growth is gradual—like botanical growth, you never see it happening—you can only measure it after a time.
Growth of the Spirit is inevitable—there will be growth. If someone has the Spirit in them—if they are a Christian—the fruit will grow; the fruit of the Spirit will burst through; it’s inevitable.
The Fruit of the Spirit has internal roots; it’s about deeper change. Fruit-growth of the Spirit can only happen in a child of God. The only test that the Spirit has really indwelled you as a child of God is the growth in the fruit of the Spirit.
Christian growth is symmetrical—Paul uses the singular word “fruit” to describe a whole list of things that grow in a spirit-filled person. The real fruit of the Spirit always grows up together.
Now that we know we’re saved by grace, we are set free, we can rest, we have a new identity, and a new purpose to walk in the Holy Spirit to love and serve others above ourselves. We rely upon the Holy Spirit's power and abide in Him to bear new fruit.
Grace > Set Free > Rest > New Identity > New Purpose + New Fruit
Grace save us
Grace sets us free
Grace gives us rest
Grace gives us a new identity
Grace gives us a new purpose + new fruit
Grace is the answer to every problem we have in life.
I hope and pray this helps grace move from your head down into your heart and that it begins to take root and change you as it has me.
With love, grace, and peace,
Jessica Grace Pegram
