Earned Grace?

HT: Paul Tripp

Curing a Complaining Spirit

I was feeling a complaining spirit coming on this morning.... and then I read this:

The fact is, most of our complaining stems from a faulty sense of entitlement. We all have long lists of things we think we deserve. When everything that we “deserve” doesn’t fall in our laps, we complain. We view ourselves as the injured party who has every right to grumble. Work is stressful, we don’t feel like we deserve that. We have relational problems, we don’t feel like we deserve that either....

...The gospel makes it clear that all we deserve is hell. God created us. Therefore he owns us, and we owe him our complete allegiance and gratitude. But we rebelled. We wave him off as unimportant even as we revel in his blessings every day, living in warm houses, eating delicious food, and enjoying the company of loved ones.

The beauty of the gospel is getting what we don’t deserve. We have mercy instead of justice, salvation instead of damnation. Even on our worst days we are doing infinitely better than we deserve. When we complain, we are telling God that this incredible grace isn’t enough.

In order to cut complaining out of our lives, we should actively savor and apply the gospel. We must adopt an attitude of deep thankfulness. Let’s remember the incredible grace and blessing we have received in light of our utter depravity. We really could not ask for more.

          ----By Stephen Altrogge from The Greener Grass Conspiracy

Not much room for complaining left, is there!

Hat Tip:  Cutting the Nerve of Complaining | Crossway

The Dump-Truck of Merit

This post at "Ordinary Pastor" hits me hard - and if you are honest it will probably hit you too. Go ahead, if you dare, and read Backing up the Dump-Truck of Merit .

God's Grace Versus the Merit Template

I've been thinking a lot about grace and merit recently. Lo and behold, In the Clearing had a post by that title on Tuesday. This is some good Gospel stuff!

...I believe this truth is one that is hard for many men to receive. I'm talking about Christians here, who are supposed to get it. I've seen this in my own experience time and time again. We continue applying the merit template: I'm good, and so God loves me (or, similarly, I'm a Christian, and so God loves me); I'm bad (or, I have weak faith), and so God is miffed, disappointed, maybe even angry. I have seen Christian men cling persistently to this template like drowning men to a water-saturated log. They say they believe in the grace of God, but they live like they don't. Maybe that's because to let go of the log would mean admitting they'd been wrong all these years. Men don't like to do that.

The grace of God is powerful, but there is something in us, in our flesh, that resists it. We need to be realistic about ourselves in this. The gospel remains "hard to believe." That is, hard to accept, to walk in. To trust. The merit-template feels much more natural and intuitive. That's where we're at home. It's what we understand. Rewards for the good, punishment for the bad. But God is asking us to believe him when he says, "I love you now and forever, I have forgiven your sins, and my plan is to walk with you in a garden as I once did with Adam. After the cross, there is no longer any room for shame and hiding."

I have to constantly remind myself that my moment to moment fellowship with God is just as much dependent on the grace of God as is ultimate eternal destiny.

How about you?