Two weeks ago our friend and my mentor Jerry Bridges went home to the Lord. As I was re-reading his classic book "Transforming
Grace" today, Jerry reminded me once again about my (our) freedom from the
performance treadmill in Christ Jesus. I need to hold fast to this reality for
myself and the men I pastor in my church and through WACMM. Below are some
excerpts of Jerry's wisdom I trust you will find helpful and encouraging:“My observation of Christendom is that most of us tend to base our personal relationship with God on our performance instead of on His grace. If we’ve performed well—whatever “well” is in our opinion—then we expect God to bless us. If we haven’t done so well, our expectations are reduced accordingly. In this sense, we live by works rather than grace. We are saved by grace, but we are living by the “sweat” of our own performance…
“Living by grace instead of by works means you are free from
the performance treadmill. It means God has already given you an “A” when you
deserved an “F.” He has already given you a full day’s pay even though you may
have worked for only one hour. It means you don’t have to perform certain
spiritual disciplines to earn God’s approval. Jesus Christ has already done
that for you. You are loved and accepted by God through the merit of Jesus, and
you are blessed by God through the merit of Jesus. Nothing you ever do will
cause Him to love you any more or any less. He loves you strictly by His grace
given to you through Jesus...
“To live by grace is to live solely by the merit of Jesus
Christ. To live by grace is to base my entire relationship with God, including
my acceptance and standing with Him, on my union with Christ. It is to
recognize that in myself I bring nothing of worth to my relationship with God,
because even my righteous acts are like filthy rags in His sight (Isaiah 64:6).
Even my best works are stained with motives and imperfect performance. I never
truly love God with all my heart, and I never truly love my neighbor with the
degree or consistency with which I love myself…
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by
faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of
God…
“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet
perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His
own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us
(Romans 5:6–8)…There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)…For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again
to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba,
Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children
of God. (Romans 8:15, 16)”
As we meditate on truths like these, our minds are renewed
and freed from enslavement to performance. Focusing on the truth that our
acceptance with God is purely because of His grace toward us in Christ will
keep us humble and dependent on the Spirit of God.
Bridges ends his chapter on, “The Performance Treadmill,”
with an illustration of Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan (2 Samuel 9), in which he
likens the lame man’s ever-helpless physical condition to our spiritual need of
grace and makes this application: “Mephibosheth never got over his crippled
condition. He never got to the place where he could leave the king’s table and
make it on his own. And neither do we”.
That is the key! We must never lose sight of our helpless
condition and desperate need of grace. As we make progress in the Christian
life, we must guard against the pride that too often grows from valuing our
performance above His grace. True acceptance is based solely on God’s gracious
work in Jesus. When we learn to rest in this truth, feelings of acceptance by
God will follow.
