Grace Plus Nothing

9 Apr

To add one thing to Jesus’ death – one minor thing like the removal of foreskin – throws you right out of the realm of grace. You are not allowed to lift the slightest finger to affect your own holiness. You can’t have it both ways. Either Jesus perfects, sustains and completes you – or else you have to do the whole thing on your own. Paul said, “Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law” (Gal. 5:3).

For this reason, we should cringe and shudder with disgust when someone says, “Yes, Jesus’ work was enough. But we still need to position ourselves. But we still need to appropriate it.” Anytime you hear someone say the word “but” after mentioning Christ’s cross, the next words from their mouth will always be a fairy tale… Disciplines such as prayer, communion, etc. are modes of enjoying God, not methods of appeasing Him.

John Crowder