Grace: More than We Dare Hope

Posted on May 19, 2008 by Jenn
The gospel of justifying faith means that while Christians are, in themselves still sinful and sinning, yet in Christ, in God’s sight, they are accepted and righteous. So we can say that we are more wicked than we ever dared believe, but more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope — at the very same time. This creates a radical new dynamic for personal growth. It means that the more you see your own flaws and sins, the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God’s grace appears to you. But on the other hand, the more aware you are of God’s grace and acceptance in Christ, the more able you are to drop your denials and self-defenses and admit the true dimensions and character of your sin.

-Timothy Keller, Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: Living in Line with the Truth of the Gospel (Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2003), 2.

HT: Of First Importance

3 Comments »

Comment by Rob Cox

May 19, 2008 @ 8:58 am

Awesome!

Comment by Kathy

May 19, 2008 @ 11:11 am

“the more you see your own flaws and sins, the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God’s grace appears to you”

That is so true.

Comment by Jenn

May 22, 2008 @ 12:05 pm

Rob Cox! It’s good to see you around these parts, old friend! (It’s the friendship that’s old, just to clarify.) :P You should comment more often instead of lurking back there in the shadows…I’d love to hear what you think about some of the stuff we post around here.

Kathy - Yes. That part is where I live these days; it’s the flip side (the part about dropping self-defenses and realizing the ‘true dimensions’ of my sin) that I find myself having a harder time remembering. I think it’s easier for me to cling to a general idea of grace rather than seeing grace as it applies to specific, particular areas of me. Does that make sense?

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