Are you new to CITYCHURCH and wondering what's next? Then join us for NEXT, an engaging 2 hour class (with a break!) for an overview of our mission, strategy, and environments to help you determine your best next step. Dinner and childcare are provided.  NEXT will take place on Sunday, September  22nd from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Sign up here.  

 It is quite the thought thinking about how far my understanding of the Gospel and God's grace has come since joining City Church a year ago. 

Not too long ago, I thought there was a correlation between things that go wrong in my life and how "good" I was living. My typical thought process would flow like this, "Man, I didn't get accepted to [insert school or job]. God must be punishing me because I sin with my girlfriend. I better cut out the sin in my life if I want things to start going my way." This led me to strive for good behavior, compelled not by the Gospel, but by the hope that I God would stop letting bad things happen to me.

I now realize two huge issues with that thought process. 1) Striving to be good will not earn me righteousness (rightness with God), and 2), when it comes to God's grace, I literally cannot sin enough to outmatch it. Regarding point one, I am now fully confident that it is faith, not works, that credits us righteousness (Romans 4:9). But the issue does not end here. Not only did striving to be a good person get me no where in regards to my salvation, it also led me to place my material hopes on whether I was being "good". This, in turn, always led to disappointed hopes.

When we hope for something, and we are let down, disappointment always follows. For example, if I place my hope in getting a good grade on a test, and I do not get a good grade, I am undoubtedly going to be disappointed. Using this same reasoning, it follows that if I wake up everyday hoping to be a "good" person, and I sin, I will undoubtedly be disappointed. As Romans 7:18 suggests (explaining that outside of Christ, nothing in us is good. And while we can "desire" goodness "there is no ability to do it"), my sin will always prevent me from being a "good" person; and this will lead to a daily routine of disappointed hope.

So, since I cannot be a "good" person, does that mean that I am doomed for constant disappointments and a life of punishment by God? Not even a little. 

Understanding what Christ did for me takes my "disappointments" and turns them into moments of joy. And even more joy when I realized just how much grace God has for me. Here's the biblical formula for the amount of grace God gives: God's grace = All my sin + 1 (a good time to appreciate being "one-upped") 

In Romans 5:20, Paul (a reputable source when it come to understanding grace) explains that where our sin increases, God's grace increases all the more. What a concept! With this verse in mind, now each time I sin, instead of thinking "Well, I'm going to have to bear some punishment for this", I think, "God's grace for me just got bigger!"-Quite the opposite of punishment, but a gift instead!

Summing up, the "being good=less punishment" idea is completely flawed. Not only will placing my hope in being "good" do nothing for my salvation, it will lead to a daily routine of disappointment. Also, our punishment for sin has been lifted. Jesus's death means the more I sin, the bigger God's gift of grace becomes. This realization has led me to a more faithful obedience out of love for what has already been done for me by grace, instead of a fear for bad things that may come.