After our first full week of blogging and so many wonderful and encouraging comments, the question finally came up about our title. I was asked, “Coach, what does it mean when you say grace for the race?” My response was, in a word…the Gospel. And as long as the Good Lord has me sending out these messages, the Gospel is what we will be focusing in on.
You see, most believers believe the Gospel is only for the unsaved. Preach the Gospel, get them saved, and move on to the next lost person you can find. They do not understand just how much the Gospel is needed after salvation as it was before salvation. From the pen of the apostle Paul we read, “I am not ashamed of the gospel…for in it the righteousness of God is revealed” (Romans 1:16-17). What is this righteousness of God? It is the perfect obedience of Christ. This is what God requires and this is the standard by which we all will be judged.
Christian’s believe they need the righteousness of Christ for salvation, but most mistakenly believe they need their own righteousness for God’s daily acceptance and approval. They do not understand that even their best works are like “filthy rags” in God’s sight (Isaiah 64:6), which means they need the righteousness of Christ just as much after salvation as they did prior to it. Theologian B.B. Warfield said regarding the need of the gospel for the believer,
There is nothing in us or done by us, at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are acceptable to God. We must always be accepted for Christ’s sake, or we cannot ever be accepted at all. This is not true of us only when we believe. It is just as true after we have believed. It will continue to be true as long as we live. Our need of Christ does not cease with our believing; nor does the nature of our relation to Him or to God through Him ever alter, no matter what our attainments in Christian graces or our achievements in behavior may be. It is always on His “blood and righteousness” alone that we can rest.
Here is where we get tripped up. We begin convincing ourselves that we are really “not that bad.” We are doing our best, we are good people, and we have not committed any of those “scandalous” sins. We are so focused on the “speck” in our brother’s eye we miss the “plank” in our own…pride, anger, selfish ambition, critical spirit, impatience, and lust, just to name a few of the sins we commit before lunch. As my friend and pastor Tullian continually preaches, “We are indeed great sinners in need of a Greater Savior.” We are sinners by nature and habit which requires the righteousness of Jesus for both eternal life and everyday life.
In the days and weeks to come, we will unpack this incredible Gospel truth known as “The Great Exchange” where God exchanged our sin for the righteousness of Christ. Our dirty and sin filled slate was not only washed clean by the blood of the Lamb, it was filled with the righteousness of Christ. Everything we need to stand before a holy God we already have because we have Jesus. NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!
Grace for the Race 