Grace, Assurance, and Overcoming Perfectionism

Has discipleship become something of a grind instead of a gratifying spiritual pursuit?

Has living the Christian life become more of a burden than a blessing?

Do I obey God more out of love and gratitude—or out of fear, guilt, or duty?

Have I lost my sense of delight in God while maintaining my sense of discipline?

Do I associate following Jesus more with “have to” than “get to”?

If these questions touch a nerve, I recommend a study by my good friends Mark Roberts and Roger Shouse entitled 3E Discipleship. We’re using it in our Sunday morning Bible class, where I worship.

The first section is titled “Enjoyable Christianity.” It challenges us to discover “the joy, delight, and blessing of following Jesus.” Mark and Roger define enjoyable Christianity as “a faith marked by gladness and gratitude, not guilt and grim duty–where serving God is a delight, not just an obligation.

They based this premise on three key Biblical concepts:

• Joy is a part of the Christian life (Phil. 4:4)
• God fills our lives with good things (Ps. 16:11)
• Following Jesus is a blessing (I Jn. 5:3).

Our lesson this past Sunday offered, in my opinion, one of the greatest stumbling blocks to enjoying our Christian walk–perfectionism. A failure to feel the assurance of our salvation and accept the gift of God’s grace.

Perfectionism burdens us with guilt, worry, and shame. It leads us to a harsh self-judgment that leaves little room for weakness. It confuses faithfulness with flawlessness. It results in an impossible performance-based religion, causing us to feel unworthy, even incapable of measuring up to the Divine standard.

We often sing the hymn “Amazing Grace” in our assemblies. The first stanza of John Newton’s masterpiece begins.

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch, like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

But the lesson asks, “If grace is so amazing, why don’t I feel more confident in my salvation?” Maybe we’re focusing more on the words ‘wretch, lost,’ and ‘blind’ instead of ‘saved, found,’ and ‘see. ‘ Maybe we’re worrying about the past? Past sins? Past mistakes? Past failures? Past problems? Past guilt? Past shame?

Like the apostle Paul, we need to forget the past and reach forward to what lies ahead as we press toward the heavenly prize (Phil. 3:13).

Mark and Roger remind us that our “assurance and confidence come from grace and forgiveness.” A often used definition for grace is “unmerited favor.” But the lesson offers an additional insight. The New Testament word for grace, charis, is often translated gift (See 2 Cor. 8:1-7; Rom. 5:15-18).

Gifts, the writers suggest, do two things: (1) Build relationships and (2) Come with expectations.

God wants a relationship with us. To be our Father and for us to be his children (2 Cor. 6:14-18). His love prompts our grateful response to his gift of grace through Jesus Christ. Thus, we can echo Paul’s words in Ephesians 2:8-10.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Grace doesn’t eliminate our response in “good works,” but neither do our works come close to earning God’s gift in Christ jesus.

Roger and Mark close the lesson with these critical thoughts for your serious reflection.

Our spiritual confidence is not found in feelings or doing everything perfectly. It is not found in doing more to earn “brownie points” or impress God. It’s not about making ourselves worthy. All such efforts are a dead-end street.

Assurance is found by knowing we are in a relationship with a God who loves us, and who wants to forgive us so we can live with Him (Psalm 103:11-13; John 14:1-3; 1 John 1:5-7). We love Him and want to do right – that’s our direction, even if we do not achieve perfection!

Remember, if only perfect people are saved then no one will be saved. “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).

If we sin (and, sadly we will) we can be forgiven because we are in a relationship with God (1 John 1:5-9).

Amazing Grace!

Amen! And amen!

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman