Union with Christ

Bryan's Chapell's book 'Holiness by Grace' has really been opening my eyes up to the beauty of our union with Christ. In my life, far too often I assimilate my standing with God with my personal level of holiness. The better I am 'performing' or the more godly I am, the more loved or accepted I am by God. This way of thinking is detrimental for two reasons. One, it is ultimately motivated by fear. Secondly, it leads to despair, because given God's holy standard, we will never be 'doing' enough.

Chapell writes,

"We are united to God not on the basis of our good deeds, but on the basis of faith in what he has done for us in Christ. even this faith is not a work of merit but is a gift of God's grace, so that we can be assured that our relationship with God does not lie in our human performance or resolve. Thus, to find release from the bondage and burden of sin, and to access the joy that is the strength of the Christian life, we must believe that we can rely entirely on our union with Christ to make us right with God"

This is good news. Christ has already accomplished that which we never could have. As we trust in His finished work and realize the victory and union we have in Him through faith, the burden of sin and the fear based motivation dissolve. We are drawn to holiness out of joy, knowing full well that our right standing with God depends on Christ and not us.