Running the Race with Grace
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” - Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)
I have always had an on-again, off-again relationship with running. Ever since high school, I have had multiple periods of life when I would run daily, eventually working my way up to 3-4 miles per day. At that point, I have historically concluded that I have “arrived” and deserve a break from running, eventually working my way back to being a complete couch potato. What I’ve always needed, but failed to implement, is consistency. But I’m not here to talk about running (thank goodness). Despite the picture and the trendy title, I am here to talk about running the race of life, and the power of God’s grace.
In Exodus chapters 1-14, we read an account of how God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt after over 400 years of slavery. He used Moses to challenge Pharaoh and execute judgment through various plagues. After each judgment, Moses warned Pharaoh to let the Israelites go free, or else God would send another plague against Egypt. The Bible tells us that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened after each plague, and he stubbornly refused to let the Israelites go despite God’s clear condemnation and warnings. Eventually, God’s judgments became too great and ultimately led to the Israelites’ freedom and the destruction of the Egyptian army (Exodus 12, 14).
Although Moses is the hero of this story, I used to feel that Pharaoh was the person I identified with the most. Just like my on-again, off-again relationship with running, I once struggled with an on-again, off-again relationship with God. I felt like I was on a spiritual rollercoaster, endlessly cycling between failure and forgiveness. Pharaoh followed a similar pattern in response to the plagues enacted against him in Exodus 7-12. He recognized his sin and relented, yet quickly reverted to his old ways when the consequences of his sin abated:
“Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, ‘This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.’” - Exodus 9:27-28 (ESV)
“But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart…” - Exodus 9:34 (ESV)
Perhaps you have had a similar experience in your relationship with God. So, how can we break this cycle? How should we deal with sin, and how can we maintain a strong, consistent relationship with God? The Bible tells us that sin is a big deal, and we are all guilty (Romans 3:10, 23). Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2) and if left unchecked, will ultimately lead to spiritual death (Proverbs 14:12, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:1-2). But the good news is that Jesus saved us by paying the ultimate penalty for sin in our place! (For more on this topic, read about God’s Plan of Salvation).
Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, God gives us something called grace. In essence, grace is the unmerited, undeserved favor and mercy of God. There is nothing we can do to earn God’s grace - it is a free gift thanks to Jesus’ work on the cross (See Ephesians 2:8-9, at the top). Grace is a concept that I have always been familiar with. In fact, Ephesians 2:8-9 has been one of my favorite verses for as long as I can remember. Despite this, I struggled with the concept of grace for a long time. There seemed to be a contradiction between God’s gift of mercy and forgiveness, and my repeated failures to measure up to His perfect standard. I often felt like I was taking advantage of God’s grace. Some verses from the Bible made me feel even worse, like these:
“No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him.” - 1 John 3:6 (ESV)
“If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” - 1 John 1:6 (ESV)
I understood that my sins were forgiven through Jesus, but I constantly felt like I was in the “doghouse” with God because of my sin. What I didn’t realize was that I kept returning to my sinful lifestyle because I did not make a daily decision to pursue a deeper relationship with Jesus. Prayer and Bible study were optional, and my time spent with God felt like an obligation when it should have been my passion. I enjoyed the “freedom” to do whatever I wanted, but I didn’t realize true freedom until I gave the entirety of my life over to Christ:
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” - John 8:31-32 (ESV)
“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin…If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” - John 8:34, 36 (ESV)
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” - Galatians 5:1 (NIV)
Even so, choosing to live for Jesus every day by no means makes a person perfect or sinless. On the contrary, living for Christ is difficult, and sometimes feels like an impossible battle. That’s why Paul compared a life of faith to both fighting the “good fight” and to running a life-long race (1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Timothy 4:7). Even when pursuing Christ wholeheartedly, it is important to remember we will never be perfect during our time here on Earth; our sinful nature will always be part of us:
“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” - Genesis 4:7 (ESV)
“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” - 1 Corinthians 10:12 (NIV)
So what happens when we do sin? That’s where grace comes in! We need to accept the grace of God through Jesus, not beat ourselves up over our failures!
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9 (ESV)
“I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” - 1 John 2:1-2 (NIV)
When we do sin, we must not only accept God’s grace and forgiveness but also continue “fighting the good fight” through His strength (1 Peter 5:10, Philippians 4:13). Grace is what gives us the power to get back on our feet and to live faithfully for Him. The Bible is clear that God’s grace is not a “free pass” for us to continue living in sin (Jude 1:4):
“Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” - Romans 6:1 (NIV)
“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus…For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” - Romans 6:11, 14 (NIV)
“Christ died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.” - 2 Corinthians 5:15 (ESV)
If we stumble and fall, we should be like David, who asked God to both forgive him and give him a “steadfast spirit” to continue serving God faithfully:
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me…Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” - Psalm 51:10, 12 (NIV)
Living for Christ requires a daily decision to pursue Him above all else, and that’s a hard thing to do! But we can rest assured that these promises of God are true:
- Jesus Christ fully paid the price for our sins (John 3:16, Romans 8:1)
- We are saved by the free gift of God’s grace, not by our own goodness (Ephesians 2:8-9)
- God is “faithful and just to forgive” us when we sincerely repent (1 John 1:9)
- God gives us strength and grace to live for Him (Philippians 4:13, 1 Peter 5:10)
“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)