There can be a subtle danger that comes with a long focus on the spiritual disciplines and the building of good habits. If we are not careful, we can begin to take a kind of comfort in our habits that makes us think they are what makes us acceptable to God. Even though we know we have been saved by grace through faith, we can still believe that God’s ongoing favor toward us depends upon the strength of our devotional lives. Conversely, when our habits are disrupted or neglected, we can feel a kind of fear that our poor habits have made us unacceptable to God.
And this is where we need this crucial reminder from Jerry Bridges: “Your worst day are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.” Even on our worst and most neglectful days, God does not suddenly begin to relate to us by works rather than grace. God’s love for us does not waver on the days we neglect Scripture and prayer. But we also need to be reminded that our best actions on our best days are never so good that they make us more acceptable to God or more righteous before him.
Through the gospel we have been accepted once and for all, not on the basis of who we are, but on the basis of Christ’s sacrifice!
