After being taught for years that we need to be in charge of maintaining our righteous state with God through continuous soul searching and pleading for forgiveness, it is very hard for some people to come to learn to walk the grace walk.

Some folks get very upset when I tell them that Jesus has done all that needs to be done for our eternal salvation and that we have no part in it. The Work was finished at Calvary!

All that we can do is, by faith, believe and accept that fact. That’s what justification by faith is. We are justified before God simply by believing that Christ took all of our sins upon Himself and that there is nothing we can do to add to that.

For years we have heard and, in turn, quote back such phrases as: “Ask God to forgive you of your sins and He will come into your heart and save you.” You will not find that statement anywhere in the New Covenant. You will hear what was said between Paul and the Philippian jailer.

It’s all about faith. No work is involved. If we could keep the right standing through our actions, then we don’t need the blood of Jesus – we can do it all on our own! Remaining in a state of righteousness is also a matter of faith. It’s how we live. “The just shall live by faith.” Not by works of contrition.

Breaking free of these old teachings that involve our daily maintenance by seeking forgiveness is hard for some folks to do.

Years ago, in the circus, they had a conditioning thing they did with elephants. When the elephant was very young, it would chain one of its hind legs to a post in the ground.

The chain was about three feet long, so the elephant became conditioned to living and moving within that diameter. After a few years, they would take away that chain, but the elephant by then was so conditioned to staying in that small circle he would never even dream of just walking away.

Another story is about hunting monkeys in the Congo. There the monkey is eaten as a part of their diet. Now don’t get so judgmental about that – we eat what we have around us, too – rabbits, chickens, bulls, and sheep.

The hunters relied on the stubbornness of the monkey to use it against him. They would build a cage – not to put the monkey in, but to put a stick that looked a lot like a banana. The cage had bars on it that were large enough for the monkey to reach in and grab the stick but not large enough to get it out.

The monkey was so determined not to let go of what he believed was true that he would not let go of it for anything. The hunters then would come along and beat the monkey on the head all the while the monkey was tenaciously hanging onto that stick.

We all act and live according to what our minds believe to be true. Try watching a scary movie in the dark at home alone one night. You know that you are sitting on your couch, safe in your living room, but your mind is being fed information that tells it there is something to fear and will, in turn, cause your body to respond in fear. Your mind is telling you that there is a possibility of harm coming to you, and yet you are in a safe and secure place. How strange!

We are not born again, nor do we retain our right standing with God through what we do or don’t do, but rather by what we believe.

When we hear the truth of the liberty that is ours in Christ Jesus, we have a choice to believe it or reject it.

The elephant is free, but he keeps walking around in that little circle, refusing to believe it.

The monkey is held captive by error because he refuses to believe that that stick is not a banana.

Colossians 2:13-14 13When you were stuck in your old sin- dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive–right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, 14the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s Cross.

Sin has been dealt with once and for all; it has no more claim on your life– do you believe that? Over the years, as I have taught on the grace of God and the freedom that is ours “in Christ Jesus”, I’ve often had people react to that teaching with this statement: “But isn’t that just giving people a license to sin?

There is an account of David and Mephibosheth recorded in 2 Samuel 4. Mephibosheth was the grandson of King Saul. I won’t tell the whole story here, but in the end, David invited this lame boy to speak with him, which is what David told him: Vs. 7.

You decided to take compassion on this frail-looking mess of a man, and you said to him; “from today on, I want you to be my guest in this cafeteria

– every day I want you to eat all of your meals here.”

The man might say to you: “but I can’t afford it. I have no money.” Your reply: “You are my guest; you will never have to pay – it’s on me.”

The man walks into the cafeteria and sees more food than ever. He asks, “Can I eat anything and all I want?” “Yes,” you respond, “anything and all that you want, you have the freedom of this place.”

The man, at first, is stunned by your generosity. Then he asks you this very strange question. “Can I still go out to the dumpster and eat some garbage sometimes?”