Guilt, Grace, Gratitude

(Originally published in The Wheaton Record on October 24th, 2020.)

In 1563, a man named Zacharius Ursinus published a 129-question document titled the Heidelberg Catechism to help Christians learn sound doctrine. At the beginning of the catechism, Ursinus laid out his outline: “[I must know] Three things: first, how great my sin and misery are; second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance.” This threefold pattern is the backbone of Christianity. 

Let’s discuss guilt. This obviously isn’t an easy topic because God is holy (1 Peter 1:16), and He righteously hates sin. (Psalm 5:4, 7:11) Some might squirm due to the desire to live without fear of judgment. At the end of the day, though, without realizing our sinfulness and the wrath we deserve, we won’t appreciate God’s grace in sending Christ to die for our sins and rise from the dead. (Romans 7:24-5) Steven Lawson, founder of OnePassion Ministries, compares the knowledge of the wrath of God deserved by our sin to a jeweler’s black velvet used to reveal the beauty of the diamond placed upon it. 

After we have considered our grievous guilt, we are now ready to discuss God’s grace. Some will actually skip discussing grace and simply call people to try harder and do better. That kind of legalistic preaching can demoralize the congregation, and is “of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Colossians 2:23). Yet sometimes gospel-less preaching can be harder to detect. Instead of the stereotypical gospel-less purity culture, we can easily end up with a subtly gospel-less activism culture. For instance, if premarital sexual abstinence is preached without the gospel, everyone will immediately cringe at the anti-gospel moralism. This isn’t because purity is inherently bad, but because we are all radically impure and need God’s grace. Likewise, activism isn’t inherently bad, yet we are all radically unjust and need God’s grace. Both gospel-less cultures have the potential to be just as demoralizing without the knowledge of what God has done for immoral sinners in the gospel. 

Without a response of gratitude for the grace of God, I would never be motivated to love not only my best friends but also my enemies. I was evangelizing in one of the most dangerous parts of New York two summers ago, and a man spat on my face, tried to burn me with a cigarette and threatened to kill me. If it wasn’t for the gospel of grace, I would have been immediately filled with nothing but hatred for this man. Yet I have felt compassion for him, and I don’t think this could happen if God hadn’t first shown compassion to a sinner like me. 

The gospel of Christ should propel all of us to live lives of gratitude. Christians must seek to obey the word of God not to prove ourselves or make up for our sins, but because we are already loved and forgiven, and we want to please our Father who loved us first.

(For more on guilt, grace, and gratitude, read The Good News We Almost Forgot, by Kevin DeYoung.)