Freedom from the Striving of Self-Righteousness
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. – Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT)
You would not define yourself as self-righteous. We know from those horrible self-righteous people in our lives that this is not how to be. We know also from the Pharisees in the Bible that this is not how to be.
Yet it is so easy to slip into striving to prove our worth to God. Maybe because you feel unworthy. Maybe because you want some control in your relationship with God. Maybe because you are used to transactional relationships, these make you more comfortable.
We too often see our relationship with God as transactional. We accrue sins which need to be paid off, hence Jesus pays the penalty for our sins. That’s transactional language. Can I do enough to receive the gift of salvation? What must I do to please God? That’s transactional language.
Transactions are the way of the world. When Satan was tempting Jesus, it was with transactions. Restoration is the way of God. Restoring of relationships is a free gift from God called grace.
The world we live in is full of transactions. When it comes to God and his grace, we believe there is some sort of transaction with it. This is why we don’t understand grace. We may sing about grace but we don’t understand grace.
The definition of grace we use at my church is “Grace is God refusing to abandon us and continuing to pursue us.” Does that help?
Grace is not in our control. Grace undermines control.
Self-righteousness thrives on control: do the right things, earn your place, secure your standing. Hence the striving because who knows what enough is?
Grace isn’t transactional. It can't be earned, predicted, or managed. Grace is a gift. A gift given without strings. Grace is free and undeserved—and that threatens those who feel secure in their own efforts. (Do you ever feel secure in your own efforts?)
Grace levels the playing field. Grace says everyone is in need—and that’s hard to accept if you’ve built your identity on being "better," more moral, more disciplined, or more obedient than others. The self-righteous often fear losing that distinction.
Maybe now you are seeing how self-righteousness is also a part of your life. You do have good intentions. But aren’t you also tired of striving to measure up?
Grace is not an excuse to sin, it’s the power to overcome sin. When we realize how deeply God loves us, we begin to live differently—not out of fear of punishment or fear of not measuring up, but out of gratitude. Grace changes you from the inside out. Your external changes because you are overwhelmed from grace. You are awed by grace. The internal changes come by living righteously and loving others. Grace is transformational.
Grace doesn’t ignore sin—it stops the consequences of it through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Unearned. Undeserved. Out of our control because God has designed for him to do the work to remove our sins from us. It’s not by our good works. God does the work. We just need to be honest that we need his help.
And here’s the hitch. We don’t want to be dependent on a savior who isn’t us. We have to accept this gift of grace which means accepting a savior who isn’t you.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Ephesians 2:8-9, NLT)
This surrender we fight. We’d rather earn it and control it.
Because of grace, you have the freedom from striving. Especially the freedom of the condemnation of wondering if you have ever done enough or are enough.
Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. (Romans 6:14, NLT)
So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. (Galatians 5:1, NLT)
It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. (Galatians 5:8, NLT)
Grace is God refusing to abandon us and continuing to pursue us because he is the one who does the work to take away our sins. God says to you, “Here you are. I will meet you there now and then we will grow.”
You are invited to not strive, perform, or perfect—but to surrender. To receive. To rest. Grace is not something you can earn, but something you can embrace. It’s a call to lay down your self-righteousness and take up the freedom Christ died to give you. You don’t have to prove yourself anymore. You don’t have to wonder if you’ve done enough. You are already loved, already pursued, already welcomed—because grace has always been about God’s goodness, not yours.
Let that be the foundation you stand on. Let grace do what only grace can: change you, free you, and carry you forward.
Question for Reflection:
- Do you sometimes feel unworthy of God’s grace? If so, what types of things can you do to have grace change you?
- How can you do a better job of extending grace to those around you, especially family members and close friends?
- How can you best extend grace to strangers or those you hardly know?