That hateful grace

A sudden encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus resulted in a dramatic change of direction for the Pharisee, Saul. All his vehemence, hatred and great abilities were concentrated into his one objective of wiping out the fledgling Church. But what exactly was it that Saul so hated about this ‘Jesus movement’? As he confronts Saul, our Lord makes clear that it is him personally, and not Christian believers, whom Saul is persecuting. No doubt there were many factors in Saul's hatred of Jesus Christ, including a perceived threat to the Pharisees’ power and prestige in Jewish society, Jesus’ humble Galilean background and his lack of formal education. But I have come to the conclusion that at the bottom of it all, Saul was offended by grace. He hated the idea of it with every fibre of his being.

Think of what Saul was – a Pharisee, whose most fundamental principle was that salvation was to be achieved by keeping rules. Ostensibly it was by keeping God’s Law as found in the first five books of the Bible, but in fact it was about keeping a whole host of rules that had accumulated around the Law until the Law itself was all but obscured. They had rules for everything – every minute detail of day to day life.  By keeping all of these petty laws, the voice of conscience and fear of the wrath of God could be supressed, and pride could swell as it totted up their achievements. And Saul had kept these rules more carefully than all of his peers. Not only that but he was a Jew of good birth with a huge intellect, an influential Rabbi of great learning with a substantial following. He was revered and respected wherever he went as a man of great righteousness and piety. He was righteous – he had made himself righteous through all his efforts. What then did he need in a gospel of grace?

Yet in that single encounter with Jesus Christ, Saul’s view of himself was stood on his head. For ever after Paul (as he became known) referred to himself as ‘The chief of sinners’. All that he had relied upon was empty and worthless – he stood bankrupt and empty-handed before God. Now he saw why salvation must be all of grace. God must do all for us because we have nothing to bring to the table. Paul’s tears must have flowed like a river as he now welcomed the grace he had so hated with open arms. Forever after he could speak of nothing but the Gospel of Grace. It bubbled up out of him like a joyous, unstoppable spring.

Are you offended by grace? We all began from there. Satan has been whispering into our ears from the dawn of time that we do not need God, we can go it alone. Pay no attention to his lies. He is not the Lover of your soul – that belongs to God alone. He has done all that is necessary for you himself. All you have to do is give up on your own pathetic efforts and lay hold of Jesus Christ.