“One of the hardest tasks for every Christian is to deeply believe and forever remember that we’ve been saved by grace. This is a lifelong challenge because our natural tendency is always to veer back to merit, to assume that we’ve been saved by something we are, something we’ve got, or something we’ve accomplished. Grace—unmerited favour—is too much for our sinful minds to accept and for our sinful hearts to embrace.
The reason we need to hear the gospel again and again is to recalibrate ourselves according to the truth: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…” (Ephesians 2:8). Maybe it is worth the challenge of asking this: How would I live if I had been saved by merit rather than grace?”