PODCAST
Credit Where Credit Is Due
March 11th, 2021
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Hard work. Personal discipline. Tenacity. These are attributes that we’re taught are the ingredients of success, of accomplishment, of becoming who and what we want to become. We embrace the notion that “the sky is the limit” to what we can become and accomplish.
The theological reality Paul bears witness to in 1 Corinthians, however, is that our “success,” our experience of salvation and growth in Christ, is credited to the grace of God. He declares it’s by the undeserved kindness of God that Paul is who he is.
A kind of paradox in the Christian faith, God also empowers us to participate with His grace, to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12c). Paul admits he’s worked harder than anyone in this regard. But our hard work never replaces or eclipses God’s grace. His loving disposition toward us is the source, the means, and the end of all we do and become in him.
Author: Jamison Sandbloom
