Are you a good Christian?

I wonder about this expression: “Good Christian.” What does it mean – really? I’ve been called a good Christian, and honestly, it makes me chuckle.

Who? Me? I guess I know what people mean when they say that, but I know my heart; “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. . . ." (Romans 7:18).

I fall short of my own standards, but when I compare myself to The standard – our perfect, holy God – I fall so far short it would break my heart if the Lord hadn’t been careful to teach me about His grace.

Many years ago as a baby Christian, I struggled most with forgiveness. I was so sorry for things I’d done before I gave my life to Jesus. Regret and remorse ate away at me. Even though I knew in my head that God forgave me, I couldn’t get that knowledge into my heart to experience His peace. I felt I had to do something to be good enough to deserve God’s forgiveness.

Then someone gave me a book called Love Is Now, by Peter Gillquist. The book is a beautiful look at our freedom in Christ, designed to set us free from the bondage of performance-based religion.

Gillquist laid out the scripture that helped me understand God’s love is not conditional upon my “performance” (i.e., being good). Love Is Now helped me understand that when God looks at me, He no longer sees my sin, He sees his beautiful son, Jesus!

Am I a good Christian? Well, according to 2 Corinthians 5:21, because of Jesus, I have “become the righteousness of God”!

And all I have to do is believe. That’s His Amazing Grace.