I love the worship atmosphere at my church, Waterbrook Bible Fellowship in Wylie, Texas. Some mornings the songs and spirit impact my heart in unexpected ways. Recently a familiar song from Shane and Shane titled “You’ve Already Won” nearly floored me. The lyrics summarized my decades long struggle where I felt like I had to do more for Jesus or I would not receive His love, forgiveness, and eternal security.

I grew up in legalism. We were taught accurately that you are saved by grace. And then it went doctrinally South. We were taught that sanctification came through grit and not grace. You had to work extra hard to stay in good standing with God. And if you sinned and didn’t immediately repent your salvation might (probably would) be compromised. So I served God out of anxiety instead of confidence and trust.

I was wrongly convinced that to grow in my faith I had to do more. Try harder. Pray more. Read the Bible more. Have more devotional time. All of those things are good when properly utilized. But there is a problem if self-effort is your sanctification strategy. Our self-righteous busyness does not please God. It is our faith that pleases and glorifies Him.

We are saved by grace and we grow more like Jesus by abiding in His grace.

The lyrics of this song penetrated my heart as I remembered my years of unproductive self-effort.

There’s peace that outlasts darkness
Hope that’s in the blood
There’s future grace that’s mine today
That Jesus Christ has won
So I can face tomorrow
For tomorrow’s in Your hands
All I need You will provide
Just like You always have

If I believe that Jesus is Lord then today, tomorrow, and the rest of my days are covered by God’s plan and infinite love. God is sovereign. The one thing I can control is trusting Him.

But here is the game-changer I finally understood in my faith journey. Everything was given to me at the moment I put my trust in Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Everything.

I felt that spiritual growth and change can only happen when you work hard for God. 

The truth is that a dramatic change already happened at the moment you make your faith commitment to follow Jesus. Let’s just hit the highlights. Your sins (past, present, and future) are forgiven. You have a new identity in Christ Jesus. You are literally a new creation with rewritten spiritual DNA. You have the imputed righteousness of Christ. God sees you as righteous because of your relationship with Jesus. That’s it. Nothing you have done or ever will do earns that righteousness. You are adopted as a child of God. You have the constant presence and power of the Holy Spirit indwelling in you. There is no condemnation in Christ. His unconditional love is not based on your behavior. You have guaranteed eternal security when you genuinely put your trust in Jesus. All of these incredible gifts of grace were granted at the moment you decided to follow Jesus.

Peter described the magnitude of that salvation moment in 2 Peter, chapter 1.

“May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises…”

You have everything you need to grow in Christ at the moment you put your faith in Him. You don’t achieve bonus spiritual gifts by personal achievements. I spent so long looking for the keys to growing my faith until I finally realized I had the keys in my pocket from day one.
This chorus from “You’ve Already Won”overwhelmed me.

I’m fighting a battle
You’ve already won
No matter what comes my way
I will overcome
I don’t know what You’re doing
But I know what You’ve done
I’m fighting a battle
You’ve already won

For years and years and years I fought a battle that had already been won with the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus. I was changed completely when I trusted Christ. Instead of feeling shame when I fall short I now see a different picture. 

I see Jesus putting His arm around me and explaining that I have been changed. That I don’t have to grit my teeth and try harder to win favor and please Him.

I think that is why Jesus can say this in the Gospel of Matthew.

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, NLT)

That is my prayer for today. To let Jesus teach me with gentleness. To learn from His humility. And to find rest in Him. 

Serving God is no longer out of anxiety but out of gratitude for the gift of grace. I don’t have to work my way into His favor like I used to believe. I am already there because of Jesus.

Did I mention that the battle is already won? Thank you Lord!