Grace In the Messy Church

The church is often (and should remain) a messy place, full of broken people navigating the tensions of life and faith. A truth stands at the center of it all that gives purpose, hope, and transformation: the overwhelming grace of God through Jesus Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, the Apostle Paul reminds us that Christ’s love compels and controls us, offering a new lens for our lives—a lens obsessed with grace.

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15

An End to Scorekeeping

Grace is radical. It’s the end of tallying our failures or victories. It’s not about leniency or a second chance to prove ourselves. Grace doesn’t depend on our actions—it flows from the heart of God.

Too often, we think of grace as something we earn or as a safety net when we fail. But true grace is rooted in the Giver, not the receiver. God redeemed us even while our hearts rebelled. That’s the scandal of grace: He gave Himself completely for those who wanted nothing of Him.

As Paul writes, “one has died for all, therefore all have died.” Christ’s death brought an end to our old, sin-burdened lives. When we meet Jesus in His death, we experience resurrection. Christ fully takes away the weight of sin under which we were once dead and buried. Christ’s resurrection invites us to a daily surrender, a repeated recognition of the grace that sustains us.

An End to Purposelessness

When grace grips our hearts, it frees us from a pattern of “do” into a new paradigm of “done.” Paul goes on to say that Christ died “that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.” This is where grace takes hold of our purpose.

Tim Keller captures this idea beautifully: grace in Christ gives us “a blessedness of self-forgetfulness.”¹ In a world obsessed with self—our goals, achievements, and desires—grace pulls us out of ourselves and centers us on Christ. It shows us that our purpose isn’t tied to what we can do for God. Our purpose comes from what He has already done for us.

Living for Christ means freedom from the crushing weight of self-fulfillment. Instead of striving to create meaning in our lives, we rest in His grace. The Christian life is not about what we accomplish, but how He loves, saves, and transforms us.

Grace Changes Everything

Paul points us to the reality that our motivation as believers should be marked by an obsession with God’s love for us. This love, which Christ demonstrates through His sacrifice, changes everything. Grace ends scorekeeping and dissolves purposelessness. We are free to live for the One who died and rose for us.

Grace frees us from the burdens of sin and self, inviting us into a life of joy and worship. This is the heart of the messy church: not perfect people striving for perfection, but broken people captivated by perfect grace. In it, His Spirit helps us die to ourselves and truly live for His glory.