Who Needs Grace?

It's easy to think grace is mainly for people with dramatic stories, and that if you grew up in church you're already covered. You're not, and neither is anyone else. Everyone needs grace, including the people who grew up in church, serve in it, and lead it. The same grace is just as available to all of them.

Can you be in church and not be in Christ?

Yes. There is no coming to Christ apart from His church, but you can be in the church without being in Christ. Pastor Sean Sloan names that tension plainly, and it's worth sitting with.

In John 3, Jesus talks with Nicodemus, a respected teacher of Israel and a descendant of Abraham. By every outward measure he was on the inside. He knew the Scriptures and believed he was accepted by God. Jesus told him that wasn't enough.

Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again."

John 3:3

Pastor Landon Sloan applies it this way: being a member of Calvary doesn't make you a member of Christ. It's possible to get comfortable with church language. You can spend more time thinking about what you're doing than why you're doing it and who you're doing it with. Pastor Sean's warning from the weekend message stung a little: don't be the person who goes to hell from a church seat.

To be born again is to receive new spiritual life from God through faith in Jesus. It isn't inherited from your family, and it doesn't come from attendance.

What is grace, and how is God's grace different?

Grace is God giving you a standing before Him that you could never earn, and asking nothing in return except that you receive it.

Pastor Sean explains that in the ancient world, grace often described a patron raising someone into a position they had no standing for. The person who received it then owed the patron something. God's grace is different. He lets people who are unrighteous stand before a righteous and holy God, and He doesn't hand you a bill.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8 to 9

Can good works earn salvation?

No amount of effort earns salvation. Even a perfect life from here forward would not be enough.

Pastor Landon remembers a picture from the weekend message. Imagine bringing every accolade, every dollar, and every success with you to heaven's gate. Standing before the Creator of everything, does any of it count? It doesn't.

As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one."

Romans 3:10

That verse quotes the Old Testament, the very Scriptures Nicodemus knew well. Pastor Sean adds that debating whether we're born sinners or become sinners hardly matters, because all of us do sin. Even if we could live perfectly, we don't.

Then do good works matter at all?

Good works matter as fruit, not as payment. The difference is working for Christ versus working from Christ.

Faith in Christ does produce change. James is clear that a changed heart shows up in how you live, and there is no faith without faithfulness. Your obedience reveals your walk with Him. But the order matters: God's grace first, then a changed life that flows from it. You don't work to get accepted. You work because you've been accepted.

Do people who grew up in church need grace too?

Yes. Growing up in church is a gift, but it doesn't replace a personal relationship with Christ.

Both pastors grew up in church. Pastor Sean gave his life to Jesus at seven and admits to feeling "testimony envy" when others shared dramatic rescues. His story felt small next to theirs. But every testimony has power, he says. Each one is God giving life to someone who didn't have it, whether their sins were obvious or simply self-righteousness.

Pastor Landon was 25 at the time of the episode, and he puts it this way. He has never had a life without church, but he has had life without Christ, and there's a massive difference. Whether you were born on a church pew or came from a hard road, you need Jesus just the same.

That includes leaders. Nicodemus was a known somebody with influence, power, and recognition. Ministers and church leaders need a relationship with Christ too, and His grace is sufficient for them as well. God cares about the outsider, and He cares just as much about those who are lost inside the house.

What changes when you believe?

Believing in Jesus changes your present, not only your future. Jesus told Nicodemus that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, the Son of Man would be lifted up.

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

John 3:14 to 15

Pastor Sean points out that eternal life starts here and now, not someday. And the rest of John's Gospel suggests Nicodemus himself became a follower of Jesus, a reminder that the insider can be found too.

Common questions

What does it mean to be born again?

In John 3, Jesus tells Nicodemus that being born into the right family or religion is not enough. A person needs new spiritual life from God, received by believing in Jesus.

Can you go to church and not be saved?

Yes. There is no coming to Christ apart from His church, but someone can be in the church without being in Christ. Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus, not by attendance or membership.

If we are saved by grace, do good works matter?

They matter as fruit, not as payment. When Christ changes you on the inside, it shows on the outside. You work from His grace, not for it.

Do church kids need grace too?

Yes. Growing up in church is a gift, but it does not replace a personal relationship with Christ. Everyone needs the same grace, and it is available to everyone.

Read the blog postKnowing About Jesus or Knowing Him: What It Means to Be Born Again in John 3Nicodemus knew more about God than almost anyone, and Jesus still told him he had to be born again. Here is what that means for people who already know the stories.Read the post