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The articles posted in this section are sample chapters from the book, Grace Plus Nothing by Jeff Harkin. © Copyright 2004 Applied Grace Publications. Used by permission. Click book to purchase.

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In 1 Corinthians 1:30 Paul said that Jesus "became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption."

The word became is past tense. What Jesus has become for you is a finished work. You needn't add a thing to Paul's list in 1 Corinthians 1:30 in order to gain right standing before God. Jesus became all of this for you and he continues to be all of this for you as a gift. This is imputed righteousness, the true essence of the grace of God. Remember Isaiah 53:11; God Father is totally satisfied with Jesus. Grace means that, together with the Father, you must be satisfied with Jesus, and thus you can rest in him and abide in him, in all that he is for you. Romans 1: 16-17 says:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith."

We will be looking at this many times and in many different ways to help you make it you way of life.

But for now, be totally satisfied with Jesus plus nothing. That is, put all your faith in Jesus Christ himself to be all that you need for right standing before God, and begin to move from faith to faith. Relax. Stop striving to justify yourself. To be legalistic is to lock yourself under the power of sin, because sin shall be master over you as long as you are under the law.

But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace (Romans 11:6). I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died needlessly (Galatians 2:21).

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