Reverend Jean-Paul Agidi, a Minister of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, Sunday reminded Christians that life did not often function on a transactional scale where people believed rewards should strictly correspond to entitlement, effort and sweat.
“The kingdom of God operates on an entirely different economy.”
Rev Agidi gave the reminder in an online sermon on the theme “Grace, not merit” and was monitored by the Ghana News Agency.
It was taken from Exodus 16: 2 – 15, Philippians 1: 21 – 30 and Matthew 20: 1 – 16.
Rev Agidi noted that whilst merit refers to earning something by right, effort, works or entitlement, grace was God’s unearned, unmerited and unconditional favour given to humanity despite their unworthiness.
He therefore urged them to embrace grace and not merit by recognizing that every blessing, salvation and divine provision they received was an overflow of God’s sovereign generosity and not a wage he owed them.
The Minister of the Gospel stated that because God was faithful to His covenant, He blessed them with good life and provided them with their needs not because they earned His goodness.
“Our faith, perseverance and daily sustenance are all divine gifts granted to us freely by God,” he said.
Rev Agidi continued that those who operated on merit became bitter when God showed abundant mercy to others who they thought seemed less qualified.
“But the Cross completely destroys such human scorecard.
“God does not owe us anything, everything we receive beyond judgement is pure grace,” he noted.
Rev Agidi reminded Christians that their standing before God rested securely on His goodness rather than their personal resumes.
“When we abandon the merit mindset, envy dies, grumbling ceases and our hearts are liberated to celebrate what God is doing in our own lives and in the lives of those around us,” he exhorted.
Rev Agidi advised Christians to lay down all thoughts that God owed them a blessing because of their service to Him and others, giving or moral performance.
GNA
