Grace for the Whole Journey

Most Christians can quote Ephesians 2:8–9 without blinking: “By grace you have been saved through faith… not by works.” We know salvation is a gift. We know we didn’t earn it. We know it’s grace from beginning to end.

But somewhere along the way—usually right after we get saved—we quietly switch operating systems.

We start sanctification by works.

We try to earn God’s approval through obedience, spiritual disciplines, ministry output, or a perfectly managed calling. Suddenly the Christian life becomes a performance. We hustle for God’s affection as if the cross didn’t already settle it.

The truth?

You already have His approval. 

You were chosen. 

You are loved before you lift a finger.

Sanctification is not earning. It’s growing. And growth doesn’t come from striving—it comes from staying close to the One who loved you first.

Obedience Flows from Love, Not for Love

Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” 

We often read that wrong:

“If you keep My commandments, then I will love you.”

But that’s not what He said.

Obedience is the fruit of love, not the currency for it. 

We obey because we love Him, not to make Him love us.

You can’t make God love you more than He already does. 

And He won’t love you less.

Scripture says in Romans 2:4 that it is His kindness that leads us to repentance—not pressure, guilt, or spiritual performance. Kindness draws, love transforms, presence purifies.

It’s About Proximity, Not Productivity

God is described as an all-consuming fire.

The closer we get to that fire, the more the impurities rise to the surface.

Anything false, broken, or sinful gets exposed—not to shame us—but to free us.

This is why intimacy with God matters so deeply.

The journey of sanctification is not:

• “Trying harder.”

• “Doing better.”

• “Checking spiritual boxes.”

• “Proving yourself.”

Instead, sanctification looks more like staying close enough to Jesus for the heat of His presence to change you from who you were before you met Him into who He’s created you to be.

It’s a state of becoming, not a state of doing.

Fruit Comes from Staying Connected

Jesus didn’t say:

“Try hard to bear fruit.”

In John chapter 15, He said:

“I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me will bear much fruit.”

Fruit (good works) is not the cause of our connection to Him. Fruit is the evidence of our connection to Him.

Faith without works is dead—not because works save us, but because living faith naturally produces something. Just like a branch that’s alive naturally grows leaves.

You don’t glue fruit on. 

You don’t tape it to the tree. 

It grows because of relationship.

Workers work. 

Branches abide. 

And abiding produces fruit every time.

Grace Didn’t Just Save You — It Carries You

We often treat grace as the door we walk through, but not the house we live in.

But the same grace that justified you is the grace that sanctifies you.

Grace is not just a pardon. 

Grace is power. 

Grace is fuel. 

Grace is the atmosphere of all real growth.

If we understand this, the Christian life stops feeling like a treadmill and starts feeling like a relationship again.

So How Do We Keep the Focus on Relationship?

Here are three simple anchors that help re-center sanctification around Jesus, not performance:

1. Stay Near the Fire

Prioritize intimacy with the Lord—not to earn something, but because you’re loved.

Scripture.

Prayer and worship.

Reverence and delight.

Proximity purifies.

2. Let Love Lead

Whenever obedience starts to feel like pressure, stop and remind your heart:

“I am already loved. I am already chosen.” 

Obey from love, not for love.

3. Abide, Don’t Strive

Ask yourself regularly:

“Am I connected to the Vine?” 

The fruit will grow naturally when the root is healthy.

Some definitions:

1. Justification

Justification is the act of God declaring a sinner righteous on the basis of Christ’s finished work. It happens once, at the moment of salvation. It is legal, positional, and complete—not based on our works but on Christ’s righteousness credited to us.

In simpler terms: Justification is God saying, “You are forgiven, accepted, and made right with Me because of Jesus.”

2. Sanctification

Sanctification is the ongoing process by which God transforms a believer into the image of Christ. Unlike justification, sanctification is progressive, relational, and life-long. It involves our cooperation, but it is ultimately empowered by the Holy Spirit.

In simpler terms: Sanctification is God shaping your character, desires, and actions so you increasingly live like Jesus.

3. Grace

Grace is God’s unearned, undeserved favor and empowering presence given freely because of His love. Grace is more than pardon; it is also power—the divine strength that enables us to live the Christian life.

In simpler terms: Grace is God giving us what we could never earn and helping us become what we could never be on our own.

Final Thought 

Justification and sanctification run on the same fuel: relationship, not works.

God didn’t rescue you by grace just to disciple you by performance. 

He started the work, and He’s the One who will finish it.

So, breathe. 

Rest. 

Stay close to Him. 

Let His love shape you.

The fire that consumes the dross is the same fire that warms your heart.

And the closer you get, the more you become who you were meant to be.

Love in Christ,

Jason Davidson