It is by grace you have been saved.
—Ephesians 2:5
The Message translates 2 Cor. 1:13, “Don’t try to read between the lines or look for hidden meanings.”
Not everything in your Bible is easy to understand. But there is no fine print. No “gotchas.”
Paul’s focus was on grace.
Obedience? Certainly.
But never on self-salvation; never on a full Merit Badge sash; definitely not on perfection. Jesus did not say, “Come to me, all you who are perfect and sinless.” He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened.”
You don’t have to put on a performance to impress God. He sees through theater in a nanosecond. He already knows everything there is to know about you (see Ps. 139).
There are a lot of things you have to earn. Grace isn’t one of them.
Grace is priceless; and it’s free.