God is Not a God of Second Chances!

Over the years, many well-meaning people have spoken about how God is a God of second chances. "If you mess up," they say, "God will give you a second chance to get it right." They might talk about Jonah, and how he ran from God and then was given a "second chance" to do what He originally told him to do. Various interpretations of that story notwithstanding, the God who is revealed to us in Christ and the New Covenant is not a God of second chances!

First of all, do you think He thought we'd get it right the first time? Many would agree that He knew we wouldn't get it right the first time. So then do you really think He thought if He gave us a second chance, we'd then get it right? What if that didn't work out so well? How about a third chance? Or a fourth or fifth chance? A one hundredth chance? Is God's mercy and grace a matter of a billion chances? Does God think that eventually we will get it right?

The good news is that God didn't even give us that first chance to get it right! Whether we're talking about salvation or whether we're talking about the daily living out of our faith, it's not a matter of God giving us a certain number of chances to get it right. It's not about Him giving us "do-overs" when we've messed up. He doesn't say, "try again."

He's not looking at our efforts to get it right! It's all about His grace and His life working in and through us. He doesn't give us second chances. He takes away all our chances and gives us His very life instead! To repeat, in Christ God hasn't given us a second chance to get things right. Instead, He's deleted any and all possibilities of giving us the chance to get things right. He's replaced "I'll give you X amount of chances to get it right" with "I got it right for you!"

When we've messed up, and fallen short of living out a perfect life of faith, God doesn't say, "Ok, I'll give you another chance... Get back up and try again." Rather it's a matter of us denying any sense of us trying to get it right, and instead simply resting in His grace and in His very life that we have entered into, where all the work has already been done! Don't kid yourself about needing a new chance to begin again. You are His workmanship, not your own!