Well hey everybody, my name is Austin Gentry. I am a junior, and have been involved in Cornerstone since my freshman year. And I will be sharing with you guys a little bit about what God has been doing in my life since I have been at Carolina.
But in order for y’all to really understand what God has done in my life in college, it would require you to know a little about me before I came here. So, in sum, I was born into a strong, vibrant Christian family, was dedicated at my church as a baby, and was there every time the doors were open. I was really involved, doing bible studies, camps, worship, leadership, choir (no, I don’t sing, but it’s the church, so they accept everyone) but yeah—super involved. I’m sure that resonates with a handful of you in here.
I also went to a small, private Christian high school K through 12—High Point Christian—CUE to muh boi$—it’s really small so we gotta rep hard.
So, that’s all to say that I was “Christianized” in environment and in deed as much as possible. And while all the involvement and great environment was good and I am thankful for my upbringing and that foundation, my view of Christianity—or my understanding of where I was with God per say—became defined by my performance for God. How well I was doing. How well I was keeping the rules. How well I was maintaining an impeccably admirable Christian appearance. How involved I was. See, practically, my walk with God was rooted deeply in this notion of works-based conditionality.
Meaning, God will really love me, will really approve of me, will really bless me if I do XYZ. If I obey, I will be accepted. If I do not, then not so much.
And see, I knew and believed that Christ’s offer of salvation was completely His doing—all a gift of grace so that I cannot boast. But for some reason, even though I believed in his complete grace for salvation, I immediately thought that now I am saved, the way God viewed me in this relationship is defined by what I do and don’t do. So, I believed that grace is what saves you, but performance after is what keeps you under God’s favor. Thus, I relied on my obedience and my works for sustaining God’s favor and approval and acceptance. I mean, I knew he would always love me per say, but he certainly wouldn’t approve or accept me with joy if I was not living for him.
So what I believed, to say it another way was that: The gospel got me into the relationship—but now that I’m in, my works define that relationship.
And here it is, point blank: I missed why the gospel was such good news—and that its not just good news for salvation—in terms of when we die—but its also good news for the rest of life.
I missed the second half of that good news:
Christ’s work for me not only provides the reconciliation with God, but it also defines the nature of that relationship.
His work has forever and unconditionally made me right with God, approved and loved and accepted—not to be further supported by or supplemented by my works.
And when I saw that God’s love and approval and favor isn’t based off anything I do—it’s based solely on what Jesus did—I began to experience freedom and peace.
Because I have complete approval before God in Christ, I no longer need “to do” to gain love—rather, my “doing” flows from being loved—which is much more powerful and long-lasting. You just respond to what you have encountered. Encounter, Respond.
The point is, I no longer have “to do” so that I get approved—“I do” because I have been approved.
This truth made a world of difference in my relationships too: Because I have approval in Christ, I can stop approaching my friendships and relationships as a means of extracting their approval to satisfy my need to be validated.
I also don’t need to overwork myself to make good grades that will give me validation or purpose, or do it to win the admiration of others of how smart of successful I am. I already have the love and approval and acceptance that I really long for—and its coming from the greatest One who could ever give it.
Ultimately, I am freed from the burden of having to live up to a certain standard so that I will be loved or approved by God or others.
The gospel has changed me such that I no longer need anything from the world, because all that I really need, I already have in Christ—something that is unconditionally given to me, sheerly because of His grace.
The concept of the gospel is completely backwards and different from every system of religiosity in the world since it is solely hinges on God’s unmerited grace and not by our works. It makes a world of difference, and completely changed my walk with God.
Indeed, its when I began to revel in and live in light of God’s unconditional-ness for me in Christ that I began to truly see God rightly, see myself rightly, see others rightly, and so live rightly.
I know that is cliché way to end, but thank you guys for your time.
