New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional

by Paul David Tripp

Christ’s sacrifice satisfied the Father’s anger so that, as his child, you will receive his discipline but need not fear his wrath. It is the bottom line of your acceptance with God. It is the foundational reason why grace is your only hope. Jesus fully and completely satisfied the Father’s anger so that you and I will never, ever again face the penalty for our sin. You do not have to live in fear of God’s anger. On your very worst, most rebellious, and most faithless day, you can run into the holy presence of your heavenly Father and he will not turn you away. Your acceptance has not been, nor will it ever be, based on your performance. You have not been welcomed into an eternal relationship with God because you have kept the law, but because Jesus did. If you obey God for a thousand years, you will not have earned more of his acceptance than you were granted the very first moment you believed. Here’s how radical the gospel of grace really is—you do not have to be something before God because Jesus accomplished everything on your behalf. Since you are God’s child and he loves you dearly, he disciplines you. But in the face of his loving discipline, a very important distinction needs to be made. His discipline is not punishment for your sin, because all of your punishment has been borne by your Savior, Jesus. Rather than being punitive, his fatherly discipline is transformative. It is designed to change your heart. It is one of the tools God uses to propel and ultimately t...