Grace. Historically, most theologians and Christian teachers view it simply as favor bestowed upon man by God. A supernatural intervention that, though we don’t understand its workings, changes the outcome of our lives.

For example, most Christians would view grace something like this:

My repentance + God’s grace = Salvation

My sorrow + God’s grace = Comfort and Endurance

My weakness + God’s grace = Power and Sufficiency

Although it is not literally a salve, grace acts much like a medicine that permeates and heals our condition. We do not do its job. We can’t. But over time we find that the grace of God sustains us and enables us to grow in Christ-likeness through each and every circumstance of life.

Power Broker

Bill Gothard casts grace in a lesser light. Through his teachings in the Advanced Training Institute (ATI) and the Institute for Basic Life Principles (IBLP), he misleads generations of people who are simply trying to make the best choices for their families.  He allows that grace is “unmerited favor” in the context of salvation, but changes the definition when it comes to living a holy life. Rather than being “unmerited favor,” it is now “the desire and power to do God’s will.”

His view of grace looks something like this:

My weakness + God’s power – Unmerited Favor = My work to live a holy life

At first glance, the formula seems to be a viable one. But when we put it into motion, we find that it’s like a machine missing oil. Or, as an analogy to the economic concerns of our day, it’s like a debt that snowballs.

Credit Peddler

Even if you personally have never faced a credit crunch, you’ve undoubtedly heard tales of those who struggle with severe credit card debt. They strive to make partial payments each month, all the while adding more purchases and interest until they fall so far behind that they cannot catch up.

In a similar way, Bill Gothard’s view of grace would start you with a clean spiritual slate at salvation. However, you would soon discover through some seminar or publication that you have several weaknesses that must be addressed. The solution put forth would be that you need more grace, the “desire and power to do God’s will.” With grace at your side, you can work your way to victory over these failures. But as you are working to defeat those weaknesses, more weaknesses are brought to your attention. Time to work harder.

Then, through no fault of your own, you experience a difficult time in life…perhaps a lost job or a sick family member. Gothard’s system would suggest that perhaps your difficulty is caused by some unyielded expectations or sin in your life. This, of course, can only be overcome by God’s “grace” (i.e., more work).

But then you get frustrated and angry, meaning that you probably need to attend an anger resolution seminar and make commitments to relieve that “stress” through God’s power (more and more work). You fail and fail again, all the while taking on a heavier yoke, summoning all your strength, still working–yet never having worked hard enough to defeat the original weaknesses, sorrows, and anger.

In an unfortunate twist, you are pounded with a verse that mentions both grace and power: “…My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness…”(2 Cor. 12:9) You are told Jesus has given you sufficient power! You must be doing something wrong! Work harder! Be perfected! Do the impossible!

Saddled by Debt

Most people reading this article would agree that being in debt is not the ideal way to live. In fact, Gothard’s system of thinking is emphatically anti-debt. The truth is, though, that families who follow Gothard’s teachings ARE living under a weight of debt that cannot be overcome…spiritual debt, emotional debt, and even physical debt.

Working harder without grasping the unmerited favor from God is like having debt with compounding interest. The amount of work needed just keeps building. And, unfortunately, this is why so many Gothardites have crashed and burned spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

But hasn’t Bill Gothard found success? Hasn’t he achieved the holy living that can only come through  properly utilizing the grace he’s been given? No.

Gothard has not been able to do the impossible: overcome sin through human effort. His pride and deceit have grown, and his ministry has withered. To truly do the impossible he will need to love as Christ loved. He will need to stop charging God’s children interest through legalistic standards that can never be met. He will need to confess and pay back what was taken, and more.

Living Within Your Means

No man is able to achieve a standard of perfection on earth. Certainly, we seek to please the Lord Jesus Christ in every thought, word, and deed, but we realize that perfection will only be obtained through the glorification of our souls one day in heaven. Christ’s strength IS made known through your weakness. HE is the One who is sufficient.

The Holy Spirit has already applied the proper medicine, the transferring agent that lets His life soak through our thick skin—grace—and he will apply more as we humble ourselves to rely on Him more than on our own efforts. With this change in thinking, you can finally see the Jesus who loves you. The Jesus who doesn’t keep a running credit tab based on your behavior.

Will you transfer your daily debt to Him today? There is no catch…and no interest.