“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”
Galatians 3:13-14

What We Deserve from God

Posted on February 14, 2008, 5:26 pm, by Dustin Wright, under Faith.

There are a lot of people out there that believe that humans (on the whole) are born good and deserve good from God because of they are “not bad people”. However, this is not what the Bible teaches about what we deserve from God. On Sunday, the pastor talked about love (or romance or sex or something, I’m not quite sure, as he wasn’t very clear) and he made the point that “God deserves our best”, which I agree with. But he also made the point then that “we deserve God’s best,” which as you’ve guessed, I don’t agree with.

I think the Bible is clear that we deserve nothing from God but death and hell. We don’t deserve His love or His patience. We don’t deserve His mercy or His grace. And to say that we do, even as Christians, is a misunderstanding of the Gospel. The gospel isn’t that God gave us what we deserved in Jesus. It is that while we deserved death and hell, God had mercy on us and sent His Son to die in our place. And even after Jesus died and we were given grace, it would be a terrible mistake to assume that because we are Christians that we deserve anything from God. We are not any more deserving of answered prayers or providence than people who aren’t Christians.

We don’t deserve God’s best, because we are sinful and wicked people (all people, even Christians). We deserve to die. But Jesus died in our place. And in Him we have all blessings. That is the gospel. That’s why I love Jesus so much. I love Him because He didn’t give me what I had earned (because that would have been hell), but He gave me amazing love and grace which only He could give. So, let’s not think for a minute that we deserve anything from God other than hell. But let’s worship Him as the only giver of life and joy and all good things who gives out of the abundance of His grace, because of who He is, not because of who we are.

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  • Yes, I agree that context is important, but I would not go so far as to say that it is everything. It still matters what you say, not just the context in which you say it. In order for it to be OK to say "you deserve God's best", you have to either change the definition of the word, or promote a non-biblical idea. And, it was not just a passing comment, it was a point on the gracenotes sheet. I would argue that there exists no context in which it would be correct to say that people deserve anything form God. I think it was simply the wrong choice of words, I don't think he was teaching something wrong.

    <ul>Deserve (from dictionary.com)
    <li>–verb (used with object)

    1. to merit, be qualified for, or have a claim to (reward, assistance, punishment, etc.) because of actions, qualities, or situation: to deserve exile; to deserve charity; a theory that deserves consideration.
    </li>
    <li>–verb (used without object)

    2. to be worthy of, qualified for, or have a claim to reward, punishment, recompense, etc.: to reward him as he deserves; an idea deserving of study.
    </li> </ul>

    I would also challenge the idea that we deserve the best spouse God has for us. My question is simple, what does a person have to do to deserve a wonderful spouse or a terrible spouse? What does someone have to do in order to "deserve" anything from God, let alone a quality spouse? Would we say that Hosea deserved a whore for a wife and that we don't, and if so, why? Do we deserve a better spouse because we keep ourselves sexually pure before marriage, or conversely; do we deserve a bad spouse because we had sex with too many people before we were married? Does our sexual purity have anything to do with what we do or do not deserve from God?

    I would argue that neither being un-pure or being pure makes us deserving of a good spouse. Getting a good spouse however is a blessing from God that we can do nothing to earn. I did not earn a loving wife by something I did or did not do, however God blessed me with her in His grace. I don't deserve Alina, but God, in His grace gave her to me. And that is just one more reason why I feel that Christ is so awesome, and that our lives should be centered around Him...


    One of the reasons we are not as Christ-centered and cross-saturated as we should be is that we have not realized that everything - everything good and every thing bad that God turns for the good of his redeemed children was purchased by the death of Christ for us. We simply take life and breath and health and friends and everything for granted. We think it is ours by right. But the fact is that it is not ours by right.

    We are doubly undeserving of it.

    1) We are creatures and our Creator was not bound or obligated to give us anything - not life or health and anything. He gives, he takes, and he does us no injustice.

    2) And besides being creatures with no claim on our Creator, we are sinners. We have fallen short of his glory. We have ignored him and disobeyed him and failed to love him and trust him. The wrath of his justice is kindled against us. All we deserve from him is judgment. Therefore every breath we take, every time our heart beats, every day that the sun rises, every moment we see with our eyes or hear with our ears or speak with our mouths or walk with our legs is free and undeserved gift to sinners who deserve only judgment.

    And who bought these gifts for us? Jesus Christ. And how did he purchase them? By his blood.

    Every blessing in life is designed to magnify the cross of Christ, or to say it another way, every good thing in life is meant to magnify Christ and him crucified.

    John Piper - Boasting only in the Cross
  • Jon
    Context is everything.

    Jeff was speaking on why true love waits. His points were simple. You should wait to give your love to some one b/c God deserves the best from you, and you as a person deserve the best spouse god has for you, in short you deserve gods best.
  • I think I understand your general thesis here D, but your own admittance of God's "abundance" is in effect God's best for us. Do we deserve being 'saved' from ourselves? No, but fortunately it isn't our decision to make when it comes to who deserves God's best. For me 'God's best' was the very fact that he (in the form of the Son) walked this Earth, endured temptation like you and I, and died a humiliating death on a cross. That is God's best. To say I deserve that is obviously flawed - as you stated. I wasn't there on Sunday to hear the pastor's point, but I am going to assume that he was referring to the fact that God's love for us, though best portrayed on the cross, continues to be showered upon us even years after that salvivic experience. Now, I am not sure if "deserve" was the best word usage - given that you are understanding his point correctly. Maybe a better way would be to say that we can 'expect' God's best for his children. Besides, doesn't the bible refer to the Father's love as being more than an earthly father can emulate? So I would suggest that as God's children we can expect God's best for us. The hard part is fully understanding what is God's best. For one person God may bless with great health, while another is striken with cancer. Are we to question God's plan in these two cases? I can't, but I know in the end that both can expect God's best in his never-ending love, in his reward for us that waits in heaven, and simply being called one of his own. His view of our condition is an eternal one. That fact reinforces in me that no matter what life holds, I can expect to receive "God's best" as I obey and follow him. That is his promise to us.
  • Jeff Eyres
    Grace: Undeserved favor, or in other words Not Worthy. Why is it that we are not worthy of God's grace? Its simple: we are sinners and we cannot even be looked upon by God. In Rom. 3:23 is says,"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." It doesn't matter how hard we try nothing we do can put us on God's good side(so to speak). Many believe that if they are "good" and do "good" things for others God will let them enter into His kingdom. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but...WRONG!!! It clearly states in Eph.2:8-9,"for it is by GRACE that you have been saved through faith; it is not of yourselves, it is a gift from God; not by works so no one may boast." So if being "good" doesn't save then what can? Jesus Christ. Before you or I were born God predestined us, or knew who we were before we knew ourselves. He knew our hearts, our thoughts and our words before we knew. By this God knew who He was going to save. God sends down the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, to open our hearts and speak those beautiful words of life. A life filled with wonder, love and total amazement. God bestowed His saving grace to us because of the overwhelming love He had for us. A love so overwhelming that He crucified His one and only Son on our behalf. Those nails, that crown and those thorns were meant for me. But Christ intervened so I/we could be set free from God eternal wrath. It's hard to imagine what life would have been like if Christ didn't save me. Thank you God for not letting me go through that. Now, if asked if I deserve God's best, I'd say no. Asking if I or we deserve Gods best is almost like demanding that He owes us something. It's like saying, "okay God I've done my part now it's time for you to do Yours." Its a slap in the face, (would you want to slap God in the face?) Didn't think so. But on the other hand God does deserve our best if not our very best. For all that He has done (like dying for our sins, taking on Gods wrath when we should have.) After all if it wasn't for God sending His Son for us our lives would be a living hell.
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