God Doesn’t Give Second Chances

There are a handful of idioms commonly used to speak of a person getting a do over: a new lease on life; a fresh start; turning over a new leaf; starting with a clean slate. We all have needed this at some point, in some area of our life. It is not surprising then, when these get carried over into the spiritual realm. They can work sometimes, but not always. One familiar idiom used when speaking of God is that “He is the God of second chances.” Does this really fit what the Scriptures teach about God and His redemptive work? I don’t think it does and I want to walk you through a few reasons.

First, let’s remember that there will always be some truth in assertions like these. If saying God was a God of second chances was blatantly wrong, it wouldn’t gain any traction and I wouldn’t be writing this blog. So what does it have going for it? This statement contains a hint of grace. We all know of times when we have royally botched something. We were foolish and everyone can see that. Yet, there was someone who went to bat for us, made sure we didn’t get canned, and let us try again. That is grace.

But does this match what we read in Scripture about God? While the above example may have been significant on a human level, God’s grace is in a different category. Twice in Ephesians we read about grace that exceeds our wildest dreams.

Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace…

Ephesians 2:7 …so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

These two verses speak about riches of grace. This is the crucial difference. While a second chance is a thing of grace, what God actually does for us is called riches of grace.

So let’s get specific. Why does this title “A God of second chances” not match “riches of grace,” and what do these riches of grace get us that is better than a second chance?

1) There is an overwhelming notion of self-effort in the concept of a second chance. When we think of second chances, there is a new pressure to do it right. This new pressure says “You better have learned from your mistake, and you had better make the needed changes.” With a second chance, all the focus is on you and how you are going to capitalize on this new chance.

2) There is no way that a person can have rest and peace with this hanging over their head.There is an assumption that something can actually be done satisfactorily. The reality is, in the spiritual realm, there is nothing we have ever done or will ever do that is righteous and without sin. In our best moments, we are sinners. As one Puritan said, in his purest prayer there was enough sin to send the whole world to hell. It doesn’t matter how many chances you have, you will always be sinning to some degree in what you do.

3) There is the reality that we need far more than a second chance. Since the above is true, and we are always going to be sinning to some degree in what we do, we need a thousand chances. We may not think about it much in the mundane issues of life, but we all feel this reality in regard to besetting sins. All of us have issues that plague us, and mock our efforts at change. While a Christian is to fight such sins with all their might, most will find that with some sins progress is slow. It will be two steps forward and one step back. When Christians have these issues, they know that a second chance is little help to them. They spent that chance years ago. Therefore, the haunting fear is that God is getting more and more frustrated.

4) Lastly, this whole idea of “chances” carries the notion of a limit. If there is a second chance, then that means there is a last chance. And no one wants to think about having a last chance. If they have messed it up so many times before, there is no reason they won’t mess it up on their last chance.

Let’s leave behind this faulty idea of second chances and turn to God’s riches of grace. The redemption that God accomplished in Christ is nothing like a second chance. Instead of a second chance, the Scripture speaks of a second life. One glorious word used to describe the riches of grace given us is adoption. Think about how utterly different adoption is compared to a second chance. Let’s imagine the sorrowful situation where a mother gives up a handicapped child to adoption because she simply doesn’t want to raise that kind of child. When adoptive parents receive that child, they would never say “Your last parents didn’t want you, but we are giving you a second chance to be a child that is lovable and desirable. We aren’t going to tell you how many chances you have to get this right, but don’t mess around.” That is horrifying. On the contrary, true adoption says “I am making you mine because I love you and nothing will ever change that. You didn’t earn this adoption and you can’t lose your place in our family.”

God has put us in Christ and that is where our new life exists. We are not trying to maintain our place in His second chance, we stand in His grace moment by moment (Rom. 5:2). While we are always struggling with sin, He is at work in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:12), conforming us to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29). We are seated with Him in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:6) and we will never lose this place of exultation. This is the riches of grace. Let’s stop trying to squeeze the infinite riches of the gospel into this worldly sub-par concoction of what seems to be good.