What if you no longer had to expect to keep failing because of the same weaknesses? God doesn’t just see who you are today—He also sees what you can become. A surprising discovery about righteousness by faith, the power of new expectations, and the path to a life that truly sets you free.
By Kai Mester

Reading time: 8 minutes

A man backs out of a parking space. He doesn’t see a woman and runs her over. She dies. A moment of inattention—and a sense of guilt that may haunt him for the rest of his life.

How wonderful, then, is the Bible’s message: God forgives our sins! But is that all there is to it?

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) Not just from their guilt. From their sins!

Jesus wants to free us not only from what we have done, but also from having to do it over and over again.

More Than a Heavenly Washing Machine

How do we usually deal with our sins? We confess them, ask for forgiveness, and trust that Jesus will cleanse us. The next day, we sin again and ask for forgiveness once more.

Sometimes our life of faith resembles a washing machine: In the evening we throw the dirty laundry in, and in the morning we start all over again.

I grew up in the Adventist Church and learned as a child to ask God for forgiveness. But as a teenager, I realized: That’s not enough for me!

I didn’t just want to get rid of my guilt, but also the chains that kept causing me to sin again and again. After all, what good is it if I experience forgiveness but continue to be controlled by anger, addictions, fears, or other destructive habits?

Do I really have to wait until Jesus’ return to be set free?

I found the answer in a message that we Adventists have emphasized since 1888: righteousness by faith. I once translated these words for myself in very simple terms: living right through trust. But what does that mean, specifically?

Is a life without sin even possible?

“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36) Free indeed! Not just on the new earth?

Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery: “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” (John 8:11)

Have we ever stopped to think about who is speaking these words?

Jesus is the Word of God. And concerning God’s Word it is written: “For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.” (Psalm 33:9)

When Jesus tells a person, “Go and sin no more,” His word already contains the power to make it possible! Just as an acorn can grow into a mighty oak.

For me, this was a revolutionary discovery. I no longer had to take it for granted that I would sin every day anyway. I was allowed to believe that Jesus can truly set me free.

But then I ended up just like Peter. Full of enthusiasm, he stepped out of the boat and walked on the water—until he looked at the waves and began to sink.

What did Jesus do? He immediately reached out His hand.

I had to learn that, too: After a relapse, I don’t have to spend days wallowing in self-reproach. I can take hold of Jesus’ hand again right away! Just like a roly-poly toy.

In the past, after a spiritual gathering, I’d enthusiastically resolve to have a morning devotional every day. It worked wonderfully for two weeks. Then something came up—and the habit was gone. Until the next revival meeting.

At some point, it dawned on me: Why wait, anyway? I can start again at any time!

But how can we keep from falling back into the same patterns over and over again?

Who is actually living my life?

Peter was convinced that he would never deny Jesus. A few hours later, he had done so three times. His love for Jesus was sincere. But he still relied too much on his own strength.

Jesus had told him and the other disciples: “Whoever remains in me and I in him bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) And Paul later wrote: “I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)

What a difference! It is not I who must strive with all my might to change. Jesus wants to live in me and fill me with his nature: with his patience, his gentleness, and his love.

Then reading the Bible and prayer shift from being a religious duty to an encounter with a friend.

Yet even the disciples, who experienced Jesus day after day, repeatedly argued about who was the greatest. As soon as they were left to their own devices, their old character traits resurfaced.

How can our relationship with Jesus become so deep that it also transforms our everyday lives?

Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30) A love that encompasses our whole being!

“Perfect love drives out fear,” writes John (1 John 4:18).

Perhaps that is why we so often struggle in vain against our temptations—because we focus far too much on them. We fear the next relapse and already see ourselves failing in our minds. What if our love for God grew so great that the old temptations lost their appeal?

Jesus said, “First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may also become clean” (Matthew 23:26). We often try to change our lives from the outside: through discipline, good habits, and religious rules. Jesus wants to begin in the heart.

But even passionate love alone does not protect us from wrong thoughts. John loved Jesus so much that he wanted to call down fire from heaven on a Samaritan village that had rejected his Master!

Apparently, there is still something to discover.

How does God see me?

What actually happens inside us when we sin? We feel guilty. Guilt turns into shame. We get angry at ourselves and begin to doubt ourselves.

“I just can’t do it!”
“Why does this keep happening to me?”
“I’ll probably never change.”

Thoughts like these can trigger a dangerous cycle. Because when we feel bad, we look for something that brings us relief. And we may end up resorting once again to the very behavior that led us into guilt in the first place. In addiction research, this connection is described as the “cycle of shame.”

But what if we could break this cycle by starting to see ourselves through a different lens?

Through God’s eyes!

How does God actually see me?

Does He see a hopeless sinner who fails time and again? Or does He see His beloved child, for whom Jesus gave His life and whom He wants to transform into His likeness?

God doesn’t just see who I am today. He also sees what I can become!

Hagar called Him the God who sees her (El Roï, Genesis 16:13). Abraham experienced Him as the LORD who provides for him (YHWH Jirë, Genesis 22:14).

God sees further than we do. And here, some time ago, I made a surprising discovery.

What do I see myself doing tomorrow?

Our brain is constantly busy predicting what will happen next. That’s why our thirst subsides even before the water we drink reaches the place where it’s needed.

Our expectations therefore also influence our behavior. I realized this after we moved.

I’d seen people swimming in the lake in the mornings during previous visits and had resolved to do the same. But even though we now lived right on the lake, I hadn’t gone for a morning swim even once. Why was that, actually?

I realized that I didn’t yet see myself as someone who goes into the lake in the morning. So I began to imagine it. I thought of a suitable spot on the shore, a swimming route between the sailboats, and checked when the sun would rise. That evening, I laid out my towel.

And the next morning, I actually went for a swim—without the usual struggle to get myself to do it! Even though the water was definitely chilly. Visualizing it beforehand had pushed the effort aside.

Then I asked myself: Could this also have significance for our life of faith? What do I see myself thinking tomorrow? What do I see myself saying? How do I see myself reacting when someone annoys me?

Do I see myself failing again? Or do I see myself the way Jesus sees me?

Once, I spilled some flour. Of all places, it landed in a spot where cleaning it up was quite a hassle. Normally, I would have gotten annoyed. But this time, I paused and asked myself: How does Jesus see me reacting right now?

Suddenly, I saw myself cleaning up with calm and composure. And that’s exactly what I did. A small thing. But for me, a wonderful discovery!

For me, righteousness by faith now also means:

I am allowed to see myself as God sees me.

No longer thinking in terms of my past failures, but in terms of His promises.

Paul describes it this way: “But we all, with unveiled faces, reflect the glory of the Lord and are thus being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.” (2 Corinthians 3:18) We are transformed as we look to Jesus and recognize the Father in him!

The better we get to know him, the more our view of God, of ourselves, and of our future changes.

Free as a Bird

An old story tells of a preacher who bought a cage full of birds from a boy. The boy had caught them and tormented them. Now he wanted to throw them to his cat to be eaten.

The preacher paid the asking price, carried the cage out into the field, and opened the door. At first, everything remained silent. Then the first bird ventured out, followed by the next. Finally, they all fluttered into freedom and began to sing.

To the preacher, their singing sounded like a single song: Redeemed! Set free! Redeemed! Set free!

Jesus also paid a high price for our freedom. And he wants not only to forgive us, but to give us a new life. A life in which we can already experience today what it means to be truly free.

“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36) What if we started to actually believe that?