“I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
— Philippians 1:6
This is the beauty of grace—it doesn’t just start something in us and leave us to figure it out. Grace begins, sustains, and finishes the work.
By grace, you are already holy, blameless, accepted, and fully forgiven. That’s not based on how good your week has been. That’s your reality in Christ.
You are free to live, free to stumble, and free to get back up again—because God is committed to the process. The Holy Spirit is the one leading, guiding, and transforming you from the inside out.
But What If Someone’s Still Struggling?
Here’s where we often get it wrong.
We tend to measure a person’s salvation or sincerity based on what we can see. The behavior. The ups and downs. The image. But Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:16,
“From now on, we regard no one according to the flesh.”
In other words: stop evaluating people by surface-level appearances. Grace goes deeper than that.
Case in Point: Justin Bieber
I recently came across a post by Justin Bieber that hit home. He shared about the difference grace made in his life. It was raw and real—how grace set him free from chasing love, from tying his worth to performance, from treating people like threats.
And yet, people are quick to label him as a “fake Christian” or a “celebrity believer.” Why? Because they still see his struggles.
But listen—struggling doesn’t mean fake.
Being a work in progress doesn’t mean the work isn’t real.
Grace Isn’t About Snapshots — It’s a Journey
God isn’t producing polished statues. He’s shaping sons and daughters.
And shaping takes time.
So if you see someone in process—maybe a leader, a friend, a celebrity—don’t tear them down. Don’t work against what God is doing. Instead:
- Encourage them.
- Pray for them.
- Walk with them.
Be a conduit of God’s love, not a critic from the sidelines.
Never Lose Hope
You don’t know how far someone has come.
You don’t know how deep their battles go.
But you do know this:
God began a good work in them—and He will finish it.
So don’t lose hope in people. Not your leaders. Not your friends. Not even yourself.
Grace is still at work. And grace always finishes what it starts.
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