I’ve spent many hours testifying in court during my career. There have been times when I left the witness stand feeling like I’d been beaten up. Examination by a criminal defense attorney can be exhausting, so it is especially satisfying when I score a win.

I once testified in a case where an intoxicated woman injured another driver in a crash she caused. We charged her with felony assault based on the circumstances of the wreck. The victim’s injuries weren’t severe, however, and that’s where the attorney thought he had me.

“Officer Baker, is this your report?” the attorney said as he approached the stand. “Yes, it is,” I replied. He leaned in close and handed me the report. “Doesn’t it say here in your narrative that the victim’s injuries were not serious? And, isn’t it true that one of the elements of felony assault is causing serious physical injury?” The attorney paused and glared at me with a self-satisfied smirk.

“Yes, that’s correct,” I said, “but we charged your client under the ‘protracted injury’ clause of serious physical injury. The victim’s injuries were not considered serious at the time, but he has suffered protracted impairment for months because of the wreck.” The lawyer, still leaning in, froze in place. His eyes opened wide and then darted from side to side. I guess he hadn’t read that part of the criminal code. He promptly sat back down and changed his client’s plea to guilty.

It’s not every day you see someone so confident in their position suddenly realize they are wrong. When it finally “clicks,” it often shows on their face. In my experience, spiritual truth is a lot like this. For years, I believed I was spiritually ok as long as the good in my life outweighed the bad. I was confident in that position, mainly because I had never read God’s word. Then one day, someone explained the truth, and it finally “clicked.”

I know that eternal life cannot be earned by being good. Spiritual pardon is God’s gift, given by grace and received through faith. It’s based on what Jesus did for me, not what I do for Him. This truth is the opposite of what I once thought. One day, it sank in, and I believed. That’s all God needed to make me a part of His family.

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” (Ephesians 2:8,9)