For its career, Petra topped the million-record mark in 1985, with 900,000 of them sold in the four years since "Never Say Die". At the time of its release, "Beat the System" was the biggest Christian rock record ever recorded and the third-biggest Christian album of the 1980s (trailing only Amy Grant's "Age to Age" and Sandi Patti's "Songs From the Heart"), even though it did not produce any radio hits. By decade's end, "Beat the System"'s impact on the Christian sales charts trailed only records by Grant, Patti, Steve Green and Michael W. Smith. Finally, the band was nominated for a Grammy for the second consecutive year, again for Best Gospel Performance by a Duo, Group, Choir or Chorus.