I don’t have roommates. I would not unhesitatingly recommend it to everyone, but so far, God has given me abundant and specific grace to avoid certain sin patterns that without Him, I would so easily fall. Because of this period of extended social silence, I have been compelled to ask Him to bring certain attitudes and behaviors to the surface that I may be too busy to see otherwise. One of those things is personal discipline; through some mentoring, the patriarch of the family with which I live has been able to give me some helpful suggestions to become more self-controlled in basic life functions, such as eating, sleeping, and spiritual discipline.
As I have enjoyed getting up with enough time to prepare for the day without flying by the seat of my pants, I have been working through the book of 1 Corinthians at a slower, more deliberate pace. Through this study, God hit me with a ton of metaphysical bricks when I read chapter 7, verses 25-35. Paul is admonishing his brothers and sisters concerning marriage. Here are some excerpts.
“…I give my judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy…Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife…Those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that…[Let] those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife.”
If I could rank the top three most dismissed Scripture passages in the world today, this would either win or come in close second. I, and I assume many others, have read this passage and dismissed it based on Paul’s admission that it is his personal wisdom (v25), or simply dismissed it because it’s ridiculous and seems really dumb.
God used this ice pick passage to smash me in the face. In nowise can I say that I am “anxious for the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord.” If anything, I focus more of my time and energy looking for potential relationships than caring about how to please the Lord (there is no possible way you haven’t done the same thing. I know. Trust me). Paul assumes that single people are anxious for the things of the Lord and that we as “singles” use our singleness to serve and give to others in ways that married couples cannot.
This is my conviction concerning the single people out there, namely the men. We are wasting our lives. It is rare to find a young Christian single person that cares little for this world and intensely loves doing the Lord’s work and serving the body in ways that only single people can. The prevailing attitude that I observe, starting with personal introspection, is that single people everywhere so badly want the approval of the opposite sex that we will more often than not go to ridiculous ends to get that approval. Even if we do get what we “want”, it is not the securing of our relationship with Jesus, so there is always more to be had, continuing down the endless cycle of months, even years of wasted time trying to medicate the pain that only Jesus can heal.
I say all of that to say this: as single people, we need to press hard for the things of the Lord. Again, trying to “become more godly” is only a self-centered, self-defeating goal (again, great blog fodder). What has helped me in the last week has been the seeing of my inadequacy as a single person who is not anxious for the Lord’s work, and laying that inadequacy at the feet of Jesus.
Men: We must change the culture. We absolutely cannot continue to approach every relationship with young ladies as opportunities for a potential mates. It is of the highest importance that we see each and every young woman as someone to whom we need to minister the Gospel. Will this relationships look different than our relationships with other men? Absolutely. But the approach that I am putting forth is a far cry from the average guy/girl interaction. You may respond, “Dave, you are ridiculous for saying that every time we see a girl we need to impart spiritual wisdom or something to them. Nobody likes that, and where’s the harm in having fun?” To that I would mostly agree. Ministering the Gospel does not mean a thorough exposition on 1 Corinthians 15 every time people hang out, but understanding that everyone needs the Gospel means that nobody, in an ultimate sense, either needs affirmation from others or should be looked to for the purpose receiving affirmation/completion/fulfillment. Girls and guys should honestly be able to spend time together playing music, sports, talking about intellectual stuff, or even shooting the breeze. I’m concerned with the motivation. Are we doing all that fun stuff because we are either looking for attention/a girlfriend/wife? Or are we having fun because we are enjoying the bond we have in Christ and have that kind of security that is not available outside the church?
In the end, we need to treasure singleness. There are so many opportunities that we as singles have that married couples don’t have, because their primary goal (or should be, anyways) to work on their relationship. To quote a good newlywed friend of mine, “When you get married, you lose a good part of your free time.” This is my point. The free time that we as single people have should not be squandered watching worthless wastes of time on the computer/TV or spending inordinate amounts of time doing positive things like working out for two hours a day. I strongly suggest that if you are single or even in a dating relationship where marriage is not right around the corner (and even if it is), seek God about this. Ask Him to put things into your life to help you selflessly help others and grow in ways that you may not have as much time to work for in the pursuit of marriage.
I will most likely follow this up again with another post, but this is all I got for now.
ALWAYS remember that God Alone is Our Hope! Nobody else can give you any lasting feeling of hope/joy/fulfillment/satisfaction whatsoever!
Deus Spes Nostra
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
The Gospel and Legalism, Part 2 – Legalism: Jesus Isn't Enough
le-gal-ism - |ˈlēgəˌlizəm| (noun) - Legalism is the state of mind found present when any person seeks satisfaction by appealing to some standard other than the person and work of Jesus Christ as proclaimed through the Gospel. (My definition)
I will explain. When “Legal” (that which pertains to the law) and “ism” (a distinctive practice, system, or philosophy) are combined, the result is a system of practice that is law-centric. This mentality produces a practical methodology with two extremes: moralism and hedonism. The moralist says, “I find satisfaction, self-worth, importance, and ground by which to judge myself and others through obedience of a collection of Biblical directives. Obeying commands and buckling down hard to attain godliness is the only thing that will make me truly happy.” This mindset is difficult to diagnose because on the surface the person that works this way may actually look very spiritual. They may go to church, take pride in their academics or occupation, they may be polite to strangers, and they may even seem to be altruistic in service and ministry. These people may be passionate about the Bible. They might perhaps study it outside of their time of personal devotions. Of course, most legalists will not try to pretend that they keep all the rules- nobody can do that, but they are good people. They don’t cheat on tests or taxes, they don’t steal money or withhold from tithing, and they are very skillful at identifying those that do. Not only do they keep many of these noticeable rules, they stay far away from things and/or people that may influence them to fall into such transgression. For the moralist, victory is found by picking oneself up by the bootstraps and defeating sin: illicit sexuality, anger, depression, impatience, or anything that that once was and now is no more through the solidarity of human willpower. Conversely, defeat is any time anyone commits any kind of sin; because Moral Legalism is driven by spiritual performance, it is quite common to find that repeated defeat in one particular sin area goes hand-in-hand with depression and an overwhelming sense of self-defeatedness.
This is one reason why so many Christian parents may be surprised when their kids enter college and leave the church. They may comport to the Christian standard, but that appearance could not be further from the truth. They honor God with their lips but their heart is far from Him. The parents may say that their son or daughter was such a wonderful child, but in reality, the child was only good at obeying but saw no peace or joy by living a life based on conditionality. When given the opportunity, the child will run. It’s not shocking. Obedience to Christian mores in order to obtain favor with God and others is not empowering and certainly not good news; it’s not obedience in response to the favor that Jesus won for us through His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead (doing for God what we could never do). This is diametrically opposed to the faith in the good news of the Gospel. The Gospel says that pleasing obedience to God is only made possible after God has chosen to show favor to us; the Gospel does not say that in order to obtain favor from God we must obey the things He says. In short, the attitude of the Moral Legalist is, “My acceptance to God/others and my own self-approval rely on how well I obey the directives of Scripture and how well I can keep myself clean from the world’s influence. I have been justified by Jesus on the cross, but now I need to work as hard as I can to constantly secure God’s favor.”
Please hear me.
This will utterly destroy the church.
The heart that thinks God’s evaluation is based on us is not only incredibly arrogant, but discounts the work of God as the one who affects change in our hearts. It is arrogant to think that in our depraved, fleshly state, we can somehow please God by any number of “good” things to do. Remember that to God our righteousness is menstruous rags (Isaiah 64:6). Apart from the Spirit developing love for God in our hearts, why would He care if we are outwardly pristine? The promulgation of such an attitude will produce an abundance of self-righteous people (if they actually succeed in this endeavor) and there will be a gaping hole where undeserved grace needs to come and save. If we keep the entire law but do not love God, He neither cares nor is glorified in our lives. Keep in mind that if you do truly love God you will keep His commands (John 14:15), but you can’t work backwards! Just because you obey laws does not mean you love the One that gave them!
The hedonist is the other side to the coin of Legalism. Strangely enough, the hedonist is much closer to the moralist than meets the eye. The hedonist says, “I will find my happiness and satisfaction through ridding myself of all the laws from my parents, the government, and most importantly, God. I will seek for soul-satisfaction in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and my pride in the level of success I achieve in life.”
While both mentalities search for affirmation and satisfaction through opposite means, the end is exactly the same. Hedonists and Moralists have ultimate standards of satisfaction- the standard that reads, “Jesus is not enough.” The problem with Legalism is that its promise of happiness never fulfills because what it promises doesn’t exist! There will always be more to do (either keeping/breaking more rules) because nothing can infinitely satisfy apart from the reality of the Christ’s message on the cross: “I am enough, it is finished. Look no further. Everything you need, I have.”
If you have been born in human flesh, you are a Legalist. If you ever think that God is not enough for your peace joy and therefore begin to look to other things (even spiritual things) as the means to achieve such functional salvation, then you begin to appeal and work towards some standard other than the righteousness of the Christ that God sees when He looks at you if you have believed.
You might know you’re a Legalist if…
I will explain. When “Legal” (that which pertains to the law) and “ism” (a distinctive practice, system, or philosophy) are combined, the result is a system of practice that is law-centric. This mentality produces a practical methodology with two extremes: moralism and hedonism. The moralist says, “I find satisfaction, self-worth, importance, and ground by which to judge myself and others through obedience of a collection of Biblical directives. Obeying commands and buckling down hard to attain godliness is the only thing that will make me truly happy.” This mindset is difficult to diagnose because on the surface the person that works this way may actually look very spiritual. They may go to church, take pride in their academics or occupation, they may be polite to strangers, and they may even seem to be altruistic in service and ministry. These people may be passionate about the Bible. They might perhaps study it outside of their time of personal devotions. Of course, most legalists will not try to pretend that they keep all the rules- nobody can do that, but they are good people. They don’t cheat on tests or taxes, they don’t steal money or withhold from tithing, and they are very skillful at identifying those that do. Not only do they keep many of these noticeable rules, they stay far away from things and/or people that may influence them to fall into such transgression. For the moralist, victory is found by picking oneself up by the bootstraps and defeating sin: illicit sexuality, anger, depression, impatience, or anything that that once was and now is no more through the solidarity of human willpower. Conversely, defeat is any time anyone commits any kind of sin; because Moral Legalism is driven by spiritual performance, it is quite common to find that repeated defeat in one particular sin area goes hand-in-hand with depression and an overwhelming sense of self-defeatedness.
This is one reason why so many Christian parents may be surprised when their kids enter college and leave the church. They may comport to the Christian standard, but that appearance could not be further from the truth. They honor God with their lips but their heart is far from Him. The parents may say that their son or daughter was such a wonderful child, but in reality, the child was only good at obeying but saw no peace or joy by living a life based on conditionality. When given the opportunity, the child will run. It’s not shocking. Obedience to Christian mores in order to obtain favor with God and others is not empowering and certainly not good news; it’s not obedience in response to the favor that Jesus won for us through His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead (doing for God what we could never do). This is diametrically opposed to the faith in the good news of the Gospel. The Gospel says that pleasing obedience to God is only made possible after God has chosen to show favor to us; the Gospel does not say that in order to obtain favor from God we must obey the things He says. In short, the attitude of the Moral Legalist is, “My acceptance to God/others and my own self-approval rely on how well I obey the directives of Scripture and how well I can keep myself clean from the world’s influence. I have been justified by Jesus on the cross, but now I need to work as hard as I can to constantly secure God’s favor.”
Please hear me.
This will utterly destroy the church.
The heart that thinks God’s evaluation is based on us is not only incredibly arrogant, but discounts the work of God as the one who affects change in our hearts. It is arrogant to think that in our depraved, fleshly state, we can somehow please God by any number of “good” things to do. Remember that to God our righteousness is menstruous rags (Isaiah 64:6). Apart from the Spirit developing love for God in our hearts, why would He care if we are outwardly pristine? The promulgation of such an attitude will produce an abundance of self-righteous people (if they actually succeed in this endeavor) and there will be a gaping hole where undeserved grace needs to come and save. If we keep the entire law but do not love God, He neither cares nor is glorified in our lives. Keep in mind that if you do truly love God you will keep His commands (John 14:15), but you can’t work backwards! Just because you obey laws does not mean you love the One that gave them!
The hedonist is the other side to the coin of Legalism. Strangely enough, the hedonist is much closer to the moralist than meets the eye. The hedonist says, “I will find my happiness and satisfaction through ridding myself of all the laws from my parents, the government, and most importantly, God. I will seek for soul-satisfaction in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and my pride in the level of success I achieve in life.”
While both mentalities search for affirmation and satisfaction through opposite means, the end is exactly the same. Hedonists and Moralists have ultimate standards of satisfaction- the standard that reads, “Jesus is not enough.” The problem with Legalism is that its promise of happiness never fulfills because what it promises doesn’t exist! There will always be more to do (either keeping/breaking more rules) because nothing can infinitely satisfy apart from the reality of the Christ’s message on the cross: “I am enough, it is finished. Look no further. Everything you need, I have.”
If you have been born in human flesh, you are a Legalist. If you ever think that God is not enough for your peace joy and therefore begin to look to other things (even spiritual things) as the means to achieve such functional salvation, then you begin to appeal and work towards some standard other than the righteousness of the Christ that God sees when He looks at you if you have believed.
You might know you’re a Legalist if…
- You believe that “God helps those who helps themselves”
- You become depressed because your walk is not where it “should be” (whatever that means)
- You communicate to others that your love for them is dependant on something they do either for you or for God
- You believe that God’s love of you is dependant on what you do for him
- You enjoy sermons with titles similar to “3 Ways To Defeat Lust” or “The 5 Biblical Principles of Friendship”
- You believe that God’s approval of you depends on whether or not you looked at porn (or sin ‘x’) in the last “x” amount of days/weeks/months/years
- You believe that you will find meaning in life by gaining the approval of others
- You believe that while God is ‘good’ and it is ‘good’ to read the Bible and pray, having fun and doing what you feel like is ultimately the way to find happiness
- You identify godly people by the amount of sinning they do or don’t do
- The way to become godly and pursue holiness is by trying your hardest to follow as many imperatives as possible
Deus Spes Nostra
For Part One on my presentation of the Gospel, click here!
For Part Three on the solution to Legalism, click here!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
The Gospel and Legalism, Part 1 – The Gospel: How He Loves!
I want to be a pastor. Whether that’s a preacher, music minister, elder, or teacher, I feel the call. The problem is that I’ve also felt for a long time that I don’t have a specific passion for anything. I feel kind of like I’m in a boat with the motor at full speed; but after having island-hopped all over the ministry archipelago, I end up dry and unmotivated to pursue anything with fervor. This continuous feeling of hopelessness was just what God used to reveal His strength by exploiting my weakness. He gave me a passion that I would have never found on my own- a passion more life-changing and worldview-transforming that I can't think of many other things worth much time in my life. That passion is the Gospel.
Speaking of the Gospel, here is the song that is going through my headphones right now-
“He is jealous for me. He loves like a hurricane; I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy. When all of a sudden I am aware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory- and I realize how beautiful You are and how great Your affections are for me. Oh! How He loves us! Oh! How He loves us! How He loves us!”
These are the meditations of a heart, mind, and soul that have been completely gripped and helplessly enraptured with hope, love, and acceptance that only God through the Gospel can provide. You might ask, “How do these lyrics, specifically, reveal a Gospel-saturated heart?” The answer is fairly simple. To clearly communicate that answer however, I want to tell a historical-redemptive version of the Gospel, just so you and I are on the same page.
The Gospel begins with God’s perfect creation: no death, disease, torment, or pain. God was so pleased with what He had made that He walked and spent time with this creation every day. Then, His creation decided to believe a lie. It was a simple lie. Believe it or not, it’s the same lie that we all believe whenever we sin. This is the lie that God is not good enough, wise enough, or strong enough to satisfy our deepest longings more than thing “x” with which we decide to replace God (disbelief in the Gospel). So having believed this lie and having disbelieved the promise of God, imperfection (sin) was introduced into God’s previously perfect world. Because God’s perfection burns too hot for any imperfection to even stand near his presence, this creates quite a problem, because all of humanity is imperfect. For indelibly stained humanity to have any chance at reconciliation with God, something very otherworldly needed to bear the consequence that our imperfection deserved. Although it took over a couple thousand years, Jesus- God wrapped up in human skin- came to earth to live a life that was impossible for any other being to live. Not a spot of imperfection was found in Him. He gave up a glorious life of wealth, fame, and popularity, and underwent intense torture, slander, mockery, and abandonment. And finally, (while I don’t know how this is possible) His Father placed the sins of His people on His shoulders to bear the consequence as He prepared for and finally died, nailed to a tree. It was at this point that He experienced what every single person that has ever lived truly deserves; He was separated from His Father, Yahweh, the Great I AM, in what must be the worst anguish possible. I can’t imagine having my father turn His back on me in an act of disapproval after living with him and knowing him and laughing with him for 19 years. Multiplying that times infinity to a Father and Son that have been together since eternity past then being separated like this for the first time ever is too mind-blowing for me to even consider. So Jesus has now died and has been in a grave for three days; He is quite dead at this point- there’s no mistaking that. Then just as things began to get really hopeless, there was a giant earthquake, and Jesus stormed out of the grave, rolling away an enormous boulder, without any opposition at all! He did it! Completely through His own power, He thoroughly defeated any power that sin and death previously held. The good news is complete! This is the Gospel! Jesus died and then was raised from death so that we could believe in this death-conquering power and be utterly transformed by this message. It is tremendously important to remember that Jesus did not owe it to ANYONE to condescend to our level, to die, or to be raised again. He did it because to Him, it was worth it. He loves His people.
This is where I find myself very passionate- the Gospel does NOT BY ANY MEANS stop at salvation! The Gospel of grace (we don’t deserve any of this sacrifice, it’s all totally undeserved) applies EQUALLY as much to our growth as Christians as it did for our salvation. At salvation, we must recognize that there is nothing we can do to get ourselves to God; and during Christian growth (or for the Bible junkies, sanctification), that fact remains just as meaningful before salvation as it does after salvation. Paul says in Galatians 3, “Having begun by the Spirit, are you being perfected by the flesh?” I've heard some preachers talk about how we need to clean up our act and stop doing all sins (which is factual) with no mention of the fact that we can do NOTHING in our own strength to eradicate sin. They’re missing the point. Sin is a symptom of a heart that doesn't think that Jesus is better! When one believes that being a good Christian means being satisfied with ANYTHING other that Jesus’ conquering of sin and death on the cross (including living a “pure life”), such a person has failed to believe the Gospel. According to Romans 5, God looks at us seeing either the righteousness of Jesus (in the regenerate) or he sees the filth of our humanness (in the unregenerate). When we are regenerate, He sees Christ’s perfect work covering us; not the good things that we want to do or the bad things that we don’t want to do. He loves us all the time! This is why Jesus sums up the Law and the Prophets thusly, "Love God, and love people." A deep-seated understanding of how loving and forgiving God has been to us should free us from trying to be “good people.” There is no such thing as a “good person.” Only God is good, and by His grace He loves us in spite of our imperfections or lack of goodness (which incidentally Christ still covers).
Now, someone may say, “Should we continue in sin that grace may abound?” I would respond, “Not at all! How can someone who deeply feels the love of God and the undeserved grace of the Gospel want to go out and offend the God that gave everything to us when we had absolutely nothing to give to Him?" The two ideas are diametrically opposed.
This is why “How He Loves” is the meditation of someone who loves the Gospel of grace. Grace begets grace- when one truly feels grace, he ALWAYS turns and passes it to another. Dillon Chase added a few lyrics to accentuate this message of how helpless we are and how much God loves us in spite of our helplessness and even direct rebellion against God:
“You have sought me while I kept on running, fingertips stripped away, chains I was hugging. I willfully spit in your face with my lips, You wiped it off and let your blood drip. Oh, how He loves us so!”
I’m choking up now as I listen to this song again- WHY DON’T WE HEAR ABOUT HOW MUCH GOD LOVES US??? I’ve heard so many sermons on why we need to preach the wrath of God and do not want to be just a church that “loves” everyone to the detriment of orthodoxy, and to that I say yes and amen- but part of the glory of the wrath of God is that Jesus already bore that wrath for His people! For those who believe the Gospel, THERE IS NO WRATH ANYMORE! PRAISE OUR AMAZING GOD WHO GIVES GRACE ALL DAY, EVERY DAY!
So that’s the Gospel. Jesus did what we could never do, because He loved us for nothing we could ever do, and He grows us in spite of everything we try to do in our efforts to find peace and satisfaction in some place other than in Him.
“We are His portion, and He is our prize, drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes. If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking! And heaven meets earth like a sloppy-wet kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest. I don’t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way that He loves us! Oh how He loves us! Oh how he loves us! Oh how He loves!”
The Gospel says that God alone is our hope.
Deus Spes Nostra.
For Part Two on my presentation of Legalism, click here!
Speaking of the Gospel, here is the song that is going through my headphones right now-
“He is jealous for me. He loves like a hurricane; I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy. When all of a sudden I am aware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory- and I realize how beautiful You are and how great Your affections are for me. Oh! How He loves us! Oh! How He loves us! How He loves us!”
These are the meditations of a heart, mind, and soul that have been completely gripped and helplessly enraptured with hope, love, and acceptance that only God through the Gospel can provide. You might ask, “How do these lyrics, specifically, reveal a Gospel-saturated heart?” The answer is fairly simple. To clearly communicate that answer however, I want to tell a historical-redemptive version of the Gospel, just so you and I are on the same page.
The Gospel begins with God’s perfect creation: no death, disease, torment, or pain. God was so pleased with what He had made that He walked and spent time with this creation every day. Then, His creation decided to believe a lie. It was a simple lie. Believe it or not, it’s the same lie that we all believe whenever we sin. This is the lie that God is not good enough, wise enough, or strong enough to satisfy our deepest longings more than thing “x” with which we decide to replace God (disbelief in the Gospel). So having believed this lie and having disbelieved the promise of God, imperfection (sin) was introduced into God’s previously perfect world. Because God’s perfection burns too hot for any imperfection to even stand near his presence, this creates quite a problem, because all of humanity is imperfect. For indelibly stained humanity to have any chance at reconciliation with God, something very otherworldly needed to bear the consequence that our imperfection deserved. Although it took over a couple thousand years, Jesus- God wrapped up in human skin- came to earth to live a life that was impossible for any other being to live. Not a spot of imperfection was found in Him. He gave up a glorious life of wealth, fame, and popularity, and underwent intense torture, slander, mockery, and abandonment. And finally, (while I don’t know how this is possible) His Father placed the sins of His people on His shoulders to bear the consequence as He prepared for and finally died, nailed to a tree. It was at this point that He experienced what every single person that has ever lived truly deserves; He was separated from His Father, Yahweh, the Great I AM, in what must be the worst anguish possible. I can’t imagine having my father turn His back on me in an act of disapproval after living with him and knowing him and laughing with him for 19 years. Multiplying that times infinity to a Father and Son that have been together since eternity past then being separated like this for the first time ever is too mind-blowing for me to even consider. So Jesus has now died and has been in a grave for three days; He is quite dead at this point- there’s no mistaking that. Then just as things began to get really hopeless, there was a giant earthquake, and Jesus stormed out of the grave, rolling away an enormous boulder, without any opposition at all! He did it! Completely through His own power, He thoroughly defeated any power that sin and death previously held. The good news is complete! This is the Gospel! Jesus died and then was raised from death so that we could believe in this death-conquering power and be utterly transformed by this message. It is tremendously important to remember that Jesus did not owe it to ANYONE to condescend to our level, to die, or to be raised again. He did it because to Him, it was worth it. He loves His people.
This is where I find myself very passionate- the Gospel does NOT BY ANY MEANS stop at salvation! The Gospel of grace (we don’t deserve any of this sacrifice, it’s all totally undeserved) applies EQUALLY as much to our growth as Christians as it did for our salvation. At salvation, we must recognize that there is nothing we can do to get ourselves to God; and during Christian growth (or for the Bible junkies, sanctification), that fact remains just as meaningful before salvation as it does after salvation. Paul says in Galatians 3, “Having begun by the Spirit, are you being perfected by the flesh?” I've heard some preachers talk about how we need to clean up our act and stop doing all sins (which is factual) with no mention of the fact that we can do NOTHING in our own strength to eradicate sin. They’re missing the point. Sin is a symptom of a heart that doesn't think that Jesus is better! When one believes that being a good Christian means being satisfied with ANYTHING other that Jesus’ conquering of sin and death on the cross (including living a “pure life”), such a person has failed to believe the Gospel. According to Romans 5, God looks at us seeing either the righteousness of Jesus (in the regenerate) or he sees the filth of our humanness (in the unregenerate). When we are regenerate, He sees Christ’s perfect work covering us; not the good things that we want to do or the bad things that we don’t want to do. He loves us all the time! This is why Jesus sums up the Law and the Prophets thusly, "Love God, and love people." A deep-seated understanding of how loving and forgiving God has been to us should free us from trying to be “good people.” There is no such thing as a “good person.” Only God is good, and by His grace He loves us in spite of our imperfections or lack of goodness (which incidentally Christ still covers).
Now, someone may say, “Should we continue in sin that grace may abound?” I would respond, “Not at all! How can someone who deeply feels the love of God and the undeserved grace of the Gospel want to go out and offend the God that gave everything to us when we had absolutely nothing to give to Him?" The two ideas are diametrically opposed.
This is why “How He Loves” is the meditation of someone who loves the Gospel of grace. Grace begets grace- when one truly feels grace, he ALWAYS turns and passes it to another. Dillon Chase added a few lyrics to accentuate this message of how helpless we are and how much God loves us in spite of our helplessness and even direct rebellion against God:
“You have sought me while I kept on running, fingertips stripped away, chains I was hugging. I willfully spit in your face with my lips, You wiped it off and let your blood drip. Oh, how He loves us so!”
I’m choking up now as I listen to this song again- WHY DON’T WE HEAR ABOUT HOW MUCH GOD LOVES US??? I’ve heard so many sermons on why we need to preach the wrath of God and do not want to be just a church that “loves” everyone to the detriment of orthodoxy, and to that I say yes and amen- but part of the glory of the wrath of God is that Jesus already bore that wrath for His people! For those who believe the Gospel, THERE IS NO WRATH ANYMORE! PRAISE OUR AMAZING GOD WHO GIVES GRACE ALL DAY, EVERY DAY!
So that’s the Gospel. Jesus did what we could never do, because He loved us for nothing we could ever do, and He grows us in spite of everything we try to do in our efforts to find peace and satisfaction in some place other than in Him.
“We are His portion, and He is our prize, drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes. If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking! And heaven meets earth like a sloppy-wet kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest. I don’t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way that He loves us! Oh how He loves us! Oh how he loves us! Oh how He loves!”
The Gospel says that God alone is our hope.
Deus Spes Nostra.
For Part Two on my presentation of Legalism, click here!
Friday, July 8, 2011
The Gospel and Legalism - Introduction (Read First)
If you've been following my FaceBook or Twitter status updates, you may notice that I've been thinking a lot lately about the Gospel. This preoccupation with the Good News has been encouraged by listening to Tullian Tchividjian, the preaching pastor at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Through this transformation of beginning to see everything in life through the lens of the Gospel, I've realized how Legalism is not just a category of people that have a lot of rules or perhaps stress personal holiness (which is not bad)- Legalism is the natural state of every person everywhere, regardless of theological bent or denominational upbringing.
I write this introduction knowing that some may disagree with what I say for various reasons. For the purpose of promoting one-mindedness (and my desire to not be misunderstood), I would like to mitigate those reasons to the best of my ability for the furtherance of the Gospel and the ministry of grace. To accomplish such an end, I plan on carefully defining, or redefining, these key terms of "Gospel" and "Legalism" and work with said definitions for the clarity of those who read and for my own lucidity of thought.
Lastly, while I will do my very best to make these posts readable on their own merit, I ask that this set of posts specifically be read in order of parts (Part 1, 2, then 3), because I want to build my case from the ground, up. My plan of attack is as follows-
Part 1 - Explain the Gospel and how the Gospel is not synonymous with evangelism
Part 2 - Explain Legalism and dispel the myth that only a small sect of rule-keepers are Legalists
Part 3 - Explain how the Gospel works to solve the problem of Legalism through the Unconditional Grace of God
I hope that these posts will be a blessing, and that my attitude and tone will only promote the building of the body of Christ. Each one of these posts has been, is, and will be bathed in prayer and input from many spiritual leaders far more godly than I am- and in some cases, I may just parrot phrases/ideas not original to me at all (not like I've ever done it in the past either...) :)
God Is Our Hope
I write this introduction knowing that some may disagree with what I say for various reasons. For the purpose of promoting one-mindedness (and my desire to not be misunderstood), I would like to mitigate those reasons to the best of my ability for the furtherance of the Gospel and the ministry of grace. To accomplish such an end, I plan on carefully defining, or redefining, these key terms of "Gospel" and "Legalism" and work with said definitions for the clarity of those who read and for my own lucidity of thought.
Lastly, while I will do my very best to make these posts readable on their own merit, I ask that this set of posts specifically be read in order of parts (Part 1, 2, then 3), because I want to build my case from the ground, up. My plan of attack is as follows-
Part 1 - Explain the Gospel and how the Gospel is not synonymous with evangelism
Part 2 - Explain Legalism and dispel the myth that only a small sect of rule-keepers are Legalists
Part 3 - Explain how the Gospel works to solve the problem of Legalism through the Unconditional Grace of God
I hope that these posts will be a blessing, and that my attitude and tone will only promote the building of the body of Christ. Each one of these posts has been, is, and will be bathed in prayer and input from many spiritual leaders far more godly than I am- and in some cases, I may just parrot phrases/ideas not original to me at all (not like I've ever done it in the past either...) :)
God Is Our Hope
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
The Bible And Bad Language
What follows is an excerpt from a very dear friend to whom I did my best to explain the view that I believe that God communicates to us from His word. As always, please leave a comment and let me know how you think I represented the view from the Scriptures. If you do want to comment, please do read my whole post, just so you do not get an idea from what I said that is not what I am trying to write. Thanks! I hope this helps to at least get the wheels turning in your mind, if nothing else.
-----------------------
I know that what I will say will probably (hopefully) spur further conversation concerning this topic, but I will similarly risk your not liking me or thinking less of me in some way and let you know what I've been thinking.
I've thought A LOT about the whole issue of language and what is appropriate and inappropriate and I have come to some conclusions, and some other non-conclusions as you will see
My first conclusion was in the form of just questioning what I've always grown up being taught by simply asking, "Why?" Not necessarily in a rebellious "I don't want to obey" type of attitude, but just asking, "Why do we have such stringent rules the way we do?" I thought to myself that if one is to own such standards/rules/guidelines, or even more strongly perhaps, an moral injunction, one should be able to support such rules with clear Scriptural support, not just a few misapplied verses.
Having asked the "Why?" question, I began to get feedback. Many people said that the Bible clearly speaks against "cursing", "swearing", and using "filthy/corrupt language."
Looking at cursing for instance, the Bible speaks of cursing as cursing another person, not as we would say that someone "cursed someone out." That kind of application isn't used in the Bible. Cursing is more like speaking beguilements towards someone or something, such as the kind of mockery Jesus endured on the cross as he had many men speak curses to him, wishing ill and harm to him as he was on trial and hanging being slapped and asked to prophesy. You know the story. Also, a few more examples of cursing are things like Job cursing the day he was born, or when King Balak asks Balaam to curse Israel. It seems ridiculous that the king would ask Balaam to just utter a "curse word" against Israel, but actually to prophesy evil upon them. A modern example would be saying "D- you" out of anger towards another person. Those are the kinds of things against which the Bible directly speaks.
Swearing seems even more straightforward than cursing. When the Bible speaks of swearing, as in Matthew 5, Jesus says, “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all by heaven, for it is the throne of God... Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil." Jesus equates swearing with oath-making. There should be no need to say "I swear on my mother's life that I didn't take the cookie." Our word should be so trustworthy that we are taken to sincerely mean what we say.
We could do word studies on these word usages, as many have done- and compile a laundry list of places in which both words have been used, but in none of the cases I have found have I seen either of those words mean anything other than the things that I mentioned.
This discussion gets interesting when the third reason given against using "sinful words" is brought up, and the most clear passage cited is Ephesians 4:25ff. Paul makes a list of things in the format of "Don't do this, but instead do this, the reason being... (and applies an aspect of the Gospel to each particular instance)." Specifically, we're looking at verse 29, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." The issue here hinges on the definition of "corrupting talk." I won't make up some Greek word that supports my argument, because frankly, I don't know Greek . However, we can get an idea of what Paul means by seeing the positive speech qualities with which he contrasts "corrupting talk." He says that things that should be uttered should not be corrupting, but are things that are 1) useful for building up, 2) fitting for the occasion, and 3) used to give grace to the hearer.
It may seem like an open and shut case on the side of never using any kind of "bad words" at all, but I ask that you look at the broader context of the way that Paul talks. First, building others up does not mean that we are supposed to make everyone feel nice and warm inside. If that were true, then Jesus sinned all the time. His purpose was to use the means necessary to (sometimes in a jarring way) proclaim truth. Paul says in Ephesians 4:15 that we are to grow up into the head (of the body of the church) which is Christ. That is our motive- we need to do whatever we can to help people understand truth, so that they will see God in a clearer way in order to help someone in their process of sanctification. So things that build up may be something like, "The Spirit was moving through your message today, pastor", but may also be some a variation of "You need to get your head where it needs to be and see what's actually going on here in 'x' situation." Both are things that will hopefully build up a brother/sister- one nicely, the other more harshly.
For a word to be fitting for the occasion, it may similarly be an expression of blessing to a minister, or a warning to a straying brother or sister who may be harmfully affecting himself and/or others.
Ultimately, God-centered words are meant to give grace to the hearer. I think it's interesting that God does not define unwholesome talk by way of a vocabulary list. He could have done that. The reason I think He chose not to do such a thing is because rather than denigrating the battle for words by making about a list of "do's" and "don'ts", He makes it a matter of intention.
There are certain words that are condemning and judgmental, the foremost of this category being the "G-D" word. This word explicitly invokes the name of God to curse something that we have ABSOLUTELY no power to curse. It's the same thing to say D- You to any person for the purpose of wishing harm upon them.
There are also words that have very inappropriate sexual meanings that I would never want to say them because in saying them, they bring up sexual thoughts that should not be thought of at any time, regardless of the person.
Then there are words that are not sexual or condemnatory, but fall into the category of social politeness- words for excrement being among these. As an example, we wouldn't talk about the details of cleaning up after the dog during Thanksgiving dinner. God considers the heart of the words said (intention) more important than parsing out the uses of culturally defined words (vocabulary list).
Looking at Jesus, He always went right to the core of the matter- He never said, "You need to do x, y, and z to be one of my good disciples." He said that the summary of the WHOLE LAW was to love God with all of your heart and your neighbor as you would yourself. If we love God with our whole hearts, then the things that we say and do will directly follow from that heart (Matthew 15:18). That's why I don't see a problem using a euphemism to make a certain point about something I see as important. In this case, it really bothers me when people are under the delusion that real men are not allowed to cry. I used the phrase that I did because I honestly didn't see a problem with using it. I wasn't thinking, "Aha! Here's a way to toe the line of sin and still be not be sinning!"
While slightly unrelated to this specific instance, I also see just as much of a problem saying something like "Dang it" as I would saying "Oh snap" when something doesn't go the way it was supposed to- because someone that says "Dang it" isn't using that phrase in a way to inappropriately condemn something, but is saying something out of frustration. The intent is just the same as when someone says "Snap" or "Oh come on."
If there is a way that I can build someone up (by possibly using shock value as a way to get someone's attention) using language that isn't a part of my everyday vocabulary, I can't see in Scripture (either inductively or deductively) the conclusion that certain words are inherently worse than others.
However, I BY NO MEANS want anyone to think that I go around using base language all day, because I don't. I'm just convinced that while we need to consider the appropriateness of our speech, God holds our hearts accountable; and if we are trying and seeking God's enabling us to be mini-grace-dispensers (whether the form of grace be a pez candy or a hard pill to swallow) then I don't see what else God will judge us for.
If you're here that means that you've (hopefully) read my little epic on what I think the Bible says about speech , and I really hope that you don't just write it all off because it's different than what you and I have grown up hearing, but that you would think through my points, and let me know if you have objections to either the methods or the conclusions that I have in anything regarding this topic.
I love ya bro, and I'm really glad that we're friends
David
-----------------------
I know that what I will say will probably (hopefully) spur further conversation concerning this topic, but I will similarly risk your not liking me or thinking less of me in some way and let you know what I've been thinking.
I've thought A LOT about the whole issue of language and what is appropriate and inappropriate and I have come to some conclusions, and some other non-conclusions as you will see
My first conclusion was in the form of just questioning what I've always grown up being taught by simply asking, "Why?" Not necessarily in a rebellious "I don't want to obey" type of attitude, but just asking, "Why do we have such stringent rules the way we do?" I thought to myself that if one is to own such standards/rules/guidelines, or even more strongly perhaps, an moral injunction, one should be able to support such rules with clear Scriptural support, not just a few misapplied verses.
Having asked the "Why?" question, I began to get feedback. Many people said that the Bible clearly speaks against "cursing", "swearing", and using "filthy/corrupt language."
Looking at cursing for instance, the Bible speaks of cursing as cursing another person, not as we would say that someone "cursed someone out." That kind of application isn't used in the Bible. Cursing is more like speaking beguilements towards someone or something, such as the kind of mockery Jesus endured on the cross as he had many men speak curses to him, wishing ill and harm to him as he was on trial and hanging being slapped and asked to prophesy. You know the story. Also, a few more examples of cursing are things like Job cursing the day he was born, or when King Balak asks Balaam to curse Israel. It seems ridiculous that the king would ask Balaam to just utter a "curse word" against Israel, but actually to prophesy evil upon them. A modern example would be saying "D- you" out of anger towards another person. Those are the kinds of things against which the Bible directly speaks.
Swearing seems even more straightforward than cursing. When the Bible speaks of swearing, as in Matthew 5, Jesus says, “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all by heaven, for it is the throne of God... Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil." Jesus equates swearing with oath-making. There should be no need to say "I swear on my mother's life that I didn't take the cookie." Our word should be so trustworthy that we are taken to sincerely mean what we say.
We could do word studies on these word usages, as many have done- and compile a laundry list of places in which both words have been used, but in none of the cases I have found have I seen either of those words mean anything other than the things that I mentioned.
This discussion gets interesting when the third reason given against using "sinful words" is brought up, and the most clear passage cited is Ephesians 4:25ff. Paul makes a list of things in the format of "Don't do this, but instead do this, the reason being... (and applies an aspect of the Gospel to each particular instance)." Specifically, we're looking at verse 29, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." The issue here hinges on the definition of "corrupting talk." I won't make up some Greek word that supports my argument, because frankly, I don't know Greek . However, we can get an idea of what Paul means by seeing the positive speech qualities with which he contrasts "corrupting talk." He says that things that should be uttered should not be corrupting, but are things that are 1) useful for building up, 2) fitting for the occasion, and 3) used to give grace to the hearer.
It may seem like an open and shut case on the side of never using any kind of "bad words" at all, but I ask that you look at the broader context of the way that Paul talks. First, building others up does not mean that we are supposed to make everyone feel nice and warm inside. If that were true, then Jesus sinned all the time. His purpose was to use the means necessary to (sometimes in a jarring way) proclaim truth. Paul says in Ephesians 4:15 that we are to grow up into the head (of the body of the church) which is Christ. That is our motive- we need to do whatever we can to help people understand truth, so that they will see God in a clearer way in order to help someone in their process of sanctification. So things that build up may be something like, "The Spirit was moving through your message today, pastor", but may also be some a variation of "You need to get your head where it needs to be and see what's actually going on here in 'x' situation." Both are things that will hopefully build up a brother/sister- one nicely, the other more harshly.
For a word to be fitting for the occasion, it may similarly be an expression of blessing to a minister, or a warning to a straying brother or sister who may be harmfully affecting himself and/or others.
Ultimately, God-centered words are meant to give grace to the hearer. I think it's interesting that God does not define unwholesome talk by way of a vocabulary list. He could have done that. The reason I think He chose not to do such a thing is because rather than denigrating the battle for words by making about a list of "do's" and "don'ts", He makes it a matter of intention.
There are certain words that are condemning and judgmental, the foremost of this category being the "G-D" word. This word explicitly invokes the name of God to curse something that we have ABSOLUTELY no power to curse. It's the same thing to say D- You to any person for the purpose of wishing harm upon them.
There are also words that have very inappropriate sexual meanings that I would never want to say them because in saying them, they bring up sexual thoughts that should not be thought of at any time, regardless of the person.
Then there are words that are not sexual or condemnatory, but fall into the category of social politeness- words for excrement being among these. As an example, we wouldn't talk about the details of cleaning up after the dog during Thanksgiving dinner. God considers the heart of the words said (intention) more important than parsing out the uses of culturally defined words (vocabulary list).
Looking at Jesus, He always went right to the core of the matter- He never said, "You need to do x, y, and z to be one of my good disciples." He said that the summary of the WHOLE LAW was to love God with all of your heart and your neighbor as you would yourself. If we love God with our whole hearts, then the things that we say and do will directly follow from that heart (Matthew 15:18). That's why I don't see a problem using a euphemism to make a certain point about something I see as important. In this case, it really bothers me when people are under the delusion that real men are not allowed to cry. I used the phrase that I did because I honestly didn't see a problem with using it. I wasn't thinking, "Aha! Here's a way to toe the line of sin and still be not be sinning!"
While slightly unrelated to this specific instance, I also see just as much of a problem saying something like "Dang it" as I would saying "Oh snap" when something doesn't go the way it was supposed to- because someone that says "Dang it" isn't using that phrase in a way to inappropriately condemn something, but is saying something out of frustration. The intent is just the same as when someone says "Snap" or "Oh come on."
If there is a way that I can build someone up (by possibly using shock value as a way to get someone's attention) using language that isn't a part of my everyday vocabulary, I can't see in Scripture (either inductively or deductively) the conclusion that certain words are inherently worse than others.
However, I BY NO MEANS want anyone to think that I go around using base language all day, because I don't. I'm just convinced that while we need to consider the appropriateness of our speech, God holds our hearts accountable; and if we are trying and seeking God's enabling us to be mini-grace-dispensers (whether the form of grace be a pez candy or a hard pill to swallow) then I don't see what else God will judge us for.
If you're here that means that you've (hopefully) read my little epic on what I think the Bible says about speech , and I really hope that you don't just write it all off because it's different than what you and I have grown up hearing, but that you would think through my points, and let me know if you have objections to either the methods or the conclusions that I have in anything regarding this topic.
I love ya bro, and I'm really glad that we're friends
David
Sunday, June 19, 2011
I'm A Loser
“I will not boast in anything: no gifts, no power, no wisdom. But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection! Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer! But this I know with all my heart- His wounds have paid my ransom!”
This line is from a hymn and recently popularized Praise and Worship song called How Deep The Father’s Love For Us. I popped a CD into the CD player after trying to find something to do following cancelled plans with some friends. On the way out of the gym as I scoured anything resembling a coffee shop (in a city that is terribly lacking of such an establishment), I was blown away by this deep and life-altering line.
I am what you call an “emotional person”; and after listening to this song and singing my lungs out, I just started to cry right there at the stoplight waiting to turn left into the Starbucks plaza. I had a realization that I’m not sure that I’ve had before.
I’m a loser.
I do not mean this in a false-humility (hopefully) or self-deprecating type of way, but really. I am a loser. I am not “winning.” I really love myself. I work out, and then I praise myself for working hard and become happy that I’ve seemed to make some physical progress.
I worship my mind. If I hear a “deep” concept that I think that I can wrap my mind around, I get smug and arrogant. If I feel like I can successfully argue a hard philosophical or theological point, then I do the same thing. I love feeling intellectually superior over as many people that I can.
This is how much of a loser I am: I worship my “social progression.” I see where I came from as a 16-year-old jerk to “where I am now” after 3 years of education outside of being homeschooled for most of my grade-school education. I make the connection that because I used to feel very uncomfortable in large groups of people (especially groups that include a noticeable amount of females) and now I feel totally comfortable in any setting, I am of a higher quality than others who may not be “so socially gifted.”
Even if all of these things were true and I was a workout beast, intellectual giant, and a social guru, the problem remains: I feel miserable. Really, I feel miserable. Especially over the last week, I’ve felt hopeless, helpless, and very lacking in joy. How can this be? I’m a Christian right? Right. That’s the point. I’m a Christian, and have the same feelings and inclinations that I did when I wasn’t. What does this mean? It means that the effects of the soul-saving and spirit-securing Gospel of Jesus Christ has not been driven to the deepest recesses of my heart… yet.
I want to dispel the myth that once ‘you’ become a Christian ‘you’ have no doubts, fears, worries, or massive shortcomings. You do. Not only do your problems not go away, you become much more aware of the many problems that you have. The difference between a Gospel-believer and a non-Gospel-believer is not at all a mitigation of these problems, but is simply the presence of the Holy Spirit and the power of Christ’s resurrection in life to defeat sin and to possess the ability to dispense infinite amounts of grace and forgiveness to anyone who needs them.
After contemplating why I feel so miserable, I’ve realized how little I boast in my weakness, and how equally little I boast in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I love to bask in all of the previously mentioned idiocies of mine, and think about how much “strength” I seem to have. However, when something happens, such as finding out that a very close friend has been abused in extremely damaging ways, my feeble framework of self-preservation falls flat on its face with no recovery plan or 6-step program for self-improvement. I have nothing to say or anything to offer to someone that has hurt in ways that I have never hurt like that.
When I am boasting in my weaknesses, the healing power of God shines through clearly; but when I am not boasting in my weaknesses but smugly relying on worthlessness, there is no vital, vibrant, or restoring power of the Gospel in my lifestyle which plays out in my attitude. Nobody can be encouraged by someone who is self-focused in such an others-neglectful way.
As one of my more favorite pastors has said, “You can’t lead anyone to Christ and the cross if you haven’t been there yourself!” I want my modus operandi to be one of constant confession of my sin to God and to everyone around me, for the purpose of exposing my sin so that if anyone sees anything good in me, they will know for sure that it has nothing to with me, but God who is working in me to both will and to do His good pleasure.
I’m a loser.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me both was and is not in vain.
Deus Spes Nostra.
This line is from a hymn and recently popularized Praise and Worship song called How Deep The Father’s Love For Us. I popped a CD into the CD player after trying to find something to do following cancelled plans with some friends. On the way out of the gym as I scoured anything resembling a coffee shop (in a city that is terribly lacking of such an establishment), I was blown away by this deep and life-altering line.
I am what you call an “emotional person”; and after listening to this song and singing my lungs out, I just started to cry right there at the stoplight waiting to turn left into the Starbucks plaza. I had a realization that I’m not sure that I’ve had before.
I’m a loser.
I do not mean this in a false-humility (hopefully) or self-deprecating type of way, but really. I am a loser. I am not “winning.” I really love myself. I work out, and then I praise myself for working hard and become happy that I’ve seemed to make some physical progress.
I worship my mind. If I hear a “deep” concept that I think that I can wrap my mind around, I get smug and arrogant. If I feel like I can successfully argue a hard philosophical or theological point, then I do the same thing. I love feeling intellectually superior over as many people that I can.
This is how much of a loser I am: I worship my “social progression.” I see where I came from as a 16-year-old jerk to “where I am now” after 3 years of education outside of being homeschooled for most of my grade-school education. I make the connection that because I used to feel very uncomfortable in large groups of people (especially groups that include a noticeable amount of females) and now I feel totally comfortable in any setting, I am of a higher quality than others who may not be “so socially gifted.”
Even if all of these things were true and I was a workout beast, intellectual giant, and a social guru, the problem remains: I feel miserable. Really, I feel miserable. Especially over the last week, I’ve felt hopeless, helpless, and very lacking in joy. How can this be? I’m a Christian right? Right. That’s the point. I’m a Christian, and have the same feelings and inclinations that I did when I wasn’t. What does this mean? It means that the effects of the soul-saving and spirit-securing Gospel of Jesus Christ has not been driven to the deepest recesses of my heart… yet.
I want to dispel the myth that once ‘you’ become a Christian ‘you’ have no doubts, fears, worries, or massive shortcomings. You do. Not only do your problems not go away, you become much more aware of the many problems that you have. The difference between a Gospel-believer and a non-Gospel-believer is not at all a mitigation of these problems, but is simply the presence of the Holy Spirit and the power of Christ’s resurrection in life to defeat sin and to possess the ability to dispense infinite amounts of grace and forgiveness to anyone who needs them.
After contemplating why I feel so miserable, I’ve realized how little I boast in my weakness, and how equally little I boast in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I love to bask in all of the previously mentioned idiocies of mine, and think about how much “strength” I seem to have. However, when something happens, such as finding out that a very close friend has been abused in extremely damaging ways, my feeble framework of self-preservation falls flat on its face with no recovery plan or 6-step program for self-improvement. I have nothing to say or anything to offer to someone that has hurt in ways that I have never hurt like that.
When I am boasting in my weaknesses, the healing power of God shines through clearly; but when I am not boasting in my weaknesses but smugly relying on worthlessness, there is no vital, vibrant, or restoring power of the Gospel in my lifestyle which plays out in my attitude. Nobody can be encouraged by someone who is self-focused in such an others-neglectful way.
As one of my more favorite pastors has said, “You can’t lead anyone to Christ and the cross if you haven’t been there yourself!” I want my modus operandi to be one of constant confession of my sin to God and to everyone around me, for the purpose of exposing my sin so that if anyone sees anything good in me, they will know for sure that it has nothing to with me, but God who is working in me to both will and to do His good pleasure.
I’m a loser.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me both was and is not in vain.
Deus Spes Nostra.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
7 Reasons Why Rain Is Grace From God
1) Rain is an evidence that God has not forsaken the land so as to withhold water from it (1 Kings 17:1).
2) Rain is necessary for growth. There can be no times of growth, physically or spiritually without times of rain. Physical rain is a reminder of that reality.
3) Rain is God’s evidencing that He truly does have a love for every person everywhere (Matthew 5:45).
4) We often tend to take sunny days for granted if there have been no seasons of rain. A time of rain is preparation for a time of rejoicing.
5) Rain is one of God’s means for displaying His everlasting promise that He will not send another catastrophic flood in order to destroy all flesh (Genesis 9:13-16).
6) The simple reality that rain cools off someone who is exercising or working outside points to it as a blessing that comes down from the Father of Lights.
7) While rain seems formidable and incredibly overpowering, it this occurrence that Jesus uses to display his sovereign power over nature in Matthew 8:23-27, and is also the means against which God is described as a fortress and protector. He is the Shelter in the midst of the storm (Isaiah 25:4).
2) Rain is necessary for growth. There can be no times of growth, physically or spiritually without times of rain. Physical rain is a reminder of that reality.
3) Rain is God’s evidencing that He truly does have a love for every person everywhere (Matthew 5:45).
4) We often tend to take sunny days for granted if there have been no seasons of rain. A time of rain is preparation for a time of rejoicing.
5) Rain is one of God’s means for displaying His everlasting promise that He will not send another catastrophic flood in order to destroy all flesh (Genesis 9:13-16).
6) The simple reality that rain cools off someone who is exercising or working outside points to it as a blessing that comes down from the Father of Lights.
7) While rain seems formidable and incredibly overpowering, it this occurrence that Jesus uses to display his sovereign power over nature in Matthew 8:23-27, and is also the means against which God is described as a fortress and protector. He is the Shelter in the midst of the storm (Isaiah 25:4).
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