I was asked by a dear friend recently about the topic of the Sovereignty of God. Light conversation, I know. Just to be clear, the doctrine of sovereignty has to do with God foreordaining whatsoever comes to pass...yet in such a way that He is never the Author of Evil...This is a profound mystery...a mystery beyond our ability to figure out...how's that for just throwing a grenade into the room and running?
I think when it comes to thinking about the sovereignty of God we need to keep in mind the "wills" of God. First, there is the REVEALED will of God...Scripture...and we are called to respond to that Word in obedience out of gratitude for God's love for us in Christ. We are to obey God's Word out of a love response toward Him because He first loved us.
Second, there is what we call God's sovereign or mysterious will that we don't DISCOVER through investigation...it is simply what happens...whatsoever comes to pass. However, we can never, obviously, excuse our disobedience to God's REVEALED will, His Scripture, and just say, "Oh well, its obviously God's sovereign will, since I did it..."
There is a mystery here that is WAAAAY beyond our comprehension because we are first, finite, and second, fallen. What we DO matters and what we CHOOSE to do matters, and sovereignty can never be an excuse to minimize the enormous importance of our choices, actions...or even inactions. One of the temptations of Jesus by the devil was exactly this: IF You ARE the Son of God, throw Yourself down from the Temple and He will send His angels to protect you...and Christ responded, Do not put the Lord to the test. God is absolutely sovereign and mankind is completely responsible. Hmmmmm. Brain freeze!
However, and this is REALLY important, God teaches us about His absolute sovereignty in Scripture in order to lead us to freedom (as well as submission, but I'm going to focus on the freedom part here)! Because of the fall of humanity into sin, we all have a tendency to be control freaks...just ask my wife and kids about my idol of control...but it's all an illusion...we are NOT in control...even though we are absolutely responsible! Think of all the ways people seek to protect their jobs, work hard, only to have some unforseen lay-offs occur. Think about people who are obsessive hand-washers, only to get sick from a bad hamburger...
If we don't learn to live with this tension that no matter how responsible we try to be, we're still not really in control, trust me, we'll end up in a rubber room surrounded by nice people in white jackets. This tendency to seek to control every detail of our lives is what leads people to be neurotic!
We spend WAAAAY too much emotional and intellectual energy trying to FIGURE out God's will...God's will is not some needle in a haystack that we need to find...the best way to be "in God's will" 5 years from now is to respond in faith and obedience to the REVEALED will of God that we are aware of over the next 5 minutes! The real issue is seeking Christ and His wisdom, not investigating "chicken guts" seeking to divine our way to a decision.
So, as my basketball coaches used to tell me: Play loose. Enjoy the game. Use your gifts. Play smart...and Play to win!
Showing posts with label Doctrinal Truths. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doctrinal Truths. Show all posts
Friday, February 12, 2010
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
How Can You Stand Next to the Truth and Not See It?
One of the lines from U2's current hit, "I Know I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" is "How can you stand next to the truth and not see it...change of heart comes slow." As I look back on my Christian life, I can give my "Amen!" to the truth of that verse. It is a sad Amen, however...because much pain results from change coming so slowly.
I began my Christian life shooing out of the gate like a rocket...or so I thought! It was something new that I could pour myself into...as I had done with swimming and basketball and academics throughout my life. It wasn't too long into the Christian-life-thing that I realized it was different. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to maintain a sense of peace before God based on my performance and effort...as a matter of fact, the harder I tried, often the more defeated I felt!!
It was years before I realized that I had never visited the truths of the Gospel that must lay the foundation of Christian living...above all, the truth of justification by grace through faith...the promise of the Gospel of grace that through hope in Christ, God looks at me "just-as-if-I'd" never sinned and "just-as-if-I'd" perfectly obeyed His commands (see the Heidelberg Catechism Question #60!).
When I began to be gripped by such a gospel, my spiritual life changed, and it was as if for the first time, as Francis Schaeffer wrote in True Spirituality, "the sun came out and the song came!"
My first thought was, "If THIS is the Gospel, then how come I haven't heard it before?" I soon learned that lessons of grace had been all around me, I just didn't have the eyes to see or the ears to hear...I stood "next to the truth" and did not see it! Here's one example: as a new believer in Christ I read Oswald Chambers' devotional, "My Utmost for His Highest." Just this morning my sweet bride sent me this morning's devotional from that classic work...read it slowly, especially in light of what I've just written:
"I realize I am saved by believing. It isnot repentance that saves me, repentance is the sign that I realize what God has done in Christ Jesus. The danger is to put the emphasis on the effect instead of on the cause. It is my obedience that puts me right with God, my consecration. Never! I am put right with God because prior to all, Christ died.
When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals I can accept, instantly the stupendous Atonement of Jesus Christ rushes me into a right relationship with God; and by the supernatural miracle of God's grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, not because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings it with a breaking, all-over light, and I know, though I do not know how, that I am saved.
The salvation of God does not stand on human logic, it stands on the sacrificial Death of Jesus. We can be born again because of the Atonement of Our Lord. Sinful men and women can be changed into new creatures, not by their repentance or their belief, but by the marvellous work of God in Christ Jesus which is prior to all experience. The impregnable safety of justification and sanctification is God Himself. We have not to work out these things ourselves; they have been worked out by the Atonement. The supernatural becomes natural by the miracle of God; there is the realization of what Jesus Christ has already done - "It is finished.""
I had read that devotional as a young believer...probably multiple times! It went right over my head...it slipped right off my "teflon" heart!
So, how can you stand next to the truth and not see it...easily...VERY easily....
I began my Christian life shooing out of the gate like a rocket...or so I thought! It was something new that I could pour myself into...as I had done with swimming and basketball and academics throughout my life. It wasn't too long into the Christian-life-thing that I realized it was different. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to maintain a sense of peace before God based on my performance and effort...as a matter of fact, the harder I tried, often the more defeated I felt!!
It was years before I realized that I had never visited the truths of the Gospel that must lay the foundation of Christian living...above all, the truth of justification by grace through faith...the promise of the Gospel of grace that through hope in Christ, God looks at me "just-as-if-I'd" never sinned and "just-as-if-I'd" perfectly obeyed His commands (see the Heidelberg Catechism Question #60!).
When I began to be gripped by such a gospel, my spiritual life changed, and it was as if for the first time, as Francis Schaeffer wrote in True Spirituality, "the sun came out and the song came!"
My first thought was, "If THIS is the Gospel, then how come I haven't heard it before?" I soon learned that lessons of grace had been all around me, I just didn't have the eyes to see or the ears to hear...I stood "next to the truth" and did not see it! Here's one example: as a new believer in Christ I read Oswald Chambers' devotional, "My Utmost for His Highest." Just this morning my sweet bride sent me this morning's devotional from that classic work...read it slowly, especially in light of what I've just written:
"I realize I am saved by believing. It isnot repentance that saves me, repentance is the sign that I realize what God has done in Christ Jesus. The danger is to put the emphasis on the effect instead of on the cause. It is my obedience that puts me right with God, my consecration. Never! I am put right with God because prior to all, Christ died.
When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals I can accept, instantly the stupendous Atonement of Jesus Christ rushes me into a right relationship with God; and by the supernatural miracle of God's grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, not because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings it with a breaking, all-over light, and I know, though I do not know how, that I am saved.
The salvation of God does not stand on human logic, it stands on the sacrificial Death of Jesus. We can be born again because of the Atonement of Our Lord. Sinful men and women can be changed into new creatures, not by their repentance or their belief, but by the marvellous work of God in Christ Jesus which is prior to all experience. The impregnable safety of justification and sanctification is God Himself. We have not to work out these things ourselves; they have been worked out by the Atonement. The supernatural becomes natural by the miracle of God; there is the realization of what Jesus Christ has already done - "It is finished.""
I had read that devotional as a young believer...probably multiple times! It went right over my head...it slipped right off my "teflon" heart!
So, how can you stand next to the truth and not see it...easily...VERY easily....
Monday, June 15, 2009
Things I Wish I had Known as a New Christian
We had such a great discussion in our mentoring group this morning studying True Spirituality by Francis Schaeffer Chapter 6, and it is so packed with nuggets, I thought I'd summarize in writing what we covered...as much for myself as for y'all!! I wish I had known this as a new believer and not until so many years after conversion!! I would have been spared a LOT of pain and confusion....
1. Because of the Fall we wake up each morning in an ABNORMAL world. We shouldn't be surprised when we face "thorns and thistles and weeds" in our relationships and tasks.
2. The victory over sin has already been decisively achieved, though we don't see the full extent of the results yet. We are to live to bring the reality of the victory and the power of the Kingdom into our day TODAY! Eternal life is not some far off place of another time, it begins at our conversion is to reform and redeem all of the spheres of influence we walk in.
3. The Christian life is not only true but supernatural. We touch the supernatural and are transformed by the supernatural as we live by faith. Christ is formed in us the same way the Physical Christ was formed in the Virgin Mary...as we believe the Word, the Promise, of God. Luke 1:38: Be it done TO me according to Your word. When we face sin we are to feel as helpless as Mary in conceiving her Child on her own...she could not do it...it was a HUMAN IMPOSSIBILITY...but what is impossible with man is possible with God. He calls into being that which was not, like He did at creation, by the Word of His Power...that is HOW the Christian life works! He calls into being spiritual fruit and supernatural change that we can not bring about by all our efforts and strategies.
4. A critical element to faith is latching hold continually to the promise of JUSTIFICATION. We are to live moment-by-moment in the reality of our justified standing: God, sitting behind the Legal Bench, is both Judge, Jury and Prosecutor. We ARE ALL guilty, both through Adam's sin and our own sins. We have no defense of our own. We are hopeless. Christ enters the courtroom as our Defense Attorney and pleads His own obedient life and death as our Proxy and Substitute. God then bangs the gavel and DECLARES us not guilty. But more than that, The Father does what no earthly judge can ever do: He not only declares us NOT GUILTY, He declares us PERFECT, SPOTLESS, BLAMELESS and HOLY in His sight. We are declared as PERFECTLY RIGHTEOUS as Jesus Himself. Christ's perfect RECORD of obedience legally becomes OUR VERY OWN record before God! See the Heidelburg Catechism Question 60.
5. A second critical element for faith to cling to is the promise of ADOPTION. Christ is uniquely The Son of God. He is the Second Person of the Trinity...He is God Himself. Yet, through union with Christ by Spirit baptism by grace through faith, EVERY believer becomes a child of God, an adopted son or daughter...with ALL the same rights, privilege, standing before the Father AS CHRIST HIMSELF. Because of union with Christ, the baptismal pronouncement over Christ, "This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased," becomes the Father's declaration over every believer in Christ!!
6. As we BELIEVE in Christ and the Gospel Promises of JUSTIFICATION and ADOPTION, we are transformed supernaturally by the Spirit of God. It is by GRACE experienced through FAITH in the Gospel Promises that the Holy Spirit transforms our lives. When we believe God's promise of our justification and adoption when we FEEL we LEAST DESERVE to believe it, that is precisely when the power of the Spirit most fully falls upon our lives. Again, keep in mind Luke 1:38--"Be it done TO me according to Your Word."
7. A third critical element for faith to cling to is the promise of REGENERATION. We are born again by God's Spirit. According to the Old Testament promise in Ezekiel 36:25-29, God will cleanse us from all our idols, He will sprinkle clean water on us (symbolized by New Testament baptism) He will give us a new heart and put a new spirit within us. He will removed from us the heart of stone (symbolized by Old Testament circumcision) and give us a soft heart toward Him. He will put His Spirit within us and CAUSE us to walk in His commands!! That is regeneration....the supernatural removal of the Old Man in Adam and making us new creations, new creatures in Christ. With new natures, new hearts and a New Spirit, we are now ABLE to say no to sin and yes to righteousness...as we walk by faith in the Gospel Promises. We are now responsible...response-able.
8. Sanctification occurs much the same way conversion happens...by grace through faith. Even our Doctrinal Standards teach this: See the Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 35, Larger Catechism 75. The Holy Spirit applies the benefits of the life and death of Christ to our hearts in ever increasing fashion resulting in the supernatural transformation of our lives. One difference between justification and sanctification is that sanctification occurs in varying degrees while there are no degrees to justification...we are fully justified from the moment we believe, but we are progressively sanctified each day as we walk in repentance and faith.
9. Sanctification occurs as we believe the Gospel (Galatians 3:1-5, Colossians 2:6, John 6:29, Isaiah 30:15, etc). Sanctification occurs as we learn to WALTZ--the spiritual "3-step" dance with Christ of "Repent! Believe! Fight!" There are ups and downs, ebbs and flows to the spiritual life. Growth begins with repentance: acknowledging our sin and helplessness before God. We can no more change ourselves by sheer effort and discipline than we could save ourselves by sheer effort and discipline. But we must not stop at repentance or we will wallow in despair. Repentance must lead to fresh faith. We are to BELIEVE the Gospel Promises afresh that our standing before God never changes because of our sin. Through union with Christ we are unchangeably justified before God and eternally adopted sons and daughters. We can do nothing to cause God to love us more than He already does in Christ; and we can do nothing that would ever cause God to love us any less than He loves Christ Himself (John 17:23!!). It is AS we BELIEVE these promises that the Power of the Spirit is unleashed in our lives (Galatians 3:5). This is what it means to ABIDE in Christ--we abide by faith...grace apprehended by faith strengthens our union with the Branch, Christ, so that His life-giving "sap" courses through our lives with transforming power. We are to BELIEVE that just as there is a "converting" power to the blood of Christ that saves us from hell, so there is a transforming power of the blood that delivers us progressively from the power of sin. As the old hymn, Rock of Ages, reminds us: the blood of Christ provides the DOUBLE CURE: it cleanses us from both sin's guilt AND power! Then, equipped with fresh faith and reminded of reality of our regeneration, we are to FIGHT the good fight and WAR against the world the flesh and the devil. We are to renounce the flesh and present our lives to righteousness. Then, if/when we fail, we continue waltzing!
10. We Do NOT arrive this side of eternity. There is NO ARRIVALISM, NO TRIUMPHALISM. Waltzing doesn't FIX us! Waltzing is how broken, limping sinners saved by grace are progressively becoming whole and healthy...but we are not completely healed until the Return of Christ. Grace enables us, empowers us and motivates us to persevere in faith so that grace by the Power of the Holy Spirit will continually transform us.
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in BELIEVING, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may about in hope!"
Romans 15:13
1. Because of the Fall we wake up each morning in an ABNORMAL world. We shouldn't be surprised when we face "thorns and thistles and weeds" in our relationships and tasks.
2. The victory over sin has already been decisively achieved, though we don't see the full extent of the results yet. We are to live to bring the reality of the victory and the power of the Kingdom into our day TODAY! Eternal life is not some far off place of another time, it begins at our conversion is to reform and redeem all of the spheres of influence we walk in.
3. The Christian life is not only true but supernatural. We touch the supernatural and are transformed by the supernatural as we live by faith. Christ is formed in us the same way the Physical Christ was formed in the Virgin Mary...as we believe the Word, the Promise, of God. Luke 1:38: Be it done TO me according to Your word. When we face sin we are to feel as helpless as Mary in conceiving her Child on her own...she could not do it...it was a HUMAN IMPOSSIBILITY...but what is impossible with man is possible with God. He calls into being that which was not, like He did at creation, by the Word of His Power...that is HOW the Christian life works! He calls into being spiritual fruit and supernatural change that we can not bring about by all our efforts and strategies.
4. A critical element to faith is latching hold continually to the promise of JUSTIFICATION. We are to live moment-by-moment in the reality of our justified standing: God, sitting behind the Legal Bench, is both Judge, Jury and Prosecutor. We ARE ALL guilty, both through Adam's sin and our own sins. We have no defense of our own. We are hopeless. Christ enters the courtroom as our Defense Attorney and pleads His own obedient life and death as our Proxy and Substitute. God then bangs the gavel and DECLARES us not guilty. But more than that, The Father does what no earthly judge can ever do: He not only declares us NOT GUILTY, He declares us PERFECT, SPOTLESS, BLAMELESS and HOLY in His sight. We are declared as PERFECTLY RIGHTEOUS as Jesus Himself. Christ's perfect RECORD of obedience legally becomes OUR VERY OWN record before God! See the Heidelburg Catechism Question 60.
5. A second critical element for faith to cling to is the promise of ADOPTION. Christ is uniquely The Son of God. He is the Second Person of the Trinity...He is God Himself. Yet, through union with Christ by Spirit baptism by grace through faith, EVERY believer becomes a child of God, an adopted son or daughter...with ALL the same rights, privilege, standing before the Father AS CHRIST HIMSELF. Because of union with Christ, the baptismal pronouncement over Christ, "This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased," becomes the Father's declaration over every believer in Christ!!
6. As we BELIEVE in Christ and the Gospel Promises of JUSTIFICATION and ADOPTION, we are transformed supernaturally by the Spirit of God. It is by GRACE experienced through FAITH in the Gospel Promises that the Holy Spirit transforms our lives. When we believe God's promise of our justification and adoption when we FEEL we LEAST DESERVE to believe it, that is precisely when the power of the Spirit most fully falls upon our lives. Again, keep in mind Luke 1:38--"Be it done TO me according to Your Word."
7. A third critical element for faith to cling to is the promise of REGENERATION. We are born again by God's Spirit. According to the Old Testament promise in Ezekiel 36:25-29, God will cleanse us from all our idols, He will sprinkle clean water on us (symbolized by New Testament baptism) He will give us a new heart and put a new spirit within us. He will removed from us the heart of stone (symbolized by Old Testament circumcision) and give us a soft heart toward Him. He will put His Spirit within us and CAUSE us to walk in His commands!! That is regeneration....the supernatural removal of the Old Man in Adam and making us new creations, new creatures in Christ. With new natures, new hearts and a New Spirit, we are now ABLE to say no to sin and yes to righteousness...as we walk by faith in the Gospel Promises. We are now responsible...response-able.
8. Sanctification occurs much the same way conversion happens...by grace through faith. Even our Doctrinal Standards teach this: See the Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 35, Larger Catechism 75. The Holy Spirit applies the benefits of the life and death of Christ to our hearts in ever increasing fashion resulting in the supernatural transformation of our lives. One difference between justification and sanctification is that sanctification occurs in varying degrees while there are no degrees to justification...we are fully justified from the moment we believe, but we are progressively sanctified each day as we walk in repentance and faith.
9. Sanctification occurs as we believe the Gospel (Galatians 3:1-5, Colossians 2:6, John 6:29, Isaiah 30:15, etc). Sanctification occurs as we learn to WALTZ--the spiritual "3-step" dance with Christ of "Repent! Believe! Fight!" There are ups and downs, ebbs and flows to the spiritual life. Growth begins with repentance: acknowledging our sin and helplessness before God. We can no more change ourselves by sheer effort and discipline than we could save ourselves by sheer effort and discipline. But we must not stop at repentance or we will wallow in despair. Repentance must lead to fresh faith. We are to BELIEVE the Gospel Promises afresh that our standing before God never changes because of our sin. Through union with Christ we are unchangeably justified before God and eternally adopted sons and daughters. We can do nothing to cause God to love us more than He already does in Christ; and we can do nothing that would ever cause God to love us any less than He loves Christ Himself (John 17:23!!). It is AS we BELIEVE these promises that the Power of the Spirit is unleashed in our lives (Galatians 3:5). This is what it means to ABIDE in Christ--we abide by faith...grace apprehended by faith strengthens our union with the Branch, Christ, so that His life-giving "sap" courses through our lives with transforming power. We are to BELIEVE that just as there is a "converting" power to the blood of Christ that saves us from hell, so there is a transforming power of the blood that delivers us progressively from the power of sin. As the old hymn, Rock of Ages, reminds us: the blood of Christ provides the DOUBLE CURE: it cleanses us from both sin's guilt AND power! Then, equipped with fresh faith and reminded of reality of our regeneration, we are to FIGHT the good fight and WAR against the world the flesh and the devil. We are to renounce the flesh and present our lives to righteousness. Then, if/when we fail, we continue waltzing!
10. We Do NOT arrive this side of eternity. There is NO ARRIVALISM, NO TRIUMPHALISM. Waltzing doesn't FIX us! Waltzing is how broken, limping sinners saved by grace are progressively becoming whole and healthy...but we are not completely healed until the Return of Christ. Grace enables us, empowers us and motivates us to persevere in faith so that grace by the Power of the Holy Spirit will continually transform us.
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in BELIEVING, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may about in hope!"
Romans 15:13
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The Exciting Adventure of a Supernatural Life
I try to cry out constantly that the Christian life REALLY IS supernatural! As we battle the world, the flesh and the devil, however, we are constantly having to face the temptation to de-supernaturalize the Christian life...or, at least, to minimize the supernatural nature of our daily lives as Christ-followers. If we truly believed every moment was lived in touch with the supernatural, we would love God enough, as Francis Schaeffer says in True Spirituality, to say "Thank You" even in the difficult times and we would love each other enough to not envy.
In the account of the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt 17), we are reminded that the supernatural we often do not see is entwined with the natural that we see. At any moment the veil could be lifted and we can see the supernatural "break in upon" what we perceive as merely the natural. The Supernatural is not some "far-off" place...it is where we are, even though we don't often "see" it.
If we "buy into" the supernatural view of life, then seeing Christ bear fruit through us (John 15--abiding), or understanding Numbers 21 and the "look to the cross" that releases transforming grace, is no longer a problem. Understanding Luke 1:38 and Christ being formed in us as we believe and saying "Be it done TO me according to Your Word" is no longer hard to grasp in a supernatural framework. The issue is not merely understanding this concept, but living in light of it on a daily, moment by moment basis.
Too often we get so caught up in the moment, we live as though the supernatural were not there. In a word, we all struggle with unbelief. We resort to human effort rather than believing the gospel (Galatians 3:1-5). Schaeffer gives a GREAT illustration in True Spirituality, chapter 5, when he writes about the place called Mahanaim from Genesis 32:1-2 (p59). Mahanaim means "two camps" and it was the meeting place of the natural and the supernatural for Jacob...WE TOO live in Mahanaim...the junction of the natural and the supernatural. We perceive the natural world; the supernatural world is just as real, just as valid, just as near at hand.
In 2 Kings 6:16-17 we learn through Elisha's servant that the supernatural world IS NEAR, but we just don't see it...we are to believe that the supernatural is present even if we don't see it or feel it. Faith doesn't MAKE it there...it is ALREADY there and we are to believe it is there and LIVE in the reality of its presence.
The Spirit-filled life, the life of transforming grace through faith is supernatural...LIVE that way TODAY!!
In the account of the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt 17), we are reminded that the supernatural we often do not see is entwined with the natural that we see. At any moment the veil could be lifted and we can see the supernatural "break in upon" what we perceive as merely the natural. The Supernatural is not some "far-off" place...it is where we are, even though we don't often "see" it.
If we "buy into" the supernatural view of life, then seeing Christ bear fruit through us (John 15--abiding), or understanding Numbers 21 and the "look to the cross" that releases transforming grace, is no longer a problem. Understanding Luke 1:38 and Christ being formed in us as we believe and saying "Be it done TO me according to Your Word" is no longer hard to grasp in a supernatural framework. The issue is not merely understanding this concept, but living in light of it on a daily, moment by moment basis.
Too often we get so caught up in the moment, we live as though the supernatural were not there. In a word, we all struggle with unbelief. We resort to human effort rather than believing the gospel (Galatians 3:1-5). Schaeffer gives a GREAT illustration in True Spirituality, chapter 5, when he writes about the place called Mahanaim from Genesis 32:1-2 (p59). Mahanaim means "two camps" and it was the meeting place of the natural and the supernatural for Jacob...WE TOO live in Mahanaim...the junction of the natural and the supernatural. We perceive the natural world; the supernatural world is just as real, just as valid, just as near at hand.
In 2 Kings 6:16-17 we learn through Elisha's servant that the supernatural world IS NEAR, but we just don't see it...we are to believe that the supernatural is present even if we don't see it or feel it. Faith doesn't MAKE it there...it is ALREADY there and we are to believe it is there and LIVE in the reality of its presence.
The Spirit-filled life, the life of transforming grace through faith is supernatural...LIVE that way TODAY!!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Grace for the Religious AND the Irreligious
This is an email that was just sent to me by one of my elders. Man, I am so glad I have men surrounding me and leading our church who are gripped by the truth of the Gospel!!
Jerry Bridges, The Discipline of Grace (p. 19):
Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace.
And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.
And from pp. 22-23:
Pharisee-type believers unconsciously think they have earned God’s blessing through their behavior.
Guilt-laden believers are quite sure they have forfeited God’s blessing through their lack of discipline or their disobedience.
Both have forgotten the meaning of grace because they have moved away from the gospel and have slipped into a performance relationship with God
Jerry Bridges, The Discipline of Grace (p. 19):
Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace.
And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.
And from pp. 22-23:
Pharisee-type believers unconsciously think they have earned God’s blessing through their behavior.
Guilt-laden believers are quite sure they have forfeited God’s blessing through their lack of discipline or their disobedience.
Both have forgotten the meaning of grace because they have moved away from the gospel and have slipped into a performance relationship with God
Your True and Best Friend
I was forwarded an email the other day that focused upon one of the greatest issues in the Church today...how much emphasis to give to the Third Use of the Law...the Use that informs Christians of what God means by calling us to an obedient and holy life. It is an important use of the law, for sure...but is THAT what is primarily wrong with the Church today...I personally do NOT think so.
What follows is a letter from Jack Miller, Westminster Seminary professor and founder of World Harvest Mission. It is found in a book of his letters, called Servant Leaders...pp 59-60. It is a letter from June of 1988 to a friend (named Richard) in which he (Dr. Jack Miller) was talking about how vital faith dried up in the English Puritan tradition...
"Your sharing about your (Richard's) burden for the church helps me (Dr. Miller) to pray for you. I'm glad for what God enabled you to emphasize - that God has a gracious heart toward us in our sins and that sanctification as well as justification is of grace. You would think that would be self-evident, wouldn't you? But obviously the response you received to your emphasis in the 'long-range plan (of the gospel)', indicates that something is awry in Reformed circles.
One irony that strikes me is that so often people who emphasize the third use of the law are really not great law-keepers themselves. For example, I have noted that sometimes church members given heavy doses of the third use of the law have little idea of the inner nature of the law as a delighting in God. I have also noted a tendency to exclude the tongue and a critical spirit from consideration as well, so that you can get the irony of believers defending the law with a harshness that itself breaks the law! What sinners we can be!
But I do think that the Heidelberg Catechism and the Belgic Confession have an excellent emphasis on faith and sanctification. It is also interesting to see that (as best I can recall) the Larger Catechism (of the Westminster Confession) speaks of the third use of the law and relates its role to breaking us and driving us to Christ. Add that emphasis, and grace follows.
Anyway I suspect that Reformed people, especially in the English Puritan tradition, have been especially prone to nomism. You know, I have often wondered why English Presbyterianism died so quickly in the 17th century, and maybe this was a factor. I am thinking of excellent men like Richard Baxter (who wrote the Reformed Pastor). Baxter drifted in an Arminian and nomist direction in his later life.
For what it is worth, here is how I see the theological emphasis of English Puritanism. 1. Know your enemy - sin, the flesh, the devil; 2. Know your personal limitations - your own particular fleshly characteristics and habits; 3. Know your Friend - the grace of God in Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Personally I cannot deny that sometimes churches need that order and such an emphasis has led to revival. Still, I find myself overwhelmed when I pick up a 320 page book by John Owen and find 308 pages devoted to points 1 and 2, and only 12 pages given to point 3, grace and gospel. Owen, of course, doesn't always do this, but it seems pretty typical.
My own heart likes this order better: 1. Know your Friend; 2. Know your enemy; 3. Know your personal limitations. And I would keep the controlling theme of point 1 even when talking about points 2 and 3.
At the same time I do not think that an emphasis on grace leads to a soft ministry on sin and the severe demands of the law. Actually, it seems to me that such grace teaching makes it possible for sinners like us to hear the hardest things said about our sin patterns, and that can lead into a healthy sorrow which then leads back to sanity, i.e., repentance."
What follows is a letter from Jack Miller, Westminster Seminary professor and founder of World Harvest Mission. It is found in a book of his letters, called Servant Leaders...pp 59-60. It is a letter from June of 1988 to a friend (named Richard) in which he (Dr. Jack Miller) was talking about how vital faith dried up in the English Puritan tradition...
"Your sharing about your (Richard's) burden for the church helps me (Dr. Miller) to pray for you. I'm glad for what God enabled you to emphasize - that God has a gracious heart toward us in our sins and that sanctification as well as justification is of grace. You would think that would be self-evident, wouldn't you? But obviously the response you received to your emphasis in the 'long-range plan (of the gospel)', indicates that something is awry in Reformed circles.
One irony that strikes me is that so often people who emphasize the third use of the law are really not great law-keepers themselves. For example, I have noted that sometimes church members given heavy doses of the third use of the law have little idea of the inner nature of the law as a delighting in God. I have also noted a tendency to exclude the tongue and a critical spirit from consideration as well, so that you can get the irony of believers defending the law with a harshness that itself breaks the law! What sinners we can be!
But I do think that the Heidelberg Catechism and the Belgic Confession have an excellent emphasis on faith and sanctification. It is also interesting to see that (as best I can recall) the Larger Catechism (of the Westminster Confession) speaks of the third use of the law and relates its role to breaking us and driving us to Christ. Add that emphasis, and grace follows.
Anyway I suspect that Reformed people, especially in the English Puritan tradition, have been especially prone to nomism. You know, I have often wondered why English Presbyterianism died so quickly in the 17th century, and maybe this was a factor. I am thinking of excellent men like Richard Baxter (who wrote the Reformed Pastor). Baxter drifted in an Arminian and nomist direction in his later life.
For what it is worth, here is how I see the theological emphasis of English Puritanism. 1. Know your enemy - sin, the flesh, the devil; 2. Know your personal limitations - your own particular fleshly characteristics and habits; 3. Know your Friend - the grace of God in Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Personally I cannot deny that sometimes churches need that order and such an emphasis has led to revival. Still, I find myself overwhelmed when I pick up a 320 page book by John Owen and find 308 pages devoted to points 1 and 2, and only 12 pages given to point 3, grace and gospel. Owen, of course, doesn't always do this, but it seems pretty typical.
My own heart likes this order better: 1. Know your Friend; 2. Know your enemy; 3. Know your personal limitations. And I would keep the controlling theme of point 1 even when talking about points 2 and 3.
At the same time I do not think that an emphasis on grace leads to a soft ministry on sin and the severe demands of the law. Actually, it seems to me that such grace teaching makes it possible for sinners like us to hear the hardest things said about our sin patterns, and that can lead into a healthy sorrow which then leads back to sanity, i.e., repentance."
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
What is TRUTH?
I've been posting on U2's website...U2.com. It has given me an opportunity to interact with folk from all over the world on spiritual things. Who knew? Some recent interactions have opened the door to post thoughts about the truth claims of Christianity. Here's a recent post that I thought would encourage believers as well...especially with Easter around the corner...
One of the most powerful lines on NLOTH (the new cd, No Line On the Horizon) is found in "I'll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight" Bono sings, "How can you stand next to the TRUTH and not see it?" This is one of the most important lines that could ever be sung...and one of the most important questions that could ever be asked! It flows out of THE MOST important discussion...actually, ultimately, the ONLY discussion worth having...What is TRUTH?
Truth has fallen on hard times lately in our world. Many people actually believe there is no such thing as absolute truth…which is a ridiculous statement because it, in itself, is a statement put in terms of absolute truth! "There is no such thing as absolute truth!" is, itself, an absolute statement. "All truth is relative!" denies the very statement just made!!
Truth is not what each one of us thinks it is subjectively, personally, existentially. True Truth must have an existence in and of itself, whether or not anyone believed in it. The atheist can choose to say God doesn't exist...but one thing is for sure: God does not either exist or not exist based on what the atheist believes. If the atheist is wrong, God's existence is not affected by the atheist's unbelief. And if the believer is wrong, God wouldn’t exist simply because people thought He did.
True Truth must involve the discussion of non-truth if we are to make any progress. Otherwise, we live a nonsensical existence. If cold can be hot and hot can be cold; if light can be dark, and dark can be light; if right can be left and left can be right...life is absurd. Deep within we don't want life to be absurd...we long for meaning and purpose...and for life to make sense.
There are two options...we may be forced to admit that we long for that which is ultimately only an illusion; or, we eventually conclude that humanity longs for that which has actually been built into the universe...our longings either fit with reality or we conclude that evolution has brought us to the place where our innermost longings no longer fit the reality of the universe in which we find ourselves.
If truth is whatever any person thinks it is, we are left with mutually contradictory conclusions...and that is non-sensical...it would be like saying 2=3 or that 2+2=78. So, the ultimate question revolves around how we might be able to arrive at true truth. Christianity is not just an option among various philosophies of life concerning HOW to live out our days. Christianity revolves around the concept of True Truth that flows from the Actual Living, Personal God Who is there.
The beauty is this, however: no one is excluded in Christianity...ALL are welcome, no matter what your background, no matter what your past. All may come, and whoever comes will not be cast away. And True Christianity doesn't EVER seek to harm or kill those who reject Christ. Christ calls Christians to love even our enemies, and to live lives of kindness and to treat every creature under heaven with dignity and respect...
Every one of us must deal with epistemology...that is, the philosophical foundation of “how we know that we know.” How do you know Barak Obama is president of the US? It is verifiable. You can go to Washington, DC and see him at the White House. How do you know 2+2=4? It is verifiable. How do you know that there is such a thing as electricity? It is verifiable. Things may be a little different in the realm of history and philosophy, but there are still elements of verifiability: There are historical documents (some very critical ones that can be seen in the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin!); and when it comes to philosophy, there are issues of logic and inconsistency and the question of whether human beings are able to truly live out the logical conclusions of their belief system.
How do we know Jesus lived? Well, to any truly open-minded individual, it is able to be verified from sources other than the Bible. Both Roman and Jewish historians write about Jesus of Nazareth. So, the only real discussion is not did Jesus really live...the only REAL discussion is WHO was Jesus? If HE was a fraud, a fake...then let's forget about Him and move on. BUT, if He was God in the flesh, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, then we are faced with whether or not we will put our hope in Him and submit our lives to Him. One question: where's His body?
We're about to celebrate Easter...the resurrection. All the Romans would have needed to do in order to shut down the early church was produce the body...they never did...no one ever did. And the idea that the disciples were just lying is beyond credibility: the world has never seen any group of people who were all able to die for something they knew was a lie without anyone "cracking" under the pressure. The suffering of early Christians was immense. Yet they all died in hope of the conviction of the resurrection and the life everlasting.
By the way, Bono himself addresses this issue of TRUTH in the book by Assayas, In Conversation...See the chapter on Eternity. You'll be blown away. I don't mind people disagreeing with the Christian world-view...what troubles me is people who are unwilling to think.
One of the most powerful lines on NLOTH (the new cd, No Line On the Horizon) is found in "I'll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight" Bono sings, "How can you stand next to the TRUTH and not see it?" This is one of the most important lines that could ever be sung...and one of the most important questions that could ever be asked! It flows out of THE MOST important discussion...actually, ultimately, the ONLY discussion worth having...What is TRUTH?
Truth has fallen on hard times lately in our world. Many people actually believe there is no such thing as absolute truth…which is a ridiculous statement because it, in itself, is a statement put in terms of absolute truth! "There is no such thing as absolute truth!" is, itself, an absolute statement. "All truth is relative!" denies the very statement just made!!
Truth is not what each one of us thinks it is subjectively, personally, existentially. True Truth must have an existence in and of itself, whether or not anyone believed in it. The atheist can choose to say God doesn't exist...but one thing is for sure: God does not either exist or not exist based on what the atheist believes. If the atheist is wrong, God's existence is not affected by the atheist's unbelief. And if the believer is wrong, God wouldn’t exist simply because people thought He did.
True Truth must involve the discussion of non-truth if we are to make any progress. Otherwise, we live a nonsensical existence. If cold can be hot and hot can be cold; if light can be dark, and dark can be light; if right can be left and left can be right...life is absurd. Deep within we don't want life to be absurd...we long for meaning and purpose...and for life to make sense.
There are two options...we may be forced to admit that we long for that which is ultimately only an illusion; or, we eventually conclude that humanity longs for that which has actually been built into the universe...our longings either fit with reality or we conclude that evolution has brought us to the place where our innermost longings no longer fit the reality of the universe in which we find ourselves.
If truth is whatever any person thinks it is, we are left with mutually contradictory conclusions...and that is non-sensical...it would be like saying 2=3 or that 2+2=78. So, the ultimate question revolves around how we might be able to arrive at true truth. Christianity is not just an option among various philosophies of life concerning HOW to live out our days. Christianity revolves around the concept of True Truth that flows from the Actual Living, Personal God Who is there.
The beauty is this, however: no one is excluded in Christianity...ALL are welcome, no matter what your background, no matter what your past. All may come, and whoever comes will not be cast away. And True Christianity doesn't EVER seek to harm or kill those who reject Christ. Christ calls Christians to love even our enemies, and to live lives of kindness and to treat every creature under heaven with dignity and respect...
Every one of us must deal with epistemology...that is, the philosophical foundation of “how we know that we know.” How do you know Barak Obama is president of the US? It is verifiable. You can go to Washington, DC and see him at the White House. How do you know 2+2=4? It is verifiable. How do you know that there is such a thing as electricity? It is verifiable. Things may be a little different in the realm of history and philosophy, but there are still elements of verifiability: There are historical documents (some very critical ones that can be seen in the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin!); and when it comes to philosophy, there are issues of logic and inconsistency and the question of whether human beings are able to truly live out the logical conclusions of their belief system.
How do we know Jesus lived? Well, to any truly open-minded individual, it is able to be verified from sources other than the Bible. Both Roman and Jewish historians write about Jesus of Nazareth. So, the only real discussion is not did Jesus really live...the only REAL discussion is WHO was Jesus? If HE was a fraud, a fake...then let's forget about Him and move on. BUT, if He was God in the flesh, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, then we are faced with whether or not we will put our hope in Him and submit our lives to Him. One question: where's His body?
We're about to celebrate Easter...the resurrection. All the Romans would have needed to do in order to shut down the early church was produce the body...they never did...no one ever did. And the idea that the disciples were just lying is beyond credibility: the world has never seen any group of people who were all able to die for something they knew was a lie without anyone "cracking" under the pressure. The suffering of early Christians was immense. Yet they all died in hope of the conviction of the resurrection and the life everlasting.
By the way, Bono himself addresses this issue of TRUTH in the book by Assayas, In Conversation...See the chapter on Eternity. You'll be blown away. I don't mind people disagreeing with the Christian world-view...what troubles me is people who are unwilling to think.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Remorse, Regret or Repentance?
I was spending time in the Psalms this morning…reading devotionally…attempting to get “shushed-up” and trying to “cease to speak” so He might speak. In Psalm 55:12-14, we see an amazing prophecy concerning the life of Christ, revealed through the life of David. David talks of the pain of experiencing betrayal through a friend. This part of the Psalm is obviously a prophecy concerning Judas betraying Christ, written by David almost 1000 years before the fact! Bono sings of this betrayal in the song, “Until the End of the World.” Perhaps it’s a song that is only about Judas and Jesus…or, perhaps it’s a song where we are all able to come to grips with our little betrayals (or big) of Jesus during our lives. The problem with Judas is that he was filled with remorse and regret rather than filled with repentance. Remorse simply leads to shame and guilt and leaves one with no hope. Repentance is acknowledging failure before a holy God, but with the hope of mercy and grace through Messiah. Remorse is faithless repentance. So today, I face a choice as I stumble through the coming hours…will I walk in repentance leading to hope and joy? Or, like Judas, will I simply be filled with hopeless remorse and regret and experience death? In one of U2’s concerts, Bono walked past Larry and said of the previous song (I forget what is was at the moment), “That was Jesus.” Then he says concerning the next song…”This is Judas.”…and then the band played, “Until the End of the World.” I'm having trouble finding the video where Bono tells Larry, "This is Judas," but check out this video...its not so subtle!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Gospel Snowman
I don't get to build snowmen much anymore...moving away from PA to the deep South took care of that. But in one sense I am building snowmen every day. Oh, and by the way, so are you, even if you live in Florida. If you've ever built a snowman, the perfect shape is very illusive. The perfect shape of the head, the trunk, the lower body, all in proportion, well...it's almost impossible unless the snow is perfect! The same challenge presents itself to every follower of Christ as we seek an integrated life. Some believers are spiritual snowmen/snow-women with big heads...they KNOW a lot of stuff ABOUT God or ABOUT the Christian life...but they may have tiny trunks (small, shriveled hearts) or they may have small "legs and feet" (no practical outworking of their faith on a daily basis). These followers of Christ are "brains on a stick," (and in some cases their heads roll off and break on the ground!) Other believers have a large trunk...big hearts but lack any sound theology to ground their passion. Sometimes this reveals itself in a very emotionally-driven faith that is based more on existential feelings than truth. In addition, Christian "snowpeople" of this type tend to be so consumed with seeking new spiritual/emotional experiences, that engagement with the real world, ie, fighting injustice and evil, is often lacking. Then there are snowpeople of the church that are known to be great activists. They have a large "base," but their hearts can be small and their brains can be disengaged. These people tend to be doers, but there may not be anything distinctively Christ-centered about their activism. When it comes to the gospel, we are to seek God for the grace to make us integrated Gospel Snowmen/Snow-women. Only Christ can make His Church into pefectly proportioned, perfectly shaped gospel creations. We need the power of the Spirit to enable us to love the Lord our God with all our heart and all our mind and all our soul and all our strength. We need sharp minds that know the Scriptures and can apply them wisely. We need hearts deeply in love with Christ and moved with compassion toward the world. We need arms and legs that move us to engage the world with our faith in practical ways, bringing mercy and justice to a broken and hurting world as well as bringing the saving message of the Gospel to the lost. So, the next time your reading Scripture or listening to a sermon or attending a Bible study...listen as a snowman! How is the Father calling you to develop a truly Christian mind? How do you need to challenge your thinking with the truth? Or, what is being revealed about the Gospel that you need to believe with all your heart? How are you supposed to feel about the Lord or about sin or righteousness or the needs of the world? Or, as you read and listen, what do you need to go out and DO in the Name of Love? The perfect snowman, whether in the snow or in the church, is still relatively illusive. Perhaps the best we can hope for is a personal awareness of where we are are misshapened and disproportional...and look to the Savior to continually remake our lives by His grace.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Should Christians tithe?
Its stewardship season at church, and perhaps no season creates more tension and confusion than the Bible's teaching on giving. Jesus taught so much on giving because no element of life is more looked to for security and significance than money and possessions. I believe that tithing is not only appropriate, but commanded for the Christian. I believe there is way too much discontinuity in many Chrstians' minds between the Old and New Testament. The early church's Bible was still the Old Testament...the New was still being written. In addition, most of the New Testament is simply Old Testament allusion or direct quotation. In addition, tithing, or giving the tenth part, was established before the law was even given to Israel. Abraham paid the tenth to Melchizekek in Genesis. We learn in Hebrews that Melchizedek was a type or foreshadow of Christ and we also know that Abraham was the father of all those who believe, so that in Abraham the Church was paying tithes to Christ. In addition, Jacob promised a tenth to God as God provided for him, again, before the law was even given. Finally, Christ Himself affirms the tithe when He rebuked the Pharisees for tithing on everything but neglecting mercy, justice and love. He went on to say they should indeed have done the former (tithing) without neglecting the latter. So, it seems clear to me that the tenth is the minimum generosity called for by the Lord to His Church...certainly we should pray about giving beyond the tenth. It seems clear that the tithe is on gross, not net...One more item that might be helpful...I believe that there is great continuity between the Old and New Testaments, AND between Israel and the Church...the believers in OT Israel were the Church and the believers in the New Testament Church are the Israel of God (Eph 2, Rom 9, 11, Gal 6:16, etc). since that is the case, when it comes to the Bible, everything from the Old Testament applies across the board to New Testament believers unless it is specifically changed by NT data. When it comes to bringing the tenth, it is not only not changed by the NT but actually affirmed, and even increased, as is all the Law by Christ. Christ continuously took the law known by Israel and expanded it! You have heard it was said, do not commit adultery, but I say if you even lust after a woman, you are guilty of adultery...same with murder and anger...so it follows that tithing is the minimum when it comes to giving. I think that part of the confusion by many in the church today is seeing such a radical break between the Testaments and between Israel and the Church that I feel is not accurate.
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