The Gospel Pipeline--Waltzing in the Word--Fight

When followers of Christ read Scripture, we normally gravitate to a "practical application." What this means is that we often read Scripture only to look for what we must DO or NOT DO. We have already seen that reading Scripture should remind us, at least initially, of how we are failing to live as Jesus lived...the Repent Step. Then Scripture should lead us to fresh faith in Christ by giving us in ever fresh ways, the promises of the Gospel. As we Repent and Believe, Christ is applied to our hearts in a supernatural way and we are promised change...NOW, as a result of the promise of power and change, we are to FIGHT! It's not NIKE Christianity...Just Do It! Instead it is Gospel Christianity...in light of Repentance and Faith...NOW Do It! There are things we are to fight for and fight against, and we are to note these when we read Scripture...
Fight:
After appropriating the power of the blood, is there a command that I need to obey?

After appropriating the power of the blood, is there a prohibition that I need to heed?

Is there a means of grace that I need to engage in?

Is there a ministry activity that I need to carry out?

Is there an act of love or mercy that I need to follow through on?

Is there a temptation that I need to struggle hard against to overcome?

Is there a battle wit h the world, the flesh or the devil I need to take more seriously?

Is there something revealed about my life for which I need to be held accountable?

Gospel Pipeline--Waltzing in the Word--Believe

Whenever we read the word, we should hear the Waltz Music. The Scriptures should lead us to repent, but if we only see our sin, we can become discouraged and defeated. The Scriptures should lead us to see our sin only long enough to despair of our own righteousness and ability so that we look afresh to Christ for hope and peace. Therefore, when we read the Word, we should be aware of all there is in the text that points to fresh faith in Christ. Here are some questions I've learned to ask of the passage I'm reading:

Believe:
Is there some element of the work of Christ revealed in the text I must believe?

Is there a “present value” of the blood of Christ revealed that I must apply to my heart?

Is there a promise of God related to the gospel that I need to appropriate?

Is there a work of the Spirit revealed which I need to hope more fully in?

Is there a revelation of grace that I need to relish revealed by the text?

Is God’s love revealed to me in a fresh way that I need to rest in?

Is there a goodness, kindness or mercy of God that I need to thank Him for?

Is there a revelation of the law as my highest delight that I need to embrace?

Is there a prohibition that I need to acknowledge as a warning keeping me from my
worst nightmare?

The Gospel Pipeline--Waltzing in the Word

If Scripture is the clearest sound of Waltz music, how do we dance as we read? We ask questions of the text according to each of the Three Steps. When it comes to the Repent Step of the Waltz, these questions have been helpful to me:

Is the Spirit exposing a heart attitude through the text that I need to repent of?

Is the Spirit exposing a wrong behavior through the passage that I must confess?

Is there something wrong that I’ve thought, said, done that is revealed in the text?

Is there something that I’ve left unsaid or undone that is revealed by the passage?

Is there some area of unbelief that is being pointed out by the Spirit?

Is there a heart-change and/or life-change God is calling me to make I’m resisting?

Is there a “fruit” sin exposed that is leading me to acknowledge a “root” sin in life?

The Gospel Pipeline--Waltz Music

So, if the Christian life is a waltz and the three step spiritual dance with Christ transforms us, how does it work? Easy, you need to listen to the music (Doobie Brothers, August Rush...I know some of you will get that; if you don't, no worries, has nothing to do with this blog entry really). Waltz music is playing all around us all the time! The most obvious source of waltz music is Scripture. Every passage exposes our need for Christ. Instead of reading Scripture and immediate thinking of ways you need to "get busy," think of ways the passage is exposing your fallenness and sin. That may sound depressing, but its not! Our joy comes from seeing Christ as our Savior and Deliverer and experiencing His love and power...that happens when Scripture reveals our sin and points us back to our Hope in Christ. You'll also begin to notice that every passage tends to emphasize one element of the waltz, but to properly interpret and apply the passage, all three steps of the waltz must be kept in mind. You'll be surprised, however, how often all three steps of the waltz are in the immediate context of every Bible passage. But waltz music is heard in every Bible Study, every Sunday morning...and through all of life...every relationship, every circumstance. Our need for Christ and the call to repentance and faith is revealed all day, every day. That's the waltz music that leads us to Repent, Believe and Fight. We wake up each morning and we waltz to the music until we hit the pillow at night...and we find ourselves progressively changed by grace!

The Gospel Pipeline--The Waltz

So, all Christians dance...some do the Bunny Hop, some the Texas Two-Step, but those dances are incomplete renditions of the Christ-centered life. The Dance with Christ that leads to spiritual transformation is a Waltz. What is a waltz? You've heard Tchaikovsky or seen a ballroom waltz scene on the big screen...a waltz is a three-step dance. One, two, three; one, two, three; one, two, three. Spiritual transformation occurs as we waltz with Christ. Step One--Repent. Christian growth begins with repentance: admitting our sin and acknowledging we are as helpless to change ourselves apart from Christ as we are to save ourselves from sin apart from Christ. But the waltz is never just a one step dance, so waltzing doesn't end with us admitting our sin and helplessness. That would be depressing! Repentance leads to fresh faith in Christ, so Step Two of the Waltz is Believe. There are two elements here: appreciate and appropriate. First, as you acknowledge sin, appreciate your justified standing with God. You are right with God because of your union with Christ and His righteousness, not because you are perfectly obedient in your life. Second, trust the power of the blood of Christ to be applied to your life at your point of repentance and to change you the same way you trusted the blood of Christ to save you at your conversion. But thus far we simply have a Texas Two-Step, so Step Three of the Waltz is to Fight! There are vices to put off and virtues to put on. We are not lifeless sticks flowing down the current just waiting passively to be carried away. Trusting in Christ afresh unites us with the life-giving energy of His Spirit and we are to step out in dependence and say yes to righteousness and no to sin. Then, as we move out and then blow it again, the waltz music starts all over...Repent, Believe, Fight...1,2,3; 1,2,3; 1,2,3; We waltz with Christ who teaches better and better this dance of growth. We also waltz in the Ballroom of the Church and we encourage one another to grow. One last thing...we are all heavy-footed in one of the steps because of temperament, background, baggage, parenting, experiences, etc. To really grow in a balanced way, we must know where we are heavy-footed in the Waltz and make sure we become more proficient in the other two elements of the waltz. Happy Waltzing!

The Gospel Pipeline--The Waltz--Texas-Two Steppers

As we consider paradigms of Christian growth and life-change in the Church, Texas Two-Steppers are folk who seem to reduce the Christian life down to a couple emphases. The most typical Texas Two Step is Confess and Recommit, or Repent and Try Harder. When we are going through our day and we fail, fall into sin, blow it, then confess it and double your efforts to avoid such a failure in the future. Obviously there is some truth to this perspective, but think of this: what is distinctively Christian about such a Two-Step? Where is Christ and the power of the Spirit in such a paradigm? How is that Two-Step any different from other religion's approaches? Other Texas Two-Steppers reduce the Christian life to Repent and Believe or Confess your sin and trust God for change. Now, in some ways, of all the "dances" we've considered, this is closest to the Biblical paradigm...yet it is still incomplete. There is no question we are called to confess our sin and to repent of our sin. There is also no question that we are to look to Christ in full faith to transform us. But there are many commands in Scripture and many encouragements to work out our salvation and to strive for holiness and put off vices and put on virtue. So, the Texas Two-Step is also an inadequate view of Christian life change. We need to learn how to WALTZ!

Gospel Pipeline and the Waltz--Bunny Hoppers

All Christians Dance! When it comes to a paradigm of Christian growth, all Christians are engaged in a spiritual dance.  Some Christians do the Bunny Hop...a one-step dance.  They seem to reduce the Christian life to a singular element.  Some Bunny Hoppers emphasize striving with all their might..."Try harder!" might be their cry. Other Bunny Hoppers might focus on recommitment.  Others may think the key to spiritual growth in confession or repentance.  Still other Bunny Hoppers might focus on surrender...their cry might be "Let go, let God." Perhaps you are a Bunny Hopper.  There are some elements of Biblical truth to these variations of the Bunny Hop...but none of them present the complete Biblical paradigm of spiritual change. Next time we'll look at those of us who do the Texas Two-Step...

Gospel Pipeline--Stage 4--I Hate Snakes

I just returned from St Petersburg, Russia. In the Russian Museum there is a painting of Numbers 21...snakes everywhere, people bitten, dying. In the background is the Bronze Serpent on a pole...to which people could look, and according to the promise of God, be saved. According to Numbers 21 and the picture we get, there was real, liquid venom coursing through the peoples' veins, but the look of faith released real, supernatural power from God, and the power neutralized the poison. Jesus talks about Numbers 21 in John 3 and says that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up and whoever believes in Him (looks to Him in faith), will be saved. The look of faith to Christ, hoping in the promise of God's grace and forgiveness, frees us from the fatal venom of sin coursing through our "veins." That is the great doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone. But there is more to Numbers 21 than the doctrine of justification. In Galatians 3:5 we learn that the same faith that leads to justification also leads to sanctification...so, the look of faith releases supernatural transforming power in our daily lives. Say, for instance, we struggle with anger...we blow up...to use Numbers 21, we've been "bitten afresh" by the venom of sin. We need to be cleansed from the power of sin afresh...what do we do? Trying to suck the poison out through some kit won't work! We look again to Christ, this time trusting the power of the blood to cleanse and transform us! Look to the cross again and again and trust in the release of supernatural, transforming power...the look of faith released power to neutralize snake venom...and the same look of faith can progressively neutralize the power of sin in our daily lives as well!

Gospel Pipeline--Stage Three (cont'd)

My favorite catechism question is from the Heidelberg. Question #60--"How are you right with God? Answer: Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against ALL God's commandments and of NEVER having kept ANY of them; and even though I am STILL inclined toward evil, nevertheless, without my deserving it at all, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ, AS IF I had NEVER sinned, nor been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient FOR me. All I need to do is accept this gift of God with a believing heart." The Christian must preach this gospel to himself/herself every day! It is through believing this truth that the Spirit of God changes us (2 Cor 3:18, Gal 3:5)! Our Titus verses that highlight all this are as follows: Justification--Titus 3:7a; Adoption--Titus 3:7b (also Jn 17:23, Zeph 3:17); and the hope of both initial and continual transformation is found in Titus 3:5--the renewal of the Holy Spirit. What we're emphasizing, of course, is that the Christian life is supernatural! And again, I've promised to use Num 21 as an illustration of this...and I'll get to it soon!

Gospel Pipeline--stage three

What the church needs to recapture is that the Basics of Christian living are the doctrines of grace. All throughout Titus 2-3 we see these important truths...justification by grace, adoption as heirs, renewal by the Holy Spirit. These are the blessings of the new covenant through our union with Christ. These are doctrines Paul covers in the first portions of his epistles. Too often we move away from a doctrinal focus to a pragmatic focus after conversion. We must keep believing these glorious doctrines of grace in order to experience growth. As a matter of fact, it is precisely as we believe and hope in and rest in these glorious truths that the power of the Spirit falls upon us and transforms us. In 2 Cor 3:18 we're told that as we behold Christ, we are transformed from one degree of glory to another by the Spirit. As we rest in our justified standing and adopted status when we feel as though we least deserve such a hope, that is what brings the power of the Spirit...as Paul writes in Gal 3:5...does God give you His Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law or because you believe what you heard?! A great picture of this transforming power of faith in God's grace is found in Numbers 21...more on that later.

Gospel Pipeline-Stage Two

Once we're converted, what tends to happen next has been firmly documented through the lives of God's people. Once gripped by the wonder and promise of grace for eternal life, new believers are often led to (and predisposed to!) see the BASICS of the Christian life in terms of behaviors and disciplines. There is good reason for this...Scripture clearly calls Christ-followers to live the life...to walk the walk and not merely talk the talk! In Titus we see this call to obedience very clearly stated: In Titus 3:1 we read that Christ-followers are to BE submissive to rulers, to BE obedient, to BE ready for every good work, and in Titus 3:8 we are exhorted to BE careful to devote ourselves to good works...if we are not careful, these emphases become what my good friend and President of Covenant Theological Seminary, Bryan Chapell, calls "The Killer Be's." These "Be's" are not wrong in themselves, but wrong left BY themselves. If we're not careful, the Christian life loses its emphasis on continual faith in Christ for life and we begin to look for life through our own efforts. We begin to think there is transforming power in the sheer discipline of gutting out the Christian lifestyle. This can quickly create a moralistic, behavioralistic paradigm of the Christian life. The "rules" of the Christian life can change in an instant. What got us saved, the grace of God, is not exchanged for a new rule...human effort. This was the Galatian problem. The Galatians to whom Paul writes, began their Christian experience with an emphasis on grace, hope in the Gospel and faith in Christ alone. This is clearly revealed in Galatians 3--Paul asks them, DID you receive the Spirit (past tense), in other words, DID you become Christians, by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? The text demands the obvious answer...they, and WE, become Christians ONLY by hearing with faith (see my last Blog entry). But then Paul addresses their PRESENT Christian experience...Are you so foolish, having BEGUN by the Spirit are you now being perfected by the flesh (by human effort)?...Does He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?!! Do you see what Paul is saying? He is saying you are not only saved from hell and sin and death by grace through faith...but you are also progressively transformed into the image of Christ supernaturally by grace through faith as well!! Forgetting this gospel truth leads to a real clog of the flow of grace in our lives. Because of our sinfulness, we tend to read the second half of Paul's letters which emphasise gospel ethics and focus entirely on those portions as the key to Christian living. We become the Church of the Latter-Half Saints!! Instead we need to continually re-visit the FIRST part of Paul's epistles and make sure we are living in grace, which will in fact supernaturally lead to living out the second half of Paul's letters. You see, we tend to forget that there are two sides to the flesh, or indwelling sin, in a believer. There is a tendency to think only of the irreligious flesh, that pull of sin toward immorality or obvious disobedience...the dirty dozen, the filthy five, the sinful six, the nasty nine, the awful eight...whatever list your church gives you of what bad Christians do and good Christians avoid. Now, make no mistake...there IS a righteousness that we are to pursue and there IS sin we are called to avoid...but that is only one element of the flesh that we are called to do battle with. The other side of the coin of a believer's sinfulness is the RELIGIOUS flesh. That's right...part of the element of sinfulness that resids within is religious...seeking to build our own righteousness and to seek confidence before God because of our own goodness, rather than having confidence before God because of the righteousness of Christ that is our's by faith. This tendency toward performance clogs up many a Christian life! This performance paradigm has only two possible ends, and both are devastating...First, if someone is very self-UNaware and is somewhat competent and disciplined, the Performance Paradigm leads to self-righteousness. Second, if the person IS self-aware, knows their sin and weakness, and is NOT very competent or disciplined, the Performance Paradigm leads to self-despair. Also for the Performance paradigm to "work", people must file down the law to make it attainable, minimize the holiness of God to make it less intense and also focus on the sin of others so that our own righteousness seems greater. The Performance Paradigm is what leads to judgmentalis and criticising in the Church. People in this paradigm focus on their own strengths but on other's weaknesses, so they can maintain the illusion of their own righteousness. It makes for a very unsafe church. No one in such a place wants to admit that they don't have it together because everyone else is also pretending that they have it together. There is no real fellowship, just a bunch of facades bumping into each other. The answer is to continue to preach and believe the Gospel of Grace...Titus 2:11--grace brings salvation...ALL of salvation, from first to last, from beginning to end. What is distinctively Christian about your walk? I hope you don't think its behaviors. All the major religions emphasise behavior...what is distinctively Christian about Christian character is that it is born through faith in Christ and is supernatural. The BASICS of Christian living are not behaviors or disciplines, but the truths of Gospel Grace applied daily to the Christian life.

The Gospel Pipeline

At Oak Mountain Presbyterian, we try to equip people to live in and live out the Gospel of Grace. What does this look like for a typical Christian? I recently preached a series on Titus 2-3 that presents the transforming flow of grace in a believer's life (Its called Roto Rooter for the Soul and you can access it on our web site). Titus 2-3 is one of the most balanced, integrated portions of Scripture you'll ever come across. So often, followers of Christ become entrenched in their views of what is really needed to bring health and renewal to the Church. In fact, the Bible doesn't present ONE element necessary to health, but ALL the elements of the Gospel of Grace held in tension. You'll run into people who say that what is needed to create new life in the Church is more emphasis on obedience, discipline and the Law. You'll run into other folk who say what is needed in more emphasis on repentance and turning from sin. You'll run into still others who say people need more emphasis on the love and grace of God. Titus reveals that all of those elements are necessary...leave out any and the Christian's life will become skewed. Let's take a look at what Paul writes to Titus concerning what pastors and churches need to emphasize to their flocks.
The first phase of the Gospel Pipeline, the entry point if you will, is grace for conversion. We see Paul talk about this in Titus 2:11 where he writes that the grace of God has appeared that brings salvation. And in Titus 3:5 he talks about the work of the Holy Spirit bringing the washing of regeneration. One of the reasons we sometimes see little evidence of life in our churches is that perhaps some of those (many??) who PROFESS faith in Christ do not actually POSSESS life IN CHRIST. The Christian life is supernatural! It is not committing yourself to a Christian Ethic, or a list of behaviors or a moral code. The Christian life is the result of a supernatural work of grace that opens our hearts and minds, will and emotions, to Christ as the Pearl of Great Price. Grace enables the soul to long for Christ and to hope completely in Him for salvation apart from works (Titus 3:5). Grace is what enables us to become aware of our sin and desperation, our sin and weakness and helplessness to save ourselves or to change ourselves. And grace is also what enables us to submit to Christ as Lord as well as trust Him as Savior. Apart from the supernatural work of grace, many will turn to Christ only as fire insurance...a ticket out of hell. But the supernatural work of grace is so infinitely powerful that the heart that is touched by the Holy Spirit not only desires heaven, but to follow Christ! Too many people have walked an aisle, prayed a sinner's prayer, joined a church or been baptized without ever having experienced the grace of regeneration...the giving by Grace of a new heart! The grace of regeneration creates a new heart, brings new life and grants true faith in Christ...I personally prayed the sinner's prayer over 100 times! I asked Jesus into my heart over and over and over...so, if I kept asking Jesus into my heart to save me from my sin, was there truly any faith in His promises? After many months of struggle, our kind Father opened my eyes to see His promises of life in Christ, and by His grace I finally rested in the Person, Work and Promises of Christ. I'm not sure WHEN I was saved...and it doesn't matter. All I know is that at some point, I put my hope completely in Christ...and THAT by His grace. For too long I put faith in my own faith, or faith in my own spiritual experience, rather than faith in Christ alone. I also think that for a long season after I prayed the prayer (but perhaps lacked true life), I didn't really understand the enormity of my sin and the infinite nature of God's holiness...so, I was not really desperate or helpless before God; I still thought my salvation was to some extent dependent upon my good works. It wasn't until grace opened my eyes to my absolute failure to live as God commands that I saw that Christ was my only hope. I think the practice of many churches to try to get people to nail down a time and place of conversion is dangerous. It can lead many to false assurance. People can write down a time and place in a Bible and say they were "saved" at that point, and then feel that it doesn't matter how they live, because they have a date and time they can point to. But Christ clearly says, as does all of Scripture, that grace is so powerful and transformational, that faith in Christ will lead to a repentant life...that we'll never "arrive" and we'll constantly "fall" but the general tenor of our lives will be to get back up by grace and carry on in new obedience. Anyone who professes faith and is NOT willing to live a repentant, dependent life should at least question whether or not they have been born again...this does NOT lead to a salvation by works mentality, but simply exults the power and wonder of grace. If someone IS led to doubt their salvation because of their lifestyle, where they turn next will in fact be the revealer of their hearts...what I mean is this...If I doubt whether or not I am truly born again because I see some sin issues in my life-style, what do I do? If, on the one hand, I think, "Wow, I better get my act together...I better turn my life around...I better turn over a new leaf" well, such a person may NOT be saved because they are looking to self, works and behaviors for confidence. However, if, on the other hand, aware of shortcomings, the person cries out afresh, "Oh Christ! Have mercy on me a sinner! I am unworthy of confidence as I look to my own righteousness. Only as I look at Your finished work on my behalf, only as I hope in Your righteous life lived for me and as I gaze at Your substitutionary death removing the wrath of God from me, do I have any confidence!"...well, I believe such a person is showing the result of God's grace granting true faith and they are regenerate and possess true life in Christ. Salvation is ALL of grace...and it will result in a changed life. This is the entry point of the Gospel Pipeline...but what tends to happen next?