Ephesians 2:4 ¶ But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
A surrender to grace by faith produces an ability to be a new creature and to walk according to the will of God. Then when it happens others do not look at us and applaud our greatness. They can’t help but realize it was God who enabled us to be and to do.
Romans 5:17 said grace causes us to triumph over sin. It is when we receive the grace of God in vain that we dishonor the Lord. We dishonor if we lose faith in the ability of His grace.
Imagine a child who lives in a loving home where the food pantry is full, their closet is filled with nice clothes, and they have a room full of toys both new and old. They have everything they need to live and to grow.
Imagine you run into that small child and he is out working and you ask him why and he says to you that he needs to work to earn money because he doesn’t have all that he needs unless he does something about it.
What a dishonor to the parents that would be. What a lack of recognizing the gift of blessing, provision and love being poured out each day of his little life.
But here is the rub. Many a believer fails to ever truly appreciate the great gift of grace through Jesus Christ. The gift that makes our salvation possible, the only gift with the power to change us into His image. The only gift that can enable us to be identified with Him.
When grace is perceived as merely getting someone saved it is no wonder there is a lack of rejoicing and thanksgiving after having been in for a while. Grace warmed the affections at the start but now other things have to happen before one can get excited about the Lord. He gave them grace to get them started and now they have to work harder than they had ever tried before to stay right.
This my friend is receiving grace in vain.
Grace not only gets us in, it upholds us to the end.
There is a reason that the throne on which Jesus sits is called the throne of grace.
About The Author
- Tim Atchley
- Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
- I currently serve as Senior Pastor of Harvest Church in Knoxville, Tn. I was sent out from Trinity Chapel of Knoxville in 1993 accompanied by my wife Sheila our four children Sarah, Hannah, Josiah & Isaac and a handful of bold, brave and committed believers determined to plant our first church. Pioneering is hard work but well worth the journey. That is why we desire to make disciples of Christ who will, like us, also embrace the call to plant churches.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Do Not Receive Grace in Vain Part Three
Romans 5:15 But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. (This indicates a change in identity not a new work ethic, grace is a gift and a gift cannot be earned or it is no longer a gift)18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. 20 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We can only experience grace through faith and by grace we stand, and it is by grace that we will be able to experience the things God foreordained for our lives. Effective grace never makes a lazy saint.
2Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
Here’s where I get to be like Billy Mays the infomercial guy who screams but wait there’s more! Grace releases us to walk in wisdom and prudence and brings us into God’s purpose.
Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth––in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,
It is only through grace that we can be identified with Christ and thus enjoy new life and the wealth of grace and kindness God so freely offers us in Him.
We can only experience grace through faith and by grace we stand, and it is by grace that we will be able to experience the things God foreordained for our lives. Effective grace never makes a lazy saint.
2Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
Here’s where I get to be like Billy Mays the infomercial guy who screams but wait there’s more! Grace releases us to walk in wisdom and prudence and brings us into God’s purpose.
Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth––in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,
It is only through grace that we can be identified with Christ and thus enjoy new life and the wealth of grace and kindness God so freely offers us in Him.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Do Not Receive Grace in Vain Part Two
Grace is the means of our salvation, Ephesians 2 makes this clear.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Grace took us out from under the law that proved us guilty before God and deserving of the justice of eternal damnation.
Romans 10:1 Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. 2 I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. (This is called zeal without knowledge) 3 For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. 4 For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in Christ are made right with God.
With regard to the law the Scripture also says in:
Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
If that were not enough to begin to convince us we read in:
Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Here we are never mentioned as doing anything to obtain this other that having faith in what Jesus did. It is clear that faith brings us into grace and it is by that grace we stand and rejoice in hope! No grace no glory!
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Grace took us out from under the law that proved us guilty before God and deserving of the justice of eternal damnation.
Romans 10:1 Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. 2 I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. (This is called zeal without knowledge) 3 For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. 4 For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in Christ are made right with God.
With regard to the law the Scripture also says in:
Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
If that were not enough to begin to convince us we read in:
Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Here we are never mentioned as doing anything to obtain this other that having faith in what Jesus did. It is clear that faith brings us into grace and it is by that grace we stand and rejoice in hope! No grace no glory!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Do Not Receive Grace in Vain Part One
2Corinthians 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 6:1 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
To be told not to receive grace in vain implies that one can receive grace without it being effective at accomplishing it’s purpose.
In vain means that it did not achieve all that was intended to achieve because it is not being utilized properly. It is being rendered as useless.
A vacuum cleaner is designed to pick up messes made on the floor. It can belong to me and even be plugged into the wall, but if turned on it does nothing when I push it across a mess on the floor. Actually you'll find it simply spreads the mess and makes bigger in a sense. Why? It has been rendered useless. I have this vacuum in vain. But if I turn it on amazingly it does what it is intended to do. I no longer possess it in vain. The switch is like the grace of God in my life. It is grace that allows the power of the Spirit to operate withing me and through me. If grace is not allowed to function as grace in my life I have it in vain.
Grace is unmerited favor. It is God’s free action for the benefit of His people. It is different than Justice and Mercy.
Justice is getting what we deserve.
Mercy is not getting what we deserve.
Grace is getting what we do not deserve.
In grace we get eternal life, something that, quite obviously, we do not deserve. But because of God’s love and kindness manifested in Jesus on the Cross, we receive the great blessing of redemption.
An acronym for it is Grace is:
G-God’s
R-Riches
A-At
C-Christ’s
E-Expense.
Grace rules out all human merit. We did not work to be saved.
Grace is the product of God that is given by God, because of who He is not because of who we are. It is a gift to us from God.
To be told not to receive grace in vain implies that one can receive grace without it being effective at accomplishing it’s purpose.
In vain means that it did not achieve all that was intended to achieve because it is not being utilized properly. It is being rendered as useless.
A vacuum cleaner is designed to pick up messes made on the floor. It can belong to me and even be plugged into the wall, but if turned on it does nothing when I push it across a mess on the floor. Actually you'll find it simply spreads the mess and makes bigger in a sense. Why? It has been rendered useless. I have this vacuum in vain. But if I turn it on amazingly it does what it is intended to do. I no longer possess it in vain. The switch is like the grace of God in my life. It is grace that allows the power of the Spirit to operate withing me and through me. If grace is not allowed to function as grace in my life I have it in vain.
Grace is unmerited favor. It is God’s free action for the benefit of His people. It is different than Justice and Mercy.
Justice is getting what we deserve.
Mercy is not getting what we deserve.
Grace is getting what we do not deserve.
In grace we get eternal life, something that, quite obviously, we do not deserve. But because of God’s love and kindness manifested in Jesus on the Cross, we receive the great blessing of redemption.
An acronym for it is Grace is:
G-God’s
R-Riches
A-At
C-Christ’s
E-Expense.
Grace rules out all human merit. We did not work to be saved.
Grace is the product of God that is given by God, because of who He is not because of who we are. It is a gift to us from God.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Christ in You Part Five
Those who are continually looking to write yet another book on how to succeed at the Christian life and enjoy the glory and favor of God are men and women who have yet to grasp the glorious message of the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
They are still struggling to find a way to get God’s attention with antics they call radical and passionate. But these radical deeds do more to point others to them than to point others to Christ Jesus.
When we do this we become the horse others mistake as the point, when Jesus who is the rider should be their focus.
You and I will never experience more passion than we will when we discover through a revelation of the grace revealed through Jesus Christ by faith that we are forever sealed by His Spirit, accepted in the beloved through Him and walk in the Divine favor because of what He has done.
This revelation does not lead true believers into sin, it leads them into victory over sin as they find themselves gloriously distracted by the sure mercies of God revealed in His Son Jesus Christ!
Your purpose and my purpose is the same as every believers and that is to become identified fully with Him! To be hidden with Christ in God!
I want to bring this to an end going back to Colossians and reading it from the Message.
Colossians 1:11 We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, 12 ¶ thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. 13 God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, 14 the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating. 15 We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. 16 For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. 17 He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. 18 And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. 19 So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. 20 Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the Cross. 21 You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. 22 But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. 23 You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message. 24 I want you to know how glad I am that it’s me sitting here in this jail and not you. There’s a lot of suffering to be entered into in this world—the kind of suffering Christ takes on. I welcome the chance to take my share in the church’s part of that suffering. 25 When I became a servant in this church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift, God’s way of helping me serve you, laying out the whole truth. 26 This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. 27 God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. 28 We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. 29 That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.
Identification!
Christ in you the hope of glory!
There is no glory apart from His finished work!
Faith in Him delights the Father and the work of the Holy Spirit is revealed through this faith in Him.
It is by grace through faith, not of works lest any man should boast!
Jesus our Savior and Redeemer has done it for us! He reconciled us so sufficiently there is nothing we can add to it to impress the Father.
We can rest in His finished work on our behalf and rejoice in the steadfastness of His power to keep us!
What keeps you from approaching Him?
What can hold you back from fully surrendering all that you are to Him?
Come to Him and find the rest you long for!
They are still struggling to find a way to get God’s attention with antics they call radical and passionate. But these radical deeds do more to point others to them than to point others to Christ Jesus.
When we do this we become the horse others mistake as the point, when Jesus who is the rider should be their focus.
You and I will never experience more passion than we will when we discover through a revelation of the grace revealed through Jesus Christ by faith that we are forever sealed by His Spirit, accepted in the beloved through Him and walk in the Divine favor because of what He has done.
This revelation does not lead true believers into sin, it leads them into victory over sin as they find themselves gloriously distracted by the sure mercies of God revealed in His Son Jesus Christ!
Your purpose and my purpose is the same as every believers and that is to become identified fully with Him! To be hidden with Christ in God!
I want to bring this to an end going back to Colossians and reading it from the Message.
Colossians 1:11 We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, 12 ¶ thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. 13 God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, 14 the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating. 15 We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. 16 For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. 17 He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. 18 And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. 19 So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. 20 Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the Cross. 21 You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. 22 But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. 23 You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message. 24 I want you to know how glad I am that it’s me sitting here in this jail and not you. There’s a lot of suffering to be entered into in this world—the kind of suffering Christ takes on. I welcome the chance to take my share in the church’s part of that suffering. 25 When I became a servant in this church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift, God’s way of helping me serve you, laying out the whole truth. 26 This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. 27 God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. 28 We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. 29 That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.
Identification!
Christ in you the hope of glory!
There is no glory apart from His finished work!
Faith in Him delights the Father and the work of the Holy Spirit is revealed through this faith in Him.
It is by grace through faith, not of works lest any man should boast!
Jesus our Savior and Redeemer has done it for us! He reconciled us so sufficiently there is nothing we can add to it to impress the Father.
We can rest in His finished work on our behalf and rejoice in the steadfastness of His power to keep us!
What keeps you from approaching Him?
What can hold you back from fully surrendering all that you are to Him?
Come to Him and find the rest you long for!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Christ in You Part Four
What gets int he way of someone seeing Christ?
Galatians 3:1 ¶ Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it? 5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. 6 ¶ In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” 7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God. (NLT)
What had happened to these Galatians?
Teachers had come along after they had received Christ and began to teach that they now were obligated to do certain things to prove their devotion and to continue experiencing the favor of God. They were being told they needed to perform certain righteous deeds in order to maintain the power of God at work in their lives.
These teachers were moving these Galatians away from the gospel they had received regarding Christ Jesus. They were putting the eyes of the Galatians on the horse as opposed to the rider.
Our hope and acceptance began in Christ and it remains in Him today, and into eternity!
Our lives are hidden with Christ in God! We are the righteousness of God in Christ!
Galatians 3:1 ¶ Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it? 5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. 6 ¶ In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” 7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God. (NLT)
What had happened to these Galatians?
Teachers had come along after they had received Christ and began to teach that they now were obligated to do certain things to prove their devotion and to continue experiencing the favor of God. They were being told they needed to perform certain righteous deeds in order to maintain the power of God at work in their lives.
These teachers were moving these Galatians away from the gospel they had received regarding Christ Jesus. They were putting the eyes of the Galatians on the horse as opposed to the rider.
Our hope and acceptance began in Christ and it remains in Him today, and into eternity!
Our lives are hidden with Christ in God! We are the righteousness of God in Christ!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Christ in You Part Three
Many things circulated today do nothing to establish us in the gospel of grace through Jesus Christ. It is more inclined to further trap us in an attitude of condemnation as we read or listen and discover that we fail to measure up even more than we thought, and we have not been told clearly what to do about it other than try harder.
Meanwhile, anything we do absent the full working of His grace within us does nothing to reveal the glory of God at work in us and through us.
Our problem is not a need for a more specific teaching on how to conquer this particular weakness we discovered we have. The solution is the same as it has been from the beginning of the church.
Look to Him! We must begin to realign the who we are. with the who He is.
The enemy of our souls loves nothing more than to see Christians become driven by their well intentioned attempts at getting free through personal sacrifice and greater due diligence in trying to will themselves to change.
He knows it will end in defeat and discouragement.
The more we look at ourselves, our successes and failures alike the more we identify with the wrong source.
We are getting caught up in the horse and not the rider.
Our identity is what changes who we are. Who and what we identify with is the source of our sanctification and power.
We do not for instance get to experience the power of God because we walk more worthily than any other believer. "Well, God uses me more because I pray more, and read more, and I don’t watch bad shows, or listen to bad things, or tell bad jokes. I am holy, and therefore God is able to use me."
That wreaks of self righteousness which is something God abhors.
Jesus was noted as a winebibber and a glutton and was doing miraculous works and it greatly offended the religious leaders of His day. Why?
They were the, "respected holy ones," who kept true to the traditions, rules and expectations. Surely if God were going to do something significant He would do so through them.
But he used someone who came up out of Nazareth, can anything good come out of Nazareth?
They could not see the rider for the horse he sat on. They missed the point of life, Christ in you the hope of glory.
Meanwhile, anything we do absent the full working of His grace within us does nothing to reveal the glory of God at work in us and through us.
Our problem is not a need for a more specific teaching on how to conquer this particular weakness we discovered we have. The solution is the same as it has been from the beginning of the church.
Look to Him! We must begin to realign the who we are. with the who He is.
The enemy of our souls loves nothing more than to see Christians become driven by their well intentioned attempts at getting free through personal sacrifice and greater due diligence in trying to will themselves to change.
He knows it will end in defeat and discouragement.
The more we look at ourselves, our successes and failures alike the more we identify with the wrong source.
We are getting caught up in the horse and not the rider.
Our identity is what changes who we are. Who and what we identify with is the source of our sanctification and power.
We do not for instance get to experience the power of God because we walk more worthily than any other believer. "Well, God uses me more because I pray more, and read more, and I don’t watch bad shows, or listen to bad things, or tell bad jokes. I am holy, and therefore God is able to use me."
That wreaks of self righteousness which is something God abhors.
Jesus was noted as a winebibber and a glutton and was doing miraculous works and it greatly offended the religious leaders of His day. Why?
They were the, "respected holy ones," who kept true to the traditions, rules and expectations. Surely if God were going to do something significant He would do so through them.
But he used someone who came up out of Nazareth, can anything good come out of Nazareth?
They could not see the rider for the horse he sat on. They missed the point of life, Christ in you the hope of glory.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Christ in You Part Two
Let’s face it we like ABC formula’s. We like to think that there must be a very specific teaching regarding our personal situation that will improve us as a person and enable us to become better so we can hold our heads up high in public without shame.
We want something that will call us to pull up our boot straps and get with it so that once we do so we might boast of how we dug deep down into our own personal reserves and willed ourselves to healing and deliverance.
There are teachings designed to get us on track again by calling us to live according to purpose, it all sounds magnificent because it tells us we need a purpose larger than ourselves and it stirs us inside and as would any motivational work it moves into temporary action.
We all fall prey to these well intentioned teachings and devices unleashed on the church. It seems the church is forever missing the forest for the trees.
A young father and his son who lived in New York regularly jogged together through the city early in the morning. Their normal course took them by a statue of General William Tecumseh Sherman seated on a horse. One of their regular rituals was to pause at the foot of familiar old Sherman before resuming their run. Then the father took a job on the west coast and the day came for their last jog and their last rest at the foot of the famous Civil War General. The father pointed out the significance of this last stop before Sherman. The next day they would be gone. “Take one good long last look at old Sherman,” he said to his son. Then, as they stood and were about to resume their run the boy said, “By the way, Dad, who is that fellow sitting on the back of Old Sherman?”
That is what the Holy Spirit through Paul is dealing with when it comes to trying to get the church to see and understand what is most important to them.
We pause beneath the cross on our daily run as it has become our habit and we lose sight of what is important. We are inclined to ask who is that fellow on that cross.
We would rather worship the cross than one who hung on it. We think it is all about the cross.
Yes, Paul spoke adoringly regarding the cross but it was not because of the cross itself but rather the one who hung from it.
What we just read in Colossians did not say, “cross in you the hope of glory.” I distinctly recall it saying Christ in you!
We want something that will call us to pull up our boot straps and get with it so that once we do so we might boast of how we dug deep down into our own personal reserves and willed ourselves to healing and deliverance.
There are teachings designed to get us on track again by calling us to live according to purpose, it all sounds magnificent because it tells us we need a purpose larger than ourselves and it stirs us inside and as would any motivational work it moves into temporary action.
We all fall prey to these well intentioned teachings and devices unleashed on the church. It seems the church is forever missing the forest for the trees.
A young father and his son who lived in New York regularly jogged together through the city early in the morning. Their normal course took them by a statue of General William Tecumseh Sherman seated on a horse. One of their regular rituals was to pause at the foot of familiar old Sherman before resuming their run. Then the father took a job on the west coast and the day came for their last jog and their last rest at the foot of the famous Civil War General. The father pointed out the significance of this last stop before Sherman. The next day they would be gone. “Take one good long last look at old Sherman,” he said to his son. Then, as they stood and were about to resume their run the boy said, “By the way, Dad, who is that fellow sitting on the back of Old Sherman?”
That is what the Holy Spirit through Paul is dealing with when it comes to trying to get the church to see and understand what is most important to them.
We pause beneath the cross on our daily run as it has become our habit and we lose sight of what is important. We are inclined to ask who is that fellow on that cross.
We would rather worship the cross than one who hung on it. We think it is all about the cross.
Yes, Paul spoke adoringly regarding the cross but it was not because of the cross itself but rather the one who hung from it.
What we just read in Colossians did not say, “cross in you the hope of glory.” I distinctly recall it saying Christ in you!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Christ in You Part One
Colossians 1:27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. (NKJV)
Colossians1:27 God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. 28 We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. (The Message)
I hear people testify they wish to experience the glory of God.
I’ve been in prayer meetings where the focus of intense and passionate prayer was for God to reveal His glory.
C.S Lewis compared the modern Christian experience of glory as being that we splash around in mud puddles while there is a vast ocean right around the corner.
It is possible to go to church on any given Sunday in this country and hear a message specially catered to appeal to a certain aspect of one’s life. Always with the promise that it will be that one thing that will release the glory of God in our lives.
I wonder what would happen if we decided to simply preach the gospel and believe that it will point people to Christ who is the hope of glory.
There are so many well intentioned programs and teachings available today that are meant to help believers, but are they helping?
Is it possible that having so many options available has led believers not to victory, but to confusion about what to believe?
I could be persuaded to believe that in our nation the church has been adding to the message and therefore departing from the simple and basic truth intended.
Colossians1:27 God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. 28 We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. (The Message)
I hear people testify they wish to experience the glory of God.
I’ve been in prayer meetings where the focus of intense and passionate prayer was for God to reveal His glory.
C.S Lewis compared the modern Christian experience of glory as being that we splash around in mud puddles while there is a vast ocean right around the corner.
It is possible to go to church on any given Sunday in this country and hear a message specially catered to appeal to a certain aspect of one’s life. Always with the promise that it will be that one thing that will release the glory of God in our lives.
I wonder what would happen if we decided to simply preach the gospel and believe that it will point people to Christ who is the hope of glory.
There are so many well intentioned programs and teachings available today that are meant to help believers, but are they helping?
Is it possible that having so many options available has led believers not to victory, but to confusion about what to believe?
I could be persuaded to believe that in our nation the church has been adding to the message and therefore departing from the simple and basic truth intended.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Abiding in Christ Part Five
How was it we came to Christ at the first?
We came to Him as horrible messes on the premise that through faith in Christ we could be saved and made presentable to God. It is only through Christ that we can remain presentable to Him.
Romans 11:5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
Jesus calls us to life. Life in Him! Through Christ we have received this life and it is through Him that we continue in it. It is by walking in connection with Christ, abiding in Him.
John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
God has not asked us to behave like teenagers and do whatever our peers are doing that looks good. He has not taught that maturity in Christ is our becoming less dependent on Him.
There is not a list of do’s and don’ts that we can follow to produce abiding.
He calls to our hearts and says come to me, all you who labor and I will give you rest! Learn the unforced rhythms of grace, learn of me for I am meek and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
There is a place of abiding that produces such an abundance of the life of Christ in us that we cannot help but produce the fruit that we should. We know we are abiding when we cease from our own works and trust in His.
It is a relationship by faith built upon grace so that he might receive the glory and not we ourselves.
This is what fuels the affections for Christ. This what will lead believers to a place of passion for Christ.
We came to Him as horrible messes on the premise that through faith in Christ we could be saved and made presentable to God. It is only through Christ that we can remain presentable to Him.
Romans 11:5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
Jesus calls us to life. Life in Him! Through Christ we have received this life and it is through Him that we continue in it. It is by walking in connection with Christ, abiding in Him.
John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
God has not asked us to behave like teenagers and do whatever our peers are doing that looks good. He has not taught that maturity in Christ is our becoming less dependent on Him.
There is not a list of do’s and don’ts that we can follow to produce abiding.
He calls to our hearts and says come to me, all you who labor and I will give you rest! Learn the unforced rhythms of grace, learn of me for I am meek and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
There is a place of abiding that produces such an abundance of the life of Christ in us that we cannot help but produce the fruit that we should. We know we are abiding when we cease from our own works and trust in His.
It is a relationship by faith built upon grace so that he might receive the glory and not we ourselves.
This is what fuels the affections for Christ. This what will lead believers to a place of passion for Christ.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Abiding in Christ Part Four
There are more works being performed in independence or under condemnation and guilt today than there are because it was birthed as a burden from the Lord Himself.
When the Lord births something in the heart it comes with the full deposit of His Grace to do it. Success is no longer dependant on how it looks to others, or how many participate in it. I simply do it because it is God breathed.
I can be assured of His heart in the matter and instead of condemnation I get the privilege of being convinced of His love, acceptance and grace. This is the result of abiding in Him.
So how can I know that I am experiencing an abiding relationship with Christ?
We must first address the matter of our attempting to be righteous on our own. Abiding is grace based through faith.
When we fall into the trap of presenting ourselves as being our best without being in fellowship with Christ we are denying the truth and we set up an atmosphere of non abiding.
Titus 3:5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
1 John 1 reminds us, 4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. 5 ¶ This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 ¶ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Pretending we have it together gets us no where and cannot produce an abiding in Christ lifestyle.
Pretending may help us keep face in the Christian community but it will prohibit the production of true fruit. The longer we remain in such a state the more dried up we become.
On any given Sunday in churches, people who are not abiding in Christ as they should are well dressed, singing the songs, and praying as though they have been tight with Jesus all week. Ongoing fellowship with Jesus is a stranger to them.
Denial is not the answer, confession is. This why the grace of God is so important to us.
You cannot pray hard enough or sing hard enough to fix this. God did not receive us because we had so been able to clean ourselves up to become presentable to Him. We came by faith.
When the Lord births something in the heart it comes with the full deposit of His Grace to do it. Success is no longer dependant on how it looks to others, or how many participate in it. I simply do it because it is God breathed.
I can be assured of His heart in the matter and instead of condemnation I get the privilege of being convinced of His love, acceptance and grace. This is the result of abiding in Him.
So how can I know that I am experiencing an abiding relationship with Christ?
We must first address the matter of our attempting to be righteous on our own. Abiding is grace based through faith.
When we fall into the trap of presenting ourselves as being our best without being in fellowship with Christ we are denying the truth and we set up an atmosphere of non abiding.
Titus 3:5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
1 John 1 reminds us, 4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. 5 ¶ This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 ¶ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Pretending we have it together gets us no where and cannot produce an abiding in Christ lifestyle.
Pretending may help us keep face in the Christian community but it will prohibit the production of true fruit. The longer we remain in such a state the more dried up we become.
On any given Sunday in churches, people who are not abiding in Christ as they should are well dressed, singing the songs, and praying as though they have been tight with Jesus all week. Ongoing fellowship with Jesus is a stranger to them.
Denial is not the answer, confession is. This why the grace of God is so important to us.
You cannot pray hard enough or sing hard enough to fix this. God did not receive us because we had so been able to clean ourselves up to become presentable to Him. We came by faith.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Abiding in Christ Part Three
When Jesus declared allow the little children to come to me and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of God, he was showing us something profound.
When children are small they are so easily influenced by loving parents. The ability to relate and connect come easy. They more often than not want to be like their mother or father. They seek to imitate the ones they love. This is usually how it works in a loving family.
When the teenage years hit kids begin to think for themselves, and so they should. But if they lose respect and the affections grow dull they feel they know about as much as the parent if not more and something in the relationship begins to change. Often a tension emerges. Conflict occurs.
In their quest to assert their independence and make their own decisions they don’t even realize how much it is influenced by a greater respect for their peers than their parents, and more conflict arises. The once close relationship with mom and dad changes.
Likewise in our walk with God there are things that enter our hearts and begin to compete with our affections and respect for the Lord.
The enemy comes and begins to convince us that we should have long since been able to handle some things on our own. After all they are petty things we should know enough to just do it. He’ll even use the righteousness of the law to snare us. He’ll try to get us to move under good works to establish our sense of righteousness.
The goal of the enemy is to move us to a place of independence in our hearts which automatically draws us away from our place of abiding in Christ.
This is best evidenced in the temptation of our Lord in the wilderness.
Every temptation the enemy hurled at Jesus was Scripturally based. Satan never used an anti Scripture temptation he simply sought to twist the intent of the Scriptures.
He wanted Jesus to prove Himself by acting independently from the Father. To take up good things to prove He was the Son of God. He wanted Jesus to establish self affirmation. Why else would he say, “if you are the Son of God, then….”
But Jesus never removed Himself from His dependence upon the Father for the works He would perform. He withstood the attempt of Satan to move Him from abiding in relationship to the Father.
This battle is not foreign to any of us. You feel it every time you stop at an intersection and see someone holding a sign saying will work for food. Many know the condemnation when the light turns green and nothing was given. Why the condemnation?
There are many causes that are good out there. Many projects started by men with pure motives and good intentions. But pure motives and good intentions does not make it God’s will for every believer. This is why Jesus could respond easily to the criticism of the woman who poured expensive perfume on His feet when they said why was not this sold and the money given to the poor?
Their is the things in God's timing and there are the things that we want it to be God's timing but are not. Jesus was connected to the Father and in tune with the Spirit as a result and could discern that this woman was acting according o the Spirit. Meanwhile the men criticizing her were too busy thinking their idea was superior and more righteous than what she was doing.
Many a seemingly good work has been done by a non abiding believer. If these men had gotten their way they would have sold the perfume and given money to the poor and everyone around them would have applauded them for their generous hearts. But Jesus would not have been anointed for his death as a result and the greater purpose of the moment would have been missed.
When children are small they are so easily influenced by loving parents. The ability to relate and connect come easy. They more often than not want to be like their mother or father. They seek to imitate the ones they love. This is usually how it works in a loving family.
When the teenage years hit kids begin to think for themselves, and so they should. But if they lose respect and the affections grow dull they feel they know about as much as the parent if not more and something in the relationship begins to change. Often a tension emerges. Conflict occurs.
In their quest to assert their independence and make their own decisions they don’t even realize how much it is influenced by a greater respect for their peers than their parents, and more conflict arises. The once close relationship with mom and dad changes.
Likewise in our walk with God there are things that enter our hearts and begin to compete with our affections and respect for the Lord.
The enemy comes and begins to convince us that we should have long since been able to handle some things on our own. After all they are petty things we should know enough to just do it. He’ll even use the righteousness of the law to snare us. He’ll try to get us to move under good works to establish our sense of righteousness.
The goal of the enemy is to move us to a place of independence in our hearts which automatically draws us away from our place of abiding in Christ.
This is best evidenced in the temptation of our Lord in the wilderness.
Every temptation the enemy hurled at Jesus was Scripturally based. Satan never used an anti Scripture temptation he simply sought to twist the intent of the Scriptures.
He wanted Jesus to prove Himself by acting independently from the Father. To take up good things to prove He was the Son of God. He wanted Jesus to establish self affirmation. Why else would he say, “if you are the Son of God, then….”
But Jesus never removed Himself from His dependence upon the Father for the works He would perform. He withstood the attempt of Satan to move Him from abiding in relationship to the Father.
This battle is not foreign to any of us. You feel it every time you stop at an intersection and see someone holding a sign saying will work for food. Many know the condemnation when the light turns green and nothing was given. Why the condemnation?
There are many causes that are good out there. Many projects started by men with pure motives and good intentions. But pure motives and good intentions does not make it God’s will for every believer. This is why Jesus could respond easily to the criticism of the woman who poured expensive perfume on His feet when they said why was not this sold and the money given to the poor?
Their is the things in God's timing and there are the things that we want it to be God's timing but are not. Jesus was connected to the Father and in tune with the Spirit as a result and could discern that this woman was acting according o the Spirit. Meanwhile the men criticizing her were too busy thinking their idea was superior and more righteous than what she was doing.
Many a seemingly good work has been done by a non abiding believer. If these men had gotten their way they would have sold the perfume and given money to the poor and everyone around them would have applauded them for their generous hearts. But Jesus would not have been anointed for his death as a result and the greater purpose of the moment would have been missed.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Abiding in Christ Part Two
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Today many are bogged down in the mire of another man’s work or good idea. We need the ability to walk according to what God has given us to do.
Relationship birthed burden is so much more freeing and fruitful than taking up the cause of others.
It may seem easier to try and run on another’s burden because it isn’t dependant on us having any familiarity or closeness with the heart of our Lord for ourselves.
But in cases such as this good becomes a robber of the best. The best in the life of any believer is the will of God for their life.
The marking of our life is not after the pattern of another man or woman. It is after the Fathers desire to produce in us His Son Jesus Christ.
This production of the life of Jesus in us and our becoming conformed to His image cannot be achieved by our own contrived good works, or by our trying harder. It is purely born from being connected in relationship in such a way that we are continually looking to Jesus.
When we are actively engaged in relating to Him, fellowshipping with Him. We find ourselves curious to know what He thinks about what we should be doing. We want to know what He says about life, and about the things going on in this world. His heart becomes our focus. His wisdom is of great value to us.
The journey of abiding is a journey of continual discovery regarding who Christ is and what He is like so that we might be like Him.
Today many are bogged down in the mire of another man’s work or good idea. We need the ability to walk according to what God has given us to do.
Relationship birthed burden is so much more freeing and fruitful than taking up the cause of others.
It may seem easier to try and run on another’s burden because it isn’t dependant on us having any familiarity or closeness with the heart of our Lord for ourselves.
But in cases such as this good becomes a robber of the best. The best in the life of any believer is the will of God for their life.
The marking of our life is not after the pattern of another man or woman. It is after the Fathers desire to produce in us His Son Jesus Christ.
This production of the life of Jesus in us and our becoming conformed to His image cannot be achieved by our own contrived good works, or by our trying harder. It is purely born from being connected in relationship in such a way that we are continually looking to Jesus.
When we are actively engaged in relating to Him, fellowshipping with Him. We find ourselves curious to know what He thinks about what we should be doing. We want to know what He says about life, and about the things going on in this world. His heart becomes our focus. His wisdom is of great value to us.
The journey of abiding is a journey of continual discovery regarding who Christ is and what He is like so that we might be like Him.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Abiding in Christ
John 15:4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
I have been in Christ since October of 1983. In that time I have heard this passage preached many times and each time I have felt the pressure to do something on my part about this.
I have always viewed this from the angle of what I must do to stay connected. That word abide always got me.
Inevitably there would always be someone there to tell me to pray more, read more, worship more, etc.
I don’t recall ever being told to learn to enjoy the relationship I’ve been given in Christ. That I should bask in the glory of His work and receive the grace He had freely offered and allow that to warm my affections for Him and draw my heart ever closer to Him.
Fact is many believers today have embraced gospels that are good enough to get them in but powerless to establish them in the faith. They actually teach more along the line of what we must do to establish ourselves in the faith.
Many a believer has been exhausted by this kind of thinking and reached the point of feeling like giving up and truth is they would give up if they weren’t so afraid of losing their salvation and risking going to hell.
I have encountered so many who walk under the influence of condemnation rather than life. I myself have spent time in my journey making decisions based on condemnation rather than abiding in Christ.
The truth is there are many good works dreamed up by people and thus imposed on God rather than birthed by Him.
In fact I would dare to say that the idea of God breathed burden in the heart through fellowship with Him is almost a forgotten practice in the church.
I have been in Christ since October of 1983. In that time I have heard this passage preached many times and each time I have felt the pressure to do something on my part about this.
I have always viewed this from the angle of what I must do to stay connected. That word abide always got me.
Inevitably there would always be someone there to tell me to pray more, read more, worship more, etc.
I don’t recall ever being told to learn to enjoy the relationship I’ve been given in Christ. That I should bask in the glory of His work and receive the grace He had freely offered and allow that to warm my affections for Him and draw my heart ever closer to Him.
Fact is many believers today have embraced gospels that are good enough to get them in but powerless to establish them in the faith. They actually teach more along the line of what we must do to establish ourselves in the faith.
Many a believer has been exhausted by this kind of thinking and reached the point of feeling like giving up and truth is they would give up if they weren’t so afraid of losing their salvation and risking going to hell.
I have encountered so many who walk under the influence of condemnation rather than life. I myself have spent time in my journey making decisions based on condemnation rather than abiding in Christ.
The truth is there are many good works dreamed up by people and thus imposed on God rather than birthed by Him.
In fact I would dare to say that the idea of God breathed burden in the heart through fellowship with Him is almost a forgotten practice in the church.
Friday, February 13, 2009
More on Relevance
I remember growing up and being at school and we had different groups of people in school. There were the nerds, the jocks and the hoods. I would dare to say there new names for groups now.
Whichever group you wanted to fit into would be determined by the way you dressed and carried yourself.
Hoods for instance were a jeans and tee shirt group who generally smoked cigarettes and enjoyed getting into trouble. They acted tough, emphasis on acted.
Jocks were little more preppy in their dress and were usually too busy to be in trouble in school.
Ironically it was believed that however you turned out during the school year was based on who influenced you.
Now couch that thought in the light of all the attempts on the part of the church to be relevant to the modern culture. If I wear a cut off shirt and spike my hair and you do likewise the idea was mine and I feel in control of the influence. I do not look to you for anything because you seem to me to be in need of what I have. I am the leader because you became the follower.
Everytime the church attempts to change itself according to the culture it sends a message of insecurity and disbelief in the power of the gospel. All the books on the churches need to adjust and become more relevant to the modern culture is like a plea for the church to reduce itself to antics that will only prove to convince the culture that they are in charge and have the answers.
I seem to remember that the generation of Jesus wanted Him to present Himself in an entirely different way than He did. They were not looking for a suffering Savior, they wanted a conquering King who overthrow Roman rule. They wanted a Lion not a Lamb.
But Jesus did not adjust Himself to what spoiled children demanded of Him. He stayed true to His purpose. He led by staying on course and expecting that teh only ones who would follow would be the ones the Father had selected for Himself.
Oh that we the church could walk in that same confidence and not be moved by all the gimmicks and books telling us to do crazy and outrageous things. The gospel is still the power of God unto salvation and the church is to continually be conforming to the image of Christ and not the culture. may God give us grace to see it through to the end.
Whichever group you wanted to fit into would be determined by the way you dressed and carried yourself.
Hoods for instance were a jeans and tee shirt group who generally smoked cigarettes and enjoyed getting into trouble. They acted tough, emphasis on acted.
Jocks were little more preppy in their dress and were usually too busy to be in trouble in school.
Ironically it was believed that however you turned out during the school year was based on who influenced you.
Now couch that thought in the light of all the attempts on the part of the church to be relevant to the modern culture. If I wear a cut off shirt and spike my hair and you do likewise the idea was mine and I feel in control of the influence. I do not look to you for anything because you seem to me to be in need of what I have. I am the leader because you became the follower.
Everytime the church attempts to change itself according to the culture it sends a message of insecurity and disbelief in the power of the gospel. All the books on the churches need to adjust and become more relevant to the modern culture is like a plea for the church to reduce itself to antics that will only prove to convince the culture that they are in charge and have the answers.
I seem to remember that the generation of Jesus wanted Him to present Himself in an entirely different way than He did. They were not looking for a suffering Savior, they wanted a conquering King who overthrow Roman rule. They wanted a Lion not a Lamb.
But Jesus did not adjust Himself to what spoiled children demanded of Him. He stayed true to His purpose. He led by staying on course and expecting that teh only ones who would follow would be the ones the Father had selected for Himself.
Oh that we the church could walk in that same confidence and not be moved by all the gimmicks and books telling us to do crazy and outrageous things. The gospel is still the power of God unto salvation and the church is to continually be conforming to the image of Christ and not the culture. may God give us grace to see it through to the end.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Set Free Part Five
The Apostle Paul said, “in my flesh dwells no good thing.”
The law, as holy as it is could only show me how wrong I was, it could never fix me.
But thanks be to God! Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: he condemned sin in the flesh that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in me and in you who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.
To walk according to the Spirit is walking in agreement with what has been done already by Jesus Christ. It is the ability to accept His work as being enough and resting in what He has done.
Anyone who attempts to mix the law with having received Christ is thinking carnally. They are trying to complete in the flesh something that was began in the spirit of life that is in Christ Jesus.
When someone argues that yes I am saved by grace but now I must keep the law. They are already set up for a major failure and a life of condemnation.
The Spirit doesn’t come to make us able to fulfill the law Christ has already done so on our behalf.
This is why our freedom comes only through identification with Jesus. He must be our substitute not just to get us into the Kingdom at initial salvation, but to carry us through to the end of our journey.
Only through surrendering our lives to Him and looking unto Him can we be saved and can we be free.
Jesus said, “Whoever the Son sets free is free indeed.”
The law, as holy as it is could only show me how wrong I was, it could never fix me.
But thanks be to God! Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: he condemned sin in the flesh that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in me and in you who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.
To walk according to the Spirit is walking in agreement with what has been done already by Jesus Christ. It is the ability to accept His work as being enough and resting in what He has done.
Anyone who attempts to mix the law with having received Christ is thinking carnally. They are trying to complete in the flesh something that was began in the spirit of life that is in Christ Jesus.
When someone argues that yes I am saved by grace but now I must keep the law. They are already set up for a major failure and a life of condemnation.
The Spirit doesn’t come to make us able to fulfill the law Christ has already done so on our behalf.
This is why our freedom comes only through identification with Jesus. He must be our substitute not just to get us into the Kingdom at initial salvation, but to carry us through to the end of our journey.
Only through surrendering our lives to Him and looking unto Him can we be saved and can we be free.
Jesus said, “Whoever the Son sets free is free indeed.”
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Cold and Timid Souls
“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” — Theodore Roosevelt
Set Free Part Four
My son Josiah was learning to ride a bike as early as four. I would grab on to help him and he would say, “four can do anything.”
You can figure out the rest for yourself. That is indicative of an independent spirit. He refused to acknowledge his need for me as a source of help.
If we insist on doing it ourselves we get the alarming discovery of failure just as Paul did. But sometimes we need to reach the end of ourselves before we can look to Him and receive help.
When it comes to walking free from condemnation by walking according to the Spirit we must learn to identify with the right person, not the right thing.
Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Now we hear that there is a law of the spirit of life. This is not a law such as what we have on the side of the road on a large sign with a number.
This is a law such as the law of gravity. It just is. It cannot be changed by man. Gravity just is. You throw up a brick above your head I hope you move or have some Tylenol.
There is a law of the spirit of life. This law is not written on paper, it is not stored in a library somewhere. It is embodied, tucked away in a person.
Jesus said, “I have come to give life and to give it more abundantly.”
The law of sin and death, that just and holy law, the written code of moral conduct cannot give anyone life. It can only do what it was created to do. It proves all unrighteous before God.
I love how it says what the law could not do!
Why? Because it was weak through the flesh.
The law identifies with me and shows me how wrong I am. It cries out against me daily declaring I need to be better. But because it calls to me to fix myself it fails to fix me because it relies on my flesh to get it done. Thank God for the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
You can figure out the rest for yourself. That is indicative of an independent spirit. He refused to acknowledge his need for me as a source of help.
If we insist on doing it ourselves we get the alarming discovery of failure just as Paul did. But sometimes we need to reach the end of ourselves before we can look to Him and receive help.
When it comes to walking free from condemnation by walking according to the Spirit we must learn to identify with the right person, not the right thing.
Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Now we hear that there is a law of the spirit of life. This is not a law such as what we have on the side of the road on a large sign with a number.
This is a law such as the law of gravity. It just is. It cannot be changed by man. Gravity just is. You throw up a brick above your head I hope you move or have some Tylenol.
There is a law of the spirit of life. This law is not written on paper, it is not stored in a library somewhere. It is embodied, tucked away in a person.
Jesus said, “I have come to give life and to give it more abundantly.”
The law of sin and death, that just and holy law, the written code of moral conduct cannot give anyone life. It can only do what it was created to do. It proves all unrighteous before God.
I love how it says what the law could not do!
Why? Because it was weak through the flesh.
The law identifies with me and shows me how wrong I am. It cries out against me daily declaring I need to be better. But because it calls to me to fix myself it fails to fix me because it relies on my flesh to get it done. Thank God for the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Relevance
When I consider the modern day mantra regarding relevance I think of the scene from the movie Hook. The lost boys sit down to eat and their bowls are filled with steam but have no food in them. They think they are filling their bellies with substance but they are living on fluff.
I find that in history the people who stand out the most are those who dared to be different in their own generation. Had they succombed to a modern idea of relevance we would not have many of the things we so enjoy today. Instead of carving out new ideas and birthing things in creative genius they would have been busy shopping for the latest trends in clothing, or shopping for the newest and hottest music.
Thanks be to God every generation has had a remnant who will salt their world with difference. Not difference for the sake of difference, but difference because they have discovered their purpose in life is not to imitate others, but rather to stand apart.
Modern Christianity's attempt at relevance is nothing more than a cheap imitation of the world. May God restore us to being the salt of the world, a city set on a hill, and a light to the nations.
To quote my lovely wife Sheila, "Every attempt at relevance always forfiets excellence"...
Who will dare to be different in a culture saturated with sameness?
I find that in history the people who stand out the most are those who dared to be different in their own generation. Had they succombed to a modern idea of relevance we would not have many of the things we so enjoy today. Instead of carving out new ideas and birthing things in creative genius they would have been busy shopping for the latest trends in clothing, or shopping for the newest and hottest music.
Thanks be to God every generation has had a remnant who will salt their world with difference. Not difference for the sake of difference, but difference because they have discovered their purpose in life is not to imitate others, but rather to stand apart.
Modern Christianity's attempt at relevance is nothing more than a cheap imitation of the world. May God restore us to being the salt of the world, a city set on a hill, and a light to the nations.
To quote my lovely wife Sheila, "Every attempt at relevance always forfiets excellence"...
Who will dare to be different in a culture saturated with sameness?
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