Are you a grace abuser?

A few weeks ago I read a book by Mark Steele called Christianish.  There are a number of interesting and thought provoking insights in the book, but one continues to ring in my head.  He says some important and tough things about a very important part of our faith and our ongoing relationship with God: grace.

Here is what he says:

We love that Jesus died for our sins and that His grace cancels out the Old Testament need for sacrifice . . . Jesus died on the cross.  He took the blame.  His scars and blood and death replaced the need for mine.  That’s what grace is – and we love, love, love grace. 

Sadly, we also abuse it.

In an attempt to be a more free church – less bound up in legalism – we have embraced grace so heartily that we have also eradicated responsibility.  We cave to sin and temptation and desires and whims and preferences very easily, especially in the church, and we feel bad fleetingly.  Then grace comes in and spanks guilt and we have a half hour of worship and feel awesome.  But we don’t do a whole lot of dirty work to truly seek permanent healing – to truly sprint away from sin with all our might.

Grace is the greatest gift anyone could have ever given us.  It should humble us, prompt us to make our lives right.  It should make us want to please that sort of caring Savior so much that every time we fail and need grace, it drives us toward purity – toward accountability.  Grace should be met by gratefulness, and gratefulness should prompt reasonable action. 

Instead, daily sins, shortcomings, and affliction are rampantly increasing in the modern church.  Why?  Because we are seeing grace as a coupon – as a voucher that allows us to not worry about destructive actions leading to disastrous consequences.  It is as if we believe that for everyone else sin leads to hell and death, but for us it leads to a scolding that is quickly forgotten.  We act like sinful actions are a cakewalk because we are lucky enough to know about the grace discount. 

To live in such a way disrespects grace.  It shames grace – it insinuates that Jesus suffered and died so that we could sin more freely . . . What happened to the reverence?  The heartbreak that is supposed to come from displeasing God?  Have we gone so far to the other extreme that the only part of sin that matters to us is whether or not it is going to keep us out of heaven? (2420-2431)   

Have you been a grace abuser?  What makes that possible?

Steele argues that we abuse grace because we believe the lies that our actions don’t matter and that our lives are not ministry. 

Grace comes from God and makes us right with Him.  However, the presence of God’s grace does not mean the absence of my responsibility.  Change to please God is still necessary, but now, for the first time, grace makes change possible and worth it.  God’s real grace is making me grateful and true gratitude never takes grace for granted.

What do you think about Steele’s words?  How do we overcome our tendency toward grace abuse?      

When Jesus Haunts Your Halloween

Below is a blog I found VERY interesting written by David Mathis.  Read, enjoy and let me know what your reaction is:

Unclean spirits stir. Demonic thrones and dominions gather. Cosmic powers over this present darkness come to attention. And the devil himself, ready to devour and destroy, ignites his fiery darts and stretches his legs for the lion’s prowl.
As All Hallows’ Eve draws nigh, the spiritual forces of evil align, and Satan prepares his hordes for the party of the year — the grand harvest festival, celebration of darkness and death, when they pretend to be their strongest.
Halloween is almost here. But so is their final defeat. Jesus haunts their Halloween.

One Little Word

As the demonic rulers and authorities make ready, the one who sits in the heavens laughs (Psalm 2:4). To him, the devil is no threat, with all his orcs and goblins and the wickedest of witches. This is no evenly matched bout. If the incarnate Christ, in his humblest state, commands unclean spirits and they obey him (Mark 1:27) — how much more the risen and glorified Lord? Jesus does the real haunting.
Even as his adversaries marshal their best, they can’t escape serving his purposes. It is all through him and for him. “By him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16). Jesus haunts their Halloween.
No demon lurks apart from his will. No spirit pounces apart from his plan. He is sovereign over even the movements of evil minds. “God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled” (Revelation 17:17).
Luther nailed it — one little word shall fell them. Jesus haunts their Halloween.

He Put Them to Shame

It is precisely when the devil feigns to be his fiercest that Jesus delivers the deathblow. It was a Halloween-like gathering of ghouls and goblins at Golgotha when “he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them” (Colossians 2:15).
Jesus came to conquer fear, to haunt whatever haunts. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). He stooped to share in our flesh and blood “that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Hebrews 2:14–15).

Every Single One

Those who are in Christ have no need to fear the night. This is now our day. He has won it for us, and will not leave us to fend for ourselves in the devil’s domain. God “has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13). This we know: “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
“Take heart; I have overcome the world,” he says (John 16:33). Every inch of this universe — every single one — is his. And that includes All Hallows’ Eve and all its worst. He is the one who empowers us to “withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm” (Ephesians 6:13). And he says that just as he squashed the Serpent’s skull with his heel, so “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20). Our feet. Get your boots.
Jesus haunts their Halloween. And so too he must haunt ours.

Dressed Up for Real

When Jesus haunts our Halloween, we “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14) and “put on the new self” (Colossians 3:10). Dressed in the full armor of God, we “stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11) on the exact night when he’d most want us to circle the wagons. We have a Book and will “not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs” (2 Corinthians 2:11). We take up the shield of faith “with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16).
When Jesus haunts our Halloween, we pour in the extra energy and creativity to capitalize on this opportunity to meet new neighbors and go deep with the old — whether we’re ushering our kids from house to house or leaving our lights on and giving out the best candy.

Sent into the Harvest

When Jesus haunts our Halloween, we remember that our enemy is not the scariest-clad Halloween reveler, but “the god of this world” who has blinded their minds and keeps them “from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4). We war not against unbelievers but “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2). We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but the rulers, authorities, cosmic powers over this present darkness, and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).
When Jesus haunts our Halloween, we look on the cheekiest carousers with compassion — as “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). On this night, as much as any, “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few,” and so we “pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37–38). And we walk in faith to be those workers.

Freed from Fear

And when Jesus haunts our Halloween, we fight not only Satan, but fear in our souls. We see that our Halloween horrors reveal our lack of faith in who Jesus is, what he has accomplished, and that he has commissioned us.
When Jesus haunts our Halloween, we do not flee, but go on the offensive. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). We don’t retreat, but resist — with level heads and open eyes. “Be soberminded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith” (1 Peter 5:8–9). We engage, with care and with courage.

Staring Death in the Face

When Jesus haunts our Halloween, we remember that the forces of evil, which we can be so prone to fear, are actually terrified of Jesus. Everyday is a spook for the devil and his demons, and Jesus does the haunting. The decisive blow has been dealt, and soon we will land the final punch.
Jesus has promised his gospel will advance (Matthew 24:14). He will build his church, and the gates of hell will not prevail (Matthew 16:18). And so when Jesus haunts our Halloween, we join the triumphant anthem:

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55–57)

Grace in Theory or Grace in Reality

Last week I posted tweet from Tim Keller on my Facebook page that caused an interesting comment from a former college friend.  Here was Tim Keller’s tweet:

Christians believe we are saved not primarily by following what Jesus said but by believing in what he did.

This seems so simple, but in my experience as a pastor it tends to be something only accepted in theory, as a theological abstract, but not where it counts in real life.  One of my college friends even asked this question after reading it and the comments of others in response:

When I read James 3:2, I feel relief ("We all stumble in many ways" NIV). But then I read I John 3:9 "No one who is born of God will continue to sin" and I'm like, I'm doomed. Verses like I John 3:9 make it hard to accept that I'm saved by accepting/believing in Christ's redemptive work on the cross, even though I feel like that is enough, given John 3:16-18... Or I am indeed saved if I accept/believe it, but I must not truly accept/believe it yet, if I still sin. Am I missing something in the context of I John, or...?

What a powerful, heartfelt and very important question (You can see the helpful responses on my Facebook page if you want.).  While it isn’t always worded like this, I hear questions like this all the time.  I wrote about this kind of thing before because I believe this type of thinking is spiritually debilitating.

On the one hand, people are sometimes driven to what I call “belief-centered religion.”  The foundation for being right with God is getting all my beliefs right.  The problem is that this either produces spiritual arrogance because I am so right and others are so wrong.  It also produces fear because somewhere deep down I think I might not always be right and if I am wrong somewhere maybe God won’t accept me.  In either case, my doctrinal position gives me a false understanding of my right standing with God.

On the other hand, people are sometimes driven to what I call “behavior-centered religion.”  The foundation for being right with God is my moral or righteous behavior, the good deeds that I do and the sins I avoid doing.  The problem is that this either produces judgmentalism, because I quickly find myself comparing and contrasting my behavior with others and judging myself to be superior.  It also produces tremendous guilt because deep down I know the places where I haven’t measured up and I am filled with guilt and shame about it.  In either case, my performance or lack thereof gives me a false understanding of where I am with God.

Both of these approaches are so false.  The Bible is clear about.  Our theology as Christians is clear about it.  Our sermons and our lessons are clear about it. But the problem is that we end up believing in grace in theory, but not in reality.

So what’s the problem?

Why do we find ourselves practically trying to justify ourselves before God by so many other ways that will never work rather than the simple means offered to us through Christ in the Gospel (Ephesians 2:8-10, Romans 5:1-11, etc.)?

Sheep(s) and the Shepherd!

In John 10 Jesus makes pretty clear that His followers are to know Him by the sound of His voice and they will follow that voice. 

You can read the whole chapter, but the two main pieces I find interesting are verses 3, 4 and 14:

 . . . the sheep listen to his (the shepherd’s) voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. – John 10:3-4

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me . . . – John 10:14

Clearly Jesus’ analogy is one where His followers are compared to sheep and He is the shepherd.  At the same time it is clear that Jesus’ followers are to know Him so well that they listen to His voice and follow Him as a result.

That means they must know what His voice sounds like.

It also means that they must trust that He has their best interests at heart.

They must believe that He knows the way.

And, maybe most importantly, they then have to choose to follow His voice over any other voice.

When you look at this simple passage, what does it say to you?

How is it that so many people who claim to be Christian end up going in such different directions, sometimes clearly away from the one Jesus would lead them?

What is the way forward for us oftentimes stubborn and dim-witted sheep?

Did Jesus contradict Himself?

In John 8:12 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jesus made this bold statement during the holiday known as the Festival of Tabernacles.  It was an 8-day celebration centered at the Jerusalem Temple celebrating the harvest and God’s graciousness to Israel!  All of Jerusalem was filled with temporary shelters like tents known as tabernacles or booths.  The festival began with worship on the first day where four large lampstands would be lit at the temple that were so large and bright that the entire city was lit up by them,  These lampstands symbolized the light of God.  There would also be a number of symbolic processions used in their worship and celebration, including torch-light processions well into the night. 

When Jesus says that HE is the light of the world he is making that bold statement during the festival, with all that rich symbolism and imagery in the background.  Jesus is saying quite clearly that HE is the true light of God.  But HIS light is not limited to Jerusalem, but extends to the entire world.  This presents everyone with one of two choices: to follow Jesus and live in His light or to walk in darkness away from Him.  There simply is no ambiguity to that statement.  You are either one or the other.  Either you revolve around the Son or you don’t. 

But on another occasion in Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus said, “YOU are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

How can this be?  Is Jesus contradicting Himself?

Who is the light of the world, Jesus or us? 

In John Jesus is defining who HE IS!  In Matthew, Jesus is defining who WE ARE IN HIM!

We are NOT, CANNOT and NEVER WILL BE the light.  Our lives only reflect Jesus and His ongoing work in us.  Jesus’ light, shining through us, is so attractive that it draws others to Him. 

This means we need to be sure where our lives are in relationship to the light source.  We are not the center.  Jesus is.  Our agenda cannot be the driving force.  Only Jesus’ agenda can.

Over 1500 years ago a brilliant man, Galileo, discovered something amazingly new about the earth’s relationship to the sun.  Ptolemy, another brilliant man from an earlier time, believed the sun revolved around the earth, meaning the earth was the center of the universe.  But Galileo observed different things through a telescope.  The sun didn’t revolve around the earth.  The earth (and all the other planets) revolved around the sun, making the sun the center of the universe. 

With that, everything changed!

Today, we are faced with a similar reality that should alter our understanding of the spiritual universe.  We are not the center of the universe.  Jesus is.  Our lives should revolve around Him and reflect His light and not the other way around.

We must revolve around the Son instead of looking for a Son to revolve around us.

What are the implications for this in your everyday life?