GIG 199 - If Not Law and Rules Then What is the Source of Living the Christian Life?

For the past several weeks we've been getting pretty heavy into discussions about God's Law. We've discussed the purpose of the Law, and how it is the ministry of death and condemnation, and how being under the Law is bondage. We then talked about how Jesus came to FREE us from the Law! For those not familiar with all these things that the New Covenant scriptures say about the Law, this may leave some scratching their heads and asking questions such as, "If the Christian life is not about keeping God's law and it's not about following rules, then what is the motivation and the source of living the Christian life?

If we say that Jesus came to deliver us from the Law, and all we talk about is God's love and grace, won't that cause people to want to go out and sin and live reckless lives? Is that what grace does? (Do we really have the gall to make grace out to be so cheap and powerless and insufficient?) The Law, which is good and holy and perfect, had one main problem. It could certainly lay down its demands of perfection - but yet it had absolutely no power to help anyone live right! Grace, on the other hand, is the ever-sufficient power of living the Christian life. To take it even further, it's not that grace enables the flesh to live a better life, but through God's grace we have died to the Law in order that we may have true life - the very life of Christ in us! Therein lies the power and the motivation and the source of the entire Christian life!

Special Note: Next week marks our 200th Growing in Grace program! To celebrate, we'll spend two or three weeks running highlights of our past programs. This should be a lot of fun as we look back on some of our conversations that have hopefully been a source of grace, freedom and life. Thanks so much for listening and for all your encouraging words!

gigcast.graceroots.org

You are who you are, not who you're not

I think I've shared this before on this blog, but these are notes I wrote down about 2 1/2 years ago. I was reading through some old stuff today and came across this.

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12/30/06 God doesn’t ask me to be “on fire” for Him. God doesn’t ask me to be “radical” for Him. Rather, before I was born again He told me I must die, and then He could come and raise me up to a brand new life and join His life with mine. So the life I now live is not a matter of me being radical or on fire for Him, but rather His radical life expressing itself through me – in whichever way He wills. The life I live in this earthsuit I live by faith. I most certainly don’t live by my own might or power or by my own attempts to live a powerful or radical life, or even a sincere, dedicated life. That sounds “unChristian,” I know! But as I let go of my own attempts at living any part of the Christian life, another Life takes over, with more power and dedication than I could ever come up with.

The gift of God that is in us, which Paul reminds Timothy to “fan into flame” (2 Tim 1:6), isn’t necessarily going to have an outward appearance that’s radical or sensational or impressive to other people, even to other Christians. Understand, I’m writing from the perspective of an introverted person who has tried in the past to live the extroverted, radical, effervescent Christian life, trying to prove to others that I’m “on fire” for God. I had faith – deep faith – and looking back, I can now see that my true faith was expressed in ways that weren’t always noticeable by others. But since I had come into a church culture that seemed to take greater notice of those with more visible and expressive demonstrations of faith, I prayed and tried very hard to have the same passion as others and for the Spirit to manifest Himself in me with the same sort of outward demonstration. Again, I now see that I really did have a deep faith, but at the time I didn’t think that was true. I wondered when the time would ever come that my faith would grow and I could truly be more expressive with my faith. When would I ever truly be “on fire” for God?

Thank God that I finally came to an understanding of who I really was. Or better said, I came to a better understanding of who Christ is in me.

The way that the life of God will be expressed in each of us individually will be different.
You can’t be what you’re not. Be who you are!

GIG 192 - Us Living For God or God Living Through Us?

Life truly is God's gift to us! But is it really also true, as a common slogan goes, that "what we do with it is our gift to Him?" God created the universe, and everything in it - easily! Do we really have something of value to offer Him? Can we pay Him back in any way for the gift of Life He's given us?

This week we take a look at the difference between us living our life "for God," and God living His life through us. Rather than trusting in our own strength, we realize that we have died and now have a new life --- Christ lives in us. It's not us doing great stuff for God, it's Him expressing His very life through us. With this in mind, what does it mean to present ourselves as living sacrifices? We discuss this and more on this week's episode!

gigcast.graceroots.org

More on the Exchanged Life

Latest Growing in Grace program is available for download. Our life exchanged for His life. Our sin exchanged for His righteousness. Christ in you, the hope of glory!

gigcast.graceroots.org

Exchanged Life - Christ's Life In Us

Latest Growing in Grace program is available for download. Our life exchanged for His life. Our sin exchanged for His righteousness. Christ in you, the hope of glory!

gigcast.graceroots.org