The Apostle Paul was really great at laying the foundation of the gospel and the Christian life – God’s love and grace, the blood of Jesus, His finished work, our solid identity in Him, etc. All of this is not only the foundation, but it is woven into every aspect of life in Christ. Paul told the Corinthians that he “determined to know nothing among them except Christ and Him crucified.” Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ, and the life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God…” He was very careful to make sure his readers knew that the Christian life was about faith in God, and in the very life of Christ in them, and not about their own fleshly works that they could conjure up.
His epistles, of course, included much more than simply straight identity doctrine. In the very same epistles, Paul also included some very practical words about how it all looked when it was lived out. Grace and identity was, of course, inextricably woven into all of it. He was not giving “rules for Christian living” or any such thing, but rather was giving some very wonderful, practical words of wisdom. All of this has the potential to be taken in the wrong, legalistic way, of course. All of these things have the potential to be used in manipulative and controlling ways. But as people who love one another and have great grace towards one another, as Paul did with those he wrote to, this can all be a very wonderful part of the Christian life.
For example I don’t believe Paul was being legalistic or going beyond grace or looking to something other than grace or trying to balance anything with grace when he said, “flee sexual immorality.” That can (has the potential to) be taken as a legalistic command or rule, but in this (and other words of Paul), I think it's an exhortation that can help a Christian live as who they truly are. This also has the potential to be taken as words that we try to keep through the efforts of our flesh. May that never be!!!
I don’t live my life by looking at the Bible for principles for how to live my life. But what can happen is that at the proper times, God can speak things through people that help me, by His grace, to live like who I am. For example, God can speak to me through someone the words, “husbands love your wives as Christ loves the church” and that can be the instigator that changes my behavior… from the inside out. It can help, by God's grace, to change how I treat my wife. It’s not a rule and it’s not a law that I apply. It’s simply Christ speaking some good words through somebody else to me that helps me to outwardly be more of who I am inwardly. It’s the same with so many of the other things that Paul and the New Testament writers mentioned… and it’s by no means limited to the various exhortations in the NT.
I can think of many examples of how this has played out in my life. One example is Paul’s words, “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” (Eph 4:26). What this has done, is it has caused me and my wife to do all our fighting during daylight hours! Just kidding! But seriously, as a husband and as a daddy who sometimes messes up and walks after the flesh, simply thinking about these words has brought me back to the reality of who I am and it’s led me to going and making amends with either my wife or my kids. It’s not a rule that I’ve followed. It’s not a law. It’s simply something that can be a good thing for the heart and mind to consider and it can really help to change a person’s attitude and actions to match who they truly are in Christ - again by the Spirit and by His grace, not by my own fleshly attempts at living it out.
As a child, when my sisters and I were squabbling and fighting, I remember my mom often saying, “don’t return evil for evil” (Rom 12:17, 1 Thess 5:15, 1 Peter 3:9). As I got older and began to truly understand what that really meant, it began to take root in me… especially because I saw it lived out by both my parents. I never heard them talking bad about others, and I know that they were hurt by others at times, and they always responded graciously, at least from what I saw.
Again, these are just a few examples of what I’m talking about. It is a “grace-full” thing to speak to one another in ways such as these. It’s not adding to grace, it’s not lowering the value of grace, it’s not balancing grace with anything. Our words to one another can stimulate one another into action. Our words to one another can work together with Christ’s life in us to bring about a change of mind and direction… to make conscious decisions or choices and that can help to spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Not words of conviction, not words of guilt, not words of condemnation… but words of exhortation, admonition, encouragement.
I welcome your thoughts, whether you wholeheartedly agree with me or wholeheartedly disagree with me or anywhere in between. It’s me… JOEL! You can agree or disagree with me and I still hold you in the highest of regards!
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3
Grace Roots Blog
Showing posts with label exhortation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exhortation. Show all posts
Monday, February 23, 2009
Practically Speaking – Part 2 of 3
Exhortation and admonition are wonderful words. Exhort: "To urge by strong, often stirring argument." Admonish: "To reprove gently but earnestly; to counsel against something to be avoided; caution." Unfortunately, as with the word “discipline,” in many cases the church has made these into very legalistic words that they use to manipulate people and try to keep them under control. But those are not the reasons the Apostle Paul exhorted, admonished and encouraged the people he wrote to, as he built them up in who they were, and in what the Christian life looked like in action. And you know what, if you don’t want to use those words, that’s fine. The point is that Paul spoke practical words to people that showed them what life in Christ looked like when lived out, and it was a really good thing!
Paul made sure that the people of the church were rooted, grounded and established in grace and in their identity in Christ. Paul made sure the people knew that it wasn’t about their efforts at pleasing God. It wasn’t about them striving to be good. Paul is the one who showed us that we have died, and the life we live in the body, we live by faith, not by our own flesh-produced works! I believe he also showed us what this looks like by speaking practical words (practical: “capable of being used or put into effect”) that would aid in stirring up the inward Christ-life and getting it out.
One wonderful truth that has helped me in my Christian life is the idea that God initiates and we respond. In other words, it’s not about us going and looking for things to do, and principles to follow, but as we rest in Christ, God gives us the thoughts and ideas and He works in and through us to make it happen. I believe there are myriads of ways in which God does this, and one of the many ways is through our communication with one another. As we encourage one another, and speak words of edification and admonishment and exhortation to one another, we stir one another up. We dig into the Christ-life that is within each other and we spur one another on toward love and good deeds. It’s all God’s doing, and in these instances He does it by speaking to us through one another.
Again, I don’t believe it’s a matter of us going around trying to find principles to follow and I also don’t believe it’s a matter of a preacher coming up with a new set of generic principles to preach each week. I think it’s more a matter of, in the normal course of life, God’s children communicating with one another, and in the proper times and seasons speaking words to one another that come from our own life experiences and from biblical truth that fit the given circumstances, and that will help us to grow in grace and in the living out of who we truly already are in Christ.
I’ll give some ‘practical’ examples in the next post to show where I’m coming from.
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3
Paul made sure that the people of the church were rooted, grounded and established in grace and in their identity in Christ. Paul made sure the people knew that it wasn’t about their efforts at pleasing God. It wasn’t about them striving to be good. Paul is the one who showed us that we have died, and the life we live in the body, we live by faith, not by our own flesh-produced works! I believe he also showed us what this looks like by speaking practical words (practical: “capable of being used or put into effect”) that would aid in stirring up the inward Christ-life and getting it out.
One wonderful truth that has helped me in my Christian life is the idea that God initiates and we respond. In other words, it’s not about us going and looking for things to do, and principles to follow, but as we rest in Christ, God gives us the thoughts and ideas and He works in and through us to make it happen. I believe there are myriads of ways in which God does this, and one of the many ways is through our communication with one another. As we encourage one another, and speak words of edification and admonishment and exhortation to one another, we stir one another up. We dig into the Christ-life that is within each other and we spur one another on toward love and good deeds. It’s all God’s doing, and in these instances He does it by speaking to us through one another.
Again, I don’t believe it’s a matter of us going around trying to find principles to follow and I also don’t believe it’s a matter of a preacher coming up with a new set of generic principles to preach each week. I think it’s more a matter of, in the normal course of life, God’s children communicating with one another, and in the proper times and seasons speaking words to one another that come from our own life experiences and from biblical truth that fit the given circumstances, and that will help us to grow in grace and in the living out of who we truly already are in Christ.
I’ll give some ‘practical’ examples in the next post to show where I’m coming from.
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3
Practically Speaking – Part 1 of 3
All who read this blog know me to be someone who has a passion to speak words that are based on being rooted, grounded and established in the grace of God and in our identity in Him. My almost 800 posts speak to that! Although this post is a bit different from my other posts, I do believe that what I’m going to say here is rooted in the pure grace of God.
I’ve said plenty of times that I’m very opposed to the idea that the Christian life is a matter of living by rules, principles, methods, etc. Life in Christ is a matter of His life in us, working in us and through us and out of us. It’s not about us studying principles to keep us and guide us. It’s not about becoming better people, but rather it’s about living from the new creations that we already are, trusting in Christ’s life in us to animate us.
So does that mean that we never speak words to one another that spur on this animated new creation life? Does resting in Christ simply mean we sit back, basking in His love and grace, and before you know it we’re simply bearing good fruit? Does it mean that as long as we’re learning our identity in Him, and we become established in His love and grace, that everything automatically falls into place?
Of necessity, we will never live out the Christ life in its most natural way unless we’re rooted, grounded and established in His love and grace and in our identity in Him. I can never see myself not believing that! As I’ve looked back on my life and have seen myself and others growing in all of this, and growing in the outward expression of who we already are on the inside, I’ve noticed that a lot of it has come from some really great encouraging words from others, as well as some really great – and practical – Christ-and-grace-filled exhortations and admonitions from others.
The word practical simply means “capable of being used or put into effect.” In speaking these practical words to one another in our Christ-life, we can bring out the Christ in each other. Christ is living in us no matter what, of course! Sometimes “considering one another in order to stir up love and good works” (Heb 10:24) and “exhorting one another” (Heb 10:25) means that Christ speaks words to us through one another that aid in bringing about the change of mind, attitude, decision making process, etc, that leads to real Christ-produced fruit. None of this is to give us any better of a standing before God, or to make us closer to Him. That was all taken care of with the Blood of Jesus. No… these are all simply words that we can use with one another to spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
For quite some time I was really turned off by even the mention of any of this. “Principles for Christian living” had been jammed into my head through the constant preaching and teaching of them, and I knew that I knew that I knew that this was not what the Christian life was about. Practical teaching has been very overdone and has become a very legalistic thing in the church. People have even used it to control and manipulate others. Church ‘leaders’ have sadly turned them into rules and commands, taking away from the original intent of this type of talk amongst one another.
And so in saying all of this, I want to be absolutely clear that I’m not saying that our life in Christ is a matter of striving to apply godly principles to our lives. It’s not a matter of preaching a new set of principles every week and then going out and trying to make them work.
What I am saying is that as we get more and more rooted and grounded and established in grace and in our identity in Christ, God can and does speak to us in all kinds of ways, through internal and external means, and part of that includes encouraging, exhorting and admonishing us through each other.
The Apostle Paul did a whole lot of this in his epistles. It can be a very grace-full thing to speak these things to one another. Again, it doesn’t make us “better people” and it doesn’t make us any closer to God. It simply helps to bring out the life of Christ.
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3
I’ve said plenty of times that I’m very opposed to the idea that the Christian life is a matter of living by rules, principles, methods, etc. Life in Christ is a matter of His life in us, working in us and through us and out of us. It’s not about us studying principles to keep us and guide us. It’s not about becoming better people, but rather it’s about living from the new creations that we already are, trusting in Christ’s life in us to animate us.
So does that mean that we never speak words to one another that spur on this animated new creation life? Does resting in Christ simply mean we sit back, basking in His love and grace, and before you know it we’re simply bearing good fruit? Does it mean that as long as we’re learning our identity in Him, and we become established in His love and grace, that everything automatically falls into place?
Of necessity, we will never live out the Christ life in its most natural way unless we’re rooted, grounded and established in His love and grace and in our identity in Him. I can never see myself not believing that! As I’ve looked back on my life and have seen myself and others growing in all of this, and growing in the outward expression of who we already are on the inside, I’ve noticed that a lot of it has come from some really great encouraging words from others, as well as some really great – and practical – Christ-and-grace-filled exhortations and admonitions from others.
The word practical simply means “capable of being used or put into effect.” In speaking these practical words to one another in our Christ-life, we can bring out the Christ in each other. Christ is living in us no matter what, of course! Sometimes “considering one another in order to stir up love and good works” (Heb 10:24) and “exhorting one another” (Heb 10:25) means that Christ speaks words to us through one another that aid in bringing about the change of mind, attitude, decision making process, etc, that leads to real Christ-produced fruit. None of this is to give us any better of a standing before God, or to make us closer to Him. That was all taken care of with the Blood of Jesus. No… these are all simply words that we can use with one another to spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
For quite some time I was really turned off by even the mention of any of this. “Principles for Christian living” had been jammed into my head through the constant preaching and teaching of them, and I knew that I knew that I knew that this was not what the Christian life was about. Practical teaching has been very overdone and has become a very legalistic thing in the church. People have even used it to control and manipulate others. Church ‘leaders’ have sadly turned them into rules and commands, taking away from the original intent of this type of talk amongst one another.
And so in saying all of this, I want to be absolutely clear that I’m not saying that our life in Christ is a matter of striving to apply godly principles to our lives. It’s not a matter of preaching a new set of principles every week and then going out and trying to make them work.
What I am saying is that as we get more and more rooted and grounded and established in grace and in our identity in Christ, God can and does speak to us in all kinds of ways, through internal and external means, and part of that includes encouraging, exhorting and admonishing us through each other.
The Apostle Paul did a whole lot of this in his epistles. It can be a very grace-full thing to speak these things to one another. Again, it doesn’t make us “better people” and it doesn’t make us any closer to God. It simply helps to bring out the life of Christ.
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Works - Part 3 of 4
We've evolved into a body of believers who don't know what to do or how to do it apart from being told what to do - through reading various biblical instructions, through reading books, through listening to preachers and teachers, and so on. We've evolved from a Spirit-based Life to a performance-based religion. Do we really know God - or who we truly are in Him?
We're so used to equating "doing" with doing teaching - exhortations, methods, principles. In other words, we don't know what to do or how to live unless we're "instructed" on what to do. We've made church that way. We haven't taught identity, but rather "saved by grace, now get to work" - with little or no foundation of where the work really comes from - the life of Christ in us.
And so... what you see coming from me is what I believe is the root of the Christian life. The root is not works. The root is Jesus Himself. The root is grace. The root is our true identity in Christ. The root is all those things intertwined in such a way that they are "one." From the root springs a natural plant that bears natural fruit.
Paul was accused of teaching licentiousness (grace is a license to sin), which is far from what he was doing, so I'm never surprised when the pure message of God's grace, and resting/abiding in Christ is misconstrued by others to mean being couch potatoes. But when the abiding life is lived out, the result that's shown can hardly be said to be the life of a couch potato! However, I wonder if the "doing" is always what the church makes it out to look like!
We're so used to equating "doing" with doing teaching - exhortations, methods, principles. In other words, we don't know what to do or how to live unless we're "instructed" on what to do. We've made church that way. We haven't taught identity, but rather "saved by grace, now get to work" - with little or no foundation of where the work really comes from - the life of Christ in us.
And so... what you see coming from me is what I believe is the root of the Christian life. The root is not works. The root is Jesus Himself. The root is grace. The root is our true identity in Christ. The root is all those things intertwined in such a way that they are "one." From the root springs a natural plant that bears natural fruit.
Paul was accused of teaching licentiousness (grace is a license to sin), which is far from what he was doing, so I'm never surprised when the pure message of God's grace, and resting/abiding in Christ is misconstrued by others to mean being couch potatoes. But when the abiding life is lived out, the result that's shown can hardly be said to be the life of a couch potato! However, I wonder if the "doing" is always what the church makes it out to look like!
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