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

GIG 194 - What Place Does the Law Have in the Life of the Christian?

As we talked about last week, a recent Barna study showed that a majority of Christians believe that spiritual maturity is about keeping the rules. Many people think that God gave the Law to teach people how to live righteously and according to His "standards." It may be surprising - or even shocking - to some Christians that the Bible actually says that the Law was added so that sin might increase. It also says that sin's strength is the Law!

So what place does God's Law have in the life of the Christian? Listen in as Kap and the Breezeman begin a series of podcasts on the true purposes of the Law and of the true source and motivation of the living out of the Christian life. We hope you'll be greatly encouraged and freed from the chains of legalism!

gigcast.graceroots.org

GIG 193 - It's Not About Keeping the Rules

A recent Barna survey found that "most Christians equate spiritual maturity with following the rules." But if you've listened to this program for any amount of time, you know that we don't believe that the Christian life is about following the rules, and this week we talk about how to not let "Christian rules" rule your life.

We find it quite amazing that Christians continue clinging to laws, rules and commandments, when that's what God has set us free from! So we take some time to discuss how the Christian life isn't about doing things for God but rather about us being in Him, and Him in us. It's not about doing. It's about being. We take a look at how many people are actually being "compliant" by trying to follow God's laws - which anyone can do, whether filled with God's life or not. The key word there is "trying," and so we also discuss the difference between "trying" and simply "trusting."

gigcast.graceroots.org

Barna: "Most Christians equate spiritual maturity with following the rules."

In addition to the various Performance-Based Acceptance stories that were shared the other day, I came across a couple of other things that sadly put the emphasis on outward performance when it comes to "growing spiritually" or "spiritual maturity" (or really, life in Christ in general).

The other day I was listening to a Christian talk show that a good grace-man like me really shouldn't be listening to... hahaha... pardon the sarcastic irony. :) No need to mention the program itself, but the call was about a woman who had a 'roadblock' in her marriage. Her "problem" was that she was "growing spiritually" but her husband wasn't. Now I'm not oblivious at all to the desire of having our loved ones alongside us on our journey, and us with them on their journey. But I don't think that's what was being conveyed in this woman's story.

I got the impression that she was becoming more involved in the traditional outward aspects of "doing" the Christian life (" spiritual disciplines?") and he was not "growing" (so-called) at the same pace. Perhaps she was reading her Bible more, going to church more, praying more, being involved in activities more, showing more interest in the things of God, etc, etc. And gee golly, for some reason the husband was simply not as interested.

I then read a blog post called Spiritual Maturity, that links to these findings from the Barna Group. Highlighted on this blog post is this disturbing quote from Barna's findings: "Most Christians equate spiritual maturity with following the rules."

In the various Performance-Based Acceptance stories that were shared the other day, this seemed to be touched on quite a bit as well, in one form or another, including a quote from In Christ Alone's story. Speaking of the various denominations that she'd been a part of, she said, "It was just always about rules and ways to act and be and becoming holy somehow by doing this and that."

I'm sure you have thoughts on all this. What do you think? What I believe is that growing in maturity means that a person has truly understood the love and grace of God - not just in the mind but in the heart - and is "growing" in basking in it and appropriating it and in having Christ's life in them naturally expressing itself through love and grace towards others. How's that for a nutshell definition? :) So if a person is truly maturing in the Christ-life, would the stale lives of their loved ones be a "problem," or would it be an opportunity to share the love and grace of God all the more as Christ manifests His life all the more?

Religion vs. Relationship - Part 2

This week it's Part 2 of our chat about how life in Christ is not about religion, but about relationship. We share a short list of some of the BIG differences between religion and real life in Christ! We talk about our futile attempts to keep God pleased with us through "self-imposed religion" and by subjecting ourselves to rules and regulations, as well as focusing on external, outward behavior - all of which is "of no value against the indulgence of the flesh!" Comparing all of this with the freedom and grace that we have in our lives in Christ, which do you want?!

gigcast.graceroots.org

Practically Speaking – Part 3 of 3

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

Walking By Faith is Not a Matter of Walking By Rules and Laws

Continuing our look into the people of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11, this week Kap and I talk about how the things that the people did were all different - but the things that they did weren't the point! The things they did were the result of something else. Not a result of following rules and laws, but the result of faith - a trust in a loving God who was for them and not against them, and who was a rewarder and not a condemner.

gigcast.graceroots.org

"The Unforgiven" (repost)

I first posted this about a year and a half ago, which is before I got to know a lot of you. Some comments about freedom and prison walls on another post from today reminded me of this song, so I just thought I'd repost a shorted version of this post.
____________________

About 3 or 4 years ago, I was listening to "The Black Album" (by Metallica). I was brought to tears, not only by the music, but by the lyrics of one particular song. I had never really paid much attention to what the lyrics of any of their songs actually meant, but this one really captured me on this day. I cried for what my life might have been, if not for people having told me about God's grace, and helping me out of the bondage of religion and its many effects. I cried for people who are still trapped in deadly religion.

I understand if you don't care for the music, so perhaps the lyrics will get the point across. But there is something about the "mood" of the music that adds to the emotion and the intensity of the subject matter, so I invite you to watch it if you want to. Don't worry, you won't have to brace yourself too much. It's one of Metallica's "slower" songs. :)

Metallica - The Unforgiven


New blood joins this earth
And quickly he's subdued
Through constant pained disgrace
The young boy learns their rules

With time the child draws in
This whipping boy done wrong
Deprived of all his thoughts
The young man struggles on and on he's known
A vow unto his own
That never from this day
His will they'll take away

What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never be
Never see
Won't see what might have been

What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never free
Never me
So I dub thee unforgiven

They dedicate their lives
To running all of his
He tries to please them all
This bitter man he is
Throughout his life the same
He's battled constantly
This fight he cannot win
A tired man they see no longer cares
The old man then prepares
To die regretfully
That old man here is me...

What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never be
Never see
Wont see what might have been

What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never free
Never me
So I dub thee unforgiven

You labeled me
I'll label you
So I dub thee unforgiven

Quit Jammin' Me!

You got me in a corner
You got me against a wall
I got nowhere to go
I got nowhere to fall

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Jammin' Me. Ahh, great song! (Co-written with Bob Dylan) (See video below). Brings me back to my late teenage years. :)

I've heard this song a couple of times on the radio in the past week and a half, after having not heard it for a long time. I love my local station that plays songs from the 70's and 80's!

Anyway, this song is kind of like an anti-'information overload' type of song. We're definitely in an age in which we're constantly bombarded with all kinds of information and happenings. From songfacts.com: "In the lyrics, Petty mentions various places and events that were in the news and getting constant media exposure." What I see as the original intent of the lyrics, is, in a nutshell, "Quit jamming me with all this stuff!" It's too much!

In one part Petty sings:
Take back Vanessa Redgrave
Take back Joe Piscopo
Take back Eddie Murphy
Give 'em all some place to go

I heard good ol' Casey Kasem talking about that verse last week. (Casey's Top 40 countdowns from the 70's and 80's are rebroadcast on the radio station I mentioned above). Casey said that it's not that Tom Petty has anything against those people. They simply are (were) a representation of what was big in the media. (By the way, we're talking 1987 here).

Well, the real reason I'm writing this post isn't so much about living in the information age, although it's certainly a legitimate concern. My reason has to do with how I see a parallel in this song to my previous experience in church.

Now, I've been in some pretty legalistic settings in my church life, in which law and rules are heavily mixed into the teachings. But I'm not necessarily talking about that. I'm talking about more of a subtle type of legalism that seems to get past the radar of a lot of my 'church peers.' What I'm talking about is the information overload of principles for Christian living.

I was under the spell for years! Every week I would go to church and put myself under what I thought was really good teaching about how to live the Christian life. I would listen to the pastor preach, and I would get all pumped up about how I was going to go out and begin putting all these wonderful principles to work in my life. Sunday afternoons were always an exciting time in my heart, as I couldn't wait till Monday, when I would be back in the real world applying all these principles.

But then Monday actually came.

Somehow I wasn't fired up anymore. Somehow all the wonderful things I'd heard on Sunday only seemed like pure fantasy now. And so I'd be so downhearted; I'd feel like such a failure.

But there was always NEXT Sunday! I couldn't wait! NEXT Sunday I knew I would hear some really powerful stuff and I knew I'd finally put it to good use!

And of course, the circle continued.

Well, finally I heard the good news of God's grace, and I got myself out of that performance treadmill that really was getting me nowhere. Or at least I thought I got out of it. What happened was I found out that it wasn't about what I could do, but what Christ could do through me. It wasn't about my performance, but what God performed in me.  But yet I found myself under a new kind of spell. New to me, anyway.

See, I became confident that indeed it wasn't about my works, but about God working in me. I was confident that without Christ I could do nothing, and I could do all things through Christ who gave me strength. Yeah! With God's grace I could overcome everything and finally have complete victory in all areas of life! But unfortunately all of this was being mixed together with a very fatal teaching. Oooh, is it a bad mixture! It was mixed together with the constant teaching of principles for Christian living.

Every week a new set of principles was taught. Yay, a new set of principles to apply to my grace life! Ok, not yay. One week it was 8 principles of giving. Then 5 principles for a godly marriage. Then 6 principles to use in the workplace. Then the 7 "R's" of Relationships. Then there were all the "how to's." "How to worship." "How to love your kids." "How to overcome anger." On and on it went. Every week, new Christian principles to live by.

And here's the thing. Just as Tom Petty had nothing against Joe Piscopo or Eddie Murphy - and probably even loved them! - it wasn't so much that all these "principles" were completely bad. It's not that some of these teachings of practical living weren't biblical. (Well, some of them I questioned). But the problem was that I was being JAMMED with principles! I sincerely wanted to be a good husband. I sincerely wanted to get my finances in order. I sincerely wanted to love God with all my being. It wouldn't be a bad thing if some of these "principles" were reflected in my daily living.

But man! Give me some room to breathe! Give me some time to grow! Quit Jammin' Me! Let's take one or two of these things, and let's sit down over coffee, and let's talk it out.  Let's take some time. What's the rush?

Am I the only one, or can anyone relate?

Too many rules! Vinnie Barbarino is so confused!

I've been on a serious streak lately and I needed a little comic relief! I don't mind being serious. I can be a really serious guy. I'm serious about that.

But of course I love to have my fun too! I've been reading the latest comments on this blog and I'm really enjoying what I'm reading, and I'll be back to tomorrow to join in the conversation, but for now here's a clip of John Travolta starring as Vinnie Barbarino in one of my all-time favorite shows, Welcome Back Kotter. I can relate to Vinnie's "confusion." :) Can anyone else?

Hey, doesn't the nurse in this clip kind of remind you of the heavy-handed dad in the Twisted Sister video, We're Not Gonna Take It?!



Speaking of the TS video, you know I have to post it at least once a month for Aida! LOL... Just kidding! But yet I have been waiting for the opportune time to share something I recently found. It's the full-length video for the song, including one extra minute at the beginning! I guess you could say it adds an extra minute of the context of the harsh, legalistic nature of the household in which the video takes place...

(BTW, if you're new here, search my blog for "Twisted Sister" to see why I'd even begin to think about posting this video. There's definitely a purpose for it, really!) :)

Joyful living and joyful giving - Part 2 of 2

In Part 1, I left off by saying that there was more to the stories about joyless giving that I had briefly mentioned. Check out that post to see the stories.

In story number one, the host of the program made things worse for the woman, in my opinion. It was obvious to me that he was a supporter of Christian tithing, and so instead of addressing the fact that tithing is a non-Christian principle (again, stay tuned and I'll eventually lay out a series of posts, showing how tithing is not a New Covenant principle by any means), and freeing the woman up to simply give freely from her heart as she determined to do on her own, which would by nature involve nothing less than cheerful giving, he gave her a list of rules and principles she could try to follow in order to have more joy in her life.

This is the type of thing in which I tend to have more verbal communication with my radio than I otherwise would have. ;)

And worse yet, in story number two the woman and her husband were commended by the host for what they did. I will mention that the woman said that she and her husband were very happy with what they had done and that they were thankful that they were in a position to be giving to something that they really wanted to give to. If they were truly changing their lifestyle because in their hearts they had decided that this was a way to give, and they did it cheerfully, then I can't argue with that.

But yet the whole story seems to me to be based more on legalism and religion - and not just a small wiff of it. This couple did feel obliged to "pay a tithe" to their local church. It didn't seem like they thought they had a choice in the matter. The root of their actions, it seems to me, was obligation, not giving freely.

When it comes to both joyful living (an overall life of joy) and joyful giving, the root can never be obligation. It can never be religion. It can never be rules. It can never be law. Christ came to set us FREE from all of that! I think that many Christians are living joyless lives, or at least seem to have very little joy, because they are mixing either a little or a lot of law and Old Covenant principles into their Christian lives. It only takes a little leaven of the law and religion to leaven the whole lump (see Gal 5:1-9).

Someone (well, ok, a LOT of people) might want to take some New Testament words and make "rules and principles" out of them. I'm thinking of words such as Peter's words, "What kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives..." (2 Peter 3:9). I recently heard an entire sermon on the radio based upon this passage. It basically turned out to be a list of do's and don'ts for the Christian life.

But the more I find out about my freedom in Christ, I find that the "oughts" of the Christian life are rooted in something much deeper. We can't simply yank passages out of the Bible and make rules out of them. Peter, in the above passage, continues with words that are often overlooked. "...as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming." This "ought" was rooted in joyful expectation of the coming of the Lord. It wasn't rooted in any kind of obligation to "be a better Christian" by following the rules. Joy wasn't going to come as a result of trying to live by "oughts."

Rather, the types of lives we live are rooted in the fact that in Christ we have freedom and we have joy. We have a wonderful Savior and Friend, and as we get to know Him intimately and freely, not through rules and oughts, but through His grace and love, then we won't be obliged to change our lifestyles in order to try to do better for Him. Instead, our growing process will be much more natural, over a period of time, as we rest in Him. It deeply saddens me that for many, the Christian life is not much more than futile attempts at rules and oughts.

As you read through other New Testament epistles, note how Paul and the others lay a foundation of life, love, grace, etc. And much more than a foundation, life, love and grace are also the makeup of the entire Christian life. And the actions of the Christian life, such as giving, kindness, love, holiness, etc, are not the root of the Christian life. They are the legitimate fruit of being grounded firmly and deeply in God's love and grace!

Joyful living and joyful giving - Part 1 of 2

I don't quite understand it (ha ha), but for some reason churches seem to make a priority of teaching on the topic of giving. And many of the teachings I've heard on this topic just make me sad. This is stuff I've heard all throughout my church life but I can't say that I ever get any happier when I hear it.

Here are two sad stories I've heard lately that I believe are direct results of how giving is taught in churches today.

1. On a Christian radio talk show, a woman called in with a problem. The gist of her problem is that she gives money to the church but she just can't seem to do it joyfully. She said something like, "We do pay our tithe to our church, but it just isn't a joyful thing for us."

2. Another woman called into a Christian talk show (I can't remember if it was the same program) and said that there was a time when she and her husband couldn't afford to pay their tithe to their church, because they wouldn't have enough money left over for other necessary things, but they felt guilty about it. So what did they end up doing? They SOLD their house, and in her own words, they took a huge loss on it. But, she says, now they are in a smaller house that costs less and they can now afford to "pay their tithe" to their church.

OH

MY.

Why do things like this surprise me? It probably happens far more than we can imagine.

But the point is... what has the Christian religion done to us??? We take Old Covenant laws and practices that served specific purposes for Old Covenant times, we stretch them and manipulate them to fit into the ways we've devised to do things in the church, and we call it "Christianity." I've written full commentaries on "the tithe" in the past and I've shared bits and pieces of my thoughts in various newgroups, and even more recently on other blogs, and I have in mind to do a full series here on "the tithe."

But for now I'll just say that I'll bet there are many similar stories to the ones I shared above, with people dealing with joyless giving, changing their lifestyles so they can "pay a tithe" to a church, and other problems rooted in legalism, and this is one of the areas of modern day legalistic Christianity that really gets under my skin.

The stories above didn't end where I left off. I'll pick up where I left off in Part 2.

How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?

I don't suppose I can bring anyone along on the emotional journey I just went through as I watched this video... I'm sure it was an experience unique to me... but I can at least share it with you.

And really... all in all it's just a song from Pink Floyd!

Watching this video, I was brought back to my boyhood. This video somewhat reminds me of my school days in England in the late 70's / early 80's. I attended a private all-boys secondary school that was just behind our house. The school seemed dark and old, and a little run down. I was somewhat scared of some of the teachers. Everyone was to rise when the headmaster entered your room. Canings were still very common, although I never got into the kind of trouble that warranted a caning. I guess I'm painting a pretty bleak picture here, but it wasn't all that bad (and definitely not as bad as in this video!). Overall it was an "ok" experience... but I will say that I wouldn't ever want to re-live it!).

Also... the darkness of fear, conformity, rules, authority, religion, legalism, isolation, abuse, rebellion, are all represented in this video (from my perspective, anyway), and overall in Pink Floyd's 1979 concept album The Wall and in the 1982 rock opera film that came from it. Where do I get all these anti-authority videos from? I grew up with them!

On a more comical note... or actually, on a confessional note... During my teen years I was at a party one time when someone was playing this very Pink Floyd record. People knew that I lived in England during the time this song was recorded, and I began telling them that I had been part of the school choir that sang on this song. :) I said they picked our school out of many schools, and came to our school and recorded us and edited us into the song.

The truth is... my elementary school choir really had recorded a couple of albums right around the same time (strickly "choir" songs)... but being in Stockport, England, we were far away from the North London secondary school that was actually chosen, having been right around the corner from the studio! This was simply one of those things that I made up to make myself appear to be someone I wasn't. Years later, after having all but forgotten about it, I finally "fessed up" when my friend Carianne mentioned it in an email one time. "Oh, yeah... about that..." :D

Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall

Now teacher, don't you fill me up with your rules...

Some people who know me will know where I'm coming from with this.

Others who know me will know that I'm not necessarily coming from anywhere with this. ;)

As for me and my house... it's probably both. :)

I've had my computer down for a few days while doing a massive rearrangement of things in the ol' office, and while I'm planning on continuing with my "Jesus is Not a Religion" series tomorrow, I had other things on my mind tonight. Once I got booted up again, instead of getting caught up on important things... LOL... I spent some time looking at old Motley Crüe videos. :-D

Smokin' in the Boys Room

Law or Love?

From my notes from 9/21/01:

Which is better?
To put a person in reins and hold the reins tightly to keep them from moving to the left or right - OR to let the person live in freedom, make mistakes, and eventually (possibly, but with no guarantee) learn of God's unconditional love and begin to love God and others, so their freedom keeps them walking a straight line?

So why do we try to control people with reins??? (Rules, Regulations, Laws, etc).

Which is better?
Bondage, fear and guilt - OR love.

The possibility that others will make mistakes or using grace as a license to sin will always be a legitimate concern - but it should never be used as a reason or excuse to refrain from preaching and teaching the pure gospel of grace.