Objections to the gospel of grace

I've been discussing the gospel of grace with people for several years, both in person and online, sharing with others my belief and understanding that not only are we saved by grace, but that God's love and grace is the essence of the Christian life. I've consistently shared that our "work" is to rest and believe, and that that's how God works in and through us. Restful trust. Trustful rest. Waiting, abiding, believing. It's not our job to produce fruit, but as we abide in the Vine, the life of the Vine flows through us naturally and produces God's own fruit. We are invited by God Himself to participate in His divine nature, but the work is His, not ours.

Objections arise, of course. I can't tell you the number of times over the years that I've been accused of and/or warned about preaching licentiousness, lawlessness, "cheap grace," "greasy grace," "sloppy agape," and other such idiotic things. People have told me in various sorts of ways that I'm teaching others to sin and to not be true followers/disciples of Jesus. They've told me that demons can "rest" and "believe," and that I shouldn't use those words without adding something about "responsibility" and "effort" on our part to work the works of God. They've told me I need to "balance" grace with rules, works and principles for Christian living. They've said I'm causing harm to the body of Christ.

In my hundreds of conversations (probably even a thousand or more) with people since the mid to late 90's when I began learning and sharing the gospel of peace, I've heard every objection you can think of. Many times I've faced those objections head on and have spent a great deal of time going into deeper conversations to talk out those issues. I've enjoyed that. I've found discussions with others to be a huge part of my own learning and growing process. Many times I feel I've effectively fought off various objections and have helped to change the thinking of some with a more legalistic bent. Other times it's been a fruitless exchange of multiple Bible verses, along with interpretations and opinions, and so I've also learned to pick my battles. :)

And in the midst of all this, I've learned something even greater. Words, discussions, opinions, etc, while often having a great deal of value, never match up to the actual testimonies of lives transformed by God's love and grace (such as mine and so many other people I know).

Let me tell you something about those who have been gripped by God's love and grace, and who don't have a focus on performance, but on a loving relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All the objections listed above (and more) are not true of them! Nowhere close. Grace, to them, is not cheap. It's Power. It's Life. It's God's strength in their weakness. If God's Agape is sloppy, it's only because He lavishes it around so wastefully! God's love and grace, to them, is not a license to sin. That's not even what crosses their minds! Yes, everyone still falls short in their actions, but it's not because they think, "Hmmm, God's grace is what is calling me to live like this!" Like I said above, that's just idiotic.

In ALL my connections over the years, I've run into only ONE such "idiot." :) About 6 or 7 years ago, someone had been reading various things that I had written in an online forum and he emailed me to say, "Congratulations on your decision to 'do nothing for Jesus!'" At first I thought he was simply agreeing with my overall understanding that it's not up to us to do things for God, but rather that it's God who is at work in us. But further into his email, he (almost gleefully) used multiple swear words and talked as if we might as well do whatever the flesh desires because we're saved by grace. To me, he didn't 'get' it!

But by far, he is the exception, not the rule, in regards to how people respond to the pure gospel of grace. No, he's not even the exception. He's got an entirely different "gospel" going on! Since this is getting long, I'll talk about those who do 'get' it, and how they've responded to God's love and grace, in the next post.

GIG 187 - God's Work In Us

Most would agree that the Christian life is not a passive lifestyle. But just how is the life of the Christian animated? Where does the "action" come from? We know we're saved by the grace of God, but then is it up to us - and our own striving - to hop into action for God and His kingdom?

The Apostle Paul said he "labored abundantly." What was it that was working so mightily in him that caused him to spring into action? Was it a sense of duty to "work for God?" Was he compelled by a sense of obligation to serve God and to labor and strive for the kingdom? Or did he simply yield to God and trust His work to work mightily in Him?

The religious system is good at burdening people with heavy labor and wearing people out! Jesus told those who labored and were weary to come to Him for rest! And He said the work of God is to believe. Since we do trust God's grace to save us, can't we also trust His grace to animate us and to accomplish all that He wants to accomplish in and through us - as we simply believe, and rest in Him and trust Him!

gigcast.graceroots.org

Religion vs. Relationship - Part 1

This week we talk about how life in Christ is not about religion, but about relationship. Religion is man's attempt to get to God. It's based upon self-effort and performance. It puts the focus on us. Relationship is based upon faith and trust, and relying upon the finished work of Jesus.

A little leaven can go a long way. A little legalism, or a little religion, worked into our lives in Christ can blur our perspective of the perfect relationship we have with God that is based solely upon His love and grace.

gigcast.graceroots.org

Trust Your Divine Dance Partner

I've heard the Christian life described as a dance with our Divine Partner, and perhaps you've heard that too. In order for a dance partners to dance beautifully, the man leads and the woman follows his lead. And in order for the woman to follow the man's lead, she needs to trust the man. She needs to trust his lead. She needs to trust his moves. She needs to trust that he will catch her. She needs to trust that he will take the right steps, so that when she moves he'll be right where she needs him to be in order for the choreography to flow smoothly. And so on.

I may or may not be describing all of that very well, but you get the gist. In the same way, we need to trust the lead of our Divine Dance Partner.

I'm not a huge fan of Dancing With the Stars. In fact I'll just say it: I've never watched the program before! Well, perhaps in flipping through the channels I've caught a minute or two of the show in the past. And that's exactly what I was doing a night or two ago when I came across the program. I just happened to catch the tail end of a performance with Belinda Carlisle (of the Go Go's fame from the 80's) and her dance partner, Jonathan Roberts. I then saw what the judges had to say, and I was captivated by this very interesting bit of advice from judge Carrie Ann Inaba as she spoke to Belinda:

"What I think you need to work on is trusting Jonathan. I felt like you were trying to do the choreography separate from Jonathan. You've got a great partner; just let him lead you."

We have a great Dance Partner, don't we?! He's not looking for us to perform well for Him, but rather to trust Him as He leads us in a beautiful Divine dance.

Check out Carrie Ann's words to Belinda, beginning at around 3:18 in this clip. This clip also features the Iowa native, Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson.

God's Discipline - Loving Teaching and Correction, Not Punishment

In this week's GIGCast Mike and I look at the words "chasten" and "discipline" in Hebrews 12, and discuss how these words don't mean "punish," as the words are often wrongfully taken to mean. As legitimate children of God, He teaches us and corrects us in His love - not impatiently and not fearfully or out of anger - to help us to know His love and to trust Him and to walk as the children of God that we truly are.

It's interesting that the writer of Hebrews, leading up to this, would write so many words to help get people rooted and grounded in Jesus Himself bearing the sin of the world, being the once-for-all perfect sacrifice,that we're not under the wrath of God, that we should hold fast our hope in Him, and that we look unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith... and then suddenly, according to various interpretations of this, the writer tells us God is angry and impatient with us, and beats us and punishes us???

If God's "perfect love for us eliminates all dread of what he might do to us" (1 John 4:18, The Living Bible), then we must know and be encouraged that He never harms us or punishes us. He disciplines us (teaches us, corrects us) in loving ways, for our own good, not as a display of anger or wrath.

gigcast.graceroots.org

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

Faith - What You Trust, Not What You Do

Latest GIGCast is up! Looking into Hebrews 11, often called the "Hall of Faith," we look at what the "faith" means. It was "by faith" that the people listed in this chapter did the things they did, but it wasn't "what they did" that gave them their testimony of righteousness. Rather, it was their Trust in God - their faith. We've got to keep in mind that faith shows itself by what we do, but what we do is not what makes us righteous! If what we do is what makes us righteous, and we call that "faith," then faith is nothing more than self-righteousness! Faith is trusting in God, not in ourselves or our works.

gigcast.graceroots.org

My vote: On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand

63+ million people waking up today enthused and refreshed. 55+ Million people waking up depressed and perplexed. So many hopes and fears hanging on the results of an election that just happened to take place during the short time they lived on this earth.

Don't get me wrong... I understand it all! I'm in no way naive about or oblivious to the issues or the candidates. I've paid close attention for several years now. And I don't think it's wrong to work hard for what you believe in, even in the political realm - if and when the Lord leads through His life in you. And so... this post isn't about what you should or shouldn't do, politically speaking, according to what you see going on in this world.

Rather, I'm simply hoping to draw the focus away from trusting in politics or the systems that are in place in this world... to trusting in One Person. The three in one. The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit. There's been a lot of talk about hope and change. There's been a lot of talk about fear as well. What is your hope really in? What do you fear and why are you afraid?

Perhaps let me put it this way. Lets to go the extremes. The President-elect of the United States of America is Barack Obama. On the one hand you have people who believe this country is now on a path that leads from the frying pan into eternal fire and destruction. On the other hand you have people who believe this country is now saved and is on a clear path to healing. Again, I'm talking 'extremes' here, so please bear with me on that for the sake of discussion. Indeed, people have all kinds of hopes, fears, expectations, feelings of disappointment, etc, in regards to this election.

So... what if one of those scenarios turns out to be absolutely true? What if the election of Barack Obama leads to the absolute worst conditions the people of this country has ever seen? Or what if everything is restored and we see the best possible conditions come about?

Is our hope and/or fear to be in these kinds of things? Again, I'm not trying to make a case for sitting still and saying "C'est la vie" or "Que sera sera," and burying your head in the sand until Jesus returns. "Action" (no matter how you define it in a political sense) is not what this post is about.

I'm really trying to point out that ever since the eternal God (Father, Son and Spirit) created man, God has always remained God. He has always remained sovereign. He has always been Lord of all. The world and everything in it belongs to Him. He has never missed a beat. There has never been a king, a president, a leader or an authority of any sort, who has been above Him or has been able to usurp His power or thwart His plans. The fate of the world, on the one hand, has been influenced negatively by every living person since Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but on the other hand has never really been in our hands because God has made redemption and restoration to Life His mission and joy - and His mission cannot and will not fail... no matter WHAT!

God was still in control when Herod had all the children under two years old killed. When the king sent Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego into the fiery furnace. When Daniel was thrown into the den of lions. When the crowd yelled for Barabbas to be released instead of Jesus. When Stephen was stoned to death. When Jerusalem was destroyed.

God was in control when the children of Israel were mighty in battle. God was in control when they escaped Pharaoh's army as the Red Sea was parted. When David triumphed over Goliath. When people sought to kill the Apostle Paul and yet the disciples let him down through the wall in a large basket. When Jerusalem was rebuilt.

There are so many billions (and billions and billions) of examples throughout history that testify to the sovereignty of God and His commitment to His purposes, and His ability to carry them out no matter what!

Say what you will about what I'm saying here, but I'm convinced that our lives have never been in the hands of politics, governments and political leaders, but have always, without fail, been in the hands of the Loving and Grace-ful God who created us and works endlessly to restore people to true Life, which is found only in one place, in one way, in one Person - Jesus the true and only Messiah. And this has always been true no matter what the circumstances have been.

Is the U.S. government system something that God set up? I won't answer that question directly, because I honestly don't know (no matter what the founders said), but I want to point out one huge difference between the Kingdom of God and the "kingdom" of the United States and its government. The U.S. government is (supposedly) "of the people, by the people, for the people." Can God work in and through the people of that system? Certainly. BUT... when it comes to our ultimate hope and trust, we are part of a Kingdom that is of God, by God and for God.

If you're happy today because of the election, then please enjoy your happiness! If you're sad, please remember that there is One who comforts. However, I will say that if our emotions go up and down all our lives, based upon our hopes and fears in MAN, then I believe we have somehow misplaced our trust. No matter what, please remember that Christ Himself is the solid rock on which we stand. ALL other ground is sinking sand! That's the point of this.

I'm just being honest with the way I see things after having come to this point in my grace journey. If you're happy today because of the winner, that's all fine and dandy but quite honestly my hope with this post is to DEFLATE your euphoria that has come a result of a leader who will govern for a BLIP in comparison to all of eternity. And if you're sad today, my hope is to bring you back around to TRUSTING in the only one who can give you - and the world - true hope and salvation. Imagine if you laid down all these fears and hopes that were based upon the promises of mere human beings, and instead your true hope, joy and peace was in the One who created you and loves you and has the ENTIRETY of your life in his more than capable hands!

Politics and worldly troubles - Where is our hope and trust?

I found an excellent blog (from what I've seen so far), and an excellent blog post on that blog that I wanted to share. The blog itself is called New Life Design, and it seems to be a very grace-based blog.

The specific blog post I wanted to share is called Perilous Times. It echoes a lot of what I've been thinking about lately. With the U.S. presidential election a little over 2 weeks away, and with the various economic conditions around the world - and with all other kinds of troubles and trials and negative circumstances in the world - many people are worried, sad, fearful, perplexed, distressed and depressed, along with many other negative thoughts, feelings and emotions. The Perilous Times post is a great encouragement to all that our hope and trust is in God, not man or circumstances.

It seems so very easy for some people to put a lot of stock in politics, politicians, political parties, the political system, etc. I mean, we say they're all liars and cheaters, but yet of course the ones we're voting for are the hope of all mankind! ;) So we form strong opinions, we hold rallies and man, oh man do we talk so bitterly about "the opponents." (Come on, is that really the life of Christ speaking through us?) And when it comes to worldly affairs, it seems so easy for us to live as if our very lives are dependent upon the circumstances of the world - when the circumstances of the world have been so very up and down and unstable ever since the Fall.

Don't get me wrong - What I'm not saying here is that "politics" are to be ignored. (But whatever your "politics," do let it all be an outflow of the life of the One who indwells you, and of faith, not sight, just as with the rest of your life). What I am saying is that in the midst of all this it's so easy to forget the One who truly does have the whole world in HIS hands. AS IF the fate of the United States and the rest of the world has ever really been in the hands of Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, G. Bush, Clinton, G.W. Bush (the presidents in office since my birth) or any other local or national leader in all of history - or yet to come. Sure... God has worked in and through them, as He has with all of mankind, but the world's fate has never been in their hands. Never.

Check out what Jesus said to Pontius Pilate when Pilate asked Him, "Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?" Jesus' answer was, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above." (In other words, "Sure, Pilate, you indeed have a lot of power. But AS IF my fate is in your hands. This is God's plan"). In the very same way, isn't it also true that the whole of history - all the leaders, all those 'powerful' decision makers - were and always will be in God's hands?

What do we have to worry about?

Alive

Look over there. The tomb is empty. The body is not there. It has risen. It is alive again!

I'm not talking about Jesus 2000 years ago. I'm talking about YOU right now!

YOU are alive! Why do you keep living as if you were still dead!

Are you still trying to eek out an existence through the letter of the law? Why not fully trust in and embrace the life given FREELY by the Spirit through the new covenant?

2 Cor 3:4-6
And we have such trust through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Rom 8:32
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Col 2:13-15
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Eph 2:1-10
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 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. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Col 3:3-4
For you died, and your life [your new life] is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Waiting - Part 3

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, PATIENCE, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. - Galatians 5:22-23

"Lord, I pray for patience. And please give it to me NOW!" - Christian prayer

:)

I believe that as Christians, our spirits have been born again (1 Peter 1:23) - made into brand new creations (2 Cor 5:17). We've become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). We've been joined together with God (1 Cor 6:17). Christ is in us (Col 1:27) and we are in Him (1 John 4:13). We are complete in Him (Col 2:10). He has perfected us forever (Heb 10:14). This is good news! It's the reality of who we are in Him, and it's all due to His loving kindness and grace. Again, I believe this is the truth about our spirits. "God... made us alive together with Christ... and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2:5-6).

I believe it's a different story with our souls. What I mean is, although our spirits have been made new creations and are complete and perfected, and have become partakers of the divine nature, there is still a daily sanctifying work of grace going on in our souls (our mind, our will, our emotions, etc). I can tell you for certain that my will does not always line up with that of the Spirit. My emotions do not always reflect the truth of who I have become spiritually in Christ. My thoughts vary from moment to moment. Put simply, one moment I can be thinking pure, holy thoughts and the next moment I can be lost in impure, ungodly thoughts. Happy one moment, sad the next. Trustful one moment, doubting the next. And so on.

But yet in this soul-life, through the daily, ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, I'm growing. And to get specifically to the topic of this post, this growing process isn't instantaneous! A lot of waiting is involved. Since we are joined with God spiritually and have become a partaker of His divine nature, our natural desire when we realize that in our souls (minds, wills, emotions) we're not patient with our spouse, our children, our parents, our friends, our coworkers, ourselves (or on a bigger scale the overall development of our own personal life stories), is to become more patient. And since we're impatient in learning patience, we wish God would simply snap His fingers and make us patient!

Of course it doesn't work that way. Patience, along with all the other fruit that comes out of an ongoing relationship with the Holy Spirit, takes time. It's not instantaneous. There's a process going on, and I think that most of the time we don't even understand all that God is doing in and through us to bear His fruit. I do believe there are times when we're given revelations and insight about what He's doing, and those are wonderful times, but we generally don't see the bigger picture. However, in all of this we've been given a gift that I believe can and should help to melt away all the doubt and uncertainty when we don't see. That gift is faith.

I wholeheartedly believe that faith truly is a gift, and not something that we can earn or muster up by ourselves, and yet there is yet a growing process involved in learning to walk in faith. To walk in faith is to know that there is a bigger picture, even though we can't see it. It's to know that God is at work in us, to will and to do according to His good pleasure (Phil 2:13), even when we don't sense what He is doing. There is a growing process involved in which you "let your roots grow down into him (Jesus) and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught" (Col 2:7 NLT).

Growth by its very nature is not quick or instantaneous, so it naturally involves patience ("long-suffering"). Patience involves waiting. Waiting expectantly requires faith. Faith requires believing what you don't see, but again it's a gift and it simply means that you are believing and trusting in the One through Whom all things were created - the One who is before all things and in Whom all things consist! (see Col 1:16-18). It's a well-placed trust, no?

The question has been answered

The people who asked Jesus the question, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" (John 6:28) received an answer they weren't expecting.

Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." (John 6:29).


Since the question has been answered, why do we keep asking the question?