All posts by dax

Examine Yourself… Rightly

In Christ, Righteousness,

In light of my previous post, and especially as we go through a critical portion of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel of John, I’m struck by a complaint I occasionally hear from others, and occasionally find in myself. It’s basically that our main issue as Christians is laziness.

This view concedes that (perhaps) you’ve put your faith in Jesus, but your main problem is that you aren’t as committed as you should be… you aren’t doing enough… so you should doubt whether or not you are a believer. Exhortations in the faith become exhortations to work harder, do more, and simply work.

What are you examining?
What are you examining?

‘Examine yourself,’ the statement goes, ‘are you doing all you can?’ The implied answer is that if you aren’t, you might not be saved. And really, if you’re honest, the fear is that the answer is always no – that you’re never doing all you could, and should always be doing more. Welcome to the Christian treadmill…

Examine yourself. Not good enough. Try harder. Repeat.

I think this line of reasoning has some twists in it that aren’t healthy. I’d like to explain why in two ways.

The first unhealthy twist is that this particular exhortation usually gets the context wrong.

Mostly people who exhort constant self-examination are thinking of 2 Corinthians 13:5. It says “Examine yourselves… test yourselves.”

But note the ellipsis. What did I leave out? Let’s look again at the whole verse.

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?”

Interesting, isn’t it? That the purpose of the test isn’t how much you’ve done, but whether you are in the faith. Whether Jesus Christ is in you. So the examining I’m told to do is actually primarily an examination of my heart’s faith in Jesus Christ. Not a scorecard (i.e., 7 out of 10, let’s try for 8 out of 10!) but a thumbs up or down.

The verb (to examine) is used in 1 Corinthians 3:13 about testing what kind of work we’re doing; in 1 Corinthians 11:28, 2 Corinthians 8:22, and Galatians 6:4 of testing motives, and even in 1 Thessalonians 2:4 of God examining hearts. In fact, 1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells us to examine “everything” to see if it is good or bad.

So my self-examination really should not based on quantity. It is not based on “am I doing all I can.” It isn’t primarily a question of laziness. It is a question of kind.

And thus the second way in which this can be an unhealthy twist (related to the first). The exhortation, as stated, is being used to examine production rather than connection.

The Bible’s strong statement is that connection leads invariably to production. Not that production can force connection. The Bible is all about true connection to Christ alone. This is what we’ve seen in John 15. Are you a branch that is alive, or dead? Is there any fruit on that tree, or not? The single determining factor of whether there is or is not fruit is whether you have or have not been united to Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. Whether you abide in him.

If I have faith in Christ, I’m connected to the vine. If so, I will bear fruit. And that fruit is great assurance… because without him, I can do nothing. Fruit is a sign of connection. And that vital life that produces fruit in me is not my own… it is Christ’s (John 15:1-5).

But it isn’t the amount of fruit. Fruit is only a sign of something that is actually present. To think of this through the context of Jesus’ statements in John… Jesus is my life… even after I sin, letting my own personal frustration offend my spouse. He’s the source of living water, even if I oversleep my own prayer time. He’s really the only reason to be at church, singing. And even as I bear fruit (because of the vital connection I have with Jesus), the one who makes me bear more isn’t me (what ability do I have?), but rather the Father (John 15:2, Ephesians 2:10).

So it is important to self-examine… but in the right context. Our examination is – is it true that I believe’? Do I really trust in Jesus’ righteousness? Do I really humble myself before him? If the answer to this self-examination is a ‘yes!’, then that should lead to joy… and not a treadmill. The ‘yes!’ means fruit will follow, not ‘ok… that’s great that you trust in Jesus… but prove it’.

We are our own fruit-inspectors… and if we see any… any… then we are thrilled that a true connection is there. Life from the source. That’s Jesus. Often true faith is to continue to believe that I am in union with Jesus Christ in spite of my failings and my sin which I see more and more as I grow.

Perhaps another way to get to the same place is to see what Jesus said in a familiar passage in Matthew 7:

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of min and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” (vv.24-26).

Do you see? Both the wise and foolish man built. There isn’t really a statement of how hard they worked; they both may have sweated much. They may both have had a Protestant work ethic. It didn’t matter. What mattered was what they built on.

The one who builds on Jesus’ message – the Gospel, the good news of faith alone by grace alone in Christ alone, an alien righteousness imputed to us, a Holy Spirit living in us – is the one who stands… not the one who builds (even zealously/thankfully/wonderfully) in their own righteousness.

What matters is what we build on.  And we’re all building.

So if you are examining, today… go ahead, examine why you’re motivated to play guitar… to watch a movie… to come to church… to enjoy a walk. In things called work. In things called leisure. And in things in between. Your whole life is being used by Christ, pruned by the Father, to bear fruit. As you see selfishness and pride, repent. But may you more and more see the fruit of joy, of peace, of patience, of kindness… as you live each and every day in trust of Jesus Christ, thereby building on the rock that is the only chance we will ever have of eternal life with the incredible God who calls us friends.

A Heart of Worship

In Christ

By God’s grace, I’ve been a Christian for a long time. That time is getting longer every day. So when I look at what God continues to teach me through His Word, I can only shake my head at my thick-headedness and my pride… and whatever else it is that keeps me from learning the centrality of the gospel.That’s what’s been hammered home over the past months as the Gospel of John has been a constant companion. The centrality of the gospel… which is to say, the centrality of Jesus Christ.

Bowing to myself?
Bowing to myself? Or worshiping Jesus?

It isn’t only that he miraculously fed thousands, or healed incredibly recalcitrant diseases, or stopped storms. It isn’t even that he said he was the bread of life, or the resurrection and the life, or the source of living water.

It’s that he really is those things. On an ongoing basis.

Religion, as helpful as it can be, often gets in my way. What I mean by that is that religion can be twisted (by me) to be a sinful practice, not an edifying one. I can run self-metrics, rather than joyful worship: how much prayer have I been investing in; whether I’ve fasted recently; how many people have I “touched,” “checked in” with, or otherwise “ministered” to; whether I’ve avoided a particular sin I’d like to have ‘victory’ over. I start having pride, not in my repentant response to sin, but in my superficial, external cleanliness. In my diligence and efficiency. And so I functionally put my hope in my performance of “good” things… not realizing that they have no goodness in themselves. They have goodness (and are fruit) only if they are truly worship of a worthy object.

Eventually… when my eyes are opened… I look again at my own heart, eager for self-exaltation, and again have to come to the cross… repenting…asking forgiveness… and putting my trust, my only hope… in my Savior.

Jesus is my bread of life (John 6:35). He is what I take in, forever.
Jesus is my light (John 8:12). He’s the only way I see… ever.
Jesus is my shepherd (John 10:11). He leads and cares and finds me.
Jesus is my resurrection (John 11:25). He’s the only reason I’ll live forever.
Jesus is my life (John 11:25). He is, right now. I only act like my life is about me.

Or, to put the above into the negative statements they infer:
On my own I starve.
On my own I’m blind.
On my own I’m lost.
On my own I’ll die, or perhaps I’m dead already.
On my own I have no life now.

Why do I think I could ever do anything on my own?

This is why I was so struck by Mary this week, in John 12. Heartfelt worship… not posed, not calculated, not even fully understood… but entirely appropriate because of the object of the worship.

Jesus Christ.

May our hearts be filled with grateful joy at the life our Savior gives. May we find joy in prayer because it is with him… may we excitedly follow where he leads… May we find all we are in His finished work on our behalf… and our certain future in union with Him.

Grace… toward each other

Grace, In Christ, , ,

Ok… I’m posting today, because it has been a long time… but I’m also quite ill today… so if this seems like a ramble, or doesn’t make sense… blame me. And my illness.

As I live under the incredible reality that grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17), and as I grow in the grace and knowledge of my Savior (2 Peter 3:18), I continue to be overwhelmed with the centrality for my life of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Not in a Sunday-School-the-answer-is-always-Jesus kind of way, but how I wish that my words were clearer, that my life was more reflective, of the reality of Christ. He isn’t a substantial part of my salvation – He is my salvation. He’s my righteousness, my redemption, my sanctification, my justification… and the big words don’t even begin to capture, really, the essence of the grace and truth that Jesus Christ brings.

So often it seems like “church” becomes a following of a subset of Christ’s teachings, plus a variety of other traditions and cultural norms that a community chooses for itself. While this may be comfortable, it is limiting and narrow and so often isn’t overwhelmed with the true heart of the church… Jesus.

John MacArthur, in a question-and-answer session at the 2007 Shepherd’s Conference, gives this helpful answer to a pastor wanting to confront this type of “legalism” – not in the sense of works salvation, but in the sense of the narrow behavioral norms and needless (i.e. not biblically mandated) restrictions that so many churches hold to:

“I would suggest that the first way to do that is to move people off the rules they live by on to the person of Jesus Christ, and just preach the glories of Christ. Get in a Gospel and stay there until those people have been liberated from rules to love for Christ, until they have been literally swept away in awe and wonder over their affections for Jesus Christ. Rather than try to instruct them on the biblical disciplines, which again is just another set of rules, let them be lost in wonder, love, and praise over the person of Christ, and you watch those things begin to disappear.”

Can we get to a place of being liberated from restrictive rules? Not being against morality or obedience in any way – but centering that morality and obedience in a passion and love and awe and wonder and praise at our Savior?

I think that one main hindrance is pride. Pride pushes me towards never conceding that someone else might see truth better… that I have no self-righteousness to hold onto… that Christ really is my everything. Pride leads me to hedge the truth and steal from grace… and ultimately the wonder of our Savior is not served by my words.

I hope that you (whomever might read this) and I can get away from ourselves enough to actually dive into the real truth that Scripture brings – the gospel, the good news of our Savior.

I like how Kevin DeYoung puts it, in an article at First Things:

“We are all proud. Because I’m proud I get hurt when people disagree with me strongly. Because I’m proud I feel the need to give thirteen qualifications before I make an argument, not usually because I’m a swell guy but because I love for people to love me and loathe for them to dislike or misunderstand me. Because I’m proud I hedge my criticisms so that I won’t have to publicly repent and recant when I go too far and get something wrong. Because we’re proud, protectors of self more than lovers of truth, we often don’t discuss things with candor or with verve.”

This convicts me. My hedging can be more a result of fear of man and pride than a result of concern for the truth. And I look back at my very first sentence above… and get convicted. Why do we shy away from truth?

“And from him [God] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord'” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).

May we clearly proclaim (and really believe) what is already true: that Jesus Christ, our glorious Savior, is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption… and may all our boasting be only in Him.

(h/t to Andy Naselli’s excellent blogs on these issues)

Grace in the Word

Grace, Quotes, ,

I’ve not been posting much… but partly that’s because I’ve been reading a lot. I’m always tempted to just post a few quotes. I’m resisting, today. But here’s some of what’s on my plate right now, reading-wise:

The Gospel-Driven Life, by Michael Horton. Almost a must-read book, absolutely fantastic. Our men’s group at church is reading this, and the discussion has been insightful and helpful to my Christian walk.

Rescuing Ambition, by Dave Harvey. So far my favorite quote is “God’s glorious ambition for our lives begins with who we are.” Close behind: “We need to be saved by works – not ours, but Jesus Christ’s!” I’m only partway in… he’s doing a great job of not forgetting the gospel as he urges us to have the right kind of ambition.

The Evangelical Universalist. The author wants to at least raise the possibility biblically that there is room in orthodoxy for universal restoration. Not my position. So it is interesting to understand how someone can come to a very different conclusion than my understanding of the Bible.

Worship Matters. Bob Kauflin really has a marvelous tone and heart for truly worshiping God – not only in song, but certainly in what we are singing.

“Redrawing the Line Between Hermeneutics and Application,” by Brian Shealy, in Bob Thomas’ Evangelical Hermeneutics.

This last one is what I really want to share on today. I doubt any of my friends will read Shealy’s essay; it is a bit dry, and in a fairly technical book. But what he’s saying is deep, good, and true.

We live in a day when large theological words – words like ‘exegesis,’ ‘homiletics,’ ‘hermeneutics,’ ‘interpretation,’ ‘expository’ – are sometimes used but often not clearly understood. What so many well-meaning people say is that they want to ‘obey the Bible.’ And what that excellent phrase ends up meaning is a confusion of application and interpretation. Perhaps more accurately, well-meaning Christians can skip interpretation for the more ‘practical’ application piece. Finding an application becomes the interpretation.

This seems good but can quickly become deadly.

One can go to Leviticus 11:6-11 and find wonderful application (a Christian shouldn’t eat rabbits, pigs, or shellfish) that absolutely ignores the context and purpose of “clean” and “unclean.” That’s jumping right to application, without finding out what the text means.

Another example is Psalm 15. “O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right”… and the psalm goes on to describe four main areas: not slandering, despising the wicked, keeping vows, and not lending money at interest. An application-based jump goes right to “this is how you keep holy and right before God – do these four things.” Proper interpretation, in contrast, would actually lead to an examination of context to understand the basis of the Psalms, of messianic influences, and also in cross-reference to understand that Jesus Christ alone is blameless. From a right interpretation (read: understanding), application can then be made.

The difficulty of the Bible for the church is a primarily interpretive difficulty. The Bible is a message of truth from God. Understanding that truth is the basis for all else. If you do not get the truth, then you end up applying untruth. You end up saying things are from God when they are not. You end up with a thoroughly human message given in human power.

This skipping of interpretation is deadly because the actual original message of the Bible is what is powerful. The truth of the Bible is described as the “sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17). This word is living and active and piercing (Hebrews 4:12). And what we can do, if we are not careful, is substitute in our human message, our “application,” instead of the truth, the interpretation, that the Holy Spirit actually uses to pierce souls.

Shealy puts it this way: Preachers “cannot allow human self-centeredness or even enthusiasm for obedience to influence their use of hermeneutical principles. They must study God’s Word objectively to determine the original message that God intended.”

I’m convinced this emphasis is critical is because the original message is the Gospel. From Genesis to Revelation, the message is about Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Beginning and the End, about righteousness and sanctification and adoption and union and justification… all in and by and through Him.

In a rush to application there can be an abandonment of the actual truth of God’s message as stated in the passage the application is taken from. If there is a daily struggle for me as a pastor, it is here. Shealy rightly states that “only this goal [true interpretation] will exalt God’s Word to its proper place.”

Bernard Ramm, in Protestant Bible Interpretation, states this issue similarly in a rule: “What is not a matter of revelation cannot be made a matter of creed or faith.”

I suppose that some might disagree, but to my mind and heart the desperate need of our churches is in this area of interpretation. For those who are born of the Spirit, who know Jesus Christ, the desire for application rightly follows salvation. And then many are run into misguided activities based on poor interpretation of the powerful Word of God. My prayer and my hope is that our activity will be enlightened by and based on the truth that is from God, in the revelation He has given us in Jesus Christ.

May we treasure, and make effort to understand, the incredible riches given to us in the Word of God.

The (right) doctrinal drop

Grace, In Christ, Quotes

We’ve been spending time as a church in John’s gospel, and what it says continues to impact my life. I’ve been thinking about how Jesus affirms the religious folk of the day – “you search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life” (John 5:39).

That’s me, I think. I search, diligently search, the Scriptures. I think that in them is life. I read and consider and meditate. I want to obey.

But actually, Jesus slams these diligent searchers: “…yet you refuse to come to me, that you may have life.”

Ouch.

It is possible to be a Scripture-searcher and not get the content.

Now, before you jump right to the “normal” conclusion – that doctrine has to go the 15 inches from the head to the heart – please bear with me. That’s not really what Jesus is saying.

When we say that, we mean that people are “eggheads,” full of knowledge about Jesus but not “doing” the Christian life.

Jesus, though, is saying that the “doctrine” of these Bible-searchers is actually wrong because it is not grounded in Him.

He’s saying that all their “doing” of Scripture gets them nowhere… they’ve made a head-to-heart connection all right, but it is the wrong one. They are are busy practically “doing” Scripture… and they have no life.

Why? Because Scripture isn’t primarily a collection of rules, a list of behaviors, or even an instruction manual on life.

Scripture is about Jesus.

If we don’t understand the reality of Jesus, we won’t really understand the Bible. And we won’t get life. That’s because of what the Bible actually says. The Bible points us to salvation by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone.

Many – most, perhaps – nod heads sagely at this brief recitation of the Solas. Yet too many of us (me included) often don’t actually function like this amazing message — the main content of the Bible — is true.

Yes, the Bible is about Jesus.
Yes, the Bible is about the gospel… pointing to the redeemer, the messiah, the savior of the world.
Yes, the Bible is about life in Him – by faith.

Yet we still show that we don’t really get the Bible by our faithlessness, by our trusting in other things (ourselves, our works, our goodness) than in Jesus Christ.

I like how Tim Chester puts it. See if this makes sense to you:

“Problems for Christians do not often arise because of disbelief in a confessional or theoretical sense (though this may be case). More often they arise from functional or practical disbelief. Asked if I believe in justification by faith, I may reply that I do (confessional faith), but still feel the need to prove myself (functional disbelief). I may affirm that God is sovereign (confessional faith), but still get anxious when I cannot control my life (functional disbelief). Indeed, sanctification can be viewed as the progressive narrowing of the gap between confessional faith and functional faith.”

If you say – yes, that’s me – then there’s hope for you, in turning back to God in faith. In actually believing in our justification by our Savior, in actually trusting in His sovereignty and His work in us. And in crying out to Him who bore our sins on the cross when we fail.

Hmm… maybe there’s something to that doctrinal drop into the heart after all… as long as what is actually dropping down is the wondrous truth of the gospel.

May we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18)!

Grace and justification

Righteousness,

If you have time, consider watching John Piper’s recent address at Together for the Gospel. The conference was on the “unadulterated Gospel,” and Piper particularly looked at imputed righteousness — is it what Jesus taught, or only Paul?

That might sound heady… but I appreciate how it is so impacting to practical living, to get the foundations of faith right.

I particularly was impacted by how Jesus does not justify the one who is thanking God for righteousness based in himself. This is not legalism, but a trust in your own righteousness, even righteousness that you trust God has given you. Wow. Piper does a wonderful job exposing Christ’s view of salvation and the proper view of our works.

It appears they are ok with embedding it, so it’s below… if I find out otherwise, I’ll replace it with a link… Be sure to persevere, as the first 10 minutes are pretty heady… but it is really worth listening to the whole thing (and it gets easier!).

T4G 2010 — Session 6 — John Piper from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

Repentance revealing grace

Grace, Repentance, ,

I ran across this helpful quote today. It is on the topic of repentance.

“The difference between an unconverted and a converted man is not that the one has sins and the other has none; but that the one takes part with his cherished sins against a dreaded God and the other takes part with a reconciled God against his hated sins.” (William Arnot, Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth, 1884, p.311)

I like Arnot’s pointing to repentance as the key between one born again and one not. I can hear him asking, “Whose side are you on?”

It reminds me of the close association of repentance and belief. Jesus commands us to do both in Mark 1:15 – “repent and believe in the gospel” – and yet often, as the well-known John 3:16, belief in the Son of God encompasses repentance: “whoever believes in him shall not perish…”

It seems that to believe in the gospel is to believe in your own horrible state and the depth of your offense to God… and to trust Him both for forgiveness and righteousness… as Arnot says, to “take part with a reconciled God against his hated sins.”

I also appreciate that this removes repentance as a work and puts it as a unity with faith. I’ve often heard it said that repentance is more than a “change of mind” but an “actual turning,” and as such, must be actually seen externally. A “turn” from old behavior, if you will.

Yet you and I still sin.

As Greg Gilbert explains in his little book What is the Gospel?, “Because we will continue to struggle with sin until we are glorified, we have to remember that genuine repentance is more fundamentally a matter of the heart’s attitude toward sin than it is a mere change of behavior” (p.81).

This is repentance that is a critical component of faith. A change of my heart to agree with God’s view of me; how wretched I am! How wondrous that I am cleansed, forgiven, declared righteous, and grown in faith and godliness!

May we never think that we can change our own ways before coming to God; nor that we can simply assent to the fact of Christ’s death and resurrection and consider that ‘belief.’

Grace really is amazing — even more so as I see the depths of my offense against God. Thank you, Lord, for opening my eyes, even a little bit, to it. And as I see it more, thank you for the depth of love which bore the price of such offence on the cross.

Remember the gospel again

In Christ, Quotes,

“Remember the gospel again; hear his humble plea in the garden, see his blood-stained brow, hear the whip crack as it tears his back, smell the scent of blood that fills the air as he is hoisted up upon the tree, hear him cry in agony as the wrath you deserve is poured out upon him, and he is forsaken.

Then let his words sink deeply into your soul, “It is finished.” All that he had come to do, all that you needed him to do, he has done for you.

Feel the earth tremble, hear the curtain that separated you from the presence of God tear.

Think about that kind of love and welcome, let your heart weep before him, and kiss him in worship as you humble yourself, loving him much.

Now, let the love that’s overflowing in your heart eventuate in true obedience, put off your old, dead, loveless ways of living, and let the love that has been poured into your heart by the Holy Spirit create true holiness of life.”

(from Counsel from the Cross, by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson)

Amen.

Glory full of grace and truth – without video

Grace,

John 1:14 reads, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

I was thinking about Jesus, the unique Son of God, the maker of the universe, in flesh on the earth. I was thinking that I wish I could have seen him. At the time that John is writing about above, when he “became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory.”

Aside from seeing “his glory” – what about just seeing him? How tall was he? Did he have a favorite color? Did he like to sing?

This led me to think about video and the Bible. As we preach and teach and use today’s media (mp3 audio, web-hosted video, etc) I was struck that Jesus came to a time and place that had no such modern information-transmittal technology.

Did He look like this?
Did He look like this?

I was struck that all I know about Jesus, I know from a book. Written language. Even when I watch a “dramatization” of the Bible, or watch a preacher… what they know is from a book.

I’m thinking of how perfect God is in his planning, that this written display of his character is true. It means that image is not as important as substance is. Ideas are the key issue, communication via memes and pericopes and languages. Much care has to be taken to get them right – to translate rightly, to understand rightly… but what God has chosen is the Word.

Think if that wasn’t the case.

I’d look at my Savior and think things like: “He had a beard! I should too!” or I’d be tempted to make sandals the godly man’s footwear. I’d want to see what foods Jesus ate, and eat them (did Jesus eat meat? Let’s zoom in on what he’s eating, that must be the best food…). How often did He smile? Did He keep His fingernails trimmed?

The video aspect of what really happened when the incarnate God came to earth would, unfortunately, be fertile ground for my innate legalism, I fear. It would be fertile ground for my desire to make inconsequential things consequential, and non-ultimates ultimate.

Which is why I return to being so grateful for the Word. He said what was important, communicated it, with language. So I’m not distracted by the style of his garments or the color of his skin.

And so I come back to seeing “his glory.” I think John is saying that we all, who are his kids, have seen his glory, just as “we have all received” grace from him in v. 16.

And the glory you and I have seen, who are Christians, is the glory that is “full of grace and truth.”

How amazing can it be, 2000 or so years after the Word became flesh, that I can see his glory… in the depth of the grace that I have tasted in him. True forgiveness. Promised heaven. Understanding reality, what is true. All because of him… and thus revealing his glory.

It just makes me stop and worship… that without 1080p or iPhone apps or Flash (as great as those are)… you and I get to experience the true glory of God, in the grace and faithfulness of the Son.

To Him be the glory forever!

Less optimism, more worship

Grace, In Christ, Righteousness,

I think sometimes that I’m too much of an optimist.

It’s true. I bounce. I love the beauty of the sky. I have experienced such blessings.

Beautiful creation... soiled, polluted
Beautiful creation... soiled, polluted

But I also tend to think that people are innately ok. Especially Christians, with the new creation, the new covenant.

And so I speed over the sea of sin that we swim in. Really. Sin is real. Sin is horrific. Husbands, wives, parents, kids, work relationships… fallen. We experience pain – not just physical pain, but the pain of disappointment, of spiritual hurt and loss.

The very best Christians I know, pastors, servants… flawed.

Perhaps a more realistic view of my world – less unreal optimism, more recognition of sin – actually leads to a more worshipful relationship with my God.

That’s because reality is that sin does hang on. The life-and-godliness-power that I’ve been given is a knowledge of Jesus Christ, which is to say, of the gospel (2 Peter 1:3).

And the knowledge of Christ is incredibly freeing because it stands is such stark contrast with my experiential knowledge of me and of other people.

Think on this, from Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson, in Counsel from the Cross:

“Either we train ourselves and others to put our trust in our ability and then hope for the best, or we train ourselves and others to self-despair and to live ‘on in naked confidence in the mercy of God.’ We will view God as either the “rewarder of all our ‘good’ works, the pot of gold at the end of our rainbow of merit,” or as our merciful Father who inexplicably identifies with us, loves and welcomes us, and rewards us with blessing despite our sin and failures…

The point is precisely that the power to do good comes only out of this wild claim that everything has already been done.” (pp. 180-1)

I need to stop, again, and not put my trust in my ability… but instead wholly trust Jesus Christ.

The gospel is that Jesus Christ, the firstborn of the dead, has “freed us from our sins by his blood” (Revelation 1:6) even when I don’t exhibit it, nor feel freed.

The gospel is that Jesus has ransomed people for God with his blood, at great cost. His blood is the grounds for my acceptance, not my moral fiber. And it continues to be the grounds… all through life.

The Bible actually says this in wonderful ways.

Let’s just take one, 1 Corinthians 6:11. Speaking of our sin, Paul writes:

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

It isn’t that we became more moral, or had some extra individual goodness. It is that we were washed, and sanctified, and justified by Jesus.

Washing in 1 Corinthians 6:11 (as in other verses, like Titus 3:5) doesn’t refer to moral amendment or inward holiness but to deliverance from guilt, and the estrangement from God which sin has caused. These passages, as George Smeaton in his excellent book on the atonement notes, “are rightly explained only when we take them in their sacrificial reference.”

My sin has been atoned for, regarded as if it had never been. It is my Savior’s bloody death which makes me clean… not my post-salvation perfection or moral aptitude.

I can still experience sin and the effects of sin, and I still struggle with sin… but I know it is covered… and the grateful fruit of worship and service grows.

That fruit may mean that I struggle less… but even when I fall, I know that my standing is sure, because it is not based on my struggle, but on the blood of Jesus Christ. By faith I am saved, and even that a gift.

We have such great reason to be optimists… not because we will not experience pain, disappointment, and sin… but because we know our standing is sure, and our Savior has removed our guilt, and we have a glorious future in Him.

Truly he has saved us according to his own mercy… praise be to Jesus Christ forever!