Category Archives: In Christ

On Christ’s Righteousness (again)

In Christ, Righteousness

It seems I am always in need of remembering the righteousness of my Savior.

This is because I know a Christian must do the following things:
    • Surrender to God’s will (Romans 12:1-2)
    • Truly die to sin and live to righteousness (2 Peter 2:24)
    • Do whatever God says (1 John 2:3-5)
    • Love God more than anything (Luke 14:26)
    • Be God’s instrument for righteousness (Romans 6:13)

I am a Christian. The difficulty is, at any given point in time, these statements do not seem to describe me. I understand that they need to be true, and I continue to try and try to figure out ways to make them true.

I get discouraged, sometimes, when they don’t seem to be true. Quite honestly, at least one of them (loving God more than anything) never really seems true.

Faith: trust in the righteousness of another... we don't make our own
Faith: trust in the righteousness of another... because we cannot make our own

This seems to be the Christian equivalent of low self-esteem. The problem isn’t that I don’t love myself… oh, I do. The problem is that I continue to see that I don’t match up to God’s requirements. My self-love combines with my continuing guilt to add up to real doubt that I’m headed anywhere but bad.

I try to convince myself that I have supernatural power to do these required things.
Then I don’t do them. And I’m really in trouble again.

And I can doubt that I’m really saved.
Because saved people have supernatural power.

Sermons about God’s enabling power to do good seem to rub wrongly, because I don’t do good. Well, I do some good… but loving God to the extent that my love for my kids seems like hate (Luke 14:26)? Hmm.

Is there anything that helps this?

Yes there is.

Consider this quote, from William Newell:

“Christ’s work, though on behalf of man, was wholly His: glorious and perfect, yet to be received by man in its blessed results of eternal pardon, peace and blessing. To be received, we say, by simple Faith, unmixed with human effort. A humbling process, indeed! For man must go out of the righteousness-producing business, and rest wholly and forever on the work of Another, even Christ” (Hebrews, pp. 238-239).

This is important foundational knowledge. What saves me is the grace of God. This grace of God is seen in the death of Jesus Christ for my sin. I brokenly and humbly put my trust, my faith, in Jesus. I am not only forgiven of all my sin against a holy God, but also I am given Christ’s righteousness.

His perfect work saves me… really, Jesus Christ saves me… not my commitment, not my work. Because I’m justified freely by His grace, I measure up to the full demands of God’s righteousness in Christ (2 Cor 5:21). Right now. Done.

How I am amazed… that it isn’t my commitment that saves me, but my Christ. That it isn’t my really hard effort that saves me, but my Savior does. That it isn’t what I do for God, but what God has done for me.

This puts a little different twist on the start of this post.
The righteousness I have to stand before God isn’t my own. All those requirements listed above, they are what happens in the life of one who is already saved. Not one who hopes to be saved. That’s an incredible difference.

My increasing knowledge of the incredible grace of God that has been and continues to be poured out on me, my increasing knowledge of the overwhelming love of Christ for me… results in me actually more and more desiring those top things. I can actually trust that God will work in me, even if on a day-by-day basis I seem stalled. Patience, believer. Keep after the knowledge of God’s incredible love for you in Christ.

Because this is the truth:
The sure result of His perfect work for me is that I will surrender to His will (Romans 12:1-2)
The sure result of His perfect work for me is that I will learn to truly live (2 Peter 2:24)
The sure result of His perfect work for me is that I will want to do whatever He says (1 John 2:3-5)
The sure result of His perfect work for me is that I will love Him more than anything (Luke 14:26) (!)
The sure result of His perfect work for me is that I will want to be His instrument (Romans 6:13)

Perfection isn’t had right now. Perfection is not to be had on earth. And I have to trust…when my will is engaged, and yet I flop again. This is the work of faith. I have to trust forgiveness really is full and free. Growth makes faith easier, but faith must continue even when growth seems so slow. I know that the sure result of His perfect work for me is that I will have an eternity of perfection, worshiping Him forever.

If Christ’s righteousness is worth anything.

And it is. It is worth everything.

Counting Blessings… and settling on one

Grace, In Christ,

I was counting blessings today. I don’t know if you do that. But as I was walking from where I park my car to where the church is, I had a really beautiful view of South Hill, with Western Washington University aglow, and the crisp green of trees contrasting the clear blue sky with just an occasional puff of cloud.

I thought, what a blessing. I live in such beauty.

And then, as I strode along, I was thanking God for being healthy. Big long strides, no problem.

What blessings do you count?
What blessings do you count?

And the church came into view, with the sign lit up, and I was praising God for a place to meet, a place to grow. And all the people who He has stirred up to be involved. Great blessing.

And my kids. Hope & Grace are so wonderful. Even when they’re not sleeping. I can’t believe that my wife and I get to raise these precious children.

And my wife. She is such a fantastic companion and helper and friend.

These are real blessings. And there are so many more… a mind to think, fingers to type, air to breathe… endless really.

But I thought if I had to pick one this morning, it would be knowledge.

That’s a funny one, you might say. Aren’t wife and kids and health and job the real blessings? Why would you want to count as your major blessing some dry, intellectual thing like ‘knowledge’?

Well, it is because of the object. I know Jesus. I know, in the way that counts, who he is. What he’s done. I know him relationally. I know him because he’s shown himself to me. I know him when so many people don’t.

Another way to say it is that my major blessing is the Bible. The teaching of the Word. Because the Word of God is about my Savior. The Word of God reveals our need for him, his coming to earth, his life and death for me, his living right now interceding for me, his glorious return. The grace that changes everything comes through this knowledge. 

True, deep, life-changing knowledge of my Savior is the ground of my faith, revealed in the Word, implanted in my heart by the Holy Spirit, and it is all I need for life (2 Peter 1:3). This knowledge drives me to repentence, shapes my actions, motivates my heart, causes me to sing. This knowledge doesn’t make me perfect… but it works on me, and it promises a glorious future.

This is a blessing that can be counted… and is why I love to spend time in my Bible.

In the words of Sinclair Ferguson: “It is essential for us to realize that God’s word is the central gift Christ gives to the church. The major gifts of the New Testament era were given either to write that word (apostles), apply it (prophets) or teach it (pastors and teachers). We must see to it that our gifts are fed on the teaching of Holy Scripture, so that they grow strong and are channelled in the right direction, and so bring glory to Christ.” (Ferguson, Grow in Grace)

Count some blessings with me today… yours may be different than mine… but don’t forget the incredible blessing of our knowledge of our Savior.

Grace in Bellingham

Grace, In Christ, peace

So, I’m sitting in an empty building in downtown Bellingham. It is our new church plant – and we’ve now had two services – joyful, exciting, hopefully Christ-exalting. Many people are engaged and helping… wow!

A new beginning... what is around the corner?
A new beginning... what is around the corner?

And yet… the building is covered with blemishes on its walls, and a big loading-dock door on one end. There are mountains of things to do. And I’m thinking through the joy of fellowship at the community church we’ve been at for many years, the comfort of it, the ability to focus just on teaching and counseling, the many fun times we had… and I get a wave of doubt. A heaviness of heart.

Why are we doing this?
What is the purpose of “planting” a church?
Can’t we just live life, and not worry about all the details and struggles and obstacles that go with starting a new work?

I’m not much of a rabble-rouser or rebel; I’m not up in arms about this or that. I’m not very political, though I believe in fulfilling my obligation as a citizen to vote.

So what cause is so great, what passion so high, that we do push through the obstacles? That it overcomes doubt? That we dependently stand, hoping and praying and desiring to proclaim God’s Word, clearly and truly?

For me, that doubt-banishing motivation is reflected in the very first greeting of Paul in almost all of his letters, echoed in Ephesians (1:2):

“Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

There really is grace to us from God Himself, maker of the universe, the one who is offhandedly referred to as He who “made the stars, too” (Genesis 1:16). The Lord of Lords, who became flesh and lived among us and died for us and rose again and is forever making intercession, He declares peace to us, and has grace for us.

The “us” in this are those who have been set apart by God, those who in the realm of Christ Jesus are faithful, who believe that our only hope is Christ and our lives truly are united to His.

The motivation is – we know this grace. We know this peace. And the “we” and the “us” is not a big enough group. Everyone should know this grace! Everyone should know this peace! Could it be that there are many in Bellingham who don’t really grasp this grace and peace? Could it be that God would have us proclaim this message to them?

And even beyond that – we need to remind each other of this grace from God. We need to put specifics on it, explore the depths of its truth and show the reality of its experience. What has He really told us in His Word? How does that lead to our actions and encouragement of each other?

Actually “need” is perhaps the wrong word in the little paragraph above. We will remind each other, we will put specifics on it, because we can do no other.

This is what banishes doubt for me. The depth of knowledge that I, by God’s grace alone, have tasted peace and grace from God. That my life – yours, too – has purpose. That purpose is not toward doubt and fear but toward standing as heirs… by which we cry ‘Abba, Father’ (Romans 8:15).

May we be used by our God to proclaim His truth to those around us, in word and deed. May our love for Him lead to love of others, glorifying Christ in all things. May we truly be motivated by the grace we have received.

Ok… I’m stepping off my excited mini-platform now. But I’ll come back when my heart is tempted by doubt, or when my eyes want to dwell on shadows.

What grace we have received!

Avoiding despairing (un)belief

In Christ, Quotes

Dr. Rod Rosenbladt, who is one of the hosts of The White Horse Inn, a popular reformation discussion/radio program, warns of the dangers of giving morality lessons instead of the Gospel in our churches. We as believers must continue to grow in our knowledge of the Gospel… and indeed beware the return to morality-based salvation, even as we produce fruit through the working of the Spirit in us.

Here’s an excerpt from his The Gospel For Those Broken By The Church :

“If the Ten Commandments were not impossible enough, the preaching of Christian behavior, of Christian ethics, of Christian living, can drive a Christian into despairing unbelief. Not happy unbelief. Tragic, despairing, sad unbelief. (It is not unlike the [unhappy] Christian equivalent of “Jack Mormons” i.e. those who finally admit to themselves and others that they can’t live up to the demands of this non-Christian cult’s laws, and excuse themselves from the whole sheebang.) A diet of this stuff from pulpit, from curriculum, from a Christian reading list, can do a work on a Christian that is (at least over the long haul) “faith destroying.” You might be in just this position this evening.

Many of us have friends whose story is not a far cry from this. We all regularly rub shoulders with such “alumni of the Christian faith” who are sad that the Gospel of Christ didn’t (for them, at least) “deliver the goods,” didn’t “work.” In a Christian context, the mechanism of this can be, I think, a very simple one:

1. You come to believe that you have been justified freely because of Christ’s shed blood.

2. Freely, for the sake of Jesus’ innocent sufferings and death, God has forgiven your sin, adopted you as a son or daughter, reconciled you to Himself, given you the Holy Spirit, and so on. Scripture promises these things.

3. Verses like “Be ye perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect” seem now – at first read – to finally be possible, now that you are equipped for it. Or you hear St. Paul as he writes, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Same thing.

4. You realize that you might have had some excuse for failure when you were a pagan. But that’s over. Now you have been made a part of God’s family, have become the recipient of a thousand of His free gifts.

5. And then, the unexpected. Sin continues to be a part of my life, stubbornly won’t allow me to eliminate it the way I expected.

6. Continuing sin on my part seems to be just evidence that I’m not really a believer at all. If I were really a believer, this thing would “work!”

We start to imagine that we need to be “born again again.” (And often the counsel from non-Reformation churches is that this intuition of ours is true.) Try going again to some evangelistic meeting, accept Christ again, surrender your will to His will again, sign the card, when the pastor gives the “altar call,” walk the aisle again. Maybe it didn’t “take” the first time, but it will the second time? And so forth…

Are we Christians saved the same way we were when we were baptized into Christ, or when we came to acknowledge Christ’s shed blood and His righteousness as all we had in the face of God’s holy law? That all of our supposed “virtue” – Christian or pagan – is just like so many old menstrual garments (to use the Bible phrase)? But that God imputes to those who trust Christ’s cross the true righteousness of Christ Himself? We are pretty sure that unbelievers who come to believe this are instantly justified in God’s sight, declared as if innocent, adopted as sons or daughters, forgiven of all sin, given eternal life, etc. But are Christians still saved that freely? Or are we not? We are pretty clear that imputed righteousness saves sinners. But can the imputed righteousness of Christ save a Christian? And can it save him or her all by itself? Or no?”

*******************

I’m not sure I’d agree with Dr. Rosenbladt, a reformed Lutheran, on everything… but I love his representation of Luther’s conviction that Christ is the “center and circumference of the Bible,” and resonate with his rueful statement that we in the church (including me personally) continue to struggle over solus Christus (and clicking the link there takes you to one of his articles where he talks about what solutions are)…

May we be overflowing with the glorious depths of what Christ has done for us!

Grace in participation

Grace, In Christ

One of my favorite passages over the past few weeks has been John 21. Most of us know John 21 because of the famous end — where Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him, and Peter responds three times that he does.

Fish also catch us in the grace of Christ
Fish also catch us in the grace of Christ

But I’m particularly thrilled at something that foreshadows Peter’s restoration and usefulness to Jesus that comes earlier in the chapter.

Peter and his cohorts have returned to Galilee after the crucifixion. They are back to fishing, which is what they were doing before they ever met Jesus. Peter in particular is a failure, having publically and emphatically denied that he even knew Jesus (Luke 22).

And Jesus (yea!) comes to them on the shore. And he reminds Peter of his calling, of the joy and absolute change of identity that it entailed.

Hang in there. We’re getting to a really striking Scripture.

Jesus again gives them a huge catch of fish. They realize it is him, and Peter jumps overboard to get to Jesus.

And here’s John 21:9-11: “So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.’ Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty three…”

This is absolutely wonderful.

Jesus, the King of Kings, makes them breakfast. He serves them. That’s amazing, they don’t deserve it.

But that’s not all Jesus does. The text specifically says that Jesus has already made breakfast with supplies that he had. And then the text says that Jesus instructed Peter to bring some fish.

Why? Jesus already made them breakfast. He didn’t need more fish! Why ask for Peter to bring more?

Isn’t it because Jesus is going to allow Peter to participate in Jesus’ ministry? Jesus doesn’t need Peter’s fish… but he is full of grace in bringing Peter in, in having Peter be a part, of what Jesus has already done.

What a statement of divine sufficiency and yet love toward us, that God would want us to be a part of what he is doing.

Jesus even says to Peter, “bring some of the fish which you have now caught.” Remember, they were fishing and had not caught anything (v.5). So the fish which Jesus is referring to is fish that Jesus caught! Jesus told them to put the net down again, Jesus had the fish go in the net… and Jesus refers to the fish as Peter’s.

Lest we think it is just a metaphor, there were 153 of them. Not 152 or 100 or “a bunch.” 153.

Peter hasn’t even been restored.

God is so good to us. He saves us through faith in Jesus Christ, He restores us, and He lovingly and amazingly uses us… He doesn’t have to. He doesn’t need to. But He does.

Praise be to God! May He use us to catch much fish!

A proclamation for today

In Christ

Well… I should be calling this “practical grace, monthly” for all the paucity of posts… much (good) going on in other areas of my life, for which I daily praise our Savior!

Proclaim the good news: we're in Christ!
Proclaim the good news: we are in Christ!

I’ve been chewing on Colossians 1:28 today, after discussing it with a friend. So often my post-conversion Christian life becomes about worrying if I’ve broken the rules, or slogging through a tough day. My Christianity can become one more task to be done, one more responsibility to be handled.

Which is why this verse is really exciting. Here’s the verse:

“We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.”

Hmm. Admonishing and instructing doesn’t sound all that grace-oriented, does it? Great, you might think, another warning, another heavy burden of what I have to do as a Christian.

But that’s not it at all. Two really wonderful observations:

1. “Him we are proclaiming” — Paul is talking to the church, to believers. And he cries out, we are proclaiming Jesus! So day by day, after the Colossians were saved, Paul was still proclaiming Jesus. Still focused on the Savior. Still talking about the impact of who Jesus is, what he’s done, and why it matters. Preaching Jesus isn’t “just” to get people saved… He’s for every single moment of our lives on earth.

Wow, how I need to hear that every day. My Savior lives! His blood spilled for me! His perfections, mine! His righteousness, given! My salvation, assured — because of Him. And He continues to mold me, shape me, pray for me. “Him we are proclaiming,” that’s the focus.

2. The continual wonder of the Gospel is driven home by the context. Paul writes that He proclaims the mystery shown to the saints, to whom “God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). The Christ that Paul is proclaiming is the Christ who is in us, our only hope of glory.

This leads to a bit of a different emphasis for the “warning” that Paul is doing. Warning — don’t find your hope of glory in anything else. Warning — don’t swim back to self-righteousness, merit, or anything that might de-emphasize the amazing union you have received, being in Christ.

That’s why he’s so eager to be proclaiming through “teaching,” too. He has such a great struggle that the Christians there — and us, too — might have the “full assurance of understanding… of Christ Himself” (Colossians 2:2). We have been given such riches! If only our eyes would be opened to the amazing knowledge of God’s reality: we are His children, we have an eternal inheritance, and the mere moments on earth that we have should be gloriously poured out in moment-by-moment proclaiming of the wonders of our Savior.

So consider this proclamation for you, for me, today: Christ in you, the hope of glory! May we rejoice in our union, lean on Him, live lives for Him, because of what He’s done.

May we proclaim on earth what we will shout forever in heaven: Worthy is the Lamb!

Graceful Thoughts IV

In Christ, ,
The word of the cross illumines our lives
The word of the cross... is the power of God.

I’ve been thinking alot about the importance of the gospel recently. Particularly I’ve been thinking about how important continuing, increasing knowledge of Jesus Christ is to our ongoing life on earth.  In the midst of this thinking, my wife read me this quote from Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington, in The Great Exchange (p.129):

“Paul declares, ‘The word of the cross is… the power of God’ (1 Cor. 1:18). What a remarkable statement! God’s almighty, supernatural power is connected to a specific ‘word’ – the message of the cross – the preaching of the great facts of Christ’s atoning sacrifice as the provision of God’s love for guilty sinners. When this gospel of Christ’s great atonement is preached, God’s miraculous power to regenerate, restore, and renew sinners is displayed in those who are saved by it.

“This is the true gospel, the only gospel that unleashes the power of God by which those dead in sin are saved from the guilt, the consequences, and the enslaving power of their sin. Therefore, Paul was ‘not ashamed of the gospel’ because this message of the cross ‘is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek’ (Rom. 1:16). Substitute anything for the cross or add anything to the cross, whether good works or human philosophy, and the preaching is stripped of God’s power – for it is no longer God’s message. It ceases to be the gospel.”

 I liked the “word of the cross” being the power of God… may we never add to or take away what our Savior has paid for. Blessings!

Grace in Proverbial Faith

Grace, In Christ, Quotes,

Undoubtedly like you, I can get so excited by a thought as I meditate on Scripture. Some verse comes alive, some thought just burns inside, and I worship my Savior anew.

I was thinking along these lines yesterday, as I thought about Proverbs 3:5-6:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Grace in Proverbs?
Proverbs: skillful living needs grace-given faith!

I became very excited that right here in the middle of Proverbs, which is so often used as a works-based rulebook for living, is a statement of grace.

Do you see it? This critical proverb states that God will make your paths straight if you entirely trust in Him.

How do I do that? How can I possibly trust in the Lord with all my heart? The answer that Scripture clearly presents for me is that I can’t… on my own. There’s no way I can totally trust in God. Romans 3:11, among others, states that I don’t even seek Him, much less trust Him.

So God must give me this all-consuming trust in Him. It’s a gift of grace, this trust.
This trust could be identified with another word: faith.

Another way to say this Proverb would be, “Have faith in God and don’t trust your own works; point to Him, He’ll take care of your life.”

I was thinking about this wondrous idea of faith as God’s gift, and ran across a wonderful passage written by Martin Luther in his commentary on Romans.

Luther writes, “Faith is not what some people think it is… ‘Faith is not enough,’ they say, ‘you must do good works, you must be pious to be saved.’ They think that, when you hear the gospel, you start working, creating by your own strength a thankful heart which says, ‘I believe.’

That description is not faith at all, he argues. Instead, “faith is God’s work in us, that changes us and gives us new birth from God… it changes our hearts, our spirits, our thoughts and all our powers.” This true faith brings the Holy Spirit. This true faith can’t help doing good works all the time, without even stopping to think about it. And again, this faith is God’s work in us, not our own work at all.

Faith is not something you can make for yourself. Faith, to Luther, is “a living, bold trust in God’s grace, so certain of God’s favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it.”

He goes on to say that this faith is grounded in grace: “Such confidence and knowledge of God’s grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures.”

It is because of this fantastic gift, this gift of faith, we willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, and love and worship God. These latter things are all works, of course… but they are flowing out of and inextricably bound to the gift of faith, our utter whole-hearted trust of the Lord which He has, by His marvelous grace, given us.

So, yes, there is grace even in Proverbs. By grace, given faith – so that in faith I acknowledge Him, and my Lord directs my steps.

To Christ be the glory forever and ever and ever! He has done such wonders for us.

 

[for the interested, the quotes of Martin Luther come from “An Introduction to St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans,” from Vermischte Deutche Scriften (1854), trans. Robert Smith, pp. 124-125]

Peace, by Grace

Grace, In Christ, peace, ,

I had a few moments with my wonderful little girls today. Hope is a whirlwind; she plays at fifty miles an hour, leaving behind her a wake of crayons, plastic toys, and cardboard books (the paper ones are not durable enough for her yet!). Grace adds to the ruckus with her own sounds and actions of pre-toddler chaos.When I finally sat down after putting them both in their respective nap areas, I sat down on the couch and reached for Job (coincidence, surely).

Finally, I thought, peace.

Peace... more than quiet beauty!
A beautiful, peaceful lake... but true peace is even better!

But what I really meant was, finally – quiet. And I caught myself as I thought it, too. Wait! Quietness is not peace… peace is so much more than quiet. What a wondrous thought… I truly have peace, all day long! Peace when Hope is bounding on the sofa; peace when Grace wails; peace when I’m tired, peace when I’m busy. Peace with every breath I take.

The concept of peace is so wonderful, I can’t really get my arms around it.

In my head, I know that it was the very pinnacle of goodness in the Old Testament. It’s our translation of the Hebrew word “shalom,” which carries the flavor of rightness, of wellness, of a deep abiding sense of properness.

That kind of peace has an object: God. True peace is peace with God.

What does this peace have to do with grace?

Well… it is by grace that I have that peace today, and every day. Even if I don’t feel it, even if I sinned against God today, even if I overslept my quiet time, even if I start to get weary of service and daily living… I know deep in my soul I have peace, rightness, goodness, wellness, with my God.

How do I know that? Because I believe the Bible. I believe what my Savior has done for me.

Jesus proclaimed to those who believe in Him that He was leaving us peace: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27).

This peace is a direct result of reconciliation. Reconciliation is the putting back together of what was broken apart, what was at war, at enmity. That was me and God, due to my sin. But look what Jesus did, through the cross: it was God’s pleasure “through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” (Colossians 1:20)

So I have peace. Peace forever. Because of the atoning work of Jesus Christ.
Because of grace.

John Bunyon writes in his biography, Grace Abounding, that the peace-producing grace of Colossians 1:20 is what broke through his efforts at religion to actually touch his heart. It was this peace, by Christ’s work alone, which broke him of thinking of his life as keeping religious rules and regulations.

The grace of the atonement is so important that C.H. Spurgeon said, “I believe that if I should preach to you the atonement of our Lord Jesus, and nothing else, twice every Sabbath day, my ministry would not be unprofitable. Perhaps it might be more profitable than it is.”

The atonement is a fantastically deep topic for another day. Today I just remain reveling in peace. Peace through the grace of Christ, which has brought that peace to me forever.

Because this peace is the result of His atonement, and rests solely on His finished work in His life and sacrifice for me, I can’t lose it. This true peace doesn’t depend on me. Rather, it motivates me to lay down my life for Him.

In the quiet of children’s naps, I exult in it.
In the rush of today’s concerns, I lean on it.

“And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation” (Romans 5:11).

Grace and peace to you!

Religion, Gospel, Identity

Grace, In Christ, Righteousness,

Who am I?Just a quick thought stimulated by a recent book by Tim Keller (The Reason for God) that our church is reading in a men’s group.

I like the thought (which he makes) of distinguishing between religion and gospel. Religion as a whole pushes one toward salvation through moral effort. The Gospel is about salvation through grace, entirely by the work of another, Jesus Christ.

So there’s two ways to reject that gospel, that good news. Both ways are essentially being your own Lord and Savior.

The first way is to be a rebel: “I can live my life just how I want to!” This is obviously a desire to be one’s own Lord.

The second way is also to be a rebel… internally: “I can trust my own goodness, avoid sin, and live morally so God blesses me!” This is the same rebellion as the first, really – I will decide for myself the mode and method of God’s grace. I won’t submit to the way of Christ. This second rebel is who Jesus addressed throughout the gospels… folks we usually refer to as Pharisees.

Both ways of rebelling are a rejection of the gospel. You really can avoid Jesus as Savior as much by trying to keep all the rules you find in the Bible as by ignoring them.

I wonder how many of us are really Pharisees… internally driven by despair caused by sin, with no identity as a truly righteous adopted child, united to the Son of God through the blood and sacrifice of that Son, Jesus Christ. Pharisees… always wondering if we’re good enough, always comparing selves with others, always realizing that the inside doesn’t match the outside.

May we never build our identity on our moral achievements (religion), just as we rightly flee from building our identity on our job, our hobby, or our spouse. May our identity be foundationally grounded on the rock that is a relationship with Jesus Christ, the living God.

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live I in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

Who I was, my self-identity, self-righteousness, self-orientation – he is dead. My only hope is Christ. May I not return to trusting in who I was, in what that flesh through its own effort could do. May I trust wholly in Christ, in what He has done. By God’s Word and His mercy toward me, I know this is the gospel of grace.

Galatians 2:20 says that our life now is by faith in the Son of God. The content of that faith is that His righteousness truly does save me, that I have an eternal future with Him. My life now is wholly given over to Him, not as effort for more righteousness of my own, but for grateful living in His ways, building up other people, worshiping this God. The fruit of my mouth, praising Him; the fruit of my life, shining forth the result of the Spirit working in me. United to Christ forever.

Identity found!