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!

Auld Lang Syne

Grace, Righteousness,

2010 has officially begun. Every year seems to go more quickly than the last; it will probably take me three months just to get my mind to think of this year as 2010 and not 2009.

Thinking about the New Year and times passing makes me think of Auld Lang Syne. The song is an old Scottish one, and the phrase is, loosely translated, Times gone by.

Times gone by. 2000 years since my Savior was on earth. 233-odd years of the United States as a country. 4-some odd years since my grandparents went to be with the Lord. 3 years since we were blessed with our first child.

Times gone by.

Theologically, I wonder about humanity in all these years. Are the issues the same, through the centuries? Does the church struggle with the same doctrinal questions? Were people of years past more strongly planted, more firmly founded, than we in our day are?

I’ve just finished reading a book which speaks to that question… it’s called The Christian Leaders of the Last Century. But it’s not about the 1900’s. It was written by J. C. Ryle in the 1800’s, of Christian leaders in the early 1700’s. So it is fascinating to see what he (in the 1800’s) thought the issues of church leaders were 100 years prior… what he brings out, and how the men are presented. He details 11 men in England, all clergy, including a couple that you’ve heard of (Whitehead, Wesley) and many that you (probably) haven’t.

I’ve been amazed at the piercing commentary that Ryle has of the spiritual walk and foundation of these men who lived before the United States existed. He could be speaking of people I know, of concerns I have, of struggles seen all around me.

Let me quote just a couple:

On John Berridge, curate of Stapleford:
“Berridge entered on his duties with great zeal, and a sincere desire to do good, and served his church regularly from college for no less than six years. He took great pains with his parishioners, and pressed upon them very earnestly the importance of sanctification, but without producing the slightest effect on their lives. His preaching…was striking; his life was moral, upright, and correct. His diligence as a pastor was undeniable… (but) the fact was that up to this time he was utterly ignorant of the gospel. He knew nothing aright of Christ crucified, of justification by faith in His blood, of salvation by grace, of the complete present forgiveness of all who believe…”

Berridge himself relates that He “saw the rock on which he had been splitting for many years, by endeavoring to blend the Law and the Gospel, and to unite Christ’s righteousness with his own.” His ministry over the next thirty years then bore much fruit as he preached Jesus Christ alone and salvation by faith alone.

It is striking and helpful to see J.C. Ryle, in the 1800’s, look at spiritual growth in John Berridge, in the 1700’s, and positively represent the necessity of the gospel – faith alone, imputed righteousness alone.

It’s not only with John Berridge. Another example is another clergy, James Hervey of Weston Favell. Ryle relates his early ministry as one of sincerity and purity of mind and zeal… but one who had not yet got his feet on the Rock. He relates a letter by George Whitefield, a contemporary, to Hervey:

“I long to have my dear friend come forth and preach the truth as it is in Jesus; not a righteousness or holiness of our own, whereby we make ourselves meet, but the righteousness of another, even the Lord our righteousness; upon the imputation and apprehending of which by faith we shall be made meet by His Holy Spirit to live with and enjoy God.” (Whitefield, to Hervey).

Hervey, like Berridge, was preaching morality and self-righteousness mixed into the gospel.

The wonderful account that is recorded by Ryle is… that Hervey grew.

At a later date, Hervey wrote to Whitefield:
“I own, with shame and sorrow, I have been a blind leader of the blind. My tongue and my pen have perverted the good ways of the Lord, have darkened the glory of redeeming merit and sovereign grace. I have dared to invade the glories of an all-sufficient Saviour, and to pluck the crown off His head My writings… presumed to give works a share in the redemption and recovery of a lost sinner…”

Ryle notes how interesting to see the work of the Spirit slowly in the life of Hervey, moving his theological opinions more in line with God’s truth in the grace of His Son.

How fascinating! This is the 1700’s!

From reading this book about men I do not personally know who lived before my great-great-great grandfather was alive, I’m encouraged. The issues are the same: the gospel vs. anything else. And the Spirit worked then, as now, in opening eyes and changing hearts… some quickly, some slowly, but all who are His come to know His redeeming grace from which truth, righteousness, and salvation flow.

Happy New Year, all. And as Auld Lang Syne, may you (and I) continue to grow in the grace and truth that is in Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, now and forever.

Joy to the World!

Christmas, ,

We were out in the freezing rain early in the week, 16 or so brave souls from our church, in the dark, wielding little LED candles, singing Christmas Carols. The sidewalks were icy-slick, and we slid and skated from house to house. It was cold and wet and dark and… really a lot of fun, singing of our Savior.

What is 'Joy to the World'?
What is Joy to the World?

I was particularly struck by singing “Joy to the World.” I have always thought of it as a song singing of how joyous Christ’s coming to earth was. What a joyful event, the angels singing, the shepherds rejoicing, the wise men gathered round.

But when I actually listened to what we were singing… it is certainly joyful… but for other reasons.

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King…”

“Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!”

“He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove…”

Isaac Watts, who penned the hymn almost 300 years ago, is clearly proclaiming the joy of Christ’s kingship. The King has come! The Savior rules! Sing, sing, everyone – the Lord is come!

And that got me thinking about the wondrous nature of God’s plan in Christ.

Over a thousand years before the arrival of Jesus in Bethlehem, our God made a promise to an individual: David. David was king over Israel, and God said to him: “Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:16)

And it seemed that those words had been forgotten. Israel swallowed up by Assyria, Judah overrun by Babylon. Disarray, confusion, and above all… time passing.

And, a thousand years after God’s promise to David, come these words from Luke 2:
“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered… and all went to be registered, each to his own town” (vv.1-3).

Not a very auspicious beginning to the coming of Christ.

But it goes on: “and Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.” (vv. 4-5)

And it is here, the next verse, that the birth takes place “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” (v. 7)

Most of us focus on the swaddling clothes and the manger.

But the heartbeat of this passage is a birth in all of the gathered remains of David. Joseph, of the line of David, comes to Bethlehem. Who else would be gathered there, registered? The rest of those of the line of David. Out of the gathered lineage of David, comes a child.

It isn’t the swaddling cloths and manger scene that is gloriously revealed here… it’s the gathering of the line of David to witness the fulfillment of one of the most incredible promises ever given to man by God: a throne forever for David’s line.

The King has come.
The promised King.
He rules and will rule forever and ever!

May our hearts proclaim the glory and majesty of our Savior, the King, come to earth as a babe, ruling forever and ever!

I think Isaac Watts got it just right.
Merry Christmas, all… and joy to the world, the Lord has come. The king will rule forever.

Thoughts from a Gospel-Driven Life

Grace, Quotes,

I’ve been blessed recently by Micheal Horton’s The Gospel-Driven Life.

Some excellent quotes:

“It is not Christian orthodoxy but moralistic liberalism that reduces the surprising news of the gospel to the bland repetition of what people already know.” (p.25)

“The bible is not a collection of timeless principles offering a gentle thought for the day. It is not a resource for our self-improvement. Rather, it is a dramatic story that unfolds from promise to fulfillment, with Christ at the center. Its focus is God and His action. God is not a supporting actor in our drama; it is the other way around…. Has it really hit you that no matter what your inner voice, conscience, heart, will or soul tells you, God’s objective Word on the matter trumps it all?” (p. 26)

“God’s law is not a tool that we can use; it is the rod by which God measures us. God’s law says, ‘Be perfect.’ God’s gospel says, ‘Believe in Christ and you will be reckoned perfect before God.’ The law tells us what must be done if we are to be saved; the gospel tells us what God has done to save us.” (p. 60)

“‘God justifies the wicked’ (Rom. 4:5). As counterintitive as it is simple, that claim which lies at the heart of the Good News has brought immeasurable blessing – and trouble – to the church and the world. Be nice, take out the trash, stop nagging your spouse, try to spend more time with your children, don’t get into credit card debt, lose some weight and get some exercise. Every one of these exhortations might be valid… however, it is not the big story. No wonder people – especially younger folks – are bored if this is the ‘news’ that the church has to bring to the world. This kind of news need not come from heaven; there are plenty of earthly sages who can communicate it better than most preachers.” (p. 64)

“So God justified the wicked — not those who have done their best yet have fallen short, who might at least be judged acceptable because of their sincerity, but those whare are the very moment of being pronounced righteous are in themselves unrighteous… Protestants [that’s me] are just as likely today to assume that the gospel gives us something to do rather than [sic] an announcement of something that has already been fully, finally, and objectively accomplished for us by God in Jesus Christ.” (p.73)

“I often hear believers say that it was wonderful when they first believed. Then and there they were promised forgiveness, God’s favor, and eternal life. But over time the message changed. Now it’s time to get busy. The gospel is for unbelievers, but Christians need a constant stream of exhortations to keep them going. Yet this is far from what the Bible itself reasons. Not only in the first instance, but throughout the Christian life, faith is born and fed by the gospel alone. Christ is sufficient even for the salvation of weak and unfaithful Christians.

The great divide… is between an objective, complete, perfect and finished justification by God alone in Christ alone and a subjective, progressive, incomplete and unfinished justification by the believer’s cooperation in grace.” (p.75)

“On my best days, my experience of transformation is weak, but the gospel is an announcement of a certain state of affairs that exists because of something in God, not something in me; something that God has done, not something that I have done; the love in God’s heart which he has shown in his son, not the love in my heart that I exhibit in my relationships.” (p.77)

“The gospel is not a general belief in heaven or hell or hope for a better life beyond… it is the announcement that Jesus Christ himself is our life, for he is our peace with God. He does not merely show us the way; he is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).” (p.80)

“We all want to be and to do something rather than to be made and to receive our identity from above. It is a blow to our spiritual ego to be told that everything has already been done. Yet that is the glory of the gospel! That is why it is Good News.” (p.93)

“It is often said that we must apply the Scriptures to daily living. But this is to invoke the Bible too late, as if we already knew what ‘life’ or ‘daily living’ meant. The problem is not merely that we lack the right answers, but that we don’t even have the right questions until God introduces us to his interpretation of reality.” (p.111)

Well… I’m only about halfway through the book right now. But what a refreshing and thoughtful treatment of the Gospel! How I need to hear it every day… as I, by God’s wondrous grace, am a light in a world that needs to hear the good news.

 This is not to say that I’m not progressively being changed, or that don’t I engage my will (gladly!) to follow my Father’s guides… but the center of our lives as believers is the story of the Gospel. May we hold on to the truth every day!

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.