Amazing Grace

The doctrine of God’s grace reminds us that not only do we not deserve God’s love and forgiveness, but we actually deserve nothing from God but his exacting judgment. And not the kind of judgment which we would incur were we to sin against a fellow citizen, some high ranking diplomat, or even an exalted and holy angel. Our so-called “mistakes”, “impulsive acts”, “foibles” and “unfortunate oversights” are nothing less than treason against God’s eternal kingdom and our own personal assault against the Creator’s righteous standards of conduct. In a day when most secretly believe they deserve God’s love and find little real fault within themselves, holding forth the Bible’s definitions of holiness and grace may sound like a ludicrous and scandalous rant by self-loathing zealots. But God’s grace must be truthfully upheld even in an age that doesn’t care to hear it. Yes, the masses may still periodically sing about “Amazing Grace” and parrot words about being “blind and lost wretches” in need of salvation, but few seem to actually believe it. As long as our culture continues to hide behind a growing list of excuses for our transgressions and sins, and fails to see God’s forgiveness as an inexplicable act of mercy, then we will never begin to realize just how undeserved and amazing the doctrine of grace actually is.

Praying

Reading through the Psalms can yield enlightening insights regarding what constitutes a godly prayer life. As we read these lines from God’s inspired Psalter we might expect lofty and refined theological ideas encased in polished and pietistic lyrics. Instead, we often encounter the raw emotions of frustrated saints and the unvarnished honesty of disgruntled followers of Yahweh. That is not only the pattern of their prayers; it is the exhortation regarding prayer from the Psalms. “Pour out your hearts before him; God is a refuge for us” David sings (Psalm 62:8). But lest you think this is permission to dump your negative thoughts on God and leave, or turn your prayer life into one gripe session after the next, you need to carefully notice how these raw emotions find their resolve within the prayers themselves. Psalm 73 is a classic example. The frustrations of Asaph are honest and bitter. After enviously observing the advancement of those who compromise and the promotion of those who arrogantly cheat, he exclaims “in vain have I kept my heart clean” (Psalm 73:13). But note that it is in prayer that Asaph also finds perspective and the abolition of his “foolish” feelings (Psalm 73:22). And after lingering in prayer he concludes: “it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge” (Psalm 73:28). So be honest with God. Pour out your heart to our compassionate King. But don’t leave quickly. Ponder his character, his truth and his promises. Linger in prayer and see how God can radically change your heart and mind.

Christian Outreach

I recently read in the paper about a “successful Christian outreach” where many “accepted Jesus as their savior”. The problem, as with most of our modern culture’s take on “salvation”, is that there is little clarity about what these folks are acquiring “salvation from”. The article described the “celebration” as giving some people “a new process in life”, others as “feeling refreshed”, and still others who were “struggling” as receiving “hope”. The article’s last line stated that the event left attendees with “a good vibe”. Such secular reporting would hardly be worth noting, were it not that most “Christians” provide similar descriptions of these types of “successful” events. It appears Christianity is being redefined. Biblical warnings of God’s coming judgment are being replaced with concerns about emotional hurts. The Spirit’s stinging conviction regarding guilt and sin are being exchanged for heartwarming stories about rejuvenation and optimism. The Bible’s call to repentance and self-denial are being surreptitiously switched for appeals that leave people with a good vibe. We cannot allow such shifts to be imperceptible among God’s people. Such redefinitions must set off alarms in our hearts and minds. Temporal “salvation” from bad feelings does not square with Scripture and must never pass for “success.”

Being Separate

There are many who use the statement that Jesus was “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Matthew 11:19) to rationalize their social alliances and “after-work” camaraderie with immoral and ungodly people. They do this without any concern or attempt to harmonize the clear statements of Scripture which warn that “bad company ruins good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33), rhetorical questions like, “What partnership has righteousness with lawlessness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14), or God’s admonition for Christians to “go out from their midst and be separate from them” (2 Corinthians 6:17). Jesus did of course dine with “tax collectors and sinners” (Matthew 9:9-10), but what many seem to purposefully overlook is that Christ’s agenda in those settings was clearly stated – “I came to call sinners to repentance” (Mt.9:12-13; Luke 5:32). Christ’s enemies tried to make him out to be a companion of evildoers, along with calling him “a glutton and a drunkard” (Matthew 11:19), which also was not true. Obviously, all Christians will have necessary interaction with ungodly people in this world (1 Corinthians 5:9-10), and like Christ, we should periodically plan strategic times with immoral people, not to “take part in” their lifestyle, but rather to “expose it” and to plead with them saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:6-14). But when it comes to “down time”, “hanging out” or social interaction, the Scripture is consistently clear: “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” (Proverbs 13:20).

The Pursuit of Holiness

“The pursuit of happiness” is certainly our heart’s default position. Every day we, by nature, want to experience feelings of pleasure, gladness and enjoyment. Unfortunately, at the present time, we live in a corrupted world, encased in corrupted bodies, pitted against a very powerful corrupted enemy who is bent on luring us with “harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9). If we thoughtlessly follow our natural appetites we will undoubtedly fall into a snare which will lead to multiplied pain and misery (Proverbs 7:21-27). While Christians should obviously value happiness and pleasure, we must recognize that most of it will need to be deferred to a more appropriate time and place. For now, the focus of our daily pursuit must be holiness not happiness. We should wake up each morning and say, “how can I be more holy today?” instead of asking “what can I do today that will make me happy?” This should also be our hope and prayer for others. We would be wise to say, “I want my kids to grow up to be holy” instead of saying “I just want them to be happy”. “The pursuit of holiness” ought to be our Christian “Declaration” and resolve. So let’s consciously recalibrate and pursue holiness this week.

Loving God With All

Many today suppose that a periodic acknowledgment of God or a half-hearted recognition of Christ should be sufficient to avoid any concerns come Judgment Day. “As long as I am not an atheist or a murderer and I believe in the Man upstairs,” they presume, “then I should be okay.” Perhaps we are partly to blame for such a widespread misunderstanding regarding the normative mindset of people who are forgiven. We too often acquiesce to our critics, tacitly agreeing that people with a zeal for God are “zealots” who would do well to tone it down. But Christ, when asked for the most important directive in all of Scripture, answered, “You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). This is hardly a moderate attitude. It is high time for God’s redeemed people to remind themselves and everyone else that being sold-out for Christ and deeply in love with God is not “super-spiritual” or extracurricular. Being obsessed with God and resolute to serve Christ is normative and expected. May the world clearly see in us that there is no “happy medium” or halfway. God expects all his kids to be all-in.

Christ Honoring Words

While impossible to master this side of heaven, God calls us to give special attention to replacing our errant and superfluous words with Christ-honoring words that make a good and godly difference (Ephesians 4:29). While this requires restraint and thoughtfulness, the primary focus of this command is not some regular strategic planning for our upcoming conversations. Scripture’s concern goes much deeper. Jesus said, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Proverbs 10:11 tells us, “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.” Inversely, Jesus asks, “How can you speak what is good, when you are evil?” (Matthew12:34). The key to a renewed vocabulary and more edifying talk is a renewed heart which is growing daily in righteousness. If our hearts aren’t advancing in Christ and our minds aren’t increasingly saturated with the truths of God’s word, then there is little hope that our words will improve. This is why the command to “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” necessarily proceeds the call to speak to one another “with wisdom,” to engage our mouths “with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” and to be known as one who regularly expresses “thankfulness” (Colossians 3:16-17). So the next time it is revealed that your words need to be amended or reformed, find your way quickly to spend time communing with God and ingesting more of his heart-transforming word.