The Devil In Mr. Jones

     Consider the fact that the Law was GIVEN (according to Paul's writing in Romans) BECAUSE of TRANSGRESSION, providing full expression of human sinfulness in light of God's righteousness. It wasn't intended to be the "righteous standard" for us to try and live by, creating favor with God... because we can't. The law had no power to impart righteousness or favor with God, or the power to uphold its decrees, only to expose our sinfulness and the corresponding condemnation and punishment. Which is why the Old Testament is FULL of accounts that testify from God's perspective about the reality of how BAD the human heart actually is... Paul merely repeated what the Old Testament said in Romans 3 when he was setting up the story of WHY the Gospels' provision is so desperately needed by humanity in general. "There is NONE righteous... no not ONE... NO ONE IS GOOD... No one seeks God... not even ONE. “ It gets worse as you read on, but the truth of the matter is, if we don't grasp the reality of "how bad we are" we will never clearly see the need for mercy and grace as the antidote for our own self-destructive condition. Neither will we be able to fully appreciate the free gift and exchange of the perfect sinless Christ as the substitute. However, once we are IN THE FOLD, tables turn and we are to be ever reminded of the life and righteousness that has been eternally imparted into our being by God's provision. And, although I no longer see myself as a mere "sinner," I try to remain humble before God due to the fact that I still have a problem with sin in my life. We ALL do. Anyone who says they don't is essentially a LIAR. Until we cast off this body of flesh, we will have an ever-present reminder of our humanity being slaves to sin.

    When reading the Gospels in light of the question, "What offends Jesus?" one quickly comes to understand that religious zeal, prompted by a deep self-righteous mind-set pretty much tops the list. Self-righteousness is often founded upon the false notion that we are inherently "good" and only lacking in being educated enough to modify any behaviors that are standing in the way of moral superiority. And when we DO modify our behaviors in this light... we take pride in our actions, lifestyle, etc. and lose ALL touch with the fundamental need for God's love, mercy and grace. (More often than not we excuse our upsetting behaviors with self-justifying reasons that don't even soothe our own conscience.) We begin to assume that we can "bargain" or "cut deals" with God because of our “proven goodness" (which is never the case). In other words, WE believe we can determine and measure and judge the standard of our performance, and hold God accountable for corresponding rewards and blessings. This attitude and understanding proves our total blindness to the very condition that stands between God and us. HOWEVER... Rom 5:5 says, "But to one who not working (by Law) TRUSTS in Him Who JUSTIFIES THE WICKED, his faith is credited to him as righteousness-the standing acceptable to God." So I frequently remind myself not only of who I am trusting in, but of the fact that faith is vital in the equation, causing God to PASSOVER my wickedness and call me RIGHTEOUS!

     We have a tendency to "neuter" the Gospel by forgetting to make the point that "someone had to DIE on OUR behalf..." Coming to that realization is most difficult and often shocking. "Churched" people take it for granted, AND there is such a common lethargy in the church world today because the truth HAS been essentially "neutered." Social club mentality in today’s churches can't afford such negative language. There is a reason for that... I find that an "I'm OK, you're OK" presentation has become so very pervasive within the spiritual landscape, common to today’s pop theology. The presentation of the Gospel is serious business. People have died throughout the last several thousand years for being fearless to speak to individuals or large demographics about the reality of human depravity and spelling out scripturally WHY we need to be saved. I will stick to my guns on this matter... if we don't know why we need to be saved, or what we need to be saved from (always within ourselves)... we will never value grace, much less the penalty Christ paid to make it available. We have exchanged a Biblical "world view" for something trendy, cool, socially acceptable, politically-correct, comfortable, non-threatening and undemanding. All of this renders us neutered of spiritual power. And we wonder why? Considering that fact, does God still love us? You bet... enough to save us from the dangers of what dwells within every heart... even mine. I, for one, know fully well how bad I am... like the old hymn "Come Thou Fount" says... "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it!” But I'm also FULLY aware of the ONE IN WHOM I TRUST in spite of the wickedness I've laid at His feet. The devil in Mr. Jones doesn't scare God in the least. Actually, God is very familiar with that element in all of us and has sworn by an oath that it will never be held to our account... we walk free. No guilt, no shame, and no condemnation. Who could ask for anything more?

 

Drink deeply...

Balancing Grace?

    Just the concept of "balancing grace" brings an absurd image into my mind. Surely you have held your breath and watched in awe of someone walking a tightrope or high wire across a dangerously high place, between skyscrapers, or stretched across Niagara Falls. Well, some Christians insist their relationship with God is similar to walking such a tightrope. Everything about the success of crossing safely to the other side, or plunging to ones death, hinges on our capacity to maintain "BALANCE." We become solely dependent upon ourselves to make God sit up and take notice of our ability to juggle everything in life with the skill of a death-defying circus act. Our daily endeavor is to get God to bless these actions, and as long as we can keep everything in balance, and not go too far one way or the other, we can feel pretty secure about our performance.
     We cannot offer much in the way of faith in God's ability to do anything in our lives as we maintain this preposterous mentality, because WE have to KEEP the focus, WE KEEP the balance, WE KEEP on target, WE KEEP towing the line, WE KEEP steady to prevent falling to our death, and WE KEEP creeping little by little to the other side until we finally make our destination. THAT is how the concept of "balance" seems to play out in the definition of keeping "grace in check." In other words, DON'T trust the saving grace of God, it might let you fall! The sufficiency MUST be a two-way street. A little God... a little me. Better safe than sorry! When all is said and done, unlike all those other sorry suckers, we can proudly stand before Him and say, "Lord, Lord! Look at all I have done in your name!"

     I was raised all my life in legalistic churches that placed EVERY key element of vital importance upon self-effort, performance, rule-keeping, etc. as the insurance policy to keep me in good standing with the denomination, fellowship within the ranks, and entrance into heaven, although our best efforts was still not a guarantee. If an open failure to maintain even the unspoken rules of the church was recognized, and it was perceived as something less offensive than, let's say, having an alcoholic beverage, emphasis was always placed on public remorse for the offense with an exhortation to "pray more-try harder" as the key to righteous reinstatement. All this after a good dose of condemnation, shaming and guilt tactics, silent treatment and the like by those considered "mature" within the church. The definition of "mature" usually meant those more entrenched in pseudo-holiness than others, and the title mostly self-ordained. You never could be sure when and by whom you might next be targeted for merciless scrutiny. Great pride was taken by those who could find out something to disclose on others. Usually made known by being brought up as a "prayer request" in a home fellowship. Those who weren't quite as highly regarded as the ones having sex with the pastor would be mercilessly accused of some heinous sin, turned out of the congregation, and readily forgotten. An easy sacrificial offering to keep the general congregants in line with microscopic supervision and manipulative control. I use that horrifying example because I have seen it as a reality on multiple occasions within churches that demand "holiness" (defined as "something I demand you to DO!") from their members.

     When the topic of "grace" became something MORE than just the means by which God chose to FORGIVE me for all I had done up to the point of my acceptance of Christ, things began to change. I started to see the cracks in the theology and government of the churches I had affiliated myself with and had to make sensible, intelligent and wise choices about the findings. At first, my response was simply, "This can't be! It's too easy!" And everyone knew in the circles I came up in that if Christianity was anything, it WASN'T easy! Naturally, I had to contend for "balance" when speaking on this topic with most people I knew. First of all, I couldn't allow them to become suspect that I might jump ship to align myself with the "heretics." Eventually GRACE became truly defined as "unmerited" in my understanding and I started to see the error in how I was always working to earn God's favor. Something was wrong in my whole foundational understanding of Christianity and had to be addressed, changed, radically altered. Either GRACE was the heart of the Gospel according to Acts 20:24 when Paul said, "...that I might finish my course... and ministry... which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the GRACE OF GOD" or, it was merely a tool used to assist us with a leg-up as better servants to the harsh mistress of self-effort. It was one or the other. It couldn't be both. Not any longer.
     Some teachers blame pastors for the general lack of understanding this vital topic. Not to mention the fact that people don’t study the Bible enough on their own. I agree that such is most often the case, but it remains, what people are generally taught from the pulpits of their chosen denomination is what they accept as truth. I have been guilty of this in my own life. Needless to say, my own study was colored by the perspectives I had been trained to believe as essential, especially among those I was taught to trust, regardless of the DIFFERENT theological positions I saw in scripture. Like everyone else, I just force-fitted the contradictions into my preferred theological narrative. Truly, people are not easily given to going against the grain of whatever "group/denomination" they are established in, comfortable with, or have been raised in. Regardless of what they are taught, if it's embraced as believable, acceptable, and valued by the peers of their religious community and family, no matter how crazy it seems outside their ranks, they will accept it. How do millions of people in cults that embrace the most seemingly absurd teachings (according to our set belief systems), having no foundation in scripture whatsoever, or from a different book altogether, fall prey to it? Pretty easy when considering normal human behavior, I think.
     I recently read a post exhorting people not to assume that everyone hasn’t heard this “good news of God's grace" even though some may have only recently discovered its richness. And, that we should make it a point to keep it away from the forefront of our conversation. I couldn’t be less in agreement. I have been in fellowship with countless numbers throughout my years in ministry who, like myself, had no clue of what the Gospel of God’s grace meant. Therefore, I have become a minister of that marvelous truth, and proclaim it regardless of who has or who hasn’t heard it. Those who HAVE heard it… TRULY heard it… rejoice with me when I speak of the excellence of God's glorious provision of grace. Those who haven’t, don’t. Often they strongly downplay its significance, relevance, and importance to bring “BALANCE.” They are usually the ones who fight to the death to defend the right to be responsible for their ultimate outcome, including being saved. As Paul writes in Galatians 1:7 “…there be some that… would PERVERT the gospel of Christ” tells me an ongoing battle for genuine faith has been a struggle since the beginning. If the gospel can be “perverted” then to what extent, and by what means? Because of my own experience with multitudes of Christians of various backgrounds, I believe it HAS been perverted and is held unwittingly in that twisted perspective. Ten minutes of conversation with most will allow anyone who understands this pivotal doctrine to determine such a position of ignorant disregard accurately. What's more, listen a little more closely and you will see how they are walking the fearful "tightrope" in hopes of securing through this balancing-act what was meant to be received as a simple gift.

     So, if born-again, Spirit-filled believers are JUST coming to this knowledge of God’s grace after years of serving under the yoke of religious bondage… HALLELUJAH! We should be REJOICING in this fact and hitting the floor on our faces in gratitude that truth and light are being revealed where falsehood and darkness flourished! That people are learning what REAL faith is about, and how to rightly place it in the person and work of Christ should make us shout from the housetops.

     For me, my early understanding of "grace” was merely a rite of passage into the world of traditional Christendom. I was assured all that was taught would be “true, Biblical, and life-changing" IF I did my part and lived by the standards of holiness. Once in, I became twice the son of hell as those that were falsely leading me into this quagmire of religious deception. After years and years in that web of pseudo-spirituality, I stepped out of the box. At the condemnation and warning from the faithful around me, I began to take the teachings of the Bible that I had earlier over-looked and compartmentalized as false or heretical until  the “scales” fell from my eyes. It was clearly written by the Apostle Paul that righteousness was a gift of God's grace through faith and not of works. Not of anything I could offer or accomplish.  I could no longer hold to any religious equation or method or tactic for what I must do to acquire blessing and favor. Either faith is sufficient or it isn't. Sheer faith is the victory or it's the catastrophe. But it became clear that it would be all or nothing. God can be trusted or he can't. To give the smallest fraction of dependence upon my own self-effort was a breach of the whole gift of grace that God offers. I stepped off the tightrope into a total free-fall of trusting in the promises of God's ongoing goodness and mercy. That was one of the hardest decisions I ever made. And I haven't hit bottom and died.
     Now, as the old hymn says, “My faith has found a resting place.” Clearly aware of my mission, duties, responsibilities and work, I place no longer place any emphasis on them as a means of keeping my relationship with God on track and well-oiled. The tightrope is gone and all the anxiety of maintaining the right balance between grace and works to avoid consequences are gone with it. The Good News is all about God's GRACE and my lips will never cease to proclaim it. If anyone thinks that they have quite literally moved beyond it… to higher and greater and better truths… I seriously question their foundation. And I fully relate to the fear they are facing as they walk that tightrope of religious insecurity.  

Drink deeply...