I've been struggling with a message I heard in church recently. It was another of what I call, an 80/20 message. That is, a sermon that has me saying "YES" 80% of the time and "NO" the other 20%. Of course, my first reflection is that I am still 20% away from "getting it right", but I have long given up on the notion that my God given discernment is flawed and that I am only to drink in what the Learned Men of God feed me. Me and God have come to an understanding that I can question anything and that He loves me and guides me, irregardless of my various musings. Anyway....
First, The Message: It was called "Repair, Regress, or Replace". The focus was on what we do with the Gospel message. Do we attempt to fix ourselves to be better people(repair), do we return to our "un-gospelled" selves(Regress), or do we let God change us(Replace)? It was a compare and contrast message that pitted Legalism against Libertarianism, and concluded that both are flawed, while extolling the message that God does the miracle of improving our natures. So far, so good. The issue I had was in describing those who apparently have walked towards Libertarianism of having failed to actually heard the Gospel message and taken it in. According to the Pastor, if you have heard the Gospel and yet continue to engage in questionable actions, you never really received the message. The old,"if you continue to sin, your not truly saved" message.
Now I must admit to being of the Libertarian Camp. I have come to understand that I am a sinner saved by Grace and that I will continue through this life with a multitude of behaviors that will fall short of Holy living, despite my best efforts. God is not idle, though. He is working in me and through me everyday. I cannot change my heart alone. That in itself is the definition of Legalism: "If I know the rules and follow them, I will be Holy".
SO why is it that we have the audacity to declare that those who don't perform as Holy enough(still sinning, not changing fast enough, living in liberty) have failed to truly receive the message of the Gospel? I seem to see clearly that this is just another form of Legalism. The Righteous standing in judgement of the unrighteous. How reaffirming it must feel to be in the ranks of those who can say, "I know God and I have received his Grace, but that guy over in the other pew is deaf and dumb to it, because he is still sinning". What arrogance! As if the speaker has eliminate all his flaws and can stand in judgement of other believers that they feel live too liberally. We are all sinners saved by grace. There is a meme out there that states, "Don't Judge me because I sin differently than you". When I hear, "those who continue to live as they did have obviously not received the Gospel message", I have several scriptural thoughts that immediately come to mind. First: God didn't save me because I was good. He saved me because He is good and his love know no bounds. As a parent, I understand (dimly, I admit)that there is nothing my children will ever do that will stop me from loving them. I believe that this is true with God. Secondly: To say that those who fail to change appropriately or quickly enough, have never received the Gospel message, is to cast our own judgement upon them. I believe the Bible states that God will continue the good work he has begun in you. God is not an instant cure-all. In fact, it is this expectation that lead many to question their faith. "Hey, I accepted Christ. Why isn't everything fixed already". This also lends power to the Pharisee within that wants to judge others as lacking in the earnestness/piousness we have embraced. I should know. I have often found myself within the church silently judging others who don't measure up to the level of performance that I have achieved. Well, Screw all that. God took me as I was. He continues to work with me and through me as I am. He is changing me daily, though the evidence of that may not be evident for many YEARS, if ever, this side of eternity. All the Guilt Bombs and pithy quips of how I am a bad example or "renailing Christ to the cross" are poor motivators at best, and lies from the pit of hell, at their worst. And declaring that those who continue to live unsanctified lives must have never received the message? Watch out! Judge not, lest ye be judged! We are all works in progress, and what God has begun, He will finish. Be not one to deny the power of God in others because they have failed to change on your timetable.
And now for something a bit different. As I stated before, I live a pretty liberal take on life. I am far Left politically for someone who identifies themselves as Christian. You might say that I seem to challenge the Grace of God with my behavior and actions. I am a bit jaded with the term "love". So many in my life declare "to love me" and a week later barely seem to know me. I am frequently putting love to the test. Most have fallen short( myself, included), but God has not. Despite my best to prove myself unworthy of favor, I am continually shown up with the amount and frequency of God's love for me. His Grace abounds. This past week my car died. Within a week I had found a new vehicle that perfectly matched all my hopes in what I secretly wanted in a new vehicle. I also received a letter that informed me that a $5000 debt had been erased. I got a call for some work that brought in extra income to pay my bills, and my daughters continue to pour affection upon me, despite being an often grumpy dad who yells too much. The more I fall short, well, the more I fall short. That's it!
God's love seems not to be attached to my performance. He judges me by a different standard(Clothed in Christ?). He loves me despite my performance. He sees a me that defies my standards. There is nothing that can separate me from the love of God, even if I vote Democrat! God's Grace defies logic.
So next time you see some slob at church that seems to be living a life that still involves living in the world, long after you feel that they should have changed their ways, remember the example of Christ, who chose rather to eat with sinners than hang out with Pharisee's. Someone needed to show them the love of God, and they really weren't likely to show up at the Wednesday night Bible Study. Some of us meet them right were they are, poor examples or not. This is why I remain a Grace Addict.
I've been struggling with a message I heard in church recently. It was another of what I call, an 80/20 message. That is, a sermon that has me saying "YES" 80% of the time and "NO" the other 20%. Of course, my first reflection is that I am still 20% away from "getting it right", but I have long given up on the notion that my God given discernment is flawed and that I am only to drink in what the Learned Men of God feed me. Me and God have come to an understanding that I can question anything and that He loves me and guides me, irregardless of my various musings. Anyway....
First, The Message: It was called "Repair, Regress, or Replace". The focus was on what we do with the Gospel message. Do we attempt to fix ourselves to be better people(repair), do we return to our "un-gospelled" selves(Regress), or do we let God change us(Replace)? It was a compare and contrast message that pitted Legalism against Libertarianism, and concluded that both are flawed, while extolling the message that God does the miracle of improving our natures. So far, so good. The issue I had was in describing those who apparently have walked towards Libertarianism of having failed to actually heard the Gospel message and taken it in. According to the Pastor, if you have heard the Gospel and yet continue to engage in questionable actions, you never really received the message. The old,"if you continue to sin, your not truly saved" message.
Now I must admit to being of the Libertarian Camp. I have come to understand that I am a sinner saved by Grace and that I will continue through this life with a multitude of behaviors that will fall short of Holy living, despite my best efforts. God is not idle, though. He is working in me and through me everyday. I cannot change my heart alone. That in itself is the definition of Legalism: "If I know the rules and follow them, I will be Holy".
SO why is it that we have the audacity to declare that those who don't perform as Holy enough(still sinning, not changing fast enough, living in liberty) have failed to truly receive the message of the Gospel? I seem to see clearly that this is just another form of Legalism. The Righteous standing in judgement of the unrighteous. How reaffirming it must feel to be in the ranks of those who can say, "I know God and I have received his Grace, but that guy over in the other pew is deaf and dumb to it, because he is still sinning". What arrogance! As if the speaker has eliminate all his flaws and can stand in judgement of other believers that they feel live too liberally. We are all sinners saved by grace. There is a meme out there that states, "Don't Judge me because I sin differently than you". When I hear, "those who continue to live as they did have obviously not received the Gospel message", I have several scriptural thoughts that immediately come to mind. First: God didn't save me because I was good. He saved me because He is good and his love know no bounds. As a parent, I understand (dimly, I admit)that there is nothing my children will ever do that will stop me from loving them. I believe that this is true with God. Secondly: To say that those who fail to change appropriately or quickly enough, have never received the Gospel message, is to cast our own judgement upon them. I believe the Bible states that God will continue the good work he has begun in you. God is not an instant cure-all. In fact, it is this expectation that lead many to question their faith. "Hey, I accepted Christ. Why isn't everything fixed already". This also lends power to the Pharisee within that wants to judge others as lacking in the earnestness/piousness we have embraced. I should know. I have often found myself within the church silently judging others who don't measure up to the level of performance that I have achieved. Well, Screw all that. God took me as I was. He continues to work with me and through me as I am. He is changing me daily, though the evidence of that may not be evident for many YEARS, if ever, this side of eternity. All the Guilt Bombs and pithy quips of how I am a bad example or "renailing Christ to the cross" are poor motivators at best, and lies from the pit of hell, at their worst. And declaring that those who continue to live unsanctified lives must have never received the message? Watch out! Judge not, lest ye be judged! We are all works in progress, and what God has begun, He will finish. Be not one to deny the power of God in others because they have failed to change on your timetable.
And now for something a bit different. As I stated before, I live a pretty liberal take on life. I am far Left politically for someone who identifies themselves as Christian. You might say that I seem to challenge the Grace of God with my behavior and actions. I am a bit jaded with the term "love". So many in my life declare "to love me" and a week later barely seem to know me. I am frequently putting love to the test. Most have fallen short( myself, included), but God has not. Despite my best to prove myself unworthy of favor, I am continually shown up with the amount and frequency of God's love for me. His Grace abounds. This past week my car died. Within a week I had found a new vehicle that perfectly matched all my hopes in what I secretly wanted in a new vehicle. I also received a letter that informed me that a $5000 debt had been erased. I got a call for some work that brought in extra income to pay my bills, and my daughters continue to pour affection upon me, despite being an often grumpy dad who yells too much. The more I fall short, well, the more I fall short. That's it!
God's love seems not to be attached to my performance. He judges me by a different standard(Clothed in Christ?). He loves me despite my performance. He sees a me that defies my standards. There is nothing that can separate me from the love of God, even if I vote Democrat! God's Grace defies logic.
So next time you see some slob at church that seems to be living a life that still involves living in the world, long after you feel that they should have changed their ways, remember the example of Christ, who chose rather to eat with sinners than hang out with Pharisee's. Someone needed to show them the love of God, and they really weren't likely to show up at the Wednesday night Bible Study. Some of us meet them right were they are, poor examples or not. This is why I remain a Grace Addict.
