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.

"In need of God-Lite" or "There's an Achan in my heart"

My Facebook Post:

I'm smarting with the good old-fashioned Old Testament Smack-Down I received at church this morning. Don't you just love it when they return to the message of judgement under the law of a righteous God and only footnote the solution in we receive from Christ. I'm left feeling like I should quit going to church and just go find my meth pipe again. Thank Jesus that He continues to love me regardless of me being me!

To quote another's post:
Kienan Mick(fb post)
Don't let your hate of 'sin' outgrow your love of redemption. In fact, don't let it grow at all. Because when you do:

Greed chokes off justice for the poor,
Apathy withers empathy for the sick,
Justification drowns compassion for the persecuted.

Love blossoms and grows. Judgment withers and rots.

So, what motivated all this? Today's message in church was drawn from Joshua 7. It describes how Isreal found themselves, once again, in disfavor with God after they had just been given victory over Jericho. One man steals some of the holy spoils against God's specific orders, and God pulls back his favor until justice upon this individual is poured out(in a brutal stoning of his entire household). The man's name is Achan. He is confronted(as is everyone), and admits he did it. His punishment is to stone his entire household and all his belongings and leave them buried under a pile of said stones. This is the righteous action of a just God for failure to obey. I get it! The message of the need to repent before you too get buried in God's wrath comes through loud and clear.
Here is where I start to falter. You see, I have an Achan in my heart! Besides being a great pun, it happens to be true. I too have been given a new life from God. I called on him in the midst of losing my children and my life and he "gave me the land"; I was set free and restored. After some time, I realized that I couldn't do the capital "C" Christian walk. I don't march in lock-step well with others, and I'm prone to pharisee-like behavior. I love being on the righteous side and pointing out your flaws and faults with loving condescension. I love imposing my views on others, for there own good. I'm really good at it. I have a feeling that given enough latitude(read power and control), I could really excel at getting confessions out of sinners and help dispatch then to God with clean consciences(but I digress). Thank God that he stopped my rise in the ranks of the church. Instead, I became uncomfortable with my new life. I began to listen to rock music and to drink and smoke(in moderation). I wandered from the fold. I took the holy life God had restored to me and began to spend it on myself. I keep asking Jesus what was wrong with me, and was always met with the answer that He knows me, He made me, He loves me, and everything is gonna be alright.
You see, I was taught that the Old Testament is a history book that teaches how the Law is insufficient to bring us into a relationship with God. It is a Good Law, it is a Just Law, but due to our very natures, it is never gonna bring us back into the fold. THAT"S WHY JESUS CAME AND SATISFIED THE LAW IN OUR PLACE!!!! I know that it is taught with the best of intentions, but to take us back to the Old Testament for lessons on how to live today just shows how screwed we are without Jesus. There's an Achan in all our hearts! That's why I put all my trust in God-Lite, Jesus Christ. Or more appropriately GOD-LIGHT):
John 8:12 "Then Jesus spoke again to them, saying, I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
Jesus came to make it all work out. He provided the way. He satisfied the Just Law with His own Sinless Life, because we cannot do it, ever. He is the gentler, easier way. All the "guilt trips", all the "stone the sinner in your midsts" couldn't get us to do it right. Love wins where guilt just condemns!
I'm left with this final thought: If the events that lead to the death of Achan and his household had happened when Jesus walked the earth, WWJD(What would Jesus do)? I'm sure it also would have something to do with stones, but likely a more merciful outcome.

Joh 8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
Joh 8:2 And early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him. And He sat down and taught them.
Joh 8:3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman taken in adultery. And standing her in the midst,
Joh 8:4 they said to Him, Teacher, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
Joh 8:5 Now Moses in the Law commanded us that such should be stoned. You, then, what do you say?
Joh 8:6 They said this, tempting Him so that they might have reason to accuse Him. But bending down, Jesus wrote on the ground with His finger, not appearing to hear.
Joh 8:7 But as they continued to ask Him, He lifted Himself up and said to them, He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her.
Joh 8:8 And again bending down, He wrote on the ground.
Joh 8:9 And hearing, and being convicted by conscience, they went out one by one, beginning at the oldest, until the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
Joh 8:10 And bending back up, and seeing no one but the woman, Jesus said to her, Woman, where are the ones who accused you? Did not one give judgment against you?
Joh 8:11 And she said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said to her, Neither do I give judgment. Go, and sin no more.
Joh 8:12 Then Jesus spoke again to them, saying, I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.