Good News, not good advice

I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. (2 Corinthians 11:1–4, ESV)

Have you ever been haunted by the feeling that you are unworthy? For me, no matter how long I have walked in the Christian faith, this feeling innately lurks and threatens to engulf me. As I look around, I see so many others who have it all together. I listen to sermons that talk about what the Christian life is supposed to look like. And I know that this is not a category I belong to. . .. Regrettably, it is true, I am unworthy, unable to meet this ideal of the Christian walk that I hear about. I am not the “Christian example” or “witness to the world” that I am told I am supposed to be.

We often hear of our need to grow in our walk as Christians to experience this thing called sanctification. We might hear someone expound on the disciplines of the faith or give us so and so many steps to growth or freedom, or this is what it means to be a Godly man or a woman, husband, wife, or parent. Or this is how to conduct business in a Christian fashion. We might be told how we must love those around us by others, with them following up, “oh, by the way here are some more practical steps on how to accomplish this.” Or we might be given a rousing sermon on the need for us to go forth into the world to preach the Gospel. And in this kind of preaching, we often see vigorous movement and passion. People take hold of this advice and apply it to their lives. There is church growth and a lot of great accomplishments. But if we are not careful there is a deeper hidden danger threatening to tear us apart.

These kinds of teachings abound with tips and advice on living the Christian life. And while there is often some value and truth in the advice that is given, the central message of the Gospel is missing, and it leaves me discontented and with the stark understanding of the contrast in my own life. I am not the man I want to be. I flounder in my attempts to live up to these standards. And if I am honest, and compare myself to the law of God, I am an utter failure, every day, every moment, every breath. Even if I can accomplish these tasks outwardly, in my heart, I am not there. I don’t love as I ought. I don’t spend time with God as I ought. In fact, I can say with Paul, “Wretched man that I am!” And as Paul knew, I know deep down those platitudes, steps, disciplines, programs, no thing can save me from my plight. Even if I were able to accomplish all this, they don’t satisfy the deep longings in my heart for something more. Living by these standards leaves me empty. So, is there hope for me? “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24, emphasis mine)

Most Christian’s understand that before coming to the faith, without Christ, we were hopeless and unable to save ourselves. We heartily confess that it is by faith alone in Christ alone that we are saved. But often after coming to faith in Christ, we forget how hopeless we are, and we try to muster up our own sanctification. We have this cognitive dissonance and become foolish as we comically try to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, forgetting our helpless state without Jesus. In our pride, we want something we can call our own. And having a law or steps we can follow makes life easy. But if you have been a Christian long enough, you have seen many who lived by these kinds of standards, only to either fall or be entrapped by it. And it becomes clear that this kind of life is not the life the Gospel has called us to. For in this pursuit of good works, we have turned aside and have been led astray from the sincere and pure devotion to Jesus. Paul fights this kind of understanding of the Christian life, “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh” (Galatians 3:1-3, ESV)? The reason this kind of pursuit fails is because, “all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law and do them” (3:10). If living the perfect Christian life is our goal, we will miss out on the Gospel, and we have left God to walk on our own, and we are standing on shaky ground. Tablets of stone or a set of guidelines cannot change a heart, only one who lives and acts and loves can have any effect on our hearts. When we come to him, Jesus’ love can overflow in our hearts because he lives, and he is the author and perfector of our faith. God has not called us to walk by good advice, he has called us to walk in the good news.

So how do we walk as Christians? What is sanctification? Does not Paul also say we are to turn away from sin and that we are not supposed to be like the world? Indeed, this is true, things like loving my wife and children, living in chastity, and practically loving others are good things and are important, but we do not accomplish “holiness” as the world does or as we did before we came to Christ. A man of the world can follow rules and steps to a good life, and some are quite remarkable at this, but this is not the walk God has called us to. For evil often appears to be good for us and a delight and necessary to make one wise. We think we are walking in good works, yet these kinds of efforts are fruitless. And with time this kind of “good fruit” if eaten will only become foul smelling rotten fruit and cast us away from the presence of God. What tasted good and seemed satisfying will only cause our stomachs to lurch. It will not last. And like I said before, if you have been in the Christian walk long enough, you will find that many who try to walk this way, fail. The reason following good advice, rules, or steps in the Christian faith fail are because in the end it is your own work that you are relying on. When you rely on your own effort all that you are left with is yourself and what you have accomplished. And we don’t make good and lasting foundations. We in ourselves are as wavering as the sea. We need to be astonished and pushed outside of ourselves by something far greater. We must die to ourselves. If we want eternal fruit, sanctification must be built on a stronger foundation. Keep in mind, your good works were not enough before you came to Christ, they will not be good enough after we have come to Christ. We must be careful not to be lured by craftiness or what appears to be wise. We ought not go back to our own vomit and try to present them as delicacies. We don’t have to live a façade, trying to lift ourselves up in front of the world. God offers us something far more beautiful than the wisdom of this world.

Jesus spoke to our shame when he spoke to the woman at the well in John 4, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink’, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” When approached with this understanding, we are often like the woman, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?” For us this call is like trying to walk on water, it looks like it will end in utter failure. We will say, let’s be practical and keep our feet on the earth and not have our heads in clouds. And so instead of coming to him, we continue to try to build ourselves up by our own methods and as Israel we look to others to defeat our enemy only to be pierced on the reeds we lean on. To this Jesus warns and gives assurance, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” So, what is sanctification? It is continuing our walk as we began it, completely and utterly dependent on Jesus as our source of living water. Do we not know innately that this is the case with glorification as well.  Do we think we will be romping about around God’s throne boasting in our own merit. Of course not, we will all cast our crowns with great joy at the feet of Jesus and declare that these things we have are from him alone and to the glory of God alone.

And what does Paul say is the walk of a mature Christian. It is saying with Paul, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes from faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith –”(Philippians 3:8-9, ESV) He later goes on to say, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you” (12-15).

To those who want to stand on something more earthy, Paul in Colossians 3 writes, “Put to death therefor what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). And what does Paul give as the power to put these earthly things to death. He tells us to look to Christ. “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden in Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:1-4, ESV)

It is when we behold Jesus our Teacher that are idols become an abomination to us.

your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, “Be gone!” (Isaiah 30:20b–22, ESV)

Ah yes, there is a famous scene paraded across many videos of two people in love, or perhaps a parent and a young child, running toward each other after having been apart. If they are carrying something heavy that is slowing them down they throw it off with abandon, so they can run faster toward the one they love. Is running toward Jesus practical? I believe it is the most practical method of defeating sin. The writer of Hebrews assures us of this, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,” (Hebrews 12:1-2b, ESV).

As we behold the beauty of Jesus the things of this world will begin to pale in comparison. Repenting and turning away from the kingdom of darkness becomes natural when you are entranced by the beauty of the Kingdom of God. Walking in holiness is like a king spreading a banquet before ones who are used to eating slop. When we are entranced by beauty and the savory smell of the food, it is not difficult to give up slop to revel in God’s delicacies. The Bible is clear that we do not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God, this word being Jesus. For, “this is eternal life that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). And Jesus is the object of this feast. Jesus made it clear, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35, ESV). For he had declared, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (6:29). And “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (6:40)

In the same way, a tree planted by water does not find it difficult to bear fruit. It is the natural outcome of its condition. When we come to Jesus, we are no longer planted in this world but are planted in Jesus. And so good works is the natural outcome of those who are in Christ. And we grow as we become more entranced by his beauty. We are not perfected by our works, but by beholding Jesus. We are not perfect yet, but as we come to see him more and more we are sanctified. “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12, ESV). And one day we will see him face to face, and it is in beholding the Lamb of God, that we will be made perfect. “Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2, ESV). To the world beholding someone is a foolish way to grow, give us a method give us some thing, but to those who wish to work to this foolishness, God says, cease your striving, while it is called Today, enter my rest, come to the one who gives life, come to Jesus.

 “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (1 Corinthians 1:27-31, ESV).

And this is the good news, because of what Christ has done, we can come to God and come near to the throne of grace. And Jesus cries out to all those who are enveloped with shame, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, ESV).

God will not tolerate any god beside him, including self-righteousness. Jesus is the cornerstone, the sure foundation by which we stand. All things not built on this foundation will be shaken and destroyed. Let us not use the name of Jesus in vain, but solely trust in him and call upon him, trusting in his work and worth alone.

With this in mind, there is no shame, no boasting. Our greatest righteousness is filthy rags. You and I have nothing to boast of before our fellow man. We are fellow beggars pointing not to our goodness as an example to follow, but instead we point away from ourselves to Jesus. Nor do we shrink back when our sin is exposed by others, but instead rejoice, for faithful and beautiful are the wounds of a friend. Exhortation is an act of loving devotion, that like oil poured on the head brings refreshing and healing as it helps us to run faster toward Jesus (Proverbs 27:6, Psalm 141:5). As someone running toward a beloved, I want anything that is hindering me from seeing Jesus to be exposed, pride is one of those things that just slow me down, and so let these precious wounds come, for I want to see Jesus more.

After Paul says to set our minds on the things that are above, for our life is hidden in Christ, again with this in mind, he states,

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:12–17, ESV)

So yes, though we do not strive like the world, or give advice like the world, we do speak into one another’s lives. We may even say similar things, for example, I might tell my brother, “Go love your children”, but the core and the message are starkly different. I don’t push him toward himself, instead I call him to behold the Lamb of God, knowing it is in this alone that he can love our children as Christ loves us. We are both aware he and I are completely and utterly helpless to love his children without Christ, and we are only calling each other to take hold of Christ. But here is also another benefit. Because Jesus is at work in us, we have the freedom to jump out there and attempt to love our children and fail, because we know that even in our failure Christ will not fail. We don’t sit in a hole or put our head in the sand and hide, till we get things perfect, but have the freedom to run this race, because he who began his work in us promises to complete it. We are not bound by the law or perfection, but instead held by mighty hands. “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me (Psalm 63:8).

As sheep our goal is to know the Shephard’s voice for it is the voice of God that has the power to change our hearts. For we do not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God, which is the Logos, Jesus. So, let us “be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you” (Psalm 32:9, ESV). For these words are not for one who is perfect, but for the sinner. O sinner!, let us run to and come near Jesus with all abandonment, for “whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25, ESV), knowing that “my flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (73:26). Jesus is the author and perfector of our faith, and he will complete the work he has begun, despite our shame, despite our foolishness, despite our failures. So come near without fear all who are weary.

A strong motivation for me to speak Christ into others is because they are better than me at understanding and practically living out the faith and I realize I desperately need them to be speaking Christ into my own life. As is written, “speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16, ESV) We need each other, we are not built into Christ alone. I cannot do this without even the so-called least of my brothers. “On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.” We don’t abandon each other even when it is rough. Even the heathen can love someone easy to get along with.  But we have come to a beauty far greater than what is known among the heathens. The beauty of Christ can only be known more fully as we live our lives together. It is the pursuit of this beauty that binds us to one another. For we become more like Jesus as we live our messy lives together and as we speak the Gospel into each other’s lives and point each other to the enveloping beauty of Jesus, for Jesus has taken on our shame. “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox” (Proverbs 14:4).

Good advice causes us to hide our failures, good news allows us to walk honestly without fear, for our worth is caught up in Jesus. We have died to ourselves. God is near the broken hearted (Psalm 34:18, 51:17, 147:3; Isaiah 57:15, 66:2) and he holds us close to himself. There truly is no place for boasting in the body of Christ. And unlike methods and steps, Christ alone who is the cornerstone, our true foundation is the only one who can stand against the chaos of this world. So, may we to be found in Him and encourage each other in our pursuit of Jesus, the one who is the Lord of my shame, and the Lord of my sinful heart.

For “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:27-28, ESV).

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “the righteous will live by faith”.

The post Good News, not good advice appeared first on My Beloved is Mine.

from WordPress https://ift.tt/abLXhqw
via IFTTT