Freedom in the Rat Race

Check out this post from the Mockingbird Blog. Great Stuff.

Freedom From the Rate Race: An Excerpt from 'Grace upon Grace'

For the Love of Mammon

“No one can serve two masters. 

For you will hate one and love the other; 

you will be devoted to one and despise the other. 

You cannot serve both God and mammon.”

Luke 16:13

The word I highlighted, mammon, is translated in the English as 'money' or 'wealth'. I highlighted it because the typical English translation of the word really doesn't do justice to what Jesus is actually getting at. Tyler Wigg Stevenson describes the concept of 'mammon' in his book, Brand Jesus:

"The connotation when Jesus talks about 'mammon', therefore, is that of a proper noun. It is not a generic concept that can be translated between different languages; no, Mammon is the name of a force in opposition to God." pg. 46

Stevenson goes on to show the contrast in how Jesus talks about 'mammon' and other opposing forces, such as human government. Even though Caesar was in someway opposed to the Triune God, Jesus teaches his disciples to give to Caesar what is Caesar's. He never says you can't serve both God and Caesar. It is interesting then that Jesus would say that money, or 'mammon', are completely mutually exclusive. You cannot serve both. Mammon is a complete alternative to God in a way government doesn't have to be. Stevenson continues:

"For Jesus to isolate Mammon like this, and to such a degree, gives Mammon the force of a veritable super-idol. If Mammon and God cannot be served simultaneously, then Mammon must be an idol above all other things that can become idolatrous for us. For, while it would be true to say we cannot serve both  God and an idol, note that 'an idol' is not an independent entity. An 'Idol' describes something defined by improper devotion to it. A statue is a statue; only when people start worshipping it does it become an idol. It's idol-ness comes from its devotees rather than anything inherent to it...But Mammon, it is, in itself, necessarily idolatrous..."

"Mammon, as Jesus uses it here, is another name for the spiritual goal to which the original humans (Adam and Eve) aspired in their first sin...They wanted to claim something that could be their own; not as a gift, because everything they had was a gift. No, they wanted something free and clear, something they could possess, hang on to, say, 'I have rights toward this.' In the first sin, they tried to be owners rather than stewards that God had made them to be. They tried to become wealthy. They were willing to trade the stewardship of all God's gifts-in which they owned nothing-for ownership of one thing, knowledge of good and evil. And ownership depends on a concept of wealth, Mammon, to rule it. The first humans, in seeking to own themselves, gave birth to the one who would rule over them (Mammon)." pg. 47

In essence, 'Mammon', is in direct opposition to God because its very nature inverts the proper Creator-creature distinction. 'Mammon' is the driving force behind  humans wanting to be God. It compels us to live in self-autonomy. It is exactly what Paul was talking about in Romans when he wrote, "because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator" (Romans 1:25). The concept of 'Mammon' captures the absolute pride and arrogance of our human race in seeking to build our own kingdom (or system of wealth) over and against God's Kingdom. This explains why, when Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom of God, the imperative to "repent" or turn from your own little kingdom was also given. These kingdoms are in opposition to each other. The proud continue their vain pursuits of 'Mammon', while God graciously reveals himself to the humble. Stevenson closes his chapter on Mammon by writing:

"Mammon embodies original opposition to God and God's wishes for us. That is why Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6 that the root of all evil is the love of money. I know many Christians reading this will say that they do love God and they don't love money. But in our culture, regardless of what we say with our mouths, the way that many of us live expresses most of all a love of money. We speak about our love of God, but we live out of our love of Mammon." pg. 48

I know these are all hard words to swallow, and I don't write as one who is innocent of these realities. No, I write as a fellow culprit. I haven't really processed a response to these strong claims, but I do know that I need to repent of my love of Mammon. 

Tyler Wigg Stevenson, Brand Jesus: Christianity in a Consumerist Age (Seabury Books, NewYork, 2007). 

Free to Serve

"Live as people who are free, 

not using your freedom as a cover up for evil,

but living as servants of God."

1 Peter 2:16

What we decide to do with our freedom shows where our hearts desires truly lie. The Christian is one who has been freed from bondage. We are no longer enslaved to anyone or anything. We are free. Yet, in our freedom, we willfully submit ourselves to our loving Lord and Savior. In a culture that prides itself on freedom and personal choice, this very idea of submitting yourself as a servant to someone else probably seems disgusting. It seems ludicrous to use your freedom to make yourself a slave. But, I think this is the true measure of love and trust. Once we have tasted of the immeasurable love that our Master has for us, it is easy to turn to him and trust him. It is a joy to run to our Redeemer, the one who has freed us, and willingly lay our lives down at his feet. Ultimately, we can look to Jesus as the prime example of this, who, though he is God, came to earth and confined himself to a human body, and willingly died the death we deserved, in order that we could be freed from our bondage. Now we are free to serve. 

Why Keep it Hidden?

"Because of Jesus' sacrificial love, we are safe to begin a process of being completely truthful about ourselves. We are met by a capable physician who comes to us and says, 'I already know.' When Jesus asks the disciples questions, he is not seeking to gain information. Rather, by asking, he seeks to trigger a process of self-understanding. When Jesus asks, 'Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?' (Mark 8:18), he confronts them with themselves. He pursues the ultimate purpose of cleansing their hearts so that their inner eyes and ears would open and be amazed by two things: how sick they really are and how powerful and good Jesus really is. We are called to full honesty because the One who has power to heal us already knows our condition. We can rest assured that we will not surprise our Master with anything he will discover in our souls. So why keep it hidden? Why live with it anymore? Why continue a divided life between the outside (pretense) and inside (reality)? Why continue the hopeless battle when, in fact, the One who calls us has power to overturn our self-centeredness?"

Bayer, Hans F. A Theology of Mark: The Dynamic Between Christology and Authentic Discipleship. (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P&R Pub, 2012), 71-72. 

The Freedom to Stop Pretending

"Because of the gospel we have nothing to prove or protect. Only the gospel gives us the freedom to stop pretending"

Waking Up To Christ

"When a man really gives up trying to make something of himself-a saint, or converted sinner, or a churchman, a righteous or unrighteous man,....when in the fullness of tasks, questions, success or ill-happenings, experiences or perplexities, a man throws himself into the arms of God...only then he wakes up to Christ"

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

First, I have been pretty lax in posting this summer. I'm hoping that will change as I get into more of a routine with the school year. On another note, I love this line from Bonhoeffer and am thankful for such a great reminder this morning. So often, we turn the Christian life into making something of oneself. For me, being in seminary, and working in full time ministry, "making myself" in these capacities is often the criteria for which I determine my identity and life. This inevitably leads to a roller coaster of emotional and spiritual highs and lows. When I am doing well at these or am "making something of myself", I feel good. When circumstances aren't as favorable, I'm a wreck. It leaves me feeling like nothing I do is enough. It leaves me feeling like a spiritual orphan, who is tirelessly running on a treadmill in order to earn his Father's approval. My worth depends on my performance.

The gospel offers us rest from this tireless spiritual treadmill. The gospel offers us a peace that surpasses understanding. In the gospel, we have a secure identity as a child of God. We no longer have to earn approval, because in Christ, we are already approved. Our significance no longer depends on our performance, because Christ performed for us. This is freedom. Yet, I am not free to disobey, but am rather freed in order to delight in my Heavenly Father and serve him. This is true life! And as Bonhoeffer says, we only come awake to this life when we finally give up on trying to make something  of our self, and throw ourselves wholeheartedly into the arms of God. 

"You No Longer Have to Spend the Rest of Your Life Chasing Your Tail"

A great post from Erik Most @ Glimpses of Grace. I am thankful for the gospel ministry of Tullian Tchividjian. This 6 minutes is well-worth listening to. Tullian is answering the questions posed in the book of Ecclesiates on purpose and meaning.


"He's saying look again at your sin. And be reminded that there is nothing you can do to save yourself. Then come up from that examination, and praise God! That in Christ, Jesus has done for sinners, like you and me, what we could ever do for ourself, EVER! And we can celebrate in this truth, that in my place he stood condemned, and sealed my pardon with his blood. Hallelujah! What a Savior!"

Bring in all thy bills...

What is the Kingdom of God?

"The kingdom is the renewal of the whole world through the entrance of supernatural forces. As things are brought back under Christ's rule and authority, they are restored to health, beauty, and freedom."
Tim Keller

Why Jesus Came

"The spirit of the Lord is upon me, 

because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovering sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor"

Luke 4:18-19

"I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God..."

Luke 4:43

"I have not come to call the righteous, but to call sinners to repentance"

Luke 5:32

A Fish Out Of Water

"When a fish leaves the water, which he was built for, he is not free, but dead."--Tim Keller

As humans, we all seek freedom. We seek true life. The Bible's is God's Word to us, that this inner longing we have for true life and true freedom exists because we were created by God, to know God. True life and true freedom are only found when we are found in him. It is what we are made for. That is why the idols of this world, (power, success, respect, fame, wealth, security, comfort, love), never REALLY satisfy. We seek them, in hopes of gaining freedom and life, yet they always disappoint. All those things point us to the only thing which can truly satisfy our hearts. Just as Keller says, when we seek freedom in these other things, we think they will give us just that, freedom, but rather, they lead to death. 

Who is This Mediator?

From the Heidelberg Catechism:

15. Q. What kind of mediator and deliverer should we look for then?

      A. One who is truly human and truly righteous, yet more powerful than all creatures, that is, one who is also true God.

16. Q. Why must he be truly human and truly righteous?

      A. God's justice demands that human nature, which has sinned, must for its sin; but a sinner could never pay for others.

17. Q. Why must he also be true God?

      A. So that, but the power of his divinity, he might bear the weight of God's anger in his humanity and earn for us and restore to us righteousness and life.

18. Q. And who is this mediator, true God and at the same time truly human and truly righteous?

      A. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who was given us to set us completely free and to make us right with God.

"For there is one God, and there is one  mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all." 1 Timothy 2:5-6

Amen for that!

You're Free to Stay Put

HT: Tullian Tchividjian

"Martin Luther was once approached by a man who enthusiastically announced that he’d recently become a Christian. Wanting desperately to serve the Lord, he asked Luther, “What should I do now?” As if to say, should he become a minister or perhaps a traveling evangelist. A monk, perhaps.

Luther asked him, “What is your work now?”

“I’m a shoe maker.”

Much to the cobbler’s surprise, Luther replied, “Then make a good shoe, and sell it at a fair price.”

In becoming a Christian, we don’t need to retreat from the vocational calling we already have—nor do we need to justify that calling, whatever it is, in terms of its “spiritual” value or evangelistic usefulness. We simply exercise whatever our calling is with new God-glorifying motives, goals, and standards—and with a renewed commitment to performing our calling with greater excellence and higher objectives.

One way we reflect our Creator is by being creative right where we are with the talents and gifts he has given us. As Paul says, “Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God” (1 Corinthians 7:20,24). As we do this, we fulfill our God-given mandate to reform, to beautify, our various “stations” for God’s glory–giving this world an imperfect preview of the beautification that will be a perfect, universal actuality when Jesus returns to finish what he started.

For church leaders, this means that we make a huge mistake when we define a person’s “call” in terms of participation inside the church—nursery work, Sunday school teacher, youth worker, music leader, and so on. We need to help our people see that their calling is much bigger than how much time they put into church matters. By reducing the notion of calling to the exercise of spiritual gifts inside the church, we fail to help our people see that calling involves everything we are and everything we do—both inside and, more importantly, outside the church.

I once heard Os Guinness address a question about why the church in the late 20th century was not having a larger impact in our world when there were more people going to church than ever before. He said the main reason was not that Christians weren’t where they should be. There are plenty of artists, lawyers, doctors, and business owners that are Christians. Rather, the main reason is that Christians aren’t who they should be right where they are.

“Calling”, he said, “is the truth that God calls us to himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion, dynamism, and direction.”

So, you’re free to stay put, right where you are."

That a People May Praise the LORD

"Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD: 'The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death'"

Psalm 102:19-20

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins"

Ephesians 1: 3-7

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death"

Romans 8: 1-2

In Christ

In Christ, we are:

Sons of God (Galatians 3:26)

Justified (Galatians 2:17)

Counted Righteous (Romans 4:5)

Reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:19)

A new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Sanctified (1 Corinthians 4:10)

Redeemed from curse (Galatians 3:13)

Blessed (Ephesians 1:3)

Seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6)

Created for good works (Ephesians 2:10)

Forgiven (Ephesians 4:32)

Encouraged (Philippians 2:1)

Set free from sin (Romans 8:2)

Dead to Sin (Romans 6:11)

Alive to God (Romans 6:11)

The Only Adequate Resource

"There, 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"

What does it mean for us to run the race set before us, the Christian faith, by looking to Jesus. I think our temptation is to attempt to run the race on an endurance produced by our own spiritual acumen. Our temptation is to run the race in our own strength. We depend on our gifts to help us complete this task. We depend on our own ability to cast of entangling sin and to produce the endurance necessary to continue.

This seems right. I mean, the writer of Hebrews tells us to run with endurance and to run by casting off the sin the clings closely. But, will this last? The answer is no. The writer of Hebrews knows this, and after telling us to run with endurance and by casting off sin, he tells us that we are only able to do this by looking to Jesus who is the author and perfecter of our faith.

In our everyday moments, in this everyday race, there are going to be times when we are overwhelmed, when the race seems to be an impossibility. Whether school seems overbearing, the ministry is wearing us out, or we feel like failures in our roles as husbands, fathers, friends, churchmen, Jesus followers. It is in these times that we are tempted the most to try to dig ourselves out of this hole, to muster up more strength, and to keep running the race in our own endurance.

It is for this reason that we are told to direct our eyes to Jesus. We are pointed to Jesus for two reasons. He is the author of our faith, and He is the perfecter. At our points of failure, when we are overwhelmed, we must look to Jesus as author. He has started us on this race. He has brought us this far. His grace has carried us to this point. He has provided in the past. Moreover, He will perfect us. He not only has brought us this far, but his faithfulness in the past proves that He will be faithful in the future. He has brought us this far and He will bring us to the end. Some practical evidence of this is the great cloud of witnesses that surrounds us. We should look to Jesus because He has brought everyone from this great cloud of witnesses unto the glorious finish. We should trust Him to bring us to the end because He has been faithful in the past.

Moreover, Jesus is the only adequate resource for us to run the race. The only way to stay on the race is to look to Jesus as author and perfecter. As source and provider. His fountain of living water is the limitless source of all necessary grace. In our moments of weakness, when we feel overwhelmed with entangling sin, with the over bearing weight of this life, we can't look to ourselves, but must look to Jesus who is the only adequate resource to keep us on pace.

Lastly, Jesus is only adequate resource because He has gone before us. He is the only one qualified to bring us unto completion. Jesus completed the ultimate race that His Father set before him. We must look to Jesus who joyfully endured the course of Calvary in order to clear the way for us. We must look to Him who bore the obstacles and weight of sin so that we may be free from its entanglement. We look to him who took on weakness, so that we may be strong in the race. We must look to Him who experienced overwhelming weariness so that we may not grow faint of heart. We must look to Christ, who has strengthened and sustained prior saints unto the glorious finish, who gives grace to both start and finish the race.

The Only Way to Qualify

An amazing article written by my friend Dane Ortlund on the Resurgence blog. I admire the way Dane gets grace.

In the upside-down Gospel of Grace, the one thing that qualifies us before God is knowing we don't qualify, and the one thing that disqualifies us is thinking we do.

Four consecutive accounts in Matthew 19 and 20 drive home this counterintuitive truth.

Addicted to Self-Qualification

First, some little kids run up to Jesus but are restrained by the Secret Security-like disciples (Matt. 19:13–15). Next, the rich young man approaches Jesus, trumpeting his moral resume (“All these I have kept”) but refusing to leave his riches behind (Matt. 19:16–22). Then Peter, reminding Jesus that he has lived out the very sacrifice the rich young man refused, wonders what his reward will be (Matt. 19:23–30). Finally, Jesus tells a parable in which workers are hired at different points throughout the day but all paid the same wage, to the dismay of the early-hired workers who have “borne the burden of the day” (Matt. 20:1–16).

In each passage we can detect the assumption that we have to “qualify” to gain corresponding approval.

• The disciples thought little children needed to qualify with age in order to receive Jesus’ attention.
• The rich young man thought he needed to qualify with obedience in order to receive eternal life.
• Peter thought he had to qualify with sacrifice in order to receive a reward.
• The early hired workers thought all employees had to qualify with sufficient work in order to receive a day’s wage.

Upside-Down Grace

Things haven’t changed much.

We roll out of bed every day with a bent to strengthen our qualification before God with some kind of self-generated contribution. Like those in Matthew 19 and 20, we deeply resist free grace.

After all, free grace is perplexing. Dangerous, even. How do we retain any moral compass at all if the only requirement is to stop trying to meet the requirement? Doesn’t this destroy the moral fabric of the universe? Isn’t this a moral free-for-all?

No. The reason why is the very next paragraph in Matthew after the parable of the workers:

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.’ (Matt. 20:17–19)

You Don’t Qualify. Jesus Does.

On the cross, the one person who ever truly qualified allowed himself to be disqualified, so that you and I, naturally disqualified, can qualify. For free. All it takes to qualify is to acknowledge we don’t, and look to Christ.

To use the categories of Matthew 19–20:

• We can have God’s undivided attention without qualifying with age or other social prerequisites, because on the cross Jesus was rejected not ultimately by his disciples or even the religious authorities but by his own Father.

• We can have eternal life without qualifying with a moral resume, because on the cross Jesus experienced hell despite living the only life that deserved heaven, being the only person who can truly say “All these have I kept.”
• We can have a reward without qualifying with sacrifice, because on the cross Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice that means we freely receive the ultimate reward.
• We can have a full day’s wage without qualifying with comparatively more work than others, because Jesus worked the whole day, “bearing the burden of the day,” and then went to the cross, waiving the wage he deserved.

That’s why qualifying before God is so scandalously free.

In the gospel, the one thing that qualifies you is knowing you don’t, looking instead to Christ, and the one thing that disqualifies you is thinking you do. As Dad put it in a recent sermon, “Hell is full of people who believe they deserve to be in heaven. Heaven is full of people who believe they deserve to be in hell.”

Receive it. Humble yourself. Be free.

Some Rest Y'all

simple but great song by Coffey called 'All Ye'

The Law: Good or Bad?

I often think when we here about The Law, we instantly pit Law against Grace or Law against the Gospel. There are some good reasons for this. For one, the Law, (or God's Holy moral code) condemns us. When we look at the law, and then look at our lives, we are able to see the sin and defilement of our hearts. We fail to live up to the laws standards. In this sense, the Gospel frees us from the condemnation of the Law. Christ fully met the requirements of the Law and has imputed his obedience to us. Therefore, we not under the condemnation of the Law. We are free from this aspect of the law.

But, I don't think it is biblical to stop there in our discussion of the Law, or to think the Law is bad. Calvin talked about another use for the law (he called it the 3rd use), whereas Christians are to 'delight in God's law'. The logic is simple.

1) The Law is the written transcript of God's character

2) Christians, being in Christ, are in the process of being conformed to His image

3) Therefore, as Christians grow and are conformed to Christ's image, we will naturally obey His law. We will take delight in obeying God's law in being conformed to His character. It will be a joy.

Now, it is important to separate obeying God's law out of sonship and out of legalism. Christians do not obey the law in order to be accepted by God. Our acceptance was already accomplished by Christ and rests fully in God's grace. However, we increasingly obey the law because we are in Christ, and as our nature is renewed in the Spirit, we are inclined to love God. And how do we love God, well Jesus tells us pretty clearly, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (John 14:15)

"And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments" (1 John 2:3)

The Divine Bridegroom

“Who can understand the riches of the glory of this grace? Here this rich and divine bridegroom Christ marries this poor, wicked harlot, redeems her from all her evil, and adorns her with all his goodness. Her sins cannot now destroy her, since they are laid upon Christ and swallowed up by him. And she has that righteousness in Christ, her husband, of which she may boast as of her own and which she can confidently display alongside her sins in the face of death and hell and say, ‘If I have sinned, yet my Christ, in whom I believe, has not sinned, and all his is mine and all mine is his.’”

– Martin Luther, The Freedom of a Christian