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.

Need to Repeatedly Die

Per a wonderful blog by a close friend titled It's a Beautiful Gospel

...

The following idea was highlighted in a DVD series by Rev. Paul Zahl:

It is a pervasive idea in Christianity that once someone is saved, they are then able to master life (with the Spirit’s help). Put more bluntly, Christians often think they have control.

This is why Christians need to continually die to self. God is in control.

...

Thanks Rev. Zahl for the reminder, and Dan for posting this.

Religion vs. Redemption

A great overview getting at the heart of the Christian faith by Mark Driscoll.

All the Acceptance

"All the love and the acceptance which a perfectly obedient Being could have obtained from God, belong to you, because Christ was perfectly obedient on your behalf"

Charles Spurgeon

Thoughts on the Last Two Chapters of the Bible

An great post from my friend Dane Ortlund. I encourage everyone to check out his blog, it's remarkable

HT: Dane Ortlund

The Bible is incredible.

One place that has been opening up to me in recent weeks is Revelation 21-22, John's vision of the new heavens and new earth. In particular I'm seeing how the last two chapters of the Bible envision a recapitulating (summing up) restoration of the world created and diseased in the first three chapters of the Bible.

Briefly:

Gen 1:1 speaks of heaven and earth, Rev 21:1 of a new heaven and a new earth.

In Gen 3:8 God walks in the garden, in Rev 21:3 speaks of God once again dwelling with man.

In Gen 2:18 the Lord sees that man has no helper suitable for him, and gives him a bride; in Rev 21:9 we hear of 'the Bride, the wife of the Lamb,' culminating a recurring theme throughout the Bible of the people of God as God's wife.

In Gen 1:16 God makes the greater light and the lesser light; in Rev 21:23 'the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it . . .'

In Gen 2:10 a river flows out of Eden; in Rev 22:1 the angel shows John 'the river of the water of life . . .'

In Gen 2:9 we hear of a tree of life--so also in Rev 22:2, 14, 19.

In Gen 3:14, 17 the serpent and the ground beneath man is cursed; in Rev 22:3 we hear that nothing will be cursed any longer.

In Gen 1:28 God told mankind to rule and exercise dominion over the earth; in Rev 22:5 we learn that the saints will indeed reign forever and ever in the new earth.

What a hope. The world will one day be what it was meant to be.

And it is through Jesus, is it not, that each of these categories of Genesis winds its way to Revelation?

Through Jesus the heavens and earth were made, and through him they are being remade (Col 1:16, 20).

In Jesus God dwells with man (John 14:23).

Jesus is the true Bridegroom (Mark 2:19).

Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12).

Jesus is the source of true living water (John 4:10).

Jesus is the real, life-giving tree (John 15:1).

Jesus is the source of all blessing, because he submitted to the greatest curse (Matt. 27:46).

Jesus is the King, the permanently-reigning Son of David (Luke 18:38).

Jesus Wants the Rose

I've watched this video a million times and it never gets old. If you haven't seen it, please watch. It is awesome.

Some Rest Y'all

simple but great song by Coffey called 'All Ye'

Crucified With Christ

Tony Reinke reproduces a moving section from a Charles Spurgeon sermon (November 2, 1884):

The best preaching is, “We preach Christ crucified.”

The best living is, “We are crucified with Christ.”

The best man is a crucified man.

The more we live beholding our Lord’s unutterable griefs, and understanding how he has fully put away our sin, the more holiness shall we produce.

The more we dwell where the cries of Calvary can be heard, where we can view heaven, and earth, and hell, all moved by his wondrous passion—the more noble will our lives become.

Nothing puts life into men like a dying Savior.

Get close to Christ, and carry the remembrance of him about you from day to day, and you will do right royal deeds.

Come, let us slay sin, for Christ was slain.

Come, let us bury all our pride, for Christ was buried.

Come, let us rise to newness of life, for Christ has risen.

Let us be united with our crucified Lord in his one great object—let us live and die with him, and then every action of our lives will be very beautiful.

O that Christians today—that I—would truly get this: Living in union with Christ is the key to holiness.

Jesus: The Key to the Story

"So Jesus is the key to the story. Jesus is the key, as well, because he expresses undeniably the character and intentions of the story's protagonist, God. If we think that the biblical story is about how we can ascend to God, we have it completely wrong. God is the one who comes to his people to enter into intimate covenant relationship with them and to be with them forever. Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, comes in the flesh. The Old Testament draws us to recognize and respond in love to the coming God. The final chapters of Revelation confirm that God's dwelling with his people, ever his concern from the beginning, is his ultimate goal in which he will ultimately be satisfied.

Jesus is the key to the story, finally because he is the Christian's Redeemer. He is the one who by his death purchases us for God. He is our way into the story, the one who makes the story ours. He is the one who opens our eyes to see it and embrace it. We do not come to God, first of all, by looking at his creation. In fact, without Jesus, we cannot rightly grasp the significance of creation. For us then, the story begins with Jesus."

Mike Williams--'Far as the Curse is Found' (pg. 2-3)

Beloved for Jesus' Sake

"You do not get love from God for any reason apart from Jesus' sake. He's not impressed with you because you lead ministries. He doesn't love you more because you fasted for 41 days. He doesn't approve of you more because you pray, and encourage people and write people Bible verses or tweet about Jesus. There is nothing apart from Jesus alone that will produce for us the lavished favor and love of the father. God loves you because of Jesus alone. How has he loved us, he loved us enough to send his only Son Jesus to die for us."

David Choi, as preached at Wheaton College, 9/3/2010

My Song is Love Unknown

My song is love unknown,
My Savior’s love to me;
Love to the loveless shown,
That they might lovely be.
O who am I, that for my sake
My Lord should take, frail flesh and die?

He came from His blest throne
Salvation to bestow;
But men made strange, and none
The longed for Christ would know:
But O! my Friend, my Friend indeed,
Who at my need His life did spend.

Sometimes they strew His way,
And His sweet praises sing;
Resounding all the day
Hosannas to their King:
Then “Crucify!” is all their breath,
And for His death they thirst and cry.

Why, what hath my Lord done?
What makes this rage and spite?
He made the lame to run,
He gave the blind their sight,
Sweet injuries! Yet they at these
Themselves displease, and ’gainst Him rise.

They rise and needs will have
My dear Lord made away;
A murderer they saved,
The Prince of life they slay,
Yet cheerful He to suffering goes,
That He His foes from thence might free.

In life, no house, no home
My Lord on earth might have;
In death no friendly tomb
But what a stranger gave.
What may I say? Heav’n was His home;
But mine the tomb wherein He lay.

Here might I stay and sing,
No story so divine;
Never was love, dear King!
Never was grief like Thine.
This is my Friend, in Whose sweet praise
I all my days could gladly spend.

In My Behalf

"So when the devil throws your sin in your face, and says you deserve death, say, 'I admit I deserve death and hell. What of it? For I know one who suffered and made satisfaction in my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God. Where He is, there I shall be also."

Martin Luther

Underlying Sin

"The sin underneath all our sins is the lie of the serpent that we cannot trust the love and grace of Christ, that we must take matters into our own hands."

Martin Luther

Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
(Psalm 51:1 ESV)

....

"What's actually true is that when I come to the Lord after I've blown it, I've only one argument to make. It's not the argument of the difficulty of the environment that I am in. It's not the argument of the difficult people that I'm near. It's not the argument of good intentions that were thwarted in some way. No, I have only one argument. It's right there in the first verse of Psalm 51, as David confesses his sin with Bathsheba. I come to the Lord with only one appeal, his mercy. I've no other defense. I've no other standing. I've no other hope. I can't escape the reality of my biggest problem - me! So I appeal to the one thing in my life that's sure and will never fail. I appeal to the one thing that guaranteed not only my acceptance with God, but the hope of new beginnings and fresh starts. I appeal on the basis of the greatest gift I ever have or ever will be given. I leave the courtroom of my own defense, I come out of hiding, and I admit who I am. But I'm not afraid, because I've been personally and eternally blessed. Because of what Jesus did, God looks on me with mercy. It's my only appeal; it's the source of my hope; it's my life. Mercy, mercy me!"

- Paul David Tripp, Whiter than Snow

Derek Webb- 'Wedding Dress'

In ourselves, we are completely unlovely. This song uses the biblical illustration of God's people as a bride. We are the unfaithful bride, completely unworthy of the husbands love, constantly turning our backs, constantly running away. We lack beauty and are completely unlovely in ourselves. However, what's amazing about the Gospel, is that it says God is like a faithful husband, who has remained patient. He sees us in our dirty, broken, unworthy, sick, selfish state, and chose to come to earth in order to redeem us. God loves his people (though defiled and totally jacked up) as a husband jealously loves His bride. The fact is, we are messed up, dirty and are a pitiful bride. But, in Christ, we are made completely lovely. We are clean, spotless, beautiful. Christ died for His bride. Love to the loveless shown, that they may lovely be. All we need to do is run to the faithful husband, who anxiously awaits His bride.

If you could love me as a wife and for my wedding gift, your life Should that be all I?d ever need or is there more I?m looking for and should I read between the lines and look for blessings in disguise To make me handsome, rich, and wise Is that really what you want I am a whore I do confess But I put you on just like a wedding dress and I run down the aisle and I run down the aisle I?m a prodigal with no way home but I put you on just like a ring of gold and I run down the aisle to you So could you love this bastard child Though I don?t trust you to provide With one hand in a pot of gold and with the other in your side I am so easily satisfied by the call of lovers so less wild That I would take a little cash Over your very flesh and blood Because money cannot buy a husband?s jealous eye When you have knowingly deceived his wife

Infinite Joy

" If there lurks in the most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept if from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased."

C.S. Lewis

What Role Does the Law Have in Preaching?

An excellent article on Justin Taylor's blog about the law and preaching.

What Role Does the Law Have in Preaching?

A few thoughts on Hebrews 12:1-3

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

As Christians, we are called to run the race that God has set before us. We are to run the race by casting off sin, by having perseverance, by not growing weary, and with joy. A few thoughts on the Cross and how we run the race.

1) Jesus ran the ultimate race set out for Him by the Father. He ran the race we could never have finished. Jesus ran the course of Calvary unto completion, in order to clear the path for our present race.

2) Jesus, in His race, fully took on the heavy load of sin, so that we would be free from its entanglement. He absorbed the obstacles and hindrances that we would have never been able to conquer. We are only able to cast off the sin that entangles because Jesus already bore the full burden and already defeated the sin that so easily entangles.

3) Jesus carried our shame, so that we would not lose heart

4) Jesus demonstrated the ultimate endurance by carrying the Cross, defeating death and then resurrecting victoriously. We are able to run our race with endurance and perseverance because Christ' victory over death is imputed to us. The power of His resurrection enables us to persevere.

5) Jesus joyfully embraced his course. We too, being united to Christ, are able to joyfully participate in the race God has set before each one of us.

Gospel doctrine, gospel culture

Gospel doctrine creates a gospel culture. The doctrines of grace create a culture of grace, healing, revival, because Jesus himself touches us through his truths. Without the doctrines, the culture alone is fragile. Without the culture, the doctrines alone appear pointless.

The doctrine of regeneration creates a culture of humility (Ephesians 2:1-9).

The doctrine of justification creates a culture of inclusion (Galatians 2:11-16).

The doctrine of reconciliation creates a culture of peace (Ephesians 2:14-16).

The doctrine of sanctification creates a culture of life (Romans 6:20-23).

The doctrine of glorification creates a culture of hope (Romans 5:2).

If we want this culture to thrive, we can’t take doctrinal short cuts. If we want this doctrine to be credible, we can’t disregard the culture. But churches where the doctrine and culture converge bear living witness to the power of Jesus.

HT: Ray Ortlund

What is the Bible Basically About?

Famous Last Words

Buddha: "Never cease striving"

Jesus: "It is finished"

Redemption is accomplished. Period.

Preaching the Gospel to Yourself

Josh, thanks for bringing this video to my attention.

Spurgeon: The Covenant Blessing

Mike, your last post was very insightful. Thank you for your consistent encouragement in your words. I learn a lot and love reading how God is transforming your mind. I just recently came across this passage in Spurgeon's Grace: God's Unmerited Favor...bulwark.

....

"However, when God comes in the covenant of grace, He does not merely give us the law in a book--the law written in legible characters--but He comes and writes on the fleshly tablets of our hearts. That way, the man knows the law by heart. What is even better, he loves the law. That law accuses him, but he would not have it altered. He bows and confesses the truthfulness of accusation. He cries, "Lord, have mercy upon me, that you may incline my heart unto Yourself, to walk in all Your ways, and to keep Your commandments and Your statutes" (See 1 Kings 8:58). This is the covenant blessing: God makes men to love His commandments and to delight themselves in truth, righteousness, and holiness."

Earlier he writes...."It is a covenant of grace, a covenant made, not with the worthy, but with the unworthy; a covenant not made upon conditions, but unconditionally, every supposed condition having been fulfilled by our great Representative and Surety, the Lord Jesus Christ."

....

What a wonderful reminder that God's grace is not only completely responsible for our salvation in our atonement, but also, for our sanctification, as we come to love his perfect law which he has given to us as a gift. God is always the actor. It is through His word, and the by the power of the Holy Spirit that we, the unworthy, may know our Creator and Redeemer.

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)

Psalm 117

Praise the Lord, all nations!
Extol Him, all peoples!
For great is His steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!

....

In whatever season of life, may we all remember the faithfulness of our sovereign and gracious God throughout history toward his people! He is so good.

We Can Never Obligate God

The following quote comes from Jerry Bridges book 'Transforming Grace'. I highly recommend this book.

"He doesn't owe me anything, and what He has given me was given by His grace alone."

Without doubt, we live in a culture of entitlement. People feel entitled to certain things. Older adults feel entitled to live a certain lifestyle with a certain level of enjoyment and comfort. Younger adults feel entitled to jobs, to fun, to a life free of responsibility. Teenagers and kids feel entitled to materialistic things. On a deeper level, we all struggle with a sense of entitlement from God.

This attitude of 'deservingness' is extremely detrimental and contrary to the Gospel. In our minds, more times than not, we believe that if we obey God, or do good, we are entitled to God's blessing. In essense, God is beholden to us. He is in our control.

However, in the Bible we get a very different picture of the whole human and God relation. Rather, God says, "Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me." (Job 41:11) and "Who has ever given a gift to God that He should repay him?" (Romans 11:35). The Bible is clear that 1) everything in creation belongs to God 2) Therefore, anything we have in this life is a gift from God and 3) Therefore, we cannot give God anything that God has not already given us.

Reflecting on this, it is obsurd to think how humans even think about questioning God. We are nothing but creatures, who are completely 100% dependent on the grace of God. It is crazy to think that God owes us anything. We are but dirty worms in comparison to the incomprehensible, majestic, flawless God of glory. To think we deserve or are entitled to anything from him is seriously crazy.

But, this is not said to bring us into a state of depression because we realize how small and powerless we really are. Rather, it should bring us to a state of increasing gratitude and joy. Gratitude in that God gives us common grace everyday, in the air we breath, in our health, in every good thing we enjoy in a day. But also, in the particular grace which he has applied to His people. The saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross is that much more glorious when we rightly perceive how unworthy and ill deserving we really are. This, should then produce great joy, that the God of creation, the all powerful, sovereign over every square inch of this universe holds His people, calls them his children, and will see them through unto the end.

Not My King by Jared Lafitte

Not My King by Jared

Joyful Noise - Official Music Video: FLAME feat. Lecrae & John Reilly

Shai Linne - Alone

Please listen to the third verse. It is one of the best things I've ever heard.

The Ambassador - "My Clothes, My Hair"

3rd verse

"I could weep
So many people never heard of the name
Yeah they heard the word "Jesus" but never heard of His fame
They feel cut off from Him
Not just cause of their sin
But because of their clothes, hair, or their color of skin
And they've been afloat- drowning in sin, we're in a boat
Yet they've never been approached
Cause we see them as different folks
God's offer's universal- yeah
He wants you in His circle- yeah
He wants you in the doo-rag
And He wants you in the purple hair
You can just take a cursory
Glance at the word and see
God made the plans of diversity"

The Solid Rock

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

-Edward Mote, 1834

....

This is one of my top five favorite hymns of all time. It speaks of the confidence we have in the blood of Christ as our righteousness. How often I find myself in awe of the sweet frames of this earth, and become numb to the immeasurable grace of Jesus, which is the only reason I exist..the only mechanism by which I breathe...the root of my salvation...the the only explanation for true purpose and joy in this life. These lyrics sing of God as an unchanging stronghold, whenever and wherever we find ourselves, who has us tightly in His grip.

Shai Linne in Adam All Die

Hazakim - No Not One

Everyday the next week I am going to post a new Christian rap song. This is a song done by 'Hazakim' and its called 'No not one'. In this song, Hazakim pretty much exposits Romans 3:10-12. Thought I'd start with a song about our sin and our complete need for a Savior.

"None is righteous,

no, not one;

no one understands;

no one seeks for God.

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

no one does good, not even one."

Romans 3: 10-12

The unsettling thing about this passage, is that it's about me.

Here are a few lyrics:

"You may mention the name of Jesus as you take an award

have a great credit score and even give to the poor

even if you particpated in a race for the cure,

we’re in danger our sinful nature greatly angers the Lord

you can light candles in a vigils in memory of the victim

donate your clothes and feed the homeless, volunteer in soup kitchens

a law adibidng citizen with a respected postion

but still…..

“none good, no, not one”

our righteousness isn’t enough to pay for our bail but

many embrace a tail that their deeds are placed on a scale.

We’re all wicked and dirty, guilty in the mist of his jury

God should unleash his holy fury, yet he’s rich in his mercy

He allowed his only son to be hung, we’re all unworthy

"None good, no, not one"

It’s foolish to think your goodness means you get into heaven

200 Proof Grace

Per my friend Dane Ortlund's blog Strawberry-Rhubarb Theology:

Episcopal priest and author Robert Farrar Capon:

The Reformation was a time when people went blind-staggering drunk because they had discovered, in the dusty basement of late medievalism, a whole cellarful of fifteen-hundred-year-old, 200-proof grace--of bottle after bottle of pure distillate of Scripture that would convince anyone that God saves us single-handed.

The Word of the Gospel, after all those centuries . . . suddenly turned out to be a flat announcement that the saved were home free even before they started. How foolish, then, they said, how reprehensibly misleading, they said, to take the ministers of that Word of free, unqualified acceptance and slap enforced celibacy on them--to make their lives bear a sticker that said they had gone an extra mile and paid an extra toll. It was simply to hide the light of grace under a bushel of pseudo-law. . . . And for the Reformers, that was a crime. Grace was to be drunk neat: no water, no ice, and certainly no ginger ale; neither goodness, nor badness, nor the flowers that bloom in the spring of super-spirituality could be allowed to enter that case.

--Between Noon and Three: Romance, Law, and the Outrage of Grace (Eerdmans 1997), 109-10

I want to be drinking that 200 proof Gospel Grace

The Transforming Power of the Gospel: Tullian Tchividjian

Confession of Our Righteousness

O Lord, we confess our righteousness

Those thoughts, words and deeds that have taken our eyes off of Christ and His finished work

And put them on ourselves.

We have fooled ourselves into seeing our obedience as a substitute for your perfection.

We have failed to see that even our best works are as filthy rags in your sight.

Father, we confess that we have deserted your Gospel.

We have made a mockery of the Cross.

For the sake of your great name,

have mercy on us.

Refresh us with your love,

that we may remain fixed on Jesus alone.

Blaise Pascal's passion

This is an excerpt from the book, "The Call", by Os Guinness. He is writing in regards to Blaise Pascal's passion for God.

"Nearer our own time Blaise Pascal was another such person on fire with a passion for God. Mathematical genius, inventor, grandfather of the computer and modern risk theory, renaissance thinker, well versed in physics, philosophy and theology as well as mathematics, among the most elegant prose stylists in the French language, Pascal is one of the supreme human thinkers of all time.

But almost no one in Pascal's day and still too few in ours know of the experience that kept these achievements in perspective and lay at the core of his brief, intense, pain-filled, flame burst of a life. On the evening of Monday, November 23rd, 1654, he was 31 years old and just experienced a close brush with death in a carriage driving accident. That night he had a profound encounter with God that changed the course of his life.

Pascal's experience lasted from 10:30 PM to 12:30AM. He could only title his experience with one word: Fire. But the experience was so precious and decisive to him that he sewed the parchment record of it into the lining of his doublet and wore it next to his heart. For the remaining 8 years of his life he took the trouble to sew it into every new doublet he bought, and it was only found by his sister, who felt the odd bump it formed, after his death in 1662. It read,

'God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob,

not of philosophers and scholars.

Certainty, certainty, heartfelt, joy, peace.

God of Jesus Christ.

God of Jesus Christ.

My God and Your God.

Your God shall be my God.

The world forgotten, and everything except God.

He can only be found by the ways taught in the Gospels.

Greatness of the human soul.

O righteous Father, the world had not known thee,

but I have known thee.

Joy, Joy, Joy

tears of joy.'

Hidden in Christ's Work

"If I fall let me hide myself in my Redeemer's righteousness, and when I escape, may I ascribe all deliverance to thy grace. Keep me humble, meek, lowly."

- Valley of Vision: Puritan Prayers and Devotions

....

"This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him." Ephesians 3:12

C.S. Lewis on God's Love

"God loves us; not because we are lovable, but because He is love, not because he needs to receive, but because He delights to give."

C.S. Lewis

The Cause of Christian Piety

"For, properly speaking we cannot say that God is known where there is no religion or piety.....For this sense of the divine perfections is the proper master to teach us piety, out of which religion springs. By piety, I mean that the union of reverence and love to God which the knowledge of his benefits inspires."

John Calvin

Institutes of the Christian Religion: Book I, Chapter II

I pray that God would give us a deeper knowledge and understanding of the benefits that are in Christ, and that would in turn inspire us to serve Him in humility.

He Himself is Enough

I've really noticed recently how so much of my prayer is centered on myself. I've found myself to be merely thankful to God for what he has given me in an earthly manner. Don't get me wrong, these gifts such as family, friends and education are wonderful, and God deserves every ounce of credit for sustaining me in those various ways, because it is only due to His immeasurable grace. However, I have more so seen how the extent of my prayers regularly don't extend past what God has given me in an earthly manner.

May I see God, the giver of gifts, as a gift in himself. His presence in my life is enough, because I am so unworthy. By enough, I mean, it is anything at all, which is everything. May we never lose sight of the incredible ways God showers us with earthly gifts, but may we ground our hope and root our joy in the person of Christ, who came as the ultimate gift of grace, giving himself to us for all eternity to rest in.

Motivation

Relating to my post from yesterday, here is a great interview with Darrin Patrick (Pastor of The Journey Church, which is part of the Acts 29 network) and Bryan Chapell (President of Covenant Theological Seminary). This stuff is gold.

Motivation: How grace leads to obedience. from Journey-Creative on Vimeo.

Indicative ---> Imperative

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:32

In this verse, the Apostle Paul reminds of our reason and motivation for Christian living. Because we have been forgiven in Christ, we forgive others. Because we have been loved, we love others. Because we have been shown grace, we give grace to others. The indicative empowers the imperative. As we are gripped by the truths of the Gospel (the indicative), we will be compelled to live out the imperatives (Godly living). Our absolute confidence in God's acceptance in Christ must serve as the motivation and empowerment to holiness.

Most Christians (myself included) often fall into the trap of trying to earn, prove or legitimize their acceptance or security with God by trying really really hard to live a Godly life. If I keep doing the right thing, then God will love me. This produces radical spiritual insecurity and ultimately comes from a lack of belief in the sufficiency of Christ's work. Rather, we need to be rooted in grace. When we are confident in our union with Christ, that neither life nor death, nor any powers of this earth can separate us from Christ, and that we are fully justified in Him, that Christ has removed all of our dirt, guilt, shame and vileness, and has given his righteousness, loveliness and heavenly acceptance, only then, will we be compelled to forgive others. God's grace is the only lasting motivation. Human strength and discipline will last for a season, but real sanctification has its roots in our union with Christ. The motivation and empowerment for real sanctification comes from the indicative, that God is 100% for us.

There is a Fountain Filled with Blood

There is a fountain filled with blood
drawn from Emmanuel's veins;
and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains,
lose all their guilty stains;
and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains. 

- William Cowper, 1731-1800

...

This is probably one of my favorite musical melodies. Better yet, the
words to this hymn are incredibly encouraging as I struggle with guilt
of past and present sin every day. Praise God, It was atoned for and
Finished on the Cross! I know what I further appreciate about the lyrics
in a weird nerdy way is the anatomical illustration of a vein. Mike,
if you care to know,the vein you normally have blood drawn from is
the median cubital vein, haha, was just tested on it this past week.
It thrills me when medicine and theology coincide!

Unconditional

I've recently thought about how much of life is about conditions. Our daily decisions are often based on conditions of that day, which always vary. Certain biological properties of cells are different based on the conditions of their surrounding environment. The most evident manifestation of this in my life is with earning or achievement. The way our world runs is that...You reap what you sow. You get what you worked for. If you do this, then you will receive this. As a new graduate student, I feel the pressures of this daily. We are so trained to think of things as conditional, rather than absolute, and many times rightly so.

However, I have come to understand my standing before God is completely unconditional. I am learning that my relationship with Jesus Christ is entirely dependent on Him, and what He has done. He only asks me to believe. Anyone can believe. As scripture says, we are to believe like little children. It does not require a certain intellectual capacity, moral resume or work ethic. Believing is not something we stir up within ourselves. I've tried to believe harder, and it only shows me how I am a failure at something else. Believing requires trust, which is simply relying on another. That other is Jesus Christ.

The beauty of the grace of Jesus Christ is that it was already paid for. It required no 'if, then' statement. The rest is history. It miraculously transformed my heart to see Jesus on the cross and to believe in Him; to realize I couldn't get it done myself; to be forever grateful for rescuing me from the hell I deserve. The unconditional aspect of God's grace towards me now is what I know will sustain me. This is an absolute that cannot be touched.

Christian Insecurity

Per my friend Dane Ortlund: If you haven't checked out his blog, please do so, it is incredible encouragement in the Gospel

Strawberry-Rhubarb Theology: Why Believers Are More Insecure than Unbelievers:

"Much that we have interpreted as a defect of sanctification in churchpeople is really an outgrowth of their loss of bearing with respect to justification.

Christians who are no longer sure that God loves and accepts them in Jesus, apart from their present spiritual achievements, are subconsciously radically insecure persons--much less secure than non-Christians, because they have too much light to rest easily under the constant bulletins they receive from their Christian environment about the holiness of God and the righteousness they are supposed to have."

--Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal(InterVarsity 1979), 211-212

Fascinating.

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

Dependent on Grace Alone

My greatest sin is unbelief. It is unbelief that Jesus Christ actually accomplished everything for me on the cross, and that I can have hope and rest in that alone.

Charles Spurgeon writes in one of my favorite chapters of any book ever called 'Salvation Altogether by Grace' (Grace: God's Unmerited Favor)...

"The purpose of God is not founded on any foreseen merit of ours, but upon His grace alone. It is grace, all grace and nothing but grace from first to last. Man stands shivering outside, a condemned criminal, and God, sitting upon the throne, sends the herald to tell him that He is willing to receive sinners and to pardon them. The sinner replies, 'Well, I am willing to be pardoned if I am permitted to do something in order to earn pardon. If I can stand before the King and claim that I have done something to win His favor, I am quite willing to come.'

However, the herald replies, 'No, if you are pardoned, you must understand that it is entirely and wholly as an act of grace on God's part. He sees absolutely nothing good in you. He knows that there is nothing good in you. He is willing to take you as you are - black, bad, wicked and undeserving. He is willing to give you graciously what He would not sell you for any price (Isaiah 55:1) and what He knows you cannot earn from Him. Will you receive it?'

In the natural state, every man says, 'No, the very idea is abhorrent to me. I will not be saved in that style.' Well then, misguided soul, remember that you will never be saved at all, for God's way is salvation by grace. If you ever are saved, my dear one, you will have to confess that you never deserved or merited one single blessing from the God of grace."

...

The temptation to want to earn our salvation is the cancer within every one of us. It points to self, and completely goes against the purpose of salvation in the first place: the Glory of God. My tendency to neglect God's gift, more bluntly to not accept it for what it is, eats away at me. It tells me I haven't done enough today to be favorable for the King. It demands me to try harder, when really I have nothing to offer. However, Jesus demands nothing of me, but to receive Himself. And it doesn't even depend on the 'excellency in my reception' or how well I trust, but rather in who I am simply trusting in. Jesus. Period. May we all further know the fullness of His grace.

Blessing for Obedience

"If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them,⁴ then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. ⁵ Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely.⁶ I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land. ⁷You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. ⁸ Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. ⁹ I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you. ¹⁰You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new. ¹¹ I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. ¹² And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. ¹³ I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect."

Leviticus 26: 3-13

The Bible, specifically the Old Testament is filled with countless promises similar to the one above. God promises blessing if Israel is obedient to Him. If they will follow His commands, He will bless them. Moreover, the Old Testament is filled with instances where Israel is in fact disobedient to His commands, and in turn, God punishes them. This is a reoccurring pattern. God acts graciously to Israel and calls them to obedience, for a little while they are obedient and experience God's blessing, but then turn away from God and His immediate favor is removed, and repeat. So how does the story end.....

In God's steadfast love, God provides a way for Israel. Jesus comes to earth and lives the perfect life of obedience that Israel never could. He completely fulfills the law, and in doing so possesses perfect 'spiritual blessing'. Furthermore, God no longer gives his blessing through obedience. Rather, His people are blessed through faith Christ. We receive the blessings based on what Christ accomplished. Our perfect spiritual blessing hinges on the perfect obedience of another. This passage in Ephesians exults in a few of the blessings we have in Christ, mainly, adoption, being predestined, being lavished with grace, redemption from our temptations and an inheritance.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ⁸which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ⁹ making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ ¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."

Ephesians 1: 3-10

Grace--> Discipleship

"Happy are they who know that discipleship simply means the life which springs from grace, and that grace simply means discipleship. Happy are they who have become Christians in this sense of the word. For them the word of grace has proved a fount of mercy"

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (The Cost of Discipleship pg. 56)

God Our Help in Ages Past

A Hymn by Isaac Watts "Our God Our Help in Ages Past"

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defence is sure.

Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.

Thy Word commands our flesh to dust,

Return, ye sons of men:

All nations rose from earth at first,

And turn to earth again.

A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.

The busy tribes of flesh and blood,

With all their lives and cares,

Are carried downwards by the flood,

And lost in following years.

Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.

Like flowery fields the nations stand

Pleased with the morning light;

The flowers beneath the mower’s hand

Lie withering ere ‘tis night.

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our God while life shall last,
And our eternal home.

Jesus: Clean + Unclean=clean

The following post comes from Dane Ortlund's blog. I highly recommend checking it out.

Then Haggai said, 'If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?' The priests answered and said, 'It does become unclean.' Then Haggai answered and said, 'So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the LORD, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean.'

--Haggai 2:13

And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, 'If you will, you can make me clean.' Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, 'I will; be clean.' And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

--Mark 1:40-42

In the OT, clean + unclean = unclean. In the NT, clean + unclean = clean. In the OT, defilement is contagious. In the NT, holiness is contagious. Good title, Blomberg.

Jesus brought in his train a whole new way of thinking, a new mental universe in which we do not see ourselves as basically clean in danger of defilement, but basically defiled in need of cleansing.

When Jesus arrived on the scene, he brought a new world of grace, the grace of God that was always there and fully accessible but muted, fuzzy, hazy, opaque. Calvin rightly speaks of the OT as the 'shadows' and the NT as the 'substance.'

Jesus Christ brought concrete, sharply defined, clearly contoured lines to that real but foggy OT grace. There he stood, right there before us, a flesh-and-blood man, Emmanuel. The Word became flesh. Full of grace and truth. Solid, substantive. The law came through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus.

The ultimate point?

The only clean man who ever lived became unclean on the cross so that you and I, unclean, can be freely cleansed by simply asking for it.

Hope for me.

Spurgeon: An Unconditional Grant

"This is the covenant of grace. I call your attention to the fact that there is no IF in it; there is no BUT in it; there is no requirement of man made by it. It is all "I WILL" and "they SHALL."

"[I] will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Jeremiah 31:33)

This gracious character is written in a royal tone, and the majestic strain is not marred by a perhaps or a maybe, but dwells always on SHALL and WILL. These are two prerogative words of the Divine Majesty. In this wondrous deed to the gift, not only does the Lord bestow a heaven of grace upon guilty sinners, but He also presents it according to the sovereignty of His own will, without anything to put the gift in jeopardy or to make the promise unsure."

- Charles Spurgeon, GRACE: God's Unmerited Favor