Showing posts with label theology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theology. Show all posts
a good law doesn't make people good
"The letter of the law did nothing to make people love the spirit of the law. It just brought about grudging compliance and tragically comic workarounds that exploited loopholes. A good law doesn’t make people good...Paul insists that God’s law-revelation has a fundamental problem. It’s not that the law is bad; actually, the law is great. But the problem is that the law won’t change the heart. God’s good law doesn’t make God’s people good. In fact, as Paul goes on to show in Romans 3, the law does something else entirely. In the end, the law makes our sin and hypocrisy crystal clear. It silences every mouth, and holds us accountable to God (Rom 3:19-20). The law doesn’t save us. Instead, it shows up our failure, and points to something greater: the forgiveness and transformation that we find in Jesus Christ, through the word of the gospel and the Spirit of God."
Lionel Windsor - Pet food, pornography and the law (read the full article here)
Jesus is sitting down
"The fact that Jesus is sitting means that his work of redemption is finished... because of Jesus’ one sacrifice we have been perfected for all time. “But don’t I still sin, and don’t I need to change?” Yes! But in God’s sight, because of Jesus’ one sacrifice, you are ‘complete’—not lacking anything. In terms of your relationship with him you are perfect. There is nothing more that needs to be done to reconcile you to God. Nothing more that needs to be done to pay for your sin. Nothing more that needs to be done to deal with his wrath. As Christians we need to continually remind ourselves of the cross, but we also need to remind ourselves of Jesus sitting at the right hand of God, because that reminds us that his death on the cross was effective and that we are now perfect in God’s sight."
Peter Orr, What is Jesus doing now (read the full thing here)
free to lose
"Because of the gospel, we have nothing to prove or protect. We can stop pretending. We can take off our masks and be real. The gospel frees us from trying to impress people, appease people, measure up for people, or prove ourselves to people. The gospel frees us from the burden of trying to control what other people think about us. It frees us from the miserable, unquenchable pursuit to make something of ourselves by using others...The gospel frees us from the urge to self-gain, to push ourselves forward for our own purposes and agenda and self-esteem. When you understand that your significance, security, and identity are all anchored in Christ, you don’t have to win—you’re free to lose. And nothing in this broken world can beat a person who isn’t afraid to lose! You’ll be free to say crazy, risky, counter-intuitive stuff like, “To live is Christ and to die is gain”!"
Tullian Tchividjian, It's okay to not be okay (read the full thing here)
nothing at all
“There is a righteousness which Paul calls “the righteousness of faith.” God imputes it to us apart from our works — in other words, it is passive righteousness… So then, have we nothing to do to obtain this righteousness? No, nothing at all! For this righteousness comes by doing nothing, hearing nothing, knowing nothing, but rather in knowing and believing this only — that Christ has gone to the right hand of the Father, not to become our judge, but to become for us our wisdom, our righteousness, our holiness, our salvation! Now God sees no sin in us, for in this heavenly righteousness sin has no place. So now we may certainly think, “Although I still sin, I don’t despair, because Christ lives, who is both my righteousness and my eternal life.” In that righteousness I have no sin, no fear, no guilty conscience, no fear of death. I am indeed a sinner in this life of mine and in my own righteousness, but I have another life, another righteousness above this life, which is in Christ, the Son of God.
Christians never completely understand [this] themselves, and thus do not take advantage of it when they are troubled and tempted. So we have to constantly teach it, repeat it, and work it out in practice. Anyone who does not understand this righteousness or cherish it in the heart and conscience will continually be buffeted by fears and depression. Nothing gives peace like this passive righteousness. The troubled conscience has no cure for its desperation and feeling of unworthiness unless it takes hold of the forgiveness of sins by grace, offered free of charge in Jesus Christ, which is this passive or Christian righteousness”
Martin Luther, Commentary to the Galatians
you can not solve your problems
In John 6, Jesus is about to miraculously feed (at least) 5000 people. Before He does, He asks Philip to suggest a solution. Philip replies that even 8 months wages wouldn't buy enough bread for each person to get a little. Peter brings a boy with 5 barley loaves and two fish, think of some stale bread rolls that have been marked down in price at the supermarket and a couple of small pickled fish. Every human solution to this problem was ridiculously insufficient. The boy's packed lunch wasn't going to make a difference. Even if someone turned up with a massive financial donation of 8 months wages, that
wouldn't be enough for each person to get a little, never mind satisfy their hunger.
When Jesus miraculously multiplies the loaves and fishes, we are told in verse 11 that everyone ate as much as they wanted. Again in verse 12 we are told that everyone ate their fill and then in the next verse, 12 baskets of leftovers are collected.
Our biggest problem is sin, our rebellion and separation from God. Like the disciples faced with thousands of hungry people, our solutions to that problem are insufficient. We can't just hope that by trying hard, we can sort ourselves out. If we somehow had more resources, more money, time or relationships, that wouldn't make us into better people. We need Jesus. And when He gets involved, there's more than enough grace to restore our relationship with him and give us life in all it's fullness. We
need to recognise that we don’t just need a bit of assistance from
Jesus. We need saving. We have nothing to offer. The christian life
isn’t taking on a co-pilot, it’s admitting we have nothing to offer and
accepting what Jesus has done.
shai linne - the glory of god
you might need to listen a couple of times to catch al the lyrics! Read the lyrics and get a free download of the song here
saints
"God never promised to save anybody for his religious observance of ceremonies and ordinances. Those who rely upon such things do serve a god, but it is their own invention of a god, and not the true God... we are justified not by works, sacrifices, or ceremonies, but by Christ alone...
I remember how Doctor Staupitz used to say to me: "I have promised God a thousand times that I would become a better man, but I never kept my promise... [A] saint is not one who is made of wood and never feels any lusts or desires of the flesh. A true saint confesses his righteousness and prays that his sins may be forgiven... we know now from the Scriptures who the true saints are. Not those who live a single life, or make a fetish of days, meats, clothes, and such things. The true saints are those who believe that they are justified by the death of Christ"
Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians
rejecting God
Luke 7:29-30
All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.
John's baptism was about repentance (see Luke 3). Those who had been baptised by John had recognised their sin and repented, and were now listening to Jesus. The Pharisees, who hadn't acknowledged their need to repent, and so hadn't been baptised by John, now rejected Jesus and rejected "God's purpose for themselves". We can not come to Jesus without repentance. If we do not acknowledge our sin and repent, we are rejecting God's way. Repentance is not a one-time thing, it is a daily occurance for a Christian! If we think we've cleaned ourselves up and are no longer doing anything wrong, we are cutting ourselves off from Jesus.
Stop comparing yourself to others and thinking you're not that bad. Acknowledge the selfishness in your own heart. Repent again and rejoice in God's gift of forgiveness that rests entirely on Jesus life, death and resurrection, not on you.
weak, unloving and out of control
Finding it difficult to love others? Someone at work bringing the worst out of you? Someone at church winding you up? It is impossible to truly love others in our own strength because we are ultimately selfish, and when our wants and needs conflict with someone else, everything in us wants to please ourselves. But the Holy Spirit enables us to love others as He reveals to us how much we have been loved.
Feeling like you are out of control? Can't stop yourself getting angry? Feeling powerless to change your controlling personality? On our own, we may feel like we are under the control of our "self", but the Holy Spirit allows us to take control of our self, dying to ourselves, and being transformed into the likeness of Jesus.
If everything depended on me, I would (and should) be very afraid. What if I fail? What if I can't do it? But it doesn't depend on me...
2 timothy 1:7
... so I don't have to be afraid
For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-control
enemies of the cross
For many, of whom I have often told you, and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
What makes someone an enemy of the cross of Christ? This is not just confined to people who do not go to church.
- We might be attending church services but still be motivated by selfish desires for power or respect, with our minds set on earthly things.
- We could be praying regularly but trying to use God to satisfy the "god" of our belly, wanting Him to meet our desires for a career, or a wife, or obedient kids.
- We might have built up knowledge about the Bible, but be proud and self-righteousness, thinking that God is pleased with our moral efforts, when actually we are glorying in our shame
This is walking as an enemy of the cross of Christ. At the cross we can find life instead of destruction. At the cross we see that, while we were worshipping the god of our belly, the God of the universe loved us so much that he died in our place. At the cross we see the depths of our shame and the heights of His glory. When we look at the cross, we see someone far greater than those "earthly things" that occupied our minds.
religion stinks
circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law a Pharisee, as to zeal persecuting the church, as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.Indeed, 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 through the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness of God that depends on faith.
Here Paul lists out his religious accomplishments, he was:
- circumcised on the eighth day - born a Jew, not just a recent convert
- of the people of Israel - God's chosen people
- of the tribe of Benjamin - a tribe of Israel born to Rachel, the wife that he loved. The temple in Jerusalem was on land belonging to this tribe.
- a Hebrew of Hebrews - both parents were Hebrews. Paul had a good upbringing in the Jewish faith
- as to the law a Pharisee - the strictest law keepers. Committed to studying God's law and making themselves holy
- as to zeal persecuting the church - Paul was so committed to God that he was actively persecuting the threat of this new sect that was worshipping Jesus
- as to righteousness under the law, blameless - In the eyes of the general public, Paul would have been seen as one of the religious elite, no one would have been able to find fault with him.
But now, Paul says he counts all that as loss! Why? For the sake of Christ. His nationality means nothing compared to Jesus. His upbringing and religious pedigree means nothing compared to Jesus. His efforts to make himself holy mean nothing compared to Jesus. His (misguided) enthusiasm for God means nothing compared to Jesus. His good deeds (of which there will have been plenty) mean nothing compared to Jesus.
Everything is loss compared to knowing Jesus. Everything that Paul thought was good he now realises is rubbish compared to Jesus. And those things weren't necessarily things that we would think were sins. There's nothing wrong with circumcision, nationality, family, enthusiasm or trying to keep God's law. But if that's what we are relying on, then it isn't helping us get to God, it is hindering us. That is religion, not the gospel. Religion is rubbish, and the word Paul uses for rubbish here could be translated as trash, dung or excrement! It's knowing Jesus that counts! We come to Jesus with nothing in our hands. If we do come with some sense of our own acheivements... we are bringing him a steaming pile of dung .
It is not about Paul and his accomplishments or you and yours. It is about Jesus and what He has accomplished. The only thing that Paul now calls as gain or profit, the only thing that helps us come to God, is Jesus Christ.
Everything is loss compared to knowing Jesus. Everything that Paul thought was good he now realises is rubbish compared to Jesus. And those things weren't necessarily things that we would think were sins. There's nothing wrong with circumcision, nationality, family, enthusiasm or trying to keep God's law. But if that's what we are relying on, then it isn't helping us get to God, it is hindering us. That is religion, not the gospel. Religion is rubbish, and the word Paul uses for rubbish here could be translated as trash, dung or excrement! It's knowing Jesus that counts! We come to Jesus with nothing in our hands. If we do come with some sense of our own acheivements... we are bringing him a steaming pile of dung .
It is not about Paul and his accomplishments or you and yours. It is about Jesus and what He has accomplished. The only thing that Paul now calls as gain or profit, the only thing that helps us come to God, is Jesus Christ.
spiritually middle class
"Spiritually middle class people understand that comfort and security is a byproduct of their hard work and, because they work hard they’re entitled to the luxury of choosing what best fits their needs. We call this “shopping”. They think because they tithe, they serve in a local church, they raise their kids well and, are good citizens, that God ought to hand them a good, comfortable, and, secure life and that, the community ought to exists for them instead of them for the community. As soon as a better “service” is offered around the corner, off they go because at the end of the day, it’s all about their needs...For the most part, such people have never seen themselves as spiritually bankrupt. In Jesus’ words: as “poor in spirit”. They have never understood that they once were spiritually helpless and hopeless, completely dependent on mercy. The idea that a rich God became poor for their sakes so that through his poverty spiritual wealth is attained is a foreign concept to them. If it weren’t, consumerism would not be their driving lifestyle. They’d be sacrificial and missional instead.People that have come out of spiritual poverty not to a middle class faith but to one that has made them filthy-rich, are always praying selflessly, always looking for more opportunities to give than to receive, to meet needs instead of having needs met, to live more in community instead of isolated spiritual suburbia."
Felipe Assis, What's wrong with middle class christianity? (read the full thing here)
The lens of the cross
"The cross tells us that our biggest, deepest, and most abiding problem is to be found inside of us, not outside of us... People, locations, and the situations of life all influence what we think and what we do, but they are not determinative.No, the most powerful life-complicating problem for us all is to be found deep inside of each one of us. It is the reason for the cross of Jesus Christ. It is the thing that the cross was ordained to defeat. It is the thing that distorts our thoughts, desires, emotions, choices, words, and actions. It is the universal human dilemma, the inescapable pathology. It is the one disease we all suffer from. It is the problem none of us has the wisdom or power to solve. What is it? Sin. It is the condition of heart that is the fundamental reason for a vast array of personal and interpersonal brokenness. The cross requires us to admit that we, too, have been infected with the virus and are people in desperate need of help. We have not just been afflicted with a fallen world and flawed people. No, we have all been infected with sin...
If what is broken inside of us could have been cured by a body of knowledge or a system of insights Jesus wouldn’t have needed to come and the cross would not have been necessary... For lasting change to take place in us, we need more than and system; we need a Redeemer. Only the grace of a Redeemer, who on the cross defeated our deepest problem, is able to rescue us from us and give us the power to live in brand new ways."
taken from an excellent article by Paul Tripp, The Ultimate Lens on Life (read the full thing here)
gossip
"Gossip is idolatrous activity. Romans 1:29 lists gossip and slander among the qualities of idolaters, people who worship something other than their Creator. They find certain things more important than God. What do you hold so dear, so important, that you are willing to gossip?...
The Meddler worships the power that comes from being needed. They want to be the hero more than they want Jesus to be the hero for others. Instead of being the hero, they need to repent and point others to the only true hero who restores and reconciles relationships.The Leaker worships the power that comes from having entrusted information from and about others. They want to be righteous and accepted by their own works through their wielding of information, but are, in fact, utterly unrighteous to the point of selling out others for their own sense of worth. The Leaker needs to repent and accept Christ’s righteousness.The Complainer worships the attention that comes from always being the victim. They need to release their identity of victim and understand that Jesus is the only true victim who alone bore the burden of others’ sins. They need to repent and confess that, at the cross, Jesus assumes the identity of both victim and hero, enabling their identity to be found in Him."
Taken from the conclusion of an excellent series of posts on gossip by Jonathan Dodson (read the full thing here)
good days and bad days
2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake [God] made him who knew no sin to become sin, so that, in Him, we might become the righteousness of God
We are sinners and Jesus is not. Sin is not breaking arbitrary commands which aren’t that important. It’s rebellion, treason, adultery. We have tried to put ourselves in God’s place, to be in authority over ourselves. All of that sin, that rebellion, that betrayal was taken by Jesus on the cross. He became our sin. He took our punishment. He didn’t rebel, but was treated as if he did, so that rebels like us can be treated as if we didn’t.
For our sake [God] made him who knew no sin to become sin, so that, in Him, we might become the righteousness of God
We are sinners and Jesus is not. Sin is not breaking arbitrary commands which aren’t that important. It’s rebellion, treason, adultery. We have tried to put ourselves in God’s place, to be in authority over ourselves. All of that sin, that rebellion, that betrayal was taken by Jesus on the cross. He became our sin. He took our punishment. He didn’t rebel, but was treated as if he did, so that rebels like us can be treated as if we didn’t.
That’s part of the story. But we don’t just have our sin taken away, Jesus gives us his righteousness. So it’s not just as if we haven’t sinned, but God treats us as if we have perfectly obeyed. That is how gracious He is! We are embraced by God because Jesus took our sin and gave us his righteousness.
Sometimes we accept this at conversion and then start living as if now we have to maintain our own righteousness. The reality is that we are just as incapable of maintaining our own righteousness as we were of achieving it in the first place. Whether you’ve been a Christian 30 seconds or 30 years, you stand before God because Jesus took your sin and gave you his righteousness.
Imagine a day when everything went well: you woke up before the alarm and even though your bible reading plan was in Leviticus, the words seemed to jump off the page and warm your heart. You prayed with great faith, got into work early and were able to help others with their work after completing your own. At lunch time someone said "I've noticed something different about the way you live your life... can you tell me more about Christianity?" and you were able to share the gospel and invite them to church. You went home, spent time with your wife and kids and felt great as you sat down to pray before bed.
Then imagine the opposite: You wake up late and have to skip your quiet time. You get stuck in traffic and everything goes wrong at work, leading you to speak harshly to some of your colleagues. You get in an argument with someone at lunchtime about a TV programme that said the bible couldn't be trusted, and a friend who you'd previously invited to church witnesses the argument and changes their mind about coming along this Sunday. You get home late, argue with your wife, shout at your kids, and feel terrible as you sit down to pray before bed.
We feel like we can come before God with our heads held high on the good day, and that we need to sort ourselves out a bit on the bad day. We think the good day is good and the bad day is bad, but, ion fact, they’re both bad if we are using them as the basis for our relationship with God. The only reason we can stand before God on either of those days is because Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousness. There's nothing wrong with getting excited about what God has done on the good day, and it's likely that there will be consequences of the mistakes we made on the "bad" day BUT we are totally dependant on Jesus performance, not ours, in terms of righteousness before God. It's not about what you do, but about what He has done.
pointless faith
In 1 Corinthians 15:12-19, Paul says that if Christ has not been raised, then:
- our faith is useless
- the Bible is useless - (“we are misrepresenting God”, "our preaching is in vain")
- We are still in our sins
- We only have hope for this life
- We start relying on our own behaviour rather than the completed work of Jesus
- We don’t trust the Bible - picking and choosing what we want to believe and reinterpreting things to suit ourselves.
- When we are trying to beat sin in our own power - trying to change but failing and feeling condemned, or succeeding and feeling self-righteous, or exchanging one sin for another
- We live as if our hope is only in this world - acting selfishly, getting frustrated that God isn’t meeting our immediate needs.
- Our faith is not futile - we are not trusting in a theory about death but trusting in some who died and rose, conquering sin and defeating death.
- We can believe the Bible - the apostles preached about it and wrote about it because it happened. The challenges can be taken seriously, the encouragements can be received, the good news can be believed
- We are not still in our sins - We are no longer slaves to sin. Romans 6:4 "We were buried with him by baptism into his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of God the Father, that we too might walk in newness of life."
- we have a hope beyond this life - we can give generously, we can serve selflessly, we can invest everything we have into eternity. Suffering can be endured because we know its not permanent.
loving the law
"True obedience comes from a heart that loves and enjoys the things of God, not from a heart that is duty-bound... we must not be satisfied with any kind of "obedience" except the kind of obedience that comes from a heart that desires to obey God and does so naturally, almost without even thinking about it...
we teach the heart first, and the behavior follows once the Gospel becomes beautiful to the heart! This is the case with any command of God as we present it. If we present the Law as primarily behavior-modification, the behavior will happen on the outside but the heart will not change, it will fizzle as soon as the guilt wears off. On the other hand, if we present the Law as a beautiful expression of God's care for the people we teach and lead, we will begin to see people change at the motivational level, which then produces lasting fruit that is in keeping with repentance. I think it was Steve Brown who once said, "I love to sin, but the reason I choose not to is because I love Jesus more!"...
When Jesus becomes truly beautiful, truly lovely to people, they cannot help but follow Him! His commands become irresistible! We will always give our lives effortlessly to the things that give our lives the most meaning!"
Scott Sauls: Grace, Truth and Healing part 2 (read the full thing here)
systems
Most people say they’re not religious, but everybody lives in some sort of a system. Everybody has a way of doing things which we think will make our lives better and solve the various problems that we have.
So, maybe I think my problems come from a lack of respect and if I get the right job and work hard to be successful, then I'll be respected. Or maybe my problem is that I haven't got a partner (or the right partner) so I need to work out, dress better, learn how to talk smoothly to women and that will solve my problems. These systems are "religions" - beliefs about how the world works and what actions will help. Whether we line up with one of the major world faiths or not, we are all religious.
Most people mistake Christianity for just another system. Believe in God, pray, be nice to people, give to charity and that will solve your problems. Attend church and things will work out better for you. That describes a system that may look a bit like Christianity, but couldn't be more different. All these religions and systems are about who you are and what you've done. Biblical Christianity is about who God is and what He has done. Christianity is not a religion. It is not "do this and this will happen". It is about a person, Jesus, and what He has done on your behalf.
So, maybe I think my problems come from a lack of respect and if I get the right job and work hard to be successful, then I'll be respected. Or maybe my problem is that I haven't got a partner (or the right partner) so I need to work out, dress better, learn how to talk smoothly to women and that will solve my problems. These systems are "religions" - beliefs about how the world works and what actions will help. Whether we line up with one of the major world faiths or not, we are all religious.
Most people mistake Christianity for just another system. Believe in God, pray, be nice to people, give to charity and that will solve your problems. Attend church and things will work out better for you. That describes a system that may look a bit like Christianity, but couldn't be more different. All these religions and systems are about who you are and what you've done. Biblical Christianity is about who God is and what He has done. Christianity is not a religion. It is not "do this and this will happen". It is about a person, Jesus, and what He has done on your behalf.
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