The Object of our Worship?

Wednesday morning, November 19, 2008 [clear and COLD; 330F],
[CONTINUED FROM MONDAY, 11/17/08]
Admittedly, you will probably disagree with my opinion but I am going to make it, nevertheless: There are more church-goers who worship themselves than worship God. Yes, I realize that money, especially during these financially precarious times, seems to be the god of most; however, a more careful look will reveal the truth—the worship of money takes a back seat to the worship of self.
To be sure, you can determine what/who a person worships by the way he reacts when the object of his worship crumbles, and the present financial melt-down has certainly evidenced this. Some have reacted with remarkable faith and peace, while others have reacted with incredible fear and anger; however, there is no reaction like the reaction most church-goers have when someone tells them that keeping the Ten Commandments has no more to do with righteousness than does the singing of the National Anthem. If you have ever tried to take away a child's pacifier, then you know something of the kind of reaction to which I am referring.
You see, if you believe that pleasing God has to do with your behavior, then the rules that define the correct behavior become all-important. For most, these rules are known as The Ten Commandments (I find it interesting that although few believers can even name the Ten Commandments, most see them as the way to holiness and righteousness. Go figure!). Of course, these Ten Commandments have to be interpreted and this presents us with an entirely new set of gods to worship—keeping the Sabbath Day holy; loving your neighbor, as you love yourself; tithing; church attendance; financial responsibility; stewardship; faithfulness, to name a few.
I say these (both the Ten Commandments and our interpretations of them) are gods we worship because we place far more confidence in our ability to keep (obey) them than we ever place in the finished work of Jesus, the work he accomplished in our behalf through His death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and seating.
The real tragedy begins when a believer begins to think that he/she is being successful at keeping the rules! Believe it or not, I actually had someone (a preacher) tell me that he keeps all of the Ten Commandments! Yes, he was being serious—very serious! Sadly, the more one believes that he is being successful at keeping the "rules," the more confidence he places in his own ability to please God (this was Adam's and Eve's problem!); obviously, in the end, this person is worshipping himself—a sad state of affairs, to be sure.
So you see, what begins as a sincere, albeit terribly misinformed, desire to please God, ends in self-worship. Sadly, most are taught that the way to holiness is through the keeping of the Ten Commandments, which quickly become a very long list of interpretations of the commandments (the Jews developed 210 rules on how to keep the Sabbath Day holy; my mother had 211); consequently, we strive very hard to meet the standards set before us. In our deception, we honestly believe that we are making progress and, consequently, we soon begin to place much confidence in our own ability to please God, thus the beginning of our worship of the commandments. As we see more progress being made (or so we sincerely believe), we begin to put even more confidence in our own ability to please God and begin to worship ourselves! A slippery slope, indeed! When the god of self begins to crumble, even money looses is luster!
By the way, and just for the record: Jesus is our righteousness—period! Your keeping the commandments has no more to do with your righteousness than does your singing of the National Anthem.

Released from the Law!

Monday morning, November 17, 2008 [beautiful, clear, sunny and 420F],

[CONTINUED FROM Thursday, 11/13/08]

For reasons beyond me, Steve Brown also said this (my paraphrase, as I do not have the tape): There is a shallow teaching going around that says we have been released from the Law; however, we have NOT been released from the Law.
As you might imagine, when he spoke these words, I really wanted to stop him and question him, but Annis was sitting next to me, so I managed to contain myself, barely but enough to continue listening. I do think I know what he was attempting to accomplish because He followed with this: God's Ten Commandments were not His Ten Suggestions!
He went on to say that God has not changed His mind about any of His commandments from the first to the last. In other words, Steve was reminding us that each of His commandments is off limits for us; we have no business "fishing" where these "no fishing" signs are posted. Amazingly, I agreed with him; however, I must admit that I was wondering what he was going to do with his "we have NOT been released from the Law" comment.
Surely, every Christian (with the possible exception of those 'fresh born') knows that God was serious about the Ten Commandments, that He really meant for us to obey them, not violate them. I mean that has been preached long enough that even the heathen should know it is true.
But IS it really true? I don't think so (oops, I probably won't get a return invite!) and this is my reason: God knew from the very beginning that we would not obey the Ten Commandments, so He was not really expecting us to do so. You see, He gave us the Ten Commandments to show us our need for a Savior, not to give us "God's Rules for Righteousness." He gave us the Ten Commandments to show us how foolish it is for us to think we can become righteous in our own strength, i.e. by keeping the commandments.
Specifically, God gave us the Law (the Ten Commandments) to (1) define sin; (2) to show us its exceeding sinfulness; (3) to give sin its strength [power]; and finally (4) to be a schoolmaster that would drive [actually, drag] us in utter desperation to Jesus. When that job has been accomplished (and it has been in the life of every believer!), we are, thus, released from the Law!
Listen to Paul's own words: "For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under Law, but under grace" [Romans 6:14; emphasis, mine]; "Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound (the Law), so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter [Romans 7:4-6; emphasis, mine]; "Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, 'The Righteous man shall live by faith.' However the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, 'He who practices them shall live by them.' Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree . . .'" [Galatians 3:11-13; emphasis, mine].
You can draw your own conclusions—

[more to come!]

Free from Sin and Enslaved to Righteousness

Thursday morning, November 13, 2008 [raining cats & dogs; 550F],

[CONTINUED FROM Wednesday]

OK, so we have now established that man is evil—period—and in desperately need of a Savior—One who can do for him what he cannot do for himself, even with God's help. Thankfully, we have also seen that God has provided that Savior in the Person of Jesus Christ.
The good news is this: in sending our Savior, God did not, simply, refurbish us; instead, He crucified us, buried us, and raised us up as new creations in Him—born of the seed of God! In other words, the person that you were in Adam was crucified in Christ on the Cross, buried with Him, and, finally, raised up with Him and seated at His right hand in the Most Holy Place in the heavens (see Romans 6 & Ephesians 2, if you do not believe me).
When we were born into the world, we were born in Adam bearing his seed—sinners, separated from God, with no interest in Him, not to mention helpless to do anything about our dire situation, even if we were interested in doing so. To be sure, we had no inclination for good; instead, our inclination was for self, even when we fed the poor or took warm, apple pies to widows or gave some money for the local soup kitchen or attended a funeral visitation. The ONLY reason we would ever show interest in helping another person was to make ourselves look "good," or at least better.
Thank God for Jesus! He is the Head of the family of God and has no Adamic seed whatsoever (He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, not by man!); consequently, when we are born into His family, we are born free of Adam's seed.
This is significant for several reasons: (1) We are, therefore, as righteous as Jesus is righteous; (2) We have an inclination for Jesus; (3) We are privileged to do good works, the works that He prepared beforehand for us; (4) We have the option of allowing love to motivate us, instead of self; (5) It evidences God's love for us—His unconditional love; (6) and finally, (7) We are freed from the power of sin and made slaves of righteousness.
Sadly, even though they are staring Truth in the face, many believers choose to live as if they are "good with an inclination for evil." Hopefully, you can now see just how far short this falls from the Truth, not to mention how much it deprives them of the glorious freedom of living in complete dependence upon Him, the One who is our righteousness.

[more to come]

Putting Off the Old and Putting on the New

Wednesday morning, November 12, 2008 [cloudy and 51 degrees],

[CONTINUED FROM MONDAY]

Thankfully, Steve did point out that God imputed the righteousness of Jesus to every believer (whether he is good with a tinge of evil or evil with a tinge of good or just plain mean as a snake)! To be honest, I always cringe a bit when I hear a teacher use the word "impute" in this context and for good reason: it doesn't do justice to the Greek word that is being translated, not to mention that most of us seldom even use the word, in any context. Try using it in a common, ordinary, everyday sentence!
Sadly, most of the time (for theology teachers) its use implies that God has given us something that is really not ours. It is as if they see the finished work of Jesus as amounting to an adoption, an adoption that says, "I am giving you My name and my righteousness but remember that neither are really yours." To be sure, we have been adopted into the family of God (Ephesians 1:5, among others); however, this adoption is much more than a legal and limited declaration. As a result of this adoption, we have actually changed bloodlines; we have been removed from the family of Adam and placed into the family of God [You think about that!].
Having said that, allow me to show you Paul's rendition of what Steve said: "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21; emphasis added). As you can see, Paul's rendition is clear: we actually become the righteousness of God in Christ!
Why am I making this point? Well, for one reason, it needs to be made; we need to know that we are no longer who we were. As believers, we are no longer good with a proclivity for evil and, certainly, not evil with a proclivity for good; instead, we are the righteousness of God in Christ. We are no longer in Adam, but in Christ! We have been raised up with Him and seated with Him in the Heavenly places (the Most Holy Place) at God's right hand! We are no longer sinners but saints!
Now stay with me: Even though we have become the righteousness of God in Christ, we have nothing about which to boast, except in the cross of Jesus, and we do not because He gave His righteousness to us, we did not manufacture it on our own. A thing of grace, indeed!
Maybe it is time for us to put off the old man and put on the new man! "But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth" (Ephesians 4:20-24).

[MORE TO COME!]

Continued from yesterday.

Monday morning, November 10, 2008 [sunny and a bit chilly—430],

[CONTINUED FROM YESTERDAY]

In an effort to be "Fair & Balanced," I must hasten to tell you that Steve Brown also said this: "Man is basically evil with a proclivity for good." As you might imagine, he was using these two opposing notions in an effort to cause his listeners to think, and I am certain that his pedagogical method worked (I was there and saw it with my own eyes!).
Although no poll was taken, I am certain that there were decidedly more "takers" for the "Man is good with a proclivity for evil" notion than there were for "Man is evil with a proclivity for good" notion. I mean, after all, man is so selfish and self-centered that he cannot imagine that he is anything but good, with, yes, maybe a hint of evil surfacing every now and then.
Now, if you can, imagine yourself sitting at a lunch table with several people you have never before seen, having a discussion around these two opposing notions. Imagine trying to convince even one of them that man is basically evil with a proclivity for good. Trust me, it is difficult enough to convince one that man is good with a proclivity for evil; however, when both are used together, most always choose the "man is good with a proclivity for evil" notion.
Now, imagine yourself sitting at the same table having this discussion KNOWING that both notions are incorrect—terribly incorrect—and also knowing that Steve Brown (and they had come to hear him, not you!) had just come down on the "man is evil with a proclivity for good" side of the fence. If your imagination is working, you have probably already broken out in hives, or at least a sweat!
Imagine that you knew that there is a third piece of this "pie" that Steve never mentioned, the piece that, in your opinion, is THE truth of the matter: "Man is evil—period! I can imagine that your part of the conversation would have gone something like this: Man not only has no proclivity for good, he doesn't even have the capacity for it. Scene change: you are now sitting at the table alone!
For the life of me, I cannot imagine why Steve never mentioned this piece of the "pie!" Yea, right! I can, however, imagine that, if he had mentioned it and claimed it as truth, this trip to the Cove would have been his last one and I don't fault him for wanting to make return trips!
I, however, don't have to be concerned with that concern, so I will take the liberty of pushing the envelope even further with this: there is not one blessed (no pun intended) thing man can do about his complete and total depravity. Really! I am not teasing. The fact is, there is nothing he can do even to desire to be Good!
Again, man does not need God's help; instead, he needs for God to do for him what he could never do for himself, even with God's help—snatch him out of the pit and give him Life!

MORE TO COME—SOON!

Grace & peace,
Mac

A Proclivity for Good?

Sunday evening, November 9, 2008 [clear and 620],

After having spent several days at The Cove, listening to Steve Brown and intermingling with others, who were listening to him, I am more convinced than ever that the message of grace is the message that God is bringing alive within the church today. As we sat at the breakfast table, the morning after the first session, I took the liberty of interjecting myself into a conversation that some folk were having about something Steve said the night before. This is what he said: Man is basically good with a proclivity for evil. What I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears served to confirm what I already knew: many people attend church for years without ever being taught the true gospel. Sadly, the gospel they have been taught puts man at the center of the universe and God somewhere on the sidelines—man becomes a god and God becomes his victim.
As you might imagine, I challenged Steve's comment, suggesting that man is basically evil with no proclivity for good—none whatsoever. It soon became obvious that the people, whose conversation I interrupted, were not about to accept my suggestion; that is, none of them but the one man who was obviously being drawn to The Truth.
One of the men said he knew several lost people, not to mention Christians, who consistently did some really good things. He even mentioned Warren Buffet, reminding us that he has given millions to help the needy. Sadly, he really believed that the "good" works to which he was referring translated into "a proclivity for good" in man. As I gently (honestly, I was being gentle!) pursued my premise, he left the table, along with two of his friends, one of whom was the sister of the man who was, obviously, being drawn to The Truth. It was if I could read her mind: "Let's get out of here before he convinces my brother of this heresy."
The truth is this: until we realize our own depravity, we will not realize our own need for a savior! We will think much like the Galatians, who agreed that Jesus was good but insisted that circumcision was essential. In other words, salvation is the result of what Jesus did and what we will do (or not do, as the case may be). There is a Greek word for this mindset—baloney! (No, I did not tell them that!).
Anyway, just for the record, I will share with you what Paul had to say about man's proclivity for good: "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is not one who does good, there is not even one. There throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving, the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Romans 3:10-18; emphasis added).
No, we do not need God's help; instead, we need Him, in the person of Jesus, to do for us what we could never do for ourselves, even with His help. We need to get over thinking that we have a proclivity for good and accept the fact that we are rotten to the core. A young man came up to Jesus one day and addressed Him with this: "Good Teacher . . . ". Jesus immediately stopped him and said, "Why do you call me good? There is but One who is Good and He is My Father."
Enough said? I think so!

There is more to come—

Blessings with grace lavished,