Peace with God
Romans 5:1-5
1Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
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We have peace with God. This is our hope. Enough said.
Resisting Rest
The following quote succinctly describes the disease that many of us have.
“I resisted rest, fearing that if I stopped, I would fail – fail to earn “A”s, to earn enough money, to earn approval from friends and professors, to keep in shape… to please God. As hard as I worked, I was haunted by a deep, deep sense that I was never good enough and could never measure up to God’s standard for me. I knew in my head that my relationship with God relies more on His faithfulness than mine, but I was so fearful of spiritual complacency that I could not rest in His grace. I appended a string of “ifs” to “My grace is sufficient for you.” -Amanda Holm from the TEDS Graduate Scrawl
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Our souls resist rest. We cling to our futile efforts.
Rom 7:24-25 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Loved Forevermore
The following post comes from Tullian Tchividjian’s blog.
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Amongst other things, the gospel is the good news that if we, by faith, embrace all that Christ has done for sinners, then we can be assured that absolutely nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). Once we know that we’re forever loved by Jesus, we’re free to love others regardless of the risk, because our deep need to love will be satisfied.
A friend once told me, “My home is an unloving place.” When he returned there everyday from work, he said he wasn’t loved the way he longed to be loved by his wife and kids. I listened to him, and we talked further. Eventually I responded, “Maybe, just maybe, you’re looking at this from the wrong perspective.” I suggested that for six months he ask himself the following question each day when he came home from work: “Who here can I love? Who here needs my love right now?” I told him to pray about this before he walked in the door, asking God to show him the answer to that question. This man did that, and things at home changed.
Unfortunately, the fear that our love toward others will not be reciprocated is something that paralyzes many of us. It prevents parents from properly loving their kids, and husbands and wives from properly loving each other. We come to this conclusion: I will love you only to the degree that you love me. It’s an attitude that enslaves us. But the gospel frees us from that.
I too enjoy receiving love from my family. I’m ecstatic when my kids love me and express affection toward me. Something in me comes alive when they do that. But I’ve learned this freeing truth: I don’t need that love, because in Jesus, I receive all the love I need. This in turn enables me to love my kids without fear or reservation. I get to revel in their enjoyment of my love without needing anything from them in return. I get love from Jesus so that I can give love to them.
The gospel tells us that God in Christ loved sinners even while we hated him. Fully realizing this will pave the way for us to love others unconditionally as well. We realize and experience this liberating truth: “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16). This kind of lay-down-your-life love is the clearest indicator of a gospel-centered life.
But laying down your life for others is impossible. It’s too scary—unless you know you’ve been eternally loved by Christ. Then you’re free to give your life to others, because you’ve received so much yourself.
Do you realize how radically different this world would be if that was the rule instead of the exception in all our relationships? The most powerful way we can join God on his mission to bring heaven to earth—to warm this place up, and renew and redeem and fix this broken planet—is by applying the gospel in this way, in all our relationships.
The End of the Law for Righteousness
Romans 10:1-4
Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
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This is profound. Lip service is given to the previous verses, but rarely is it embodied. My prayer is that we will increasingly submit to God’s righteousness in Christ, recognizing the futility of our efforts and joyfully experiencing His pleasure in Christ.
Present Acquital
The following post comes from Dane Ortlund’s blog. I’m a big fan of his site.
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There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the Spirit of life will set you free . . .
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the Spirit of life has set you free . . .
The first sentence is how we functionally live the gospel. The second is what Paul actually said.
In listening to my dad’s sermon on this text from a few weeks ago I began to see the important connection between the first two verses of Rom 8. Taken by itself, v. 1, despite the ‘now,’ might be seen as referring to what will really only be true on the last day (It is now decided that you will, at the end, be acquitted). But verse two confirms that the ‘now’ means exactly what it sounds like it means, because v. 2 says we have been set free, not that we will be set free.
I conclude: the reality as well as the feelings of condemnation that assault us every day, sometimes out of the blue and sometimes resulting from quite concrete sin, have no part in the life of the Christian. But that isn’t how we live. We intuitively live as if we’ve been set free from ultimate condemnation on the last day, but in the meantime a bit of healthy somberness and wincing over our moral failings is in order. ‘Thanks, Lord, for freeing us from final condemnation–what wonderful mercy–now let me get back to the little acts of self-indictment that underscore how little I deserve that mercy.’
According to Rom 8:1-2, that is not helping the gospel but denying it. There is no condemnation now because we have been set free. If that’s true, then we’re not only freed from having our sins articulated against us then, but also now. Sometimes it’s others who articulate our sins against us; usually it’s our own conscience. But conscience-condemnation is still condemnation, and all condemnation has been eliminated.
In light of the gospel–’Christ died for our sins’–sin is not the biggest problem in our life. There’s an answer for sin shockingly readily available: Christ, atonement. Our fierce resistance to embrace the sheer freeness of that atonement is the biggest problem. That embrace is what the New Testament calls ‘faith.’ And it results in no condemnation–not only then, but also now. Not only doctrinally, but also emotionally.
2 Religions in the World
Romans 3:21-22
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.”
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The following quote was found in Christless Christianity by Michael Horton:
“Salvation, from start to finish, is his work for us, not a matter of saving ourselves or even of cooperating with him. It is a divine rescue operation Even our sanctification is grounded in God’s act of justifying us and uniting us, by his Spirit, to Christ’s death and life. So there are really only two religions in the world: a religion of human striving to ascend to God through pious works, feelings, attitudes, and experiences and the Good News of God’s merciful descent to us in his Son. The religions, philosophies, ideologies, and spirituality’s of the world only differ on the details. Whether we are talking about the Dalai Lama or Dr. Phil, Islam or Oprah, liberals or conservatives, the most intuitive conviction is that we are good people who need good advice, not helpless sinners who need the Good News.”
satan’s #1 Lie
I believe that satan’s #1 lie is this: Your significance, identity, salvation, etc. is dependent on you… your work ethic, achievements, approval by friends and family, success.
This lie is sometimes overt and other times subtle. Whether you are a christian or not a christian, he’s going after you with this as it is the official joy-killer for Christians and soul-killer for non-Christians.
The book of Romans sings loudly against this lie and I encourage you to take an hour and read through it, highlighting all the places that speak of Jesus as our savior and our righteousness! The most beautiful and glorious truth to sinners like you and me is that Jesus is our righteousness, He is our Savior and by His grace, we can be found in Him! When you come to the end of yourself and your self-salvation project to be a somebody, to achieve success, to be known… AND you look to Jesus who already did what you can never do, rejoice! It is finished indeed. It’s not about what you need to do, it’s about what is already done! Rest in this, rejoice in this, celebrate in this! Freedom from self. Peace instead of angst and toil. Hope instead of hopelessness. Order instead of chaos. He is God, we are His people. Wow, wow, wow.
Reliance on self leads to death. Reliance on Christ’s finished work leads to life and a new creation!
Check out the following:
Romans 4:5-8
And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
Finally, I believe that the key to the above Scripture is found in the first sentence. The work he refers to is man’s self-effort. Belief in Christ’s finished work refers to man coming to the end of himself and resting in Jesus alone.
Trusting Like a Child
Psalm 131
Oh Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. Oh Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.
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This morning as I was leaving my house, God reminded me that He is the perfect Father, the perfect Daddy. Just a couple hours later, I read the verses above.
Now that I’ve had the privilege of being a dad for a little less than two years, I’m understanding the love of God in a new light. I want so badly to love my little boy and little girl well, to provide whatever they need and to give them the best childhood experience they could possibly have. Yet, the love I have for them is so infinitely small compared to God’s love for us in Christ. Matthew 7:9-11 says, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
So, here’s the question, “Do you trust that God will give you all that you need?” It all rides on this. If you don’t, you are experiencing great toil and the toil will increase. If you do, peace will guard your heart.
The underlying reason for this trust is Jesus crucified. God’s one and only Son came to this earth and experienced the full condemnation in our stead. He, who had spent eternity past with his Daddy, came willingly to the people who had (and do) rebel against Him to die. In the garden, He did not fear the nails that would be put in his hand, but rather He sweat blood because of the separation He was about to experience from the One who had always been with Him. Again, He did this so that we would never hear nothing, that we would always experience the Father’s presence and great love. He became nothing so that we could become sons! Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
Be encouraged: He is in control, He loves you infinitely more than you have been loved by your earthly dad, He will complete all that He started and He is so proud of you that He could bust because Jesus did what you could not do and lived the life you should have lived and died the death you should die. If you are in Christ, you are sons and daughters!
Denial
Romans 3:9-20
What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “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.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
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People who deny they have an ailment or issue (a bad marriage, an injury, loss of hearing or sight, cancer or aids, etc.) do not get healed. This principle applies to things of faith as well. We do not see or recognize our sinfulness, in-ability, insufficiency and rebellion to God. Therefore, we don’t believe that we deserve to be separated from Him. We deny our sinful reality. Granted, many Christians will acknowledge that they believe this, but our lives show otherwise. How so?
There is a lack of joy in Christians (and non-Christians). I point out Christians because this simply should not be the case. The first step towards joy is owning our wretchedness and recognizing that we are no better than the people we condemn. It is by grace that we are saved and it is by grace that God continues to reveal himself to us and sanctify us. The most mature Christians repent more and see their sinful nature rearing it’s ugly head on all occasions. I pray that we will grow in humility as we come to grips with who we are apart from God’s grace and loving-kindness.
As Romans 3:21-26 lay out, our sinfulness is certainly not the end of the story. God’s righteousness made known in Christ saves the day, but unless we see our need for Jesus and what we deserve, joy will not break out. I heard that Charles Spurgeon’s church was so melted by the gospel (our utter sinfulness yet absolute acceptance) that the joy they experienced brought them to the brink of death on a particular week or weekend. They had to ask for God to hold back his love, otherwise they would surely die. My pride is in the way and I hope that God will melt it away and allow me to see just how great his loving-kindness really is.
Is God Ever Disappointed In Us?
A group of students got together this past Sunday and each wrote down a question on a piece of paper and put it in the middle of the circle. Once they did this, they discussed each of the questions. From what I heard, one of the questions generated a considerable amount of conversation and I think it’s a very penetrating question for us all to think through. It’s stated in the title of this blog, but here it is again, “Is God ever disappointed in us?” One of the students felt pretty strongly that the answer was no, but the others came to the conclusion that God can be disappointed with us at times, but still absolutely loves and accepts us. Well, it got me thinking last night and I wanted to share my belief with anyone willing to listen…
No, God is never disappointed with us when we are in Christ Jesus. Never. Although we are wretched sinners, still falling constantly (Rom 7), we have been set free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death (Rom 8). When we are justified by Christ, God feels about us the same way as He does about Jesus, whether we are doing very good or very bad. Christ’s perfect life has covered our sinful and rebellious heart so that God looks upon us as though we have lived like Jesus did. Jesus took the full condemnation, the full disappointment, the anger and frustration of God towards sin upon Himself when He bore our sin in our place so that we would die to sin and live to righteousness. He healed us through His wounds (1 Peter 2:24), he will present us holy and blameless (Col. 1:22), we are a new creation (Gal. 6), we are no longer condemned (Rom 8), we are counted as righteous because Jesus was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification (Rom 4), we have peace (Rom 5), etc.
When Jesus experienced the silence of God as he hung on the cross, He experienced all the disappointment that we deserve for our great sin. Our sin should not be taken lightly as nothing less than the Son of God dying on a cross would satisfy the requirements for us to be reconciled. As Tim Keller says, “We’re so bad that He had to die for us, but we’re so loved that He was glad to die for us.” Our sin is heinous and we don’t even have a clue as to how bad it really is, but thanks be to God in Jesus Christ that our sin was nailed to the cross and by God’s grace, we are now viewed as sons and daughters with perfect records in the midst of our actual flawed performance. We certainly need to repent and seek to live lives that glorify God, but our motivation is not to gain God’s favor or good will. We already have that in Christ. Our repentance is a gift from God to us and in our acknowledgement of our failure, His overwhelming acceptance of us drives us further into love with him and leads us to obedience. We are hidden in Christ.
This reality is difficult to swallow for most people, Christians included. We want so badly to incorporate our performance into the equation. We struggle to acknowledge the depths of our sin (if God can be disappointed in us, then He is all the time because we are almost always sinning in one way or another). We have such a difficult time believing that the cross and resurrection is our entire sufficiency and that Christ did it all. BUT, when we taste this grace, it’s impossible not to be filled with awe as it’s simply amazing. We get what we don’t deserve and what we receive is the answer to the longings of our soul.
