Grace - Hebrews: Consider Jesus, Part 5

Hi Everyone,

Here are the scripture passages upon which I am basing this email:

Colossians 2:8-14 - "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.  For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.  When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."

Hebrews 2:11, 14-15 – "For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren….Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 

As Bert White says, concerning the letter to the Galatians:  "He [Paul] makes some strong statements against those who would pervert the gospel of grace. From its earliest days, those who would destroy it are those who try to add to it. You must understand the deception of legalism and performance based Christianity does not attack the message of grace by denying it. They attack it by adding to it! (emphasis mine).

I think one of the hardest aspects about communicating the Gospel of Grace is that most Christians have essentially been inoculated against the full reality of life under grace.  I'll relate it to you this way:  when talking to people about Jesus, I find that most people have a pre-conceived notion of Him.  If it's not that they've never heard of Jesus, then often they have a notion of Him that He was either JUST a good teacher, or the Son of God, or that He died for their sins, for example.  What I don't hear very much from people is an assurance that Jesus still heals today or that He is in them, very alive, active, and powerful.  It's almost as though a "head-knowledge" about Jesus has inoculated or prevented people from accepting information (and the reality) of Who He is which does not that fit within their understanding.  Your body's acceptance of weakened virus protects you from the real virus; your mind's acceptance of a weakened Jesus prevents you from experiencing His full effect in your life.

In the same way, I believe that most Christians have a hard time accepting (or even sometimes simply hearing and understanding) the Gospel of Grace because they have been taught a mixture of law covenant and grace covenant teaching.  They're confused from the cocktail.  The apostle Paul states time and time again:

•            beware traditions of men [that add to] the person of Christ
•       we were circumcised with Christ
•       we were buried with Christ
•       we were raised up with Christ through faith in the working of God
•        we were made alive in Christ
•        we have been forgiven
•         the decrees which were hostile to us were nailed to the tree
•        we were made complete in Christ
•        we were sanctified in Christ (He IS our sanctification, so HE can't be a process)

What is the result of all of this?  The passage in Hebrews 2 above tells us:  that we have been sanctified and that He "might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives."

When I see a Christian striving to be a "better" Christian, or one that is striving to "please" God, I don't deny that behavior is important.  Instead, I see that, like the teachings and philosophy of men that Paul warned against over and over, those Christians are supplanting the revelation of Christ in scripture with their own effort—thinking that such action will be of use to them.  It's usually also these same Christians who are caught in the vicious circle of repent/do better/maintain/fall/repeat.  This is not victory over sin and it's certainly not how Paul would have us live a Christian life.  I see the roller-coaster life of Christians who try hard, fail, make re-commitments, and fail again.

Here's my point:  the Hebrews passage above tells us that it was God's purpose in Christ to free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.  I truly believe that Christians who refuse to see Christ as the SOLE source of their salvation, justification, redemption, sanctification, etc., are bound by a fear of death and are enslaved to sin.  They live in a cycle of fear and striving because the law which they try to obey actually empowers sin, leading to fear and death.

And here's the most dastardly point:  the Christian who endeavors to not lust, to not steal, to not violate any law is in reality the one who is sinning.  Why?  Because only one person was able to not do any of those things:  Jesus Christ.  If His life is in us (Christ in us), then why are we looking both to our own righteousness and to a list of things to not do to receive power to not do those things?  Only a life will make us righteousness AND cause us to walk in righteous behavior—His Life.

Don't add anything—a list, your effort, a knowledge of good or evil—to your Christian life.  Your Christian life is completely filled with the life of Christ.  Do not be tricked into adding anything that supplants Christ as your life and source.

More later.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

http://jdkrider.blogspot.com/2012/10/grace-hebrews-consider-jesus-part-4.html