Grace - Will You Believe Heavenly Things???

Most Christians define themselves in terms of what they are not, rather in terms of who they are in Christ.  The faith-speech I hear most often from a Christian is that which defines them in terms of sin:

"I haven't committed that habitual sin of mine in the last couple days, so I'm good."  That's about as positive as it gets, folks.

But, it does get worse.  I hear all the time:  "I'm a bad Christian because I keep sinning."  So, the life of the Christian becomes a matter of defining their reality and identity in terms of the absence or presence of sin.  How sad; you just can't win, because even if you're doing well, collapse is on the horizon and is imminent.

What I rarely, RARELY hear is a Christian who talks in terms of their UNION with Christ.  His holiness is their holiness.  His authority is their authority.  His righteousness is their righteousness.  His death to sin and temptation is their death.  His life is their life, etc.

Study and find the scriptures that speak of your union with Christ for yourself.  How about Romans 5 and 6, for example?Once you understand that you are loved and accepted, completely forgiven, completely made whole, and united with Christ's Life, avoiding sin and doing good will be a distant memory and you will experience the freedom you've always longed for.

But there is one warning!:

You can only live this type of life by faith.

Consider the following passages that speak of believing in a reality greater than what you can see.  Otherwise, you won't be able to believe that you truly are united with Christ.  And where are you united with Him?  On the throne, in Heaven.  It's done.  It's true.  You in Jesus, and Jesus and you on the throne.  Co-heirs.  Believe it and accept it!

"If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?"  John 3:12 (NASB)

"Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory."  Col. 3:1-4

"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."  Eph. 4:20-24

"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus."  1 Tim. 1:12-14

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." Gal. 2:20-21

Will you choose to believe what the word of God clearly says about you?  If you will dive into this amazing truth, nothing will be impossible for you--even to experience life free from temptation and sin.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - REPENT!

The following article was written by Phil Drysdale.  I hope that you will read it and be enthralled by the amazing biblical definition of repent.  I've highlighted few key ideas in bold.  Phil's latest work may be found for purchase here:  http://www.phildrysdale.com/book

It's only $6.99!

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Repent! by Phil Drysdale

For well over 1000 years now, many in the church have believed repentance is to cry, and wail, and convince God that we are sorry and will never act the same way again.

Let's have a look at the word repentance in the English dictionary*:

1) remorse or contrition for one's past actions or sins
2) an act or the process of being repentant; penitence

*Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers.

This is quite interesting. There are two connotations here in the English language. The first suggests that we must feel deeply sorry and regret our past actions or sins. The second suggests that we must then do something about them to make some form of penance.

This lines up pretty well with what I was taught in the church growing up. However, there is much more to this topic than our English definition.

Let's look a little deeper at the word. Our English word repentance comes from the Latin word "repoenitēre" - from the root word "poenitēre" which means to feel regret.

The Latin translation of the Bible was written well over 1500 years ago. So the word repentance has primarily revolved around the concept of feeling bad about one's sins and doing something to make up for it for a very long time.

Let's go one step further and look at the word in the language of the original text. The Greek word which we translate as repentance is metanoia. This word comes from two root words, meta and nois.

The word meta means "to change". This is probably not surprising to you as we still use meta in a lot of our English language, think for example metamorphosis. The word nois simply means "mind". Nothing more, nothing less.

Once we see what these two words mean it should come as no surprise to us that the word metanoia means, "to change your mind".

This definition of repentance should probably concern you. It certainly concerns me! You see, when most people read the word "repent" in their Bible, their tendency is to associate it with feeling bad about their sin and wanting to change what they do in order to get right with God. And surely you could forgive them for that, given that that is what it means in English. This is by no means the only word in the Bible that is grossly mistranslated, however it might be the most important one.

I know I don't have to convince you that repentance is important.  We all know that, right?  Over and over again the Scriptures state the importance of repentance. Our biggest problem is that over and over again we associate it with feeling bad and changing our actions to get right with God.

So, repentance is not about changing your actions, nor is it feeling bad about your sins.  It is simply changing what you believe, changing your mind. Feeling bad about sin and changing the way you live are not bad things, but they are not the focus of Christian living, they are one fruit of Christian living.

The focus of Christian living is what we believe. What we believe shapes our whole lives.

Romans 12:2 states that we "are transformed by the renewal of our mind." This sums up repentance beautifully. As we focus on the renewal of our mind, we are transformed. As we believe what God says about us, we start to experience that reality.

We are not becoming saints or becoming righteous, we are saints and we are righteous. Our journey is merely a journey of discovery, as we discover who we are and choose to believe it, we start to walk in it.

If this concept of repentance is new to you and you're struggling to see where I'm coming from, I'd encourage you to watch this video on repentance over on my website:  http://www.phildrysdale.com/work/true-repentance/

The renewal of the mind is not a cool phrase for Christians to throw around. Rather the renewal of the mind is repentance. If you as a believer are looking for a way to mature and grow into who you are in Christ - this is it. Repentance is the process of discovering what God says is the truth and aligning your faith with His.

Grace - Freedom from Addiction 9

We experience Life when we experience His life.

(I hope you'll take a minute or two to read this.)

Each of us, in some way, has at some point in our lives tried to find Life in something other than God.  We've defined goodness on our own terms.  We've believed that happiness is something we can find and provide for ourselves.  We have taken pride in our accomplishments, but we have also at times purposefully ignored the uneasy feeling that there still remains a lack which cannot be fulfilled through our insight, efforts, or activities.  I'm not saying that we can't be momentarily satisfied, because we can.  I'm not saying that it's wrong to look for happiness in friendships, fine dining, beautiful mountain ranges, a favorite pastime, or a job well-done.  But, if you'll be honest, you know it's never enough; those things can never impart a sense of contentment to us that will last beyond this lifetime.

That's precisely why we still sense that lack--because only the contentment that comes from an eternal source will satisfy us. It must come from a source greater than ourselves so we are not only filled up, but also overflowing with Life.  The weighty truth is simply this:  only through the life of Jesus Christ can this happen.  We experience Life when we experience His life.

But give us time: we'll look for Life in something or someone other than Jesus. As a products of our culture and society, we've embraced what they offer to us as happiness and goodness and we've learned either accept those offerings or adjust our definitions of those ideals to fit our own desires. Gerald May puts it this way:

If I do something that makes me feel good, I am likely to do it again.  If I keep doing it, and if it keeps making me feel good, I will probably make a habit of it.  Once I have made a habit of it, it becomes important to me and I will miss it if it is taken away.  In other words, I have become attached to it.  The most important behavioral insight into addiction, then, is that attachment takes place through a process of learning.

In my next email on this topic, I'll share a quote with you that will hopefully bring much clarity as to why seeking happiness in anything other than God Himself is so damaging to us as individuals.

I pray that you will see Jesus as your sole source of Life and be willing to change how you've thought about Him.  In relationship with Him, we find the best of everything for our lives.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

May, Gerald G. Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions. San Francisco, CA: HarperOne, 2005. Print.  p. 56.  The above quote may have been edited for clarity and understanding outside its context.

Grace - Free from the Power of Sin

The natural mind thinks, "If grace covers my sin, why not continue so that grace can be magnified?" Its definition of grace would be that grace frees me from the penalty of sin, so I can go satisfy myself with no fear of punishment. This is obviously tempting to those of us who experience the painful compulsion to indulge in addictive behaviors. But such an assumption is a total misunderstanding of the grace of God… The focus of God's grace is not just on the penalty of my sin, but my bondage to sin on this side of heaven. Grace did not come just to pay my penalty so I could live in the bondage of working sin. It came to set me free from the power of sin in self-consciousness in my own life and even from my bondage to those who have sinned against me… God desires not only to free you from the penalty of sin but to free you from the power of sin. That's why it is foolish to believe you can be a partaker of grace and continue on nonchalantly in a life of ungodliness.

 

Dudley Hall

Grace Works, Vine Books, 1992, 257-8, 263.

Grace - One Reason Why Grace is Vastly Superior

It's unfortunate, but those looking at their behavior as a measurement of their righteous have taken their eyes off of Jesus.  Here's an excerpt from an article by Bill Snell.  I highlighted a particularly interesting portion.  The complete article may be found here.

"Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God" (Romans 7:4)

Thankfully, it is the role of the Spirit living within each believer, not the law, that leads the children of God in their new identity as the "righteousness of God in Christ". Behavioral changes reflecting the standards required by the law would now be out of a motivation of acceptance and love, rather than a fear of judgment and condemnation due to inevitable failure.

"But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory" (2 Corinthians 3:7-9)

Where the law says, "thou shalt not kill", or "thou shalt not steal", or "thou shalt not commit adultery", the Spirit not only leads the believer to not commit murder, but to be willing to lay down his life; instead of stealing, giving; rather than committing adultery, choosing to love sacrificially while receiving one's spouse in a manner which brings them to a place of security, comfort, and joy.

The law set a standard outwardly that the flesh was simply unable to satisfy. This was not a mistake. God intended for the law to instruct us by means of our failure in order that we might trust God's perfect provision for all aspects of life, including holiness and happiness. Christ is our life in all its fullness, living in our hearts by faith.

"When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory" (Colossians 3:4)

Therefore, the law serves to bring us to Christ, while continuing to reveal our utter dependence upon the indwelling life of Christ, serving to make us holy, righteous, justified, and eternally secure before the Father."

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - A Short Conversation

I recently had a short conversation with a friend about righteousness and obedience. Righteousness in the Bible is defined as that which is conforming to God's law both in thought and action, thus meaning one is innocent and in no need of being rectified. However, OUR righteousness is defined by FAITH in Christ--meaning that we believed HE perfectly obeyed and has given us HIS righteousness. If we can rid ourselves of the misconception that our righteousness is derived by the Law, we will come to see that the power of sin and condemnation is ALREADY BROKEN in our lives.

Here is the conversation below, with my friend's text in bold print (I got permission to send this out):

Why do I not have to "get right" with God after I sin?

Because you are always righteous through Jesus Christ. Under the old covenant, a sacrifice had to be offered after each sin. Under the new covenant, Jesus is the one, perfect sacrifice.

How do you be righteous and still sin? It almost seems like you can sin any way you want and it not matter.

Because your righteousness is not based on how little you sin. Your righteous is literally the righteousness of Christ. It's unfortunate, but most Christians have been taught a performance-based Christianity and know little about Christ's work on their behalf. As for wanting to sin and get away with it, a Christian needs to understand two things:  just how forgiven they really are and the reality of the life of Christ in them.  After faith in these two things, they will not want to take advantage of that and sin.  The love of God which provided for our forgiveness and right-standing produces thankfulness in those who hear about it and receive it.  Thankfulness does not ask for a license to sin. And the Bible says that Christians don't have that kind of heart anyway; they have a new one. It's the mind that needs to be transformed. Your righteousness is by faith, not performance. Obedience is important, but it's not what makes you righteous.

So my righteousness comes from Christ alone? ...and so to receive and LIVE in righteousness, I need to have faith that HE is my righteousness. And I guess a transformed mind also comes by believing that I have a new mind in Christ.

Bingo.

I'm not sure I have that much faith. I want to say I do. Wait, do I have to have faith to get faith?

It's not an issue of how much faith one has, but rather in whom the faith is placed. Faith is a gift. Quit looking at yourself. Look at Jesus, who authored and perfected your faith. It's a gift.

That's cool. So I don't have to strive to get it; its given to me. And when I look to Jesus, I'm putting my faith in Him, and He continues to give.

Bingo. It's a Christ-centered faith and not a Christian-centered faith. Quit looking at yourself.

My friends, this is why the Gospel of the Grace of Jesus Christ is so important.  It sets people free.  Don't dilute the message; that'll only produce a diluted response.  I charge each and every one of you to allow Holy Spirit to reveal this gospel to you.  It is God's power for our salvation, because through it, He has shown us how we are made righteous.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - Freedom from Addiction 8

"We are meant to be free enough to really love God and one another, but true freedom can happen only if we completely trust in God's ultimate care for us.  And to really trust God, we must begin to relax our grip and ease our concern about all the lesser sources of security to which we have become attached.  This can feel risky indeed.  In our culture, the three gods we trust for security are possessions, power, and human relationships.  To a greater or lesser extent, all of us worship this false trinity." (Citation below)

Possessions, Power, and Human Relationships

Gerald May says that these three things are manifestations of how we trust.  As I think about these, I ask myself how Grace has brought change in each area, as contrasted with how culture says we are to live:

1. Possessions: 
• Culture:  accumulate more stuff to demonstrate status and find happiness.
• Grace:  consider yourself a steward with resources to bless others.
2. Power:
• Culture:  live as a predator and manipulate and use others for selfish reasons.
• Grace:  consider yourself a protector and help others to attain wisdom for finding healthy, happy lives.
3. Human Relationships (closely related to the area of Power, relationships are needed for the exertion of Power, but here the distinction is more intimate):  
• Culture:  fulfill your needs through others, rely upon them for true meaning in life, while driven by fear of losing them.
• Grace:  consider your union with Christ as first and foundational, allowing all other relations to be independent of you.

I haven't always preached Grace, but this list causes me to call to mind those who turned from God under that other ministry I once utilized.  Leaving a true relationship with God, they eventually poured themselves into acquiring possessions, chose to be their own god by deciding what was best for them and their future, and brought others into their deception for sexual gratification and the hope of finding love, all the while hurting and being hurt.  The most tragic thing about all of that is that they settled for something good, as opposed to the best that God had for them, if only they had trusted Him.

It didn't have to be that way.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

May, Gerald G. Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions. San Francisco, CA: HarperOne, 2005. Print.  p. 32.  The above quote may have been edited for clarity and understanding outside its context.