Messed Up People

"....so let's be done with the comparison game. Let's be done with constantly fighting for the higher moral ground to stand on and look down on everyone else. Let's be done with thinking we can actually earn something that is impossible to earn. Let's stop trying to be perfect and righteous because those are not the people God is looking for. God is looking for people who can admit their needs and surrender to a Savior, because if the Bible is any indication, it doesn't matter how messed up you are.If you love him, he can and will use you."

            -Jefferson Bethke, Jesus > Religion, page 90

One Word

"Our Understanding of the Gospel Can Hinge on One Word" - From Michael Kelley at Forward Progress:

“For.”

It’s only 3 letters. A throw away word. The kind of word that appears countless times in an article. One that we simply write or say or read without thinking much about it because at its best it simply links what comes after it to what comes before it. It’s a word that shows up in a passage of Scripture that beautifully summarizes the gospel message:

“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

In these three verses, the word appear three times in this particular translation, but it’s the appearance in verse 10 that I’d like to call your attention to. We are newly created in Christ for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to walk in.

You find in this passage a holistic treatment of the gospel. That is we were saved by grace, through faith, for good works. Take any of those three components away and you have an incomplete message. We are brought near to God not on the basis of our own merit, but by grace. Unmerited favor. Undeserved blessing. Completely apart from ourselves, this grace finds its root in God alone and His great love and mercy. It is by grace we have been saved.

And that grace is given to us by faith. Faith is the track upon which the train of grace rides. It is the avenue by which we are made right with God. It is through faith alone that anyone at any time is ever made right with God. As Charles Spurgeon beautifully put it, “Faith is the silver thread upon which the pearls of grace are to be hung. Break that, and the pearls lie scattered on the ground.” Faith is the mechanism by which the gospel ceases to be mere historical fact and actually comes to rest on a person. It’s the moment when a person ceases to merely know and begins to actually believe.

And then there is the last part. This grace, which comes by faith, is for good works. It’s a cause and effect kind of thing. Those who experience this grace are irreversibly changed. They bear the fruit of righteousness and now love God with their deepest desires. Their souls have been awakened to true beauty and, like someone who has eaten the richest fare once, no longer find a cheeseburger from McDonald’s all that satisfying any more.

By grace. Through faith. For good works.

The Great Exchange

Here's a simple explanation by Mark Driscoll of "the great exchange" - Christ's righteousness for our unrighteousness.

This is the center of the Gospel - and so many Christians do not really get it!

Hope to the Broken

“The life of Jesus offers hope to the broken, to those who recognize their inability to keep God’s law, and to those who are frustrated with their falling and failings. The gospel is the life of Jesus for sinners. His righteousness is our righteousness, and this gives us hope and confidence before God. Here the broken find encouragement, for in Christ we are righteous.”

— Joe Thorn, Note To Self
(Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2011), 31

Hat Tip: Of First Importance

All That We Do is Receive

"This Christian righteousness is the greatest righteousness. It has nothing to do with what we do or how hard we work, but it is given to us and we do nothing for it. We receive and allow someone else to do all the work for us and in us, and it’s God that does it. That’s why we call it ‘passive righteousness.’"

 — Martin Luther, quoted by Rose Marie Miller inFrom Fear to Freedom  (Colorado Springs, Co.: WaterBrook Press, 1994), 65

Hat Tip:  Of First Importance:

Beyond the Appearance of Godliness

Paul instructed his protege Timothy to pursue godliness (1 Tim. 6:11), to train himself for godliness (1 Tim. 4:7). to teach according to godliness (1 Tim. 6:3), and told him that there is great gain in godliness with contentment (1 Tim.6:6).  So what is godliness, anyway?

In a post entitled A Theology of Godliness, Joe Thorn makes the following three points:

• Legalism kills Godliness
• License Kills Godliness
• The Gospel Gives Lift to Godliness

He concludes (and I agree):

It is inappropriate to think of godliness as the stuff we do (or can’t do). Godliness is not behavior. Godliness is the result of the gospel taking root in our hearts, producing the fruit of Godward love and obedience through an attitude of joy and gratitude. True godliness in the life of a sinner-saint is an imperfect experience, but an experience of grace nonetheless. We need a theology of godliness that understands it is much more than will-power and performance, but the sanctifying work of the Spirit and true affection that leads to the joyful work of denying self and following Jesus.

We need to move beyond the mere appearance of godliness (2 Tim 3:5) to the reality of living by and out of grace.

Zealous and Far Away

"There is a lot of zeal today for religion, spirituality, and moral crusades. Yet when we are ignorant of the righteousness that God demands in his law and the righteousness that he gives in the gospel, we are further from his kingdom than the prostitutes and tax collectors (Matt. 21:32). This is the message that the prophets brought and that Jesus proclaimed in his ministry."

- The Gospel-Driven Life, Michael Horton, page 49

Okay, my readers: Have you heard enough yet to get motivated to read this book?

Radical Problem, Radical Solution

Below is more great stuff on Luther and his radical message of grace from Timothy Dalrymple's series at Parchment and Pen. (The picture to the right is entitled "Lord Save Me" based on the Gospel story of Peter and Jesus walking on the water. As the quote below shows, we really do need Jesus to save us!)

"Sin, as Luther came to understand it, is “radical,” and like a twisted root it perverts everything that flows from it. Sin is, at its heart, an attempt to establish our own righteousness before God. As Luther writes in his justification for this thesis, “To trust in works, which one ought to do in fear, is equivalent to giving oneself the honor and taking it from God, to whom fear is due in connection with every work. But this is completely wrong, namely to please oneself, to enjoy oneself in one’s works, and toadore oneself as an idol.”

The problem is not that we sin; it is that we are sinners, that we are corrupted through and through with selfishness and pride. Even when we do things that might be perceived by the world as ethical and right, we do them in sin, in a sinful bid to justify ourselves before God. The righteous can only act righteously by depending upon God and remaining constantly aware that their own actions do not make them righteous, but they are righteous solely through God’s grace in Christ.

Yet this will not be the end of the story. Although Luther came to a profound sense of sin, his sense of God’s grace, not coincidentally, was equally profound."

The Great Cleavage Between Faith & Unbelief

“There is no greater cleavage between faith and unbelief than in their respective attitudes to the cross. Where faith sees glory, unbelief sees only disgrace. What was foolishness to Greeks, and continues to be to modern intellectuals who trust in their own wisdom, is nevertheless the wisdom of God. And what remains a stumbling-block to those who trust in their own righteousness, like the Jews of the first century, proves to be the saving power of God (1 Cor. 1:18-25).”

- John Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove, Ill.; InterVarsity Press, 1986), 40.

Hat Tip: Of First Importance

The Great Transference

"Having become with us the Son of Man, he has made us with himself sons of God. By his own descent to the earth he has prepared our ascent to heaven. Having received our mortality, he has bestowed on us his immortality. Having undertaken our weakness, he has made us strong in his strength. Having submitted to our poverty, he has transferred to us his riches. Having taken upon himself the burden of unrighteousness with which we were oppressed, he has clothed us with his righteousness."

- John Calvin

Hat tip: Having Become With Us the Son of Man — DashHouse.com:

Got to Have a Luther Quote on Reformation Day

“Faith therefore must be purely taught: namely, that thou art so entirely joined unto Christ, that He and thou art made as it were one person: so that thou mayest boldly say, I am now one with Christ, that is to say, Christ’s righteousness, victory, and life are mine. And again, Christ may say, I am that sinner, that is, his sins and his death are Mine, because he is united and joined unto Me, and I unto him.”

- Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians

Hat Tip: The Gospel-Driven Church: Happy Reformation Day!

The Great Exchange

"Lord Jesus,
You are my righteousness,
I am your sin.

You took on you what was mine;
yet set on me what was yours.

You became what you were not,
that I might become what I was not.

- Martin Luther"


Hat Tip: You Are My Righteousness : Kingdom People:

Punishment and Perfection

“God requires two things of us: punishment for our sins and perfection in our lives. Our sins must be punished, and our lives must be righteous. But we cannot bear our own punishment, and we cannot provide our own righteousness. Therefore, God, out of His immeasurable love for us, provided his own Son to do both. Christ bears our punishment, and Christ performs our righteousness. And When we receive Christ, all of his punishment and all of his righteousness is counted as ours.”

- John Piper, This Momentary Marriage (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2009), 46.

Hat Tip: Of First Importance

Who is Spiritual (Part 4)

(Continuing the discussion based on Philippians 3:2-14. Here are links to Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.)

In verses 8-11 Paul expands on step two to being spiritual: learning to “glory in Christ Jesus.” Paul learned, as he described in Romans 7, that no matter how hard he tried he could not keep the inner spirit of the law of God. Even if his outward actions were correct, his own heart betrayed him. He then got the revelation of the Gospel, the same thing Luther learned from Paul. As Paul said in Romans 1:16-17, God’s righteousness is not His righteous judgement of us, but instead it is His making us righteous in and through Christ

Martin Luther saw that the proper evangelical use of the Law is to drive us to desperation (Romans 3:19-20) so as to drive us to the Cross. At the cross we can get the revelation that God's righteousness is not our condemnation, but our justification. This is true because by His grace He is both "Just and our Justifier" (Romans 3:26): i.e. He makes us righteous by taking our punishment (penal substitution) and giving us His righteousness.

If you get this revelation and understanding of what Jesus has done for you, then you truly will glory in Him - He will be the center of your life forever.

If the basic principle of all man based religion and forms of spirituality is “If I, then God, as we said yesterday, then the basic principle of Gospel spirituality is “God has, therefore I.” The Gospel is about response to grace apart from human initiative. This is an exact opposite to all human spiritualities and religions that focus on men taking the initiative to reach out to and influence the supernatural.

The Gospel is always about response, not initiation. The initiative is always with God; He stays in control. We respond to His gracious initiative. We do not control Him, we respond to his love. How humbling! God the Divine Spirit is neither male not female. But in a sense, as C. S. Lewis said, He is so masculine that we are all female in response.

In the Sinners Place

“This is the paradox of grace. He who insists he is right will be pronounced wrong, while he who admits he is wrong will be declared right. The righteousness of God is only given to those who stand in the sinners place.”

- Stanley Voke, Personal Revival (Waynesboro, Ga.: OM Literature, nd), 24.

From: Of First Importance

Isn't this just the essential of the Gospel?

Okay Lord - I admit who I am. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner! This sinner clings to the Cross, and to Him who sits on the Mercy Seat.

Amen.

Gospel Driven?

I like this quiz entitle Are you gospel-driven? at blog Already Not Yet

John Fonville posts an excellent article by Miles McKee. Here’s the conclusion: Would you like to know whether or not you are gospel driven? To find out, ask yourself these following questions.

With which are you absorbed? (Answer A or B)

1 (A) your personal righteousness,(B) The vicarious righteousness of Christ?
2 (A) the condition of your faith (B) Christ’s faithful obedience on your behalf?
3 (A) your self-crucifixion (B) His crucifixion?
4 (A) your new life (B) His sinless life?
5 (A) your experience of Christ (B) His experience for you?
6 (A) your love for God (B) His love for you?
7 (A) The depth of your personal surrender (B) The depth of Christ’s personal surrender?
8 (A) Your victorious life (B) His victorious life on your behalf?
9 (A) Your attainment (B) His atonement?
10 (A) The work of the Spirit in you (B) the work of Christ for you?

If you answered “B” in all 10 questions, you have a grasp of the gospel, but better yet, the gospel has a grasp of you.

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

I agree the B is the right answer to all those questions. Hope to grow to the point where B will be my real answer to all those questions!

No Middle Ground on Righteousness

“If the truth of being justified by Christ alone (not by our works) is lost, then all Christian truths are lost. For there is no middle ground between Christian righteousness and works-righteousness. There is no alternative to Christian righteousness but works-righteousness; if you do not build your confidence on the work of Christ, you must build your confidence on your own work. On this truth and only on this truth the church is built and has its being.”

- Timothy Keller, Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: Living in Line with the Truth of the Gospel (Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2003), 16.

Hat Tip: Of First Importance

“You are a Sinner.” = Comforting Words

“Luther taught that every time you insist that I am a sinner, just so often do you call me to remember the benefit of Christ my Redeemer, upon whose shoulders, and not upon mine, lie all my sins. So, when you say that I am a sinner, you do not terrify, but comfort me immeasurably.”

—Thomas Oden, The Justification Reader (Grand Rapids: Eeerdmans, 2002), 5

Hat Tip: Of First Importance

Christ’s Righteousness Triumphant

“Whatever comes in, when you go to God for acceptance, besides Christ, call it Antichrist; bid it be gone; make only Christ’s righteousness triumphant.”

- Thomas Wilcox, “Honey Out of the Rock“

Hat Tip: Of First Importance

Confess Your Righteousness

“Before you can ever make a clean and unamended confession of your sin, you have to first begin by confessing your righteousness. It’s not just your sin that separates you from God, your righteousness does as well. Because, when you are convinced you are righteous, you don’t seek the forgiving, rescuing, and restoring mercy that can only be found in Jesus Christ.”

- John Tripp

Hat Tip: Gospel Reminders