That's what "cheap grace" is - damnation. To convince oneself that one is really safe and saved whilst on a bandwagon heading for a steep cliff. To throw oneself back into a raging river over and over again so that Christ may rescue you. To not only play with danger but to immerse oneself in it. To feign ignorance of the saving power of God's grace that leads men to repentance. To disbelieve God.
There is no atonement without blood, and no salvation without sacrifice. And if truly understand the sacrifice of God that saves us, we would truly be saved. It we value the costliness of grace, then we tap into the power it releases to us.
It is a self-deception to excuse oneself from obedience. To exclude obedience is to exclude faith.
Cheap grace is an attempt to separate the inseparable - the nature of God within Himself and His message: the gospel of salvation and the gospel of the cross. God cannot be divided, or conflicted. God is wholly One. To separate God's holiness from His love is to have neither. To separate the salvation and the calling of God is to have neither either. It is a self-deception to believe that any other gospel save that of the cross is able to save.
The implications of the cross are twofold - that Christ died for our sins, and we died with Him. Christ went 100% for us, and calls us to go that 100% with Him.
There are only two possible life choices - light, faith, obedience, the narrow way, sacrifice, and salvation, or, darkness, unbelief, rebellion, the broad way, idolatry, and damnation. One have to decide between the love of God or the love of self. One have to choose between serving oneself or serving God.
There He bore: abandonment, loss, hardship, sorrow, sacrifice, suffering, grief, accusations, rejection, pain, and the burden of others' wrongs.
And He called us to follow Him, to forsake, as He did: life, riches, respect, the world, the cares of this life, the preservation of one's image, self, ambition, family, and career.
To receive, from what He bore, what He received: grace, blessing, life, glory, wisdom, peace, fulfilment, joy, and true liberty.
Self is a burden, a chain, and a hard yoke. To renounce oneself, to take up the cross, and follow Christ is to escape from bondage. The way of the cross is hard to those who receive it, but those who gladly follow Christ at His call will receive His gentle words and His grace. He asks nothing of us without giving us the strength to bear it.
If you live with the world,
You will perish with the world.
If you are married to the world, you will not escape the same judgment of God that will befall all sinners.
If you live as a sinner, you will die as a sinner, and be buried among sinners, and be burned with the rest of sinners.
God demonstrated His love by the cross.
1) Love equals the cross.
2) Grace equals discipleship
3) Missions equals forsaking one's nets to be a fisher of men.
Belief absolutely necessitates obedience.
Faith is to follow.
The religion "Christianity" should really be term, "Churchianity". The Sunday worship, the gifts or tithes, the religious observance, can be to a selfish man nothing more than an evasion of God. God must be our bread, our sustenance, upon whom we absolutely depend for our life, or He is nothing to us at all.
Again, Faith and obedience,
Redemption and the Cross are eternally inseparable
because they are central to the indivisible God.
To be a Christian invariably means that this will be hard life because God's concept is always the Suffering before the Glory, the Shame before the Exaltation. This is not only the pattern of Christ's ministry on the earth and upon the cross, but the pattern laid out for all those who literally follow Him.
And why do we follow Him? Because with Him, and with Him alone, are the words of eternal life. No one can go to the Father except through Christ. And He despised the shame. Are we ready to despise shame?
The Word of God births faith, and faith obedience, and obedience life. Sinful desire brings forth sin, and sin brings forth death.
Sacrifice is only the inevitable corollary, not the purpose nor the goal nor the focus of our salvation. Sacrifice is a fruit of faith. Our goal is Christ, running towards Him with our eyes fixed ahead, our hands lifted above, and our hearts reaching out.
To separate love, grace, missions, etc. and all the Christian and Biblical issues from the cross is to remove all power and thus all salvation from God's Word, leaving us without God and without any Word at all.
The selfish nature of man cannot be salvaged, let alone pampered. It is wedded to idolatry and to Satan. It has to be obliterated because it is incompatible with our union to Christ.
There is not cross without the reality o God. Only a genuine encounter with Christ and an experience of His goodness will lead us to say, "Your goodness is better than life!" Life, the life that we leave behind, becomes of no importance because it is exchanged for something which is far better, the pearl of great price. Only when we meet Christ will we hear His call and receive the faith and grace to follow Him.
There is no purpose to forsaking all if the forsaking of all is the end itself, without the reality of God and desire for God. It is empty, and meaningless. Nothing but Jesus Himself could call the young man to sell all he had, give to the poor, and follow Him. The cross is not the cross unless it is Christ who calls us to follow Him because of His immense love and grace and mercy.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
I Died For You
Christ left His glory behind to suffer shame. There was nothing, not a penny's-worth, in it for Him. There was no fame or power or wealth or pleasure, only sorrow and pain and grief and separation and humiliation. He had nothing to gain, and everything to lose. That, my friends, is love.
For Him to descend, to be lowly, to stoop down to the level of degenerate man, to reach out, almost as a last resort, to a human race that would ultimately reject Him. For Him to show such love and experience such rejection was magnimous. Why did He do it?
The amazing, incredible, miracle of the cross and salvation, is right before our eyes. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son. Jesus gave it all up. He did not have to. It was not our right, not something we can ever demand of Him.
Imagine two men standing before the cross, whose message was "I died for you". One is a Christian. He seems exceedingly grateful, pleased, and thankful for Christ's gift to him. He can only reply, "Thank you Jesus, " and walks away. The gift of salvation, so precious and so costly and so rare, he only receives, keeps, says the necessary thanks, and goes away. It sits on his bookshelf, unused and untreasured. If one were to ask such a Christian, what salvation means to him, he would say, "To get me into heaven one day, and to take to church every Sunday". This man goes to church every Sunday to do a great favor to God by showing some appreciation for God's gift of salvation.
If we are as such, we turn the sufferings of Christ and the cost of His sacrifice into nothing.
He hung on the cross, for nothing? To be a little pretty accessory to us? To be a cherry on our ice-cream sundae? Sundae, Schmundae...
There stood another man before the cross. This man had perception. He saw and understood Christ's suffering and rejection. He knew what salvation costs. He was overcome by the magnitude of God's kindness, undeserved kindness. Christ said to the man, "Follow you, and I will made you a fisher of men". That man was won for Christ that day, and he left behind his entire life and followed Christ. He could not keep salvation for himself, but by life and by death, he brought the gospel to as many as would hear, and died a martyr. Christ said to that man, "Bear up your cross and follow me. Sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Share in me, in my suffering, my rejection, my pain, my loss, my humiliation, my death."
Nothing stood between that man and Christ. "I have decided to follow Jesus, and there is no turning back. The cross is before me, the world is behind. I will suffer the loss of all things that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness except that which is through faith in God."
So between the two men at the cross, which one are you?
Jesus said, not only by word but by supreme demonstration,
One man says, "Gee, thanks." Maybe he might condescend even say, "Yeah, sure, I love you too."
Which man really knew what Jesus' love was - not a pretty trifle to be received but a pearl of great price.
Jesus didn't just die for you. Jesus doesn't love only you. The only way you can realize that is when you stop being selfish, self-centred, and self-consumed long enough to understand the sufferings of Christ. We must not be a leech, a taker, and a useless fool, an adult who acts like a baby.
Yes, Jesus gave 100% for you. He went 100% out of His way for you. But it doesn't end there! Goodness - can all you say is, "thank you???!!!"
This is the message that my generation needs to hear.
For Him to descend, to be lowly, to stoop down to the level of degenerate man, to reach out, almost as a last resort, to a human race that would ultimately reject Him. For Him to show such love and experience such rejection was magnimous. Why did He do it?
The amazing, incredible, miracle of the cross and salvation, is right before our eyes. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son. Jesus gave it all up. He did not have to. It was not our right, not something we can ever demand of Him.
Imagine two men standing before the cross, whose message was "I died for you". One is a Christian. He seems exceedingly grateful, pleased, and thankful for Christ's gift to him. He can only reply, "Thank you Jesus, " and walks away. The gift of salvation, so precious and so costly and so rare, he only receives, keeps, says the necessary thanks, and goes away. It sits on his bookshelf, unused and untreasured. If one were to ask such a Christian, what salvation means to him, he would say, "To get me into heaven one day, and to take to church every Sunday". This man goes to church every Sunday to do a great favor to God by showing some appreciation for God's gift of salvation.
If we are as such, we turn the sufferings of Christ and the cost of His sacrifice into nothing.
He hung on the cross, for nothing? To be a little pretty accessory to us? To be a cherry on our ice-cream sundae? Sundae, Schmundae...
There stood another man before the cross. This man had perception. He saw and understood Christ's suffering and rejection. He knew what salvation costs. He was overcome by the magnitude of God's kindness, undeserved kindness. Christ said to the man, "Follow you, and I will made you a fisher of men". That man was won for Christ that day, and he left behind his entire life and followed Christ. He could not keep salvation for himself, but by life and by death, he brought the gospel to as many as would hear, and died a martyr. Christ said to that man, "Bear up your cross and follow me. Sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Share in me, in my suffering, my rejection, my pain, my loss, my humiliation, my death."
Nothing stood between that man and Christ. "I have decided to follow Jesus, and there is no turning back. The cross is before me, the world is behind. I will suffer the loss of all things that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness except that which is through faith in God."
So between the two men at the cross, which one are you?
Jesus said, "I died for you."
One man says, "I give my life to you."
The other man, "Thank you."
Who is the one who is grateful?
Jesus said, not only by word but by supreme demonstration,
"I love you."
One man says, "Gee, thanks." Maybe he might condescend even say, "Yeah, sure, I love you too."
The other man, he died a martyr.
Which man really knew what Jesus' love was - not a pretty trifle to be received but a pearl of great price.
Jesus didn't just die for you. Jesus doesn't love only you. The only way you can realize that is when you stop being selfish, self-centred, and self-consumed long enough to understand the sufferings of Christ. We must not be a leech, a taker, and a useless fool, an adult who acts like a baby.
Yes, Jesus gave 100% for you. He went 100% out of His way for you. But it doesn't end there! Goodness - can all you say is, "thank you???!!!"
This is the message that my generation needs to hear.
No Sloppy Faith
There is absolutely no place for us to be sloppy or nonchalant about our Christian life and beliefs.
Belief
Karl Barth said, "In the church of Jesus Christ there can and should be no non-theologians."
There is no excuse for us to hide behind the dogma or teaching of another. Every single disciple must be strong enough to face the world's criticism and answer their questions. Every single disciple must test every one of their beliefs against the Word of God and allow God to correct us. Every single believer must have doctrinal integrity. We cannot afford to hide behind the creed of our church and the teaching of our Pastor. We each have to find the truth in God's Word for ourselves! We have to examine our own beliefs! I refuse to be spoon-fed - if I were to believe anything it has better have a significant and complete basis in God's Word.
Slight cynicism and criticism only helps us. What if Jesus were to confront us at Judgment Day for following along the wrong teaching and practices of others? Can we really hide behind the excuse,
We cannot. We cannot afford to be cowardly, dishonest, or languid. Each of us has to read God's Word and know God for ourselves.
Life
We cannot afford to be sloppy about our faith. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" We are blind, ignorant, and unwise fools who do not consider the future if we not dilligently grow into maturity of faith.
One has to be serious about one's soul and about one's salvation. One cannot take anything for granted. One cannot just repeat catchwords and slogans and call oneself a Christian. Christian life is a treacherous uphill journey that weathers us body and soul. We have to be constantly on the guard and on the move. We have to examine ourselves with all soberness and vigilance. We have to work out salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it is God who at work in us. We have to come to the realization that it is possible to be disqualified from the Kingdom, that it is possible, if we lose heart, to lose our first love for God and to be expelled. It is possible to be blotted out of the Book of Life.
We have to fear God and know what we do impacts eternity. The choices we make and the words we speak mean life and death eternally. There is hell, and there is eternal destruction. If we knew what the stakes were, we would be far less sloppy about our Christian Life, our daily living, for one soul is worth far more than the riches and culture of our entire world.
Belief
Karl Barth said, "In the church of Jesus Christ there can and should be no non-theologians."
There is no excuse for us to hide behind the dogma or teaching of another. Every single disciple must be strong enough to face the world's criticism and answer their questions. Every single disciple must test every one of their beliefs against the Word of God and allow God to correct us. Every single believer must have doctrinal integrity. We cannot afford to hide behind the creed of our church and the teaching of our Pastor. We each have to find the truth in God's Word for ourselves! We have to examine our own beliefs! I refuse to be spoon-fed - if I were to believe anything it has better have a significant and complete basis in God's Word.
Slight cynicism and criticism only helps us. What if Jesus were to confront us at Judgment Day for following along the wrong teaching and practices of others? Can we really hide behind the excuse,
 |
| "I was only following orders." |
Life
We cannot afford to be sloppy about our faith. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" We are blind, ignorant, and unwise fools who do not consider the future if we not dilligently grow into maturity of faith.
One has to be serious about one's soul and about one's salvation. One cannot take anything for granted. One cannot just repeat catchwords and slogans and call oneself a Christian. Christian life is a treacherous uphill journey that weathers us body and soul. We have to be constantly on the guard and on the move. We have to examine ourselves with all soberness and vigilance. We have to work out salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it is God who at work in us. We have to come to the realization that it is possible to be disqualified from the Kingdom, that it is possible, if we lose heart, to lose our first love for God and to be expelled. It is possible to be blotted out of the Book of Life.
We have to fear God and know what we do impacts eternity. The choices we make and the words we speak mean life and death eternally. There is hell, and there is eternal destruction. If we knew what the stakes were, we would be far less sloppy about our Christian Life, our daily living, for one soul is worth far more than the riches and culture of our entire world.
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
(2Pe 1:3-11 KJV)
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