In 1517 Martin Luther posted his 95 thesis declaring salvation by grace through faith. Today the church desperately needs a second reformation of sanctification by grace. Christians are chained to a treadmill of trying to please God by their behavior, of trying harder and sinning less. If they can just discipline themselves enough and be determined enough, they are deceived into thinking they can become righteous and holy and be close to God and He will be pleased. Grace tells us that our relationship and intimacy with our Father in heaven is no longer dependent upon our behavior...or lack there of. Grace tells us we no longer have to strive to become righteous, because He has given us a new nature that is righteous. Grace tells us that it is the only thing powerful enough to deal with our sin. Grace tells us that God is already head-over-heels in love with us and nothing we do can change that. Welcome to "Formed by Grace."

Friday, April 30, 2010

Is God a Pirate That Can Never be Pleased?




This past week I had the priviledge of spending time with my friend John Lynch. John is one of the best teachers I know on the topic of grace. In this short 3 minute video clip he talks about the futility of trying to do in the flesh what only God can do by his Spirit in me.


1 comment:

  1. Good Post. I guess this is the current hot topic amongst Christian leaders and it is now filtering out to the churches. I think it needs to be said, but there is a danger of "throwing the baby out with the bath water" or "sanctification out with the legalism." I think it would be easy to state the message without leaving Christians, especially new Christians, with the impression that they don't have to do anything after they become a Christian. Example: Luther realized that preaching so much grace leaves you with a church full of folks that don't/won't do anything.
    Speaking of John Lynch, I have a friend who loves John. My friend, engaged, unemployed, and prays for an extension of unemployment benefits, refuses to do anything, including getting a job, until God leads him and sees unemployment as God providing for him. Recently, our Pastor preached on John 14:15-21, where Jesus said, "if you love me you will obey what I command." After the service, I came across a lively argument between my friend and his fiance; he hated the sermon, she liked it.
    A few weeks ago on vacation in Phoenix, we went to church with a friend and imagine my surprise, it was John Lynch's church and there he was down front. Afterward, I introduced myself, told him the story of my friend, and asked him what he thought. He said it was a "distortion of grace". When I asked what I should do, he said "just love him." I asked if I could tell him it was a "distortion of grace," he said no.
    Similarly, our church's men's ministry is going to a grace/grief counseling/Spirit-led ministry and probably getting rid of a discipleship model they had been developing over a couple years. When I asked an elder if I could confront other men, who professed to be Christians, about sin, I was told "no" because I was a sinner myself. Jesus clearly commands us to confront sin in Luke 17 with no stipulations; in fact I would appreciate it if someone would confront me about my sin.
    Bottomline: I think it is rather easy to define the message of sanctification of grace without leading folks to see God as a "legalistic Pirate." As I meander down the middle, I am reading "The Discipline of Grace" by Jerry Bridges and it is really helping me understand this. Whatever side we find ourselves on, I think God's grace covers us. Let's maybe figure out how to tell folks that doing something, starting with the spiritual disciplines, is what Jesus wants in developing our relationship with him.

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