Colin S. Smith's Blog, page 87

Salvation and Purpose in Five Little Words

“But” is my favorite word in the Bible. Throughout Scripture we see “but God,” or “but Christ,” or “but when…” Something was lost, but now it’s found. Someone was dead, but is now alive. A person was blind, but now can see. There was no way, but God made a way.

The word “but” in Scripture often introduces the message of the gracious and compassionate intervention of God. This simple term captures the nature of our God. He redeems, resurrects, and makes all things new. All seems lost and then we hear, “but God.” He intervenes. He saves.

God’s Salvation and Purpose for Paul

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul reminds them that he was a murderer of Christians, a man on a mission to violently wipe out the faith. He says in Galatians 1:15:

But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace was pleased to reveal his son to me… (Galatians 1:16a, emphasis added)

And we know everything changed for Paul. We know that Paul became a Christ-follower himself.

As is often the case with Paul, in this letter, “but when” is closely followed by “in order that.” God set Paul apart before he was born, called him by his grace, and was pleased to reveal Jesus to him “in order that [Paul] might preach him [Jesus] among the Gentiles” (Galatians 1:16). The glorious and merciful “but God” phrases in Scripture are often followed by an “in order that.” God acts with intention.

“But God”

If you are a Christian, you have both a “but God” moment, and you have an “in order that.” As Paul explained to the Ephesians, “but God” is the story for every believer.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked… and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:1-6, emphasis added)

“In Order That”

You and I, and Paul, and all who have been rescued by God, have an “in order that”—a purpose in Christ. We were redeemed not just from something but to something—not just from our murderous pasts, but so that we might love, glorify, and proclaim Christ to others.

Through the inspiration of God’s Spirit, Peter puts it this way: “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:10). And this is in order “that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

We were redeemed not just from something but to something—so that we might proclaim Christ.
Click To Tweet

While we are called to proclaim God’s excellencies right where we are, it’s possible that our “in order that” is unexpected. For Paul, his “in order that” was “that he might preach Christ to the Gentiles.” As the Jew of all Jews, this had to be surprising. The Gentiles (non-Jews) were not his people; the Gentile communities were not his home. Still, Jesus commanded him to go.

Paul obeyed and God used his life in radical, unforeseen ways. Paul planted churches throughout Asia Minor and the Mediterranean. He discipled church planters and shepherded flocks of Christ-followers near and far. He letters make up a bulk of the New Testament. His “in order that”—proclaiming the gospel to the Gentiles—continues to be used by God to rescue and redeem people 2,000 years later.

Christian, where has God purposefully placed you?

As Christ followers, we must not only be thankful for our “but God” (salvation), but also ask ourselves: Where has God put me that I might proclaim his excellencies? We must be prepared to serve the Lord right where we are, or in far-out, unexpected ways among people we do not yet know. Paul exhorts us that “God is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20).

For example:

Soccer moms are not saved in order that they might just sit on sidelines. They are saved in order that they might proclaim Christ’s excellencies to other soccer moms, dads, and kids.
Businessmen and women are not saved to build their own kingdoms. They are saved in order that they might proclaim Christ’s excellencies to their colleagues, that the Lord might be proclaimed and honored in their field of work.
Suburban parents, city dwelling singles, or rural farming families are not saved so that they might pursue comfort and security. They are saved in order that their neighbors might know Christ’s excellencies.
Students are not saved so that they can go to youth group and have fun with their friends, but in order that other students might know the excellencies of Jesus and also be called out of darkness and into marvelous light.

Proclaim his excellencies.

Before we worry that we might do it all wrong and get anxious about what those who hear our proclamation will think, let’s remember that we don’t have to be super savvy or strategic. The Lord chose us, as Paul says, before we were born (Ephesians 1:4). We were set apart by God before we ever breathed our first breath. Our “in order that” is not dependent upon our performance—it’s dependent on Christ’s. And his work is finished. We are simply called to proclaim his excellencies.

May we remember that our God is a redeemer and a reverser. Our God—who enters in and says “but” when all seems lost—is all-powerful and all good. We were dead, but he raised us to life. Knowing that, we can trust his purpose for us. As we are mindful that the Lord was pleased to reveal his Son to us, may we not forsake the calling that was ours before birth, and may we walk in order that his excellencies might be proclaimed wherever we go. As we obey, he will surely do more than we can now ask or imagine.

[Photo Credit: Unsplash]

RELATED POSTS:

He Wants You to Be Saved
Our Plans, God’s Purpose, and Faith
New Life, New Battles

The post Salvation and Purpose in Five Little Words appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.

Why Christians Should Not Get Angry with the Lost

Imagine for a moment that you are responsible for parking at the Super Bowl. The cars are jammed in, bumper-to-bumper, and when the game is over, your job is to clear the parking lot as quickly and as safely as possible.

Your strategy is simple: As soon as the drivers in the first row of a section arrive at their cars, you begin moving them into the exit lane so that others parked behind them can follow.

You notice three drivers, seated in their cars in the front row of one section, so you raise your flag and wave them forward. Nothing happens. So you point to them and wave the flag again, but still nothing happens. Then you notice something strange—these people are in their cars, but they haven’t even started their engines. What in the world are they doing?

By now, the folks in the cars behind are wondering the same thing. Some of them are sounding their horns. They are getting frustrated. Why are these people at the front not moving?

The First Problem

You start getting angry yourself. It’s your job to clear the parking lot, and these guys are holding you and everyone else back. So you walk over to the cars. That takes time and leads to even more blaring of horns. Some people are rolling down their windows and shouting abuse at the drivers on the front row.

You get to the first car, and bang on the windshield: “Get moving!” The driver rolls down the window. “I don’t know what happened,” he says, “but I can’t see. I got in the car, and everything went dark. I can’t drive— I’m blind!”

The Second Problem

You go quickly to the next car, and bang on the windshield: The second driver tries to roll down his window, but he has great difficulty. You look at his wrists, and you see that he is in handcuffs. “I don’t know how this happened,” he says, “but when I got in the car, someone was hiding in the back seat. He slapped these handcuffs on me and then took off. I can’t drive— I’m bound!”

By now, the folks in the cars behind are getting ready to riot: Horns are blaring, and people ten rows back are standing on pick-up trucks, waving their fists, and hurling abuse.

The Third Problem

You move to the third car, and bang on the window. “Sir, these people have a problem. They can’t move their vehicles. I need you to move your car now!” There is no response, and when you look more closely, you see that the driver in the third car is slumped over the wheel. He is dead.

Now picture the scene: Crowds of people are shouting abuse, blaring their horns, and bellowing what they will do to the drivers in the front row, if they don’t get moving.

Everyone is angry, but you have compassion. Why? Because you understand the problem: One man is blind, another is bound, and a third is dead.

Understanding the Human Condition

There is a kind of Christianity that is angry with the sinful world and rails against the evils of our time. It is angry because it does not grasp the human condition: By nature, we are blind, bound, and dead. We cannot see the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4). We do not have the power to stop sinning (John 8:34), and we will not come to Christ and follow him (John 5:40).

Blaring the horns of condemnation may give vent to Christian frustrations, but it does nothing to solve the human problem. People who are blind, bound, and dead need a Savior who is able to open their eyes to the truth, set them free from the powers that bind them, and raise them up in the power of a new life—and this is precisely what God offers to all of us in Jesus Christ.

Our mission is to bring the light, liberty, and life of the gospel to people who are blind, bound, and dead. When we grasp the extent of the human problem, we will exercise this ministry with compassion.

[This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s November 2017 column in  Mature Living Magazine .] [Photo Credit: Unsplash]

RELATED POSTS:

The Dangers of Anger (and What to Do Next)
Gospel Compassion
Hidden Hatred in the Human Heart

The post Why Christians Should Not Get Angry with the Lost appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.

Gospel Gratitude Through Panic Attacks

In a hotel gym while on vacation with my family, I stepped down from the treadmill to stretch, and found myself flat on my back—vision blurred. I reached for my phone to ask for help—thankfully I could. My sister helped me unglue from the ground and wobble to the elevator.

Physically, I was not hurt—just weak. But mentally and emotionally, I had suffered from the incessant message from my body that my time on earth must surely be over soon, and from sudden lack of ability to fully direct my mental state. I had experienced my first and worst panic attack.

A Greater Reality

I have previously written about being nourished by Christ in the wilderness of anxiety and about how to endure panic attacks. Today’s writing is about insight into the gospel that panic attacks afford.

Every panic attack of mine has been a real experience, of course. But experience alone does not have the power to tell me who I am or what is important to me. Panic attacks have not been my most pressing reality, though they have constantly communicated the message to me that they should be.

God through His true Word defines my reality. Believing this, I am able to evaluate my experience of panic attacks by God’s Word, and grow in my understanding of God’s grace. This suffering has grown my gratitude toward God for his salvation, because I better grasp what I have been saved from.

A Greater Fear

Death is naturally among the worst suffering we can imagine. During a panic attack, this fear is severely amplified. Yet, death being brought to the forefront of one’s mind is actually a gracious gift (Ecclesiastes 7:2). Instead of avoiding thoughts about death, we can boldly grapple with them in the light of God’s Word.

Contrary to our imaginations, Scripture tells us that physical death is not mankind’s worse fear—what comes after is chief (Matthew 10:28). We can see from Scripture that death actually ought to be feared by those who do not know Christ because physical death leads to the second, spiritual death of everlasting torment and the eternal loss of right relationship with God.

Those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus…will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might… (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9)

This irreconcilable, eternal loss of right relationship with the Lord is to be feared far more than the worst imaginable earthly suffering. Think—every minute of suffering we experience on this earth, including the most debilitating minute of panic, is a far superior of an experience to that of hell’s eternal destruction.

If you have experienced panic attacks and know this form of suffering, aren’t you motivated to come to terms with your eternal reality in all truth?

Your deepest need is not to find a practical tool to manage your panic attacks—please don’t get stuck on that concern. Felt-safety in the present alone is not the most important consideration of your life—eternal safety is.

A Greater Relief

Look to Christ. In Him we see that suffering need not be endless, and death need not be feared (1 Corinthians 15:54-55), despite what your body continues to tell you.

If you do not yet know what it means to commit your life to Christ, might you see your panic attacks as God’s grace to help you understand the devastation of sin and the kindness of Christ, who forgives sin and restores eternal peace through His blood shed on the cross?

Hear me clearly—I understand well that panic attacks are not necessarily the direct result of sin in your life. Panic attacks can spring from physiological concerns. In fact, for years now, I have traced my anxiety to eating gluten. Perhaps a physiological cause in your case has not been determined. Still, sin plays a significant role in the presence of all panic attacks for all people, whether they are due purely to physiological causes or not.

In Christ we see that suffering need not be endless, and death need not be feared.
Click To Tweet

Because of the first sin of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, sin has become part of our nature. And, suffering is a large part of our experience (Genesis 3). Suffering, including panic attacks, is a consequence of original sin. So, whether sin directly causes your panic attacks or not, its presence reminds you that you live in a world and a body subject to this suffering. And further, we all would have done the same as Adam and Eve in the garden; all are unworthy of glorious eternity with God (Romans 3:23)

But Jesus Christ has come. He gloriously redeems the believer from sin, breaking its power over us. He eternally restores peace with Him for those who give their lives to Him in faith—offering salvation from the penalty for sin—eternal damnation—through His blood shed on the cross. This is the best reality and dearest good for all who believe. For peace with God far surpasses even the peace you imagine would come to you right now if your body would forever stop attacking you with panic.

The Greatest Peace

Christ changes the future for all who have faith in Him as Lord and Savior. He promises that in eternity, the presence of sin and its consequences will be eradicated forever from his people (Revelation 21:3-4, 27). And he changes the present, transforming this life with his joy, peace, and hope in believing—whether panic attacks subside or not.

I know the pain; please know how sorry I am that anyone else would have to endure it. I also know that we can use panic attacks as an opportunity to better rejoice in the gospel of Christ and to be blessed with richer comprehension of his salvation and eternal peace.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-5)

You may not be able to boast in a life free from panic attacks. But believe in the Lord Jesus, and you can boast with all gratitude in the One who determines our far greater reality, saves us from our greatest fear, and gives us the greatest peace from which all other peace flows. Peace, dear reader, to you!

http://unlockingthebible.org/2016/09/panic-attacks-endure-them-well/    http://unlockingthebible.org/2017/06/nourished-bread-life/

RELATED POSTS:

Panic Attacks? Here Are Five Perspectives to Help You Endure Them Well
Be Nourished by the Bread of Life
Overcoming Evil with Peace

The post Gospel Gratitude Through Panic Attacks appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.

God Will Give You More Than You Can Handle

“It’s all too much,” I cried into my coffee. “I can’t do it. I’m not enough.”

Sitting in that quiet coffee shop, reality hit with force.

Every day is filled with one reminder after another that I am not sufficient. I am not enough for my small group girls; I am not enough for my best friend; I am not enough for my parents; I am not enough for counseling others; I am not enough to teach the Word of God; I am not enough for the church; I am not enough to write helpfully; I am not enough to consider marriage or parenting or anything else God calls me to.

I am not enough.

Do you feel it too?

Do you feel strained by the seemingly endless litany of tasks before you, the weight of burdens in community and ministry, and the demand to do and be it all without cracking under pressure?

During those times I’ve heard well-meaning people say, “Yeah, what you’re going through is hard, but God won’t give you more than you can handle.”

The problem with that and Mother Theresa’s famous quote—“I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish he didn’t trust me so much”—is that it’s not Scriptural.

And anything meant to be a comfort becomes a confine when it isn’t based on Scripture.

What if Scripture actually says God intentionally gives us more than we can handle?

Too Much For Us to Handle

Listen to Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 1:8-9a:

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. (emphasis mine)

Does that sound like God gave Paul something he could handle? No—he was so utterly burdened beyond his strength that he despaired of life itself. Everything was so weighty and burdensome it felt like death.

We can relate, can’t we?

Jesus brings to light our weaknesses so his sufficiency shines like the satisfying treasure it is.
Click To Tweet

The burdens seem too great. The needs too many. The hurts too deep. The responsibilities too endless. The journey too painful. The heartache too heavy.

Our weakness, limitations, and frailties glare at us with paralyzing precision. And Paul says that’s the point.

But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. (2 Corinthians 1:9b)

God the Father, committed to purifying us by fire, turns up the heat in our lives and gives us more than we can handle so we look outside ourselves for the answer. The circumstances that burden us beyond our own strength are designed to expose the futility of self-reliance and drive us to depend on the Lord.

He places us in situations where he is our only hope so we join with Paul in 2 Corinthians 2:16 and ask, “Who is sufficient for these things?” The answer? Only God’s grace through Jesus (12:9).

Human Insufficiency

The entire Bible proves this point. Scripture is filled with situation after situation of people unable to handle what God, in his mercy, allowed them to experience.

Noah built an ark for a catastrophic flood, though they had never seen rain.
Abraham heard God’s call into the unknown.
Laban cheated Jacob.
Joseph’s brothers sold him, and he was imprison
Hannah trusted God through her barrenness.
Joshua took command of the children of Israel.
David ran from Saul and, later, his own son.
Nehemiah led the rebuilding of the temple.
God commanded the prophets to speak to people who would never listen.
God commanded Ezekiel not to cry after his wife died.
A virgin birthed the Messiah.
A Nazarene carpenter called fishermen and tax collectors to leave everything familiar to follow him.
The lame, Jesus commanded to walk, though their legs had never worked.
God gave Paul a thorn in the flesh (and shipwrecks, floggings, abuse, imprisonment, and persecution).

That’s barely scratching the surface of Scripture’s record of how God’s servants were ill-equipped to carry the load he gave them.

But let’s zoom in on Jesus and his disciples for a moment. He was constantly placing them in situations with tasks and commands they couldn’t manage to expose their weakness and cause them to run back to him for clarity and help.

Has Jesus changed his mode of operation?

Christ’s Sufficient Strength

No, he continues to work the same way in us, bringing to light our weaknesses so his sufficiency shines like the satisfying treasure it is.

When we’re crying into our coffee and feeling burdened beyond our strength, we recognize we need a Savior, from sin and from all the human weaknesses that accompany it. That’s when we feel what’s true all the time: We are helpless on our own. We need a strength beyond our own to rescue us. If we were enough, there would be no reason for Jesus.

That’s what I need to hear when life feels so heavy I’m convinced I will break apart at the seams. I don’t need someone offering a warm platitude to help my strength grow. I need someone reminding me this debilitating weakness is intentionally purposed to lead my weak soul to the One who raised the dead.

Debilitating weakness is intentionally purposed to lead my weak soul to the One who raised the dead.
Click To Tweet

The empty grave of Jesus proves his sufficiency to bear our burdens and carry our sorrows. We must take our hearts there, gluing our eyes to the gospel and baking our minds in the truth of our sin-defeating Hero who alone is equipped to handle all he gives us. We command our eyes to behold the resurrected King, knowing that, while our circumstances may never be resurrected, he is working to resurrect us through them.

His scars prove he can handle anything—he endured the suffering of the cross for our sin. His wounds whisper safety for us—for with his wounds we are healed. His death gives life. His victory brings deliverance.

He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. (2 Corinthians 1:10)

So, in the face of overwhelming inadequacy, we set our hope on the One who gives us more than we can handle. We look to the One who handled it all, who has declared in his all-sufficient strength, “It is finished.”

RELATED POSTS:

He Gives Strength
Be Strengthened by Grace
For the Person Who Feels Weak

The post God Will Give You More Than You Can Handle appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.

Key Connections (November 10, 2017)

Do You Excuse Your Own Sin? (Don Straka, Desiring God)

Instead of owning our sin, we excuse it. Instead of killing sin, we explain it away. Our sins become nothing worse, on our minds, than the kind of errors kids make playing soccer.

You Are Not Too Young (Jaquelle Crowe, Revive Our Hearts)

Jeremiah was not too young to do great things for God, and neither are you. The belief that we are is a lie meant to hold us back, because the truth is that God delights in using young people to build His kingdom.

Sipping Saltwater (Tim Challies, Challies.com)

A shipwrecked sailor can float in an ocean filled with trillions of gallons of water but never quench his thirst because he is afloat in saltwater. In the same way, none of the pleasures in this world can ultimately satisfy us without God.

4 Myths that Keep College Students from Joining a Church (Jim Davis, 9Marks)

Most church-going college students never join a church during their time away, electing either to retain membership at their old church or not join anywhere. The question they ask is this: If I have community, am mentored, receive Bible teaching, and am engaged in mission, then why do I need to join a church?

Give Thanks, For the Lord is Good (Colin Smith, Unlocking the Bible)

When you have grasped that God is good, you will “enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.” Let’s remind ourselves of the goodness of God, so that our hearts may be prepared for thanksgiving. The goodness of God is demonstrated in more ways than we can number. We’ll identify just three of them.

The post Key Connections (November 10, 2017) appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.

Beware These Seven Counterfeit Gospels

A friend of mine worked in a bank overseas for about a year, handling large amounts of money. During training, she studied various bills and learned their details, so she could easily discern counterfeits if they came along.

She studied the real thing so she could identify distortions.

The same goes for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to know the true gospel so we can identify counterfeit “gospels” and grasp how the truth applies to our lives.

But where do we start?

What Is the True Gospel?

Romans 5 answers three questions that we can use as a framework to help us grasp the true gospel:

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand…God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (Romans 5:1-2, 8-9)

Saved from what? The wrath of God.

There is no gospel apart from the wrath of God and his righteous judgment against sinners (v. 9). This is an uncomfortable reality, but one we must hold to because ignoring or belittling sin does not mean sin goes away. Jesus is the standard—each one of us has fallen short and sinned against him.

Saved by whom? Jesus Christ.

Christians are saved from the wrath of God by the righteous blood of Jesus, the spotless sacrificial Lamb who absorbed the wrath on our behalf (v. 8). Only Jesus has the power to save desperate, dead sinners from God’s wrath by giving them eternal life in his Name, accomplishing what we never could.

Saved how? By grace through faith.

True faith says, “I bring nothing to the table. I come empty-handed, but Christ gladly gives himself to me.” For, faith is trusting that when I was dead in sin, Jesus did everything to purchase eternal life for me by his death on the cross and his resurrection to new life. And faith is trusting that Jesus did this apart from anything I have done.

Seven Counterfeit Gospels

As we seek to believe and proclaim the true gospel, we should be aware of these seven counterfeit gospels about sin, Jesus, and faith:

1. The Good-People Gospel

This one says, “We’re all basically good people. We make mistakes – nobody’s perfect – but we’re good people at heart.”

This claim is wrong and dangerous. Ignoring sin does not make it disappear. Recognizing sin means there is Someone to whom we will be held responsible. Even though our pride doesn’t roll with that idea, sin is real, and it’s a power we need rescuing from. No one is good, not one (see Psalm 14:3).

2. The Self-Esteem Gospel

This distortion claims, “Believe in yourself! You might have some struggles and issues, but you’re resilient. There’s a Savior who will give all you need to solve your problems.”

This dangerous false gospel masquerades sin as “insecurity” or “negative self-image,” rather than calling it what it is. Remember, belittling sin does not make it go away. When we belittle sin, we lose the gospel. For Jesus says, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17).

3. The Expressive-Individualism Gospel

This one claims that Christianity is all about “being true to yourself,” “following your heart,” and “living authentically.”

But this idea runs counter to everything the gospel says. We’re sinners who can’t trust our hearts because they’re deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). Apart from Christ, we’re slaves to sin, not free in ourselves (Romans 6:17). And our sin darkens our minds and blinds us to God’s reality so we’re unable to discover what’s authentic and true (2 Corinthians 4:4).

4. The Optional-Jesus Gospel

This belief says, “Jesus is a way, not the way. A person can find their way to God through a number of different spiritual experiences.”

To say that Jesus is optional not only goes against the Bible’s teaching about who Jesus is (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), but it thwarts the gospel. For if Jesus is not really the holy, righteous Son of God, who came to bear sin, absorb God’s wrath, and make peace with God through reconciliation so I wouldn’t be condemned forever, there is no good news to believe.

You can intellectually assent to the gospel—you can know it—without ever grasping it.
Click To Tweet

Think about this: If Jesus is only “a way” to God, he’s either a lunatic or a liar for the divine claims he made, and his sacrifice on the cross was for nothing. It was a waste of a life. And if this is true, then “our faith is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14).

5. The Prosperity Gospel

This distorted view of Jesus says that he guarantees his followers a happy, healthy life with no troubles.

But the truth is this: Jesus suffered. Those who believe in him will suffer too. Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34).

We must guard against the belief that Jesus is here to cozy up our lives and make everything easy for us. If we’re deceived into believing this, we won’t follow Jesus for long, for we will be disappointed, bitter, even hardened to God when things don’t go our way. The truth is, we follow a Suffering Savior in a fallen world affected by sin. Our Jesus did not avoid suffering, but entered into it to bring us salvation.

6. The Faith-And Gospel

This distortion claims that “faith and” something else is sufficient to save me: Faith and my good works; faith and enough self-loathing; faith and a right understanding of God.

It’s hard to believe that God would give salvation as a free gift without requiring that we earn it. Because our sin-nature screams for independence and control, we want to have something to do with our salvation. But we cannot add one thing to the work and person of Jesus Christ. “It is finished” (John 19:30); death is defeated; evil is overcome.

7. The Faith-So Gospel

This opposite end of the spectrum is what theologians call “cheap grace,” which says, “Jesus is my righteousness and perfection, so I can live however I want because in the end, I’m saved!”

Yes, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1), but we are set free from sin’s power to live for Christ, not to remain in our sin and live any way we want. To take wrong advantage of God’s grace and forgiveness that “sin may abound” belittles what Christ did and cheapens his free gift of grace. Faith does not give us the freedom to stay in sin; it frees us from sin so our lives increasingly point to Jesus.

Grasping the Gospel

Friends, though we need to know the truth of the gospel from its counterfeits, we must know that the gospel is about the person of Jesus Christ and his grasp on us. You can intellectually assent to the gospel—you can “know it”—without ever grasping it, without ever marveling at what a miracle Christ has accomplished, without it ever transforming your heart.

But Jesus came so you would love him, walk closely with him, worship him, and see him at work in the realest moments and seasons of your life.

[An adapted version of this article originally appeared at Revive Our Hearts.] [Photo Credit: Lightstock]

RELATED POSTS:

The Truth Will Set You Free
Three Counterfeit Christs to Reject
Two Enemies of the Gospel

The post Beware These Seven Counterfeit Gospels appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.

Selflessness in a Selfie World

I am dealing with how to be selfless when I feel like someone is invading my space. Annoyances pop up, one after another, making my frustration level run high. Why won’t they go away? Can they not use their own stuff? Sinful thoughts like these fill my mind as I justify them. I earned this; they didn’t. They owe me. My sin escalates: I don’t care if they know Jesus or not. I just want them to go away—forever.

Our attitude defaults to selfishness, even at the beginning of our day. We get mad if someone wakes us up before the alarm jingles, or if our morning time with our Bible and coffee is interrupted. We naturally think of ourselves first—our needs and our wants. It takes effort and, most of all, it takes Christ to overcome our selfishness.

A Selfish World

The world doesn’t help us pursue selflessness. It encourages selfishness and self-idolization. We pose for selfies, edit our images, and self-promote the best parts of our lives. We post selfies to get “likes” and admiration, while the time we spend thinking of ourselves (and refreshing the notifications) grows as a result.

Our selfies shout, “Look at me! Look at what I’m doing! Look at what I have!” This world feeds our innate ability to be selfish. We improve our looks. We do more document-worthy stuff. We acquire more things to “snap” and “share”. Tony Reinke interviewed an Instagram protégée in his new book, 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You:

“I buy a lot of things to maintain my image,” she said. “I pay for meals out…beautiful printed dresses nearly once a week, fresh flowers religiously once a week, etc…I spend money to make my life look a certain way.” (67)

We may not be famous on Instagram, but perhaps we think of ourselves too much. Scrolling through or actively posting to social media adds to such overthinking. The less we guard ourselves in this world of selfies, the more we turn the lenses of our minds onto ourselves.

We must turn the selfie lens away from our faces, onto others, and onto Christ.
Click To Tweet

We think:

I want to look like her. So, we spend our resources selfishly to improve ourselves.

I want to do things like him. So, we spend our time selfishly to gain fulfillment through activities.

I want to have what they have. So, we spend our money selfishly to possess similar things.

A Selfless Call

The more we think of ourselves, the less we think of others, and the more self-centered we become. Jesus tells us that the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 12:31). Again, our default affection is for ourselves. We love ourselves and care for our bodies by eating and sleeping. We rarely ignore our own needs. Jesus says to think of our neighbors with the same affection. We must care for them, give to them, and seek to meet their needs.

Paul, through the authority given to him by God, explains Jesus’ command further. Not only do we need to love our neighbors as ourselves, but we also need to value them more than ourselves. He says this in Philippians 2:3-4:

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to their own interests, but also to the interests of others.

A Selfless Savior

How do we get past such self-centered thinking and lifestyles as we see (or post) selfie after selfie on our screens each day? The ongoing self-glorification on social media may not have directly caused you to stumble into the sin of selfishness today. But, the social acceptability of this self-worship feeds our tendency to make light of such sin in our world today. When we feed our minds constantly with thoughts of ourselves, we easily disregard others, and justify our own sin. Paul continues in Philippians 2 with this:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (v.5-8)

To love our neighbors and think of them above ourselves as the Lord commands us to in Philippians 2:3-4, we must have the mind of Christ—a humble mind. The way to fight the sin of selfishness is to ask God to renew our minds so that they become like Christ’s. In perfect selflessness, he regarded the greatest need of every human—forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God—and the will of his Father as more important than his own glory, to the point of laying down his life for us at the cross.

Turn Your Camera Around

We must turn the selfie lens away from our faces—away from our needs and wants—onto others, and onto Christ. We must pray that he will humble us enough to care for our neighbors above ourselves.

When our point of fixation changes, we will start using our resources differently by inviting others into our homes, giving more than we receive, helping others succeed, admiring others’ beauty, and doing more activities for the sake of lost souls, not just lost “likes”. Humility will never be our default attitude on our own, but it is Christ’s. Let us keep running boldly to his throne of grace in our time of need and ask for help (Hebrews 4:16). We need help from the only one who is perfectly selfless, and he promises to give it.

RELATED POSTS:

Be Yourself: Discovering Your Identity in Christ (Five Q)
Humility is the First Sign
You are Holy though You Still Live in the World, Part 1

The post Selflessness in a Selfie World appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.

Give Thanks, For the Lord is Good

Psalm 100:4 says,

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

Why are we to enter the gates of the Lord with thanksgiving and his courts with praise?  One reason given in this psalm is, “for the Lord is good” (Psalm 100:5).

This conviction that God is good goes to the very foundation of Christian faith. A Christian is somebody who has come to the conclusion, not just that God is good, but that God is good to me. Christians believe this even though our eyes are wide open to the difficulty of life, the pain and suffering of the world, and the presence of evil.

There is a song you may have heard that has the line: “Life is hard, but God is good.” That is what a Christian believes. Other people have chosen to say that life is good, but God is hard. They see God as a blemish in an otherwise good world. But Christians are convinced that it is we who have blemished God’s universe. Life is hard, but God is good.

When you have grasped that God is good, you will “enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.”

Let’s remind ourselves of the goodness of God, so that our hearts may be prepared for thanksgiving. The goodness of God is demonstrated in more ways than we can number. We’ll identify just three of them.

We See that God Is Good…
1. In the abundance of his provision

It seems to me that this is the first thing God tells us about himself.

When God introduces himself to us at the beginning of the Bible, he tells us what he did: he made the heavens and the earth. As he completed each act of creation, he said “it is good” (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31).

God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” (Genesis 1:11).

God didn’t just make fruit, but fruit with seed in it: provision for today, and provision for tomorrow.

When this whole ecosystem has been formed and perfectly adapted, God creates the man and the woman, and he says to them:

Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. (Genesis 1:29)

We don’t live in paradise, yet we still experience the abundant provision of God. Every good gift comes from him (James 1:17). His good gifts are more than we can number. The goodness of God is seen in the abundance of his provision.

2. In his kindness to his enemies

I wonder if you have ever stopped to think how extraordinary it is that God should be good to his enemies. Here in God’s world there are some who love him, and others who hate him. There are some who delight in keeping God’s law and others who delight in breaking it.

Paul describes some people who delight in every kind of evil:

They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; They invent ways of doing evil…They are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. (Romans 1:29-31)

How does God treat people like that? Answer: He is good to them.

Jesus spoke about this in the Sermon on the Mount:

“Your Father in heaven causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good. He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45)

This is how God treats his enemies: he is good to them. This is the scandal of the Bible. In fact, it is one of the greatest moral questions of the Bible. How can God be good to those who are evil?

God’s goodness is not triggered by anything in me, but it is simply who he is.
Click To Tweet

Here are two farms. One farmer begins every day with an hour of prayer.  He reads the Bible, he loves God, and he gives to the poor. God sees him. God causes the sun to rise over his farm, and sends the rain to swell his crops.

Next door there is another farmer. When he gets out of bed, he kicks the cat, and his conversation is filled with blasphemy. He fiddles his accounts, abuses his wife, and has been in court repeatedly for acts of violence and intimidation against those who work for him. God sees him—and God causes the sun to rise over his farm and sends rain to swell his crops.

This is what we call “common grace.” God does good to all people, irrespective of character. God blesses the just and the unjust with good gifts. His goodness toward us does not depend upon anything that is in us—he simply is good. He shows his kindness to all people, blessing the unrighteous as well as the righteous.

God pours out his gifts indiscriminately. This is very humbling. When I count my blessings in life, every one of them reminds me that God is good, and that his goodness is not triggered by anything in me, but it is simply who he is.

3. In the gift of his Son

God’s goodness goes way beyond gifts of kindness. Yes, it’s wonderful that he pours good gifts indiscriminately into this fallen world. But God’s goodness goes way beyond that.

God has chosen to open up—for every person in this world—the possibility of an authentic relationship with Him that begins now and will go on beyond death for all eternity.

To bring this about, he sent his Son into the world. When Jesus came into the world he did good. But evil men hated him and nailed him to a cross. So why did God not wind up human history the day Jesus was crucified? Because God is good.

Jesus absorbed the evil into himself and he said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

As death came nearer to a man who had been sentenced for a capital offense, he cried out in desperation to Jesus: “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Jesus replied, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43)

Jesus opens the same door to the best and the worst. He’s not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). He offers grace, forgiveness, mercy, and reconciliation, to all who will come and receive.

He died that we might be forgiven

He died to make us good

That we might go at last to heaven

Saved by His precious blood. (Cecil F. Alexander)

And when you know that the Lord is good—in the abundance of his provision, in his kindness to his enemies, and in the sending of his Son—you will enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.

[This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon from 2002, “Thanksgiving — God is Good”] [Photo Credit: Lightstock]

RELATED POSTS:

Thankfulness in the Mud Pit
What Does It Really Mean to Be Blessed?
When God Doesn’t Seem Good

The post Give Thanks, For the Lord is Good appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.

Freedom from Perfectionism

Have you ever re-folded the towels because someone put the laundry away badly? Are you silently judging other parents when their children throw tantrums? Do you feel like you’re always behind, frustrated when you don’t complete a project to your own impossible standards?

If so, you may be suffering from perfectionism. Perfectionism is pride masquerading as godliness. It is self-constructed bondage, though God promises freedom: “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).

Three Symptoms of Perfectionism

I am a recovering perfectionist, and I continue to struggle with the symptoms below. Which of these resonates with you?

Symptom #1: Self-Righteousness

It’s tempting to judge ourselves by human standards. In accounting terms, we want to believe that our accomplishments are a profit to the kingdom of God. Paul had many reasons to be proud of his accomplishments. He was born right, taught right, and he did right:

If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. (Philippians 3:4-6)

But when Paul saw his “reason for confidence” in comparison to the righteousness of Christ, he counted all his worldly achievements as loss:

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith (vv. 8-9)

Symptom #2: A Critical Spirit

Martha was an excellent hostess. She worked hard to set a beautiful table and extend hospitality. She just couldn’t understand why her sister sat there when Jesus came to visit, ignoring the work to be done.

But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” (Luke 10:40)

Christ offers us a righteousness we don’t deserve and can’t self-produce.
Click To Tweet

Martha’s perfectionism made her critical. Likewise, how often have impossible standards made us critical of our loved ones? Excellence and quality workmanship are indeed God-honoring, but perfectionism does not honor God and instead makes us harsh, critical, and impossible to satisfy.

Jesus was gracious with Martha, and offered her a better way:

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (vv. 41-42, NIV)

Symptom #3: Self-Condemnation

If you struggle with perfectionism, then you probably also suffer from self-condemnation. Condemnation is not the same as conviction. The Holy Spirit brings conviction when we sin, and that conviction draws us into a closer relationship with Jesus as we repent. Condemnation, on the other hand, does no such thing. Instead, condemnation drives us away from Christ and makes us hide from others, as the shame from a misstep plagues our thoughts. Mistaking embarrassment for repentance, we find no peace.

Hope for Struggling Perfectionists

R.C. Sproul describes the “heresy of perfectionism” like this:

Inevitably the error of perfectionism breeds one, or usually two, deadly delusions. To convince ourselves that we have achieved sinlessness, we must either suffer from a radical overestimation of our moral performance or we must seriously underestimate the requirements of God’s law.

Whether you overestimate yourself or underestimate God’s law, his Word shows us two important principles that offer hope to the recovering perfectionist.

1. We are sinners.

We may want to believe we’re mostly good people who slip up once in a while. Instead, we face the truth of God’s Word that we’re sinners, whose nature it is to sin, and that we need a Savior. Confessing this reality is incredibly freeing:

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8)

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. (Romans 7:18)

2. We are no longer condemned because Christ bore the penalty for our sin.

The only work of eternal value is the work Christ accomplished on the cross. His death offers us a righteousness we don’t deserve and can’t self-produce:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4)

Christ offers us freedom from perfectionism. Rather than live as a self-appointed judge of the “perfect” home, health, marriage, children, careers, or friendships, we are invited to rest in the Perfect Judge who is also the Savior of struggling perfectionists:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

[Photo Credit: Unsplash]

RELATED POSTS:

Seven Truths to Fight Anxiety About Your Salvation
How to Remember Your Sins Redemptively
The Cure for Perfectionism

The post Freedom from Perfectionism appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.

Key Connections (November 3, 2017)

The Pastor and Pathological Self Criticism (Jonathan Parnell, The Gospel Coalition)

The greatest victory ever known was accomplished by the greatest humiliation ever seen of the greatest man to ever live. Because that’s how God designed it.

Jesus Calling: How Well Are You Listening  (J.A. Medders, Desiring God)

Today, we can hear Jesus speak with our eyeballs. In the red letters? Yes — and in all the black ones, too. We hear and behold his glory from Genesis to Revelation by the power of the Holy Spirit.

4 Ways to Spot a Bitter Root (Erin Davis, Revive Our Hearts)

Bitterness isn’t one of those big, flashy sins that you can see growing above the surface of our hearts. It may not show off like anger or produce big ol’ hunks of rotten fruit like disobedience. Bitterness is a sleeper sin. It grows beneath the surface, down deep in the soil of our hearts.

The Single Minded Christian (John MacArthur, Grace to You)

Your view of money and material possessions is an effective barometer of your spirituality. Wealth is neither good nor bad in itself — corrupt people put it to evil use, Christians can use it for righteous ends. But what you do with the money God gives you is a reflection of your thinking. As Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).

Pray For Your Enemies (Denise Loock, Unlocking the Bible)

Though we were opposed to him and all his ways, Jesus died for us, removed the barrier of our sin, and brought us into relationship with God. Because his reconciling love now resides within us by his Spirit, we can extend that love to others. God no longer counts our sins against us, so we no longer hold other people’s sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).

The post Key Connections (November 3, 2017) appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.