The Rejuvenating Power of the Gospel: Which was granted to us in Christ Jesus

Three weeks ago a friend gave me a very generous gift. It wasn't my birthday, and there was really no reason behind it other than he wanted to show how much he appreciated me. It was so exciting to open, and yet it was really hard to take. I immediately began to think of what I could have done to deserve such a gift, and then started considering how I could express my thanks back to him in a significant way. I actually felt bad that I was the object of such a lavish expression of love, and immediately started thinking about how I could be extravagant back to him and make it all even.

Isn't that just like us? We feel we have to earn our gifts, or at least do something that makes us feel like we "deserve" the extravagance. The problem is our pride. To have something wonderful given to us while completely undeserving and unable to reciprocate rubs us the wrong way. We live in a quid pro quo world, and when things are too one-sided we actually feel bad.

This explains why Paul had to remind Pastor Timothy that every ounce of his acceptance before Almighty God was made possible by a love grant from heaven. His rescue from the ravages of sin as well as his position in the family of a holy God had been completely effected by God. His own good works played no part. Rather, he had been graciously gifted a new, eternally satisfying life in Christ Jesus quite apart from any merit on his part.

Perhaps Timothy had forgotten this wonderful part of the gospel story. Perhaps as he went about his ministerial duties in Ephesus he began to consider that God certainly had made a good choice when he decided to draft him into ecclesiastical service. Whatever the case it is clear that Paul thought he needed to hear the simple truth that all he had received from God had been granted to him. He didn't deserve it, and he certainly couldn't reciprocate in kind.

The whole idea that somehow God is indebted to us has gained a wide, if uninformed, acceptance. I would suggest that the vast majority of America's evangelical Christ-followers actually believe that God saved them in response to their decision to let him. They were wandering through life, mostly doing okay. But at some point things took a turn for the worse. They decided to give religion a go, and maybe read something, or talked to a friend, or in some fashion got themselves onto a path that took them to the story of Jesus. They listened, analyzed, considered, reflected, and at some point, decided to try it. They decided to give Jesus a chance to live up to his billing. They made the decision to put Jesus into the game of their life to see if he could get the win.

If that story sounds good to you, watch out. Better yet, go back and read 2 Timothy 1:9. I don't know what was going through Timothy's mind, but two things are clear: First, although he had been appointed by God, he was now ashamed of the gospel, back on his heels, and basically burned out. Secondly, he was in desperate need of clarity when it came to the gospel. His position in grace, like yours and mine, was never conditioned on our works. It was never even conditioned upon our belief, since our faith itself was included in God's gift (see: Ephesians 2:8-10, and further explanation below).

Rather than our salvation being a result of our works, the entirety of our rescue - including our faith and repentance - was the result of God's work, accomplished by God the Son and applied through the gospel by God the Spirit. Paul might easily have stated it this way: "God the Father thought it, God the Son bought it, God the Spirit brought it ... and Timothy my son ... you've got it. Now, enjoy it, live up to it, rest in it, and stop trying to earn it. You've been gifted what you could never earn nor buy. Now, let that wash over you as you rest in the garden of grace we call the gospel."

Now, maybe you're confused about something I said about faith and repentance above. Let me try to clear it up:  The truth is, being dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1-3) we could never have worked up repentance over our sin or saving faith in Jesus Christ on our own. It is clear from Ephesians 2:8-10 and 2 Timothy 2:26 that both saving faith and true repentance are gifts given by God. However, it is not true that this makes faith and repentance unnecessary, or even something other than our own actions.

Since our repentance and our faith start with our own mental decisions, they are, in every sense, ours. They are the product of our wills. But, as we grow in the knowledge of God and his great rescue mission, we come to see that he enabled our sin-corrupted wills to want righteousness. We came to love him because he first loved us. We came to know him because he first knew us. We came to see the reality of our sin and the magnificence of our Savior because he first gave us new life, opening our blind spiritual eyes and ears to see Christ and hear his voice calling us to himself (see: John 5:25).

Here's the essence of it all, the sine qua non: While we cannot separate them chronologically, logically regeneration precedes faith. His life made our love both possible and actual. His power in giving us life made his offer of redeeming love irresistible. And all this was according to the plan that was granted us in Christ Jesus.

Timothy needed to hear that. You and I need to hear that, and we need to reflect on it, and find rest in it everyday. Otherwise our natural tendency to bristle in the face of undeserved generosity may pull us back into the riptide of thinking that we did, or are doing, something to keep God on our side. In Christ he is always on our side, and - as we will see in the next post - has been "from all eternity."

Hope this helps,

David

The Rejuvenating Power of the Gospel: According to His Purpose and Grace

In 2 Timothy 1:9 Paul reminds Timothy that the gospel is not just the story of God's grace to the unbeliever. It is also a daily means of refreshment to the believing heart. In the gospel we are reminded of God's greatness, our brokenness, and the privilege we've been afforded to live out a redeemed life. Timothy was in great need of these reminders. He was burned out. He needed to be directed away from his own efforts and plans and back into the garden of God's grace in the gospel.

Paul has stated it very simply. God is the one who has saved him, and in so doing also called him to holy living. He has been rescued and is now being reformed according to the image of Jesus Christ. God is doing great things in Timothy, and Paul reminds him that he can't take credit for any of it. His standing in the family of God wasn't earned, and can't be improved; it was fully accomplished forever by Jesus Christ.

Now Paul goes on to give the another piece of the story. Far from salvation being earned, bought, or merited through out best efforts, it is, in its entirety, conditioned only on God's sovereign purpose and made active through his grace.

Let's look at some words in order to get the whole picture. Notice the "not ... but" construction in vs. 9. Paul is clear. "Not this ... but this." Not our works, but God's purpose. Paul is setting out a stark contrast between what we do and what God does in accomplishing the work of justification and sanctification.

Next, let's look at the words "purpose and grace." In several places Paul states that God has a definite, intentional plan for history. In Ephesians 1:5, 9 it is called the "kind intention of his will." In the same chapter  he calls it the "counsel of his will"  and states that God works "all things after the counsel of his will" (vs. 11).  Later in Ephesians 3:11 Paul refers to this plan as the "eternal purpose which he carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord." Further, we find that this "purpose/plan" was fully formed and implemented before time began. Paul states it clearly in our text (vs.9: "from all eternity) as well as in many other places (see: Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:20; John 17:24). All this adds up to one undeniable truth: God has been operating in history according to a specific, sovereign plan that was decided upon and enacted even before time as we understand it began. Before the ages of any history, God was at work accomplishing his purpose through a plan designed to finish something that was worthy of God's attention.

The word "grace" helps us understand the center of God's plan. We might ask "just what was worth God's intentionality in putting in place such a massive plan?" The answer can only be that God's glory is best seen in the rescue of those who neither deserve rescue nor can accomplish it themselves. Our holy God has determined that he wants to be known for accepting the unholy and reforming them to share his holiness. Further, he wants to be known for accomplishing this quite apart from any merit or works on their part. This is what grace means. He wants to do it freely, graciously, unconditioned upon anything other than his own will to do so. His purpose demands that his grace does it all.

So, how do you think these words of the Apostle fell on the ears and heart of Pastor Timothy? How do they fall on your heart? Does it make your pride sit up and start boasting that you've actually been a good "save" for God? That he's pretty fortunate to have found you and adopted you into the family? Or is it quite humbling to recognize clearly that God could have left you in the stream of sin, willfully floating on the current of self-centeredness, foolishly refusing to believe that you were heading for that steep, thundering waterfall called eternal judgment? Do just a few chills cause you to shudder when you understand just how long it has been since your sense of self importance was flattened by the grandeur of God's undeserved power in your life?

The idea that our standing before God is a result, not of our works, but of God's sovereign purpose is a truth that often doesn't sit well in our day. We Americans are raised on the bread of equality where everyone deserves the same chance as everyone else. We believe we all enter life on good footing, in a land where dreams come true, and that society owes it to us all to provide whatever is necessary for our success. Awash in this democratic egalitarianism it is often hard to understand the reality that God isn't a president, he's a king. And while we all do enter life on equal footing, it is as sinners whose trajectory is heading toward God's wrath unless our nature is radically changed. The direction of our lives has already been set by the corruption that comes pre-installed on our human hard drive. The virus of sin has already infected our operating system, and left to ourselves we will willingly and joyfully pursue our own course, pull our own strings, and try to find all the pleasure we can in this life ... all at the expense of loving and obeying the law of God.

Given this it is understandable that so many believe God owes them something. He owes them a good life in exchange for some religious acts and a mostly moral life. And he certainly is not allowed to have a plan that doesn't include them. After all, this is America! In the end what we see all around us is a tendency to see God as working for us and obligated to us even though largely forgotten by us. But in reality this just isn't true.

When a society begins to humanize God in order to deify man, it ends up minimizing sin. When we erode God's sovereignty in order to promote our rights all we end up with is a man centered story that makes God our servant, his church our club, and our well-being his goal. Maybe Timothy was falling into this. Maybe the Ephesian culture was pulling him into its mold. We don't know. But what we do know is that Paul thought it important to remind him of the gospel story in all of its simplicity and beauty.

God has a plan, and it will be worked out perfectly. Our privilege as Christ-followers is to live every day humbled that we've been included, adoring him and courageously extending his gracious offer of life to those around it. And, just in case you've forgotten, we're called to do it with smiles on our faces testifying to the unquenchable joy that comes from living in the garden of grace we call the gospel.

Hope this helps,

David

The Rejuvenating Power of the Gospel: Not According to Our Works

I admit it. I thrive on recognition. For some, just being on the team is enough. For others, the team has to  win in order for them to feel satisfied. But for some of us, we need to be recognized for our winning. And let's be honest, at some level we all seek recognition. We want others to look at us and say "way to go, you were great!" This pride of accomplishment runs deep in the human heart and lies behind our desire to take credit wherever we can. And sometimes we try to take credit for things we had no hand in. My friend Sean calls this "the rooster taking credit for the dawn." There's a lot of that happening in our world, especially as politicians spin the daily news in their favor.

But there is one thing no human can ever take credit for: salvation in Christ Jesus. 

Timothy was an overwhelmed, timid, quasi-ashamed minister of the gospel in Ephesus. His fire was almost out, and his mentor Paul wrote him a letter of rejuvenation. And unlike what we might expect, Paul didn't come alongside Timothy with a compassionate call to rest, or to take a cruise, or a sabbatical. He first demands that he quit being ashamed and timid, and then directs his heart and mind back to the gospel. God is the One who has drafted him, and equipped him for every good work (see: 3:16,17). God is the One who rescued him, and has called him to a life of holiness. God has done all this, and none of it has been conditioned on Timothy's worth, or conduct, or expertise. None of it was according to his works. Timothy may be able to take credit for some things in his life and ministry, but his position in Christ isn't one of them.

Today I often hear Christ-followers try to shoe horn their works into the redemptive plan of God. "Sure God chose to save me because He knew me before I even was, and knew that I would respond to the Gospel." While this is popular, it really has no biblical support. Scripture is clear: we love God becasue he first loved us. His sovereign action, through the Spirit and the gospel, enabled our repentance and faith. Salvation is of the Lord.

But more distressing, I hear believers argue that their works of righteousness are what keep God happy, and account for the blessings they are enjoying. But this is the very thing Paul is arguing against!

It is curious that Paul would be telling Pastor Timothy that our works don't factor into God's treatment of us unless he knew that Timothy was starting to feel resentful toward God. Perhaps Timothy was mad that God wasn't rewarding him more for his deeds. Maybe he had fallen into the trap of legalism and felt God was into the "quid pro quo" way of handing out rewards. You know, the "if I do this, God has to do that" way of thinking. Perhaps you've fallen into this trap. Perhaps you think that if you read your Bible every day then God owes you good things. And if you pray daily, and sign up for a mission trip, and give a bit more money than you usually do to the church then God's goodies will become more prevalent in your life. If so, then you and Timothy both need to be reminded that our standing in Christ is sufficient, complete. God's favor to us can never be more than it already is, in Christ! Paul told the Ephesians that God had already blessed them with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3) and had also given them all good things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17). Here's the truth: On our very best day, when we believe we have gone above and beyond in our obedience and spiritual fervor, he still accepts us because of Christ and his righteousness. But the better news is this: on our very worst day, when temptation has had its way with us, we are still just as accepted by God because of Christ and His righteousness. This is really good news! But some folks hate this, and for two reasons.

First, it makes it appear that sinful living has no consequence, and that believers can sin with impunity. But this is only an appearance, and not reality. If we look through the lens of Scripture we find two things: One, those who are truly regenerate have the Spirit dwelling in them. The Spirit realigns our affections away from sin and toward righteousness. This means that true Christ-followers will never be satisfied with sin. We may dabble in it. We may even walk in it. But we can never live in it. And second, if we do dabble in it, and allow it to find a bit of a home in our lives, we had better look out for our father. Our God is a great father. And like every good father, God will not allow his children to stray far and tarnish the family name. He will discipline us so that we may once again be examples of holiness (see: Hebrews 12:4-11).

Secondly, people hate the idea of God's unmerited favor simply because they crave recognition. They desperately want their righteousness to get some credit. And I can certainly understand this point! I've already admitted that there is in me a natural drive to be recognized. And while this is something I have to mortify daily, it also makes me appreciate what God is really doing in the gospel. By accomplishing everything graciously, he puts me and every believer in a position of radical dependence upon Christ. And I think this is exactly what Paul wanted Timothy to understand. Timothy was fatigued, and ashamed, and seemingly backing away from the tasks and challenges of gospel ministry. He needed rest, but the right kind of rest. He needed to once again rest in the finished, and consistently applied, work of Jesus Christ on behalf of all who would every believe. He needed to recognize that, while his obedience and diligence were required, they were never the variables that mattered most in the success of the gospel. He needed to rely on the power of God, and the unalterable righteousness of Christ.

So, I know what you're thinking: doesn't our righteous living and diligent obedience matter then, in the ministry of Christ? Doesn't holy living bring about God's smile? Of course the answer to both questions is a resounding "yes it does!" Our heavenly father has called us to holiness. It pleases him, and he requires it of us. He also insists that we labor diligently as his workmanship, his samples, to bring the grace and love of Christ to our world. There is no place for couch potato Christianity! We are to run the race before us, fight the good fight, and persevere to the end. Like Paul, we are to strive mightily to accomplish the work we've been given to do (see: Colossians 1:29; Philippians 2:12,13; Hebrews 12:1-3). But we are never to think that our work is what grants us God's favor. Rather, our work is our response of love and respect for the God who has saved us and called us to holiness quite apart from any of our own works, either good or bad!


So, where are you? Has your misunderstanding of your acceptance before God put you on the performance treadmill? Are you running the race hoping to keep God on your side? Are you afraid that God's blessings on your life will only be as good as are your spiritual discipline, your obedience, and your holiness? If so, you're probably either spiritually exhausted, or already slightly disillusioned and cynical with the whole set of evangelical rules. And chances are good that you're also a bit confused given that you've been pretty lazy lately and God hasn't seemed to notice.

So, what to do? The answer is simple: come back into the garden of grace called the gospel. Look into your heart and see if you are truly trusting in the righteousness of Christ to fully satisfy God. Are you certain that your sinful record has been paid in full by Jesus Christ? Do you trust the promise of God that he has accepted both Christ's death and righteousness as though they were yours, and adopted you into his family as a true son or daughter? If so, then rest in his arms. Understand his unconditional love and forgiveness. Recognize that you've been born again to a living hope that is imperishable and reserved in heaven for you. And then feel the response of love growing in your heart as you recognize that obeying Christ, and pursuing his mission in your life is really a grand privilege as well as your very best, and most satisfying option. That is the rejuvenating power of the gospel!

Hope this helps,

David

The Rejuvenating Power of the Gospel: Saved and Called to Holiness

2 Timothy 1:8,9a: Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God who has saved us and called us with a holy calling ...


Timothy was engaged in ministry and it was tough, much tougher than he thought it would be. The idolatrous culture of Ephesus was a constant force of opposition and it appears that Timothy's spiritual vitality was wasting away. He knew that his call was to swim upstream against the tide of culture, but the torrent was strong and the task was unrelenting. He needed rejuvenating. So what did Paul do? He invited Timothy back into the garden of grace we know as the Gospel.

The gospel begins with God. Paul declares that it is God who has saved us and called us with a holy calling. Several points fall out of this simple declaration. First, the gospel is all about God, not us. The power of the gospel is God and the purpose of the gospel is his glory. Too often today the gospel story starts with a focus on the human need to find a better life. It moves on from there to suggest that God is waiting to give this life, along with many other benefits, if we will only let him. He is there, pleading for a chance to help us, to right the wrongs, break the addictions, forgive our past indiscretions, and see to it that we begin living our best life now.

If that is really the gospel then Paul really got it wrong. He declares to Timothy that the gospel story begins with God. He is the savior, the rescuer, the one who deserves the priority and all the glory. We were those in need of rescue, and the clear teaching of the Bible is that, not only were we unable to effect our own rescue, we didn't deserve God's attention at all. Our brokenness was due to our ongoing willingness to live life on our terms, and the only thing God owed us was justice in the form of punishment for our crimes against his law. Paul starts off Timothy's spiritual therapy with a simple reminder that salvation is of the Lord, just as Jonah reluctantly came to realize in his waterfront room in the belly of the great fish.

Notice as well that Paul appears not to have heard of the controversy over Lordship salvation, over whether there is an absolute connection between our justification and our sanctification. He simply declares that those who are rescued by God have also been called with a holy calling. God did not save us for us; he saved us for himself. Elsewhere, in Ephesians 2:7 we find that God did not save us so we could feel good. He saved us so he could look good! He saved us in order that, in the ages to come he might show off the riches of his grace through us. Someone has stated it well: We've been saved from the wrath of God, by the grace of God, for the glory of God. And we will be seen as his workmanship, his "show off" pieces to the extent that our lives progress in holiness. Paul absolutely connects our salvation to our maturity in holiness. The same God that saves does so for the purpose of making us holy. Anyone who refuses to see this absolute connection is playing with a closed mind and closed Bible.

So, here's the rejuvenating part. Ever feel fatigued in your battle to stay unstained by the culture of our world? Ever become spiritually tired and thereby susceptible to the temptations of the flesh? Ever feel like the odds are so stacked against you that success seems out of the question? Remember this: the God of your salvation is the God of your sanctification. He has saved you for himself, to be his chosen bride, to be his workmanship. And he has granted you all the provision you need to run that race and fight the fight and be conspicuous for him. Paul, in Philippians 2:14-16, gives this same distinctive pep talk: "Do all things without grumbling or disputing so that you will prove yourself to be blameless and innocent,  children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation in which you appear as  lights in this world, holding fast the word of life." But be careful here. All the provision you need is found in Christ, not in yourself. Apart from him we can't do it. Found in him, we can walk worthy of our holy calling knowing that it is God who is at work in us both to will and to work for his good pleasure. And as Paul reminds us, we will know that the Lord is at work mightily in us when we are laboring and striving to live obediently for him (Colossians 1:29). For he has saved us, and called us with a holy calling. What a wonderful situation.

Hope this helps,

David

The Rejuvenating Power of the Gospel

As the son of a pastor I know I heard my dad explain the Lord's Supper hundreds of times. He often referred to Paul's declaration in 1 Corinthians 11:26 that "as often as you do this, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." But it took many years to understand what Paul meant. And I am still growing in that understanding.

I'm not talking about the controversies surrounding the bread and the cup that, ironically, have turned this demonstration of union with Christ into a divisive thing down through church history. What I really want to explore is this: just who are we proclaiming the death of Christ to in the Supper?

Of course, as the church continues to see in the Supper the centrality of Christ crucified and risen, we proclaim to the world that the church is His, and under His command. But I believe there is another audience that is just as important. I believe that in the Supper we proclaim the death of Christ to ourselves, and in so doing, bathe ourselves in the gospel every time. Or at least we should!

Growing up the gospel for me was really just the minimum amount of truth you had to believe in order to get on the bus to heaven. And once you grasped it, and believed it, you largely moved on from it to more weightier topics like not going to movies, drinking wine, and dancing. It looked to me like the gospel was only for unbelievers, and after you believed, you forgot the gospel in order to focus on the laws of Christianity. But this is really backwards! Biblically, the law is for unbelievers since it is what demonstrates their brokenness and inability to live up to God's standard. And the law is supposed to bring us to Christ who stands in the middle of a glorious garden of grace we know as the gospel. This gospel is much more than a minimized, homogenized, dehydrated, 4 sentence sales pitch for team Jesus; it is the glorious story of God's redemptive plan, first hinted at in Genesis 3:15 and magnificently worked out to completion in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

This gospel is a rejuvenating truth that must become part of our daily spiritual intake as Christ-followers. As Tim Keller has so simply stated it, we must preach the gospel to our selves, and do it regularly. As one hymn writer puts it "Jesus keep me near the Cross, there a precious fountain, free to all a healing stream, flows from Calvary's mountain."

In a series of posts I will be taking up this concept of the rejuvenating power of the gospel. Until then,

Hope this helps,

David