Imitating Abraham's Faith

God's righteousness. We can't buy it. We can't earn it. We certainly don't deserve it. We can only receive it through faith. Period.

It strikes me that this is good news for those of us who acknowledge our brokenness and sinful state.

When we think about God and His righteousness, His holiness, and His standard of perfection, it would be overwhelming if the burden was upon us to climb that mountain of attainment. I believe we know innately that this is something we can't do. It is asking the impossible. It is doomed to fail.

Except God.

Paul wrote the first three chapters of Romans, building a case for our helpless plight in terms of our bondage to sin and our inability to change that. But now we get to the good part.

If I was God and I was looking at the sinful mess that mankind finds himself entangled in, I would probably feel like "they made their bed, so let them lie in it."

If I didn't do that, I would probably give them a list of things they had to do to "earn" righteousness. Here are some things that would make the cut in compiling my list:

1) You must work at the soup kitchen every week for at least four hours.
2) You must give at least half of your money to the church.
3) You must go out witnessing at least six hours a week. (Does that sound familiar?)
4) You must wear clothes and hair styles that make you stand out in the crowd and show how pious you are.
5) You must adopt at least three orphans and take food to at least two widows each week.

Hmm, aren't you glad I'm not God?

Instead of looking good and acting nice and "earning" your righteousness, God offers it as a free gift. Of course it is a good thing to give money, dress modestly, help people, and share the gospel, but that isn't how we "earn" salvation.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

It kinda takes the pressure off, doesn't it? I cannot earn salvation. I cannot do anything that will help me to measure up. God offers salvation through faith out of His abundant grace and love. Any good that I do is NOT to earn anything. Good works come from a place of already being justified. I do good because I love Him.

So what are your thoughts? Post a comment, please!

Alternate Standards for Living

Yesterday we talked a lot about God's Standard. I asked you if there was an alternative "standard" by which we could live. (Of course, you would also have to redefine living!) I mentioned the "human standard" and the flawed thinking that drives someone to accept and attempt to live by their own standards. I was reading Chuck Colson's Breakpoint this morning and thought it would be a good read for all of us, so I'm posting it here in it's entirety. Let us all know what you think... Post a comment here... PJ Inverting the Moral Code The Radical Selfishness of Ayn Rand October 04, 2010 Responding to the nation's moral and economic crisis, CNN, the cable network founded by Ted Turner, has just published a column that gives an impassioned plea for morality-yes, you heard that right, morality. At first, I might have been tempted to think that they listen to BreakPoint. I've been saying this since the economic collapse. But, sad to say, the writers, Yaron Brooke and Onkar Ghate, aren't calling for a return to biblical ethics. Instead, they explicitly reject anything having to do with religious morality in favor of an inverted moral code that exalts human selfishness. Brooke and Ghate, who work for the libertarian Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights, say that just as humanity ushered in the modern world by rejecting religious superstition in favor of science and political tyranny for the rights of man, so now we must dispense with, as they call it, "antiquated moral ideas"-like generosity. Instead, they assert we should instead lift up those in the economy who exhibit "a profound dedication to material production." First, Brooke and Ghate have gotten their history all wrong. Religious faith has not been a barrier to science or to political and economic freedom. Quite the contrary. Rodney Stark, in his groundbreaking book, The Victory of Reason, rightly calls that kind of notion utter "nonsense." Stark writes, "The success of the West, including the rise of science, rested entirely on religious foundations, and the people who brought it about were devout Christians." Second, Brooke and Ghate have gotten their religion wrong, presenting a caricature of Christianity that is a mockery of genuine biblical faith. The key concept for Christians when it comes to economics and wealth creation is not asceticism, but stewardship. God has created all good things for us to develop and enjoy, as long as He, and not we, are on the throne. The problem with the late Ayn Rand, who was a devout atheist, was the misguided belief that man is the measure of all things. Rand called her philosophy "the concept of man as a noble being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute." Indeed, in her well-known work Atlas Shrugged, which is still a bestseller, the main character replaces the cross with a dollar sign. That should be enough to raise red flags for Christians. But it isn't. Christian financial expert Gary Moore has been a powerful critic of Rand and her radical libertarian worldview. In a new Christianity Today article, Moore warns that "Rand's philosophy is still deeply embedded in large sectors of the American economy, as well as among some Christian financial advisers and religious leaders." But folks, radical selfishness can never be a principle of Christian ethics-economic or otherwise. Our belief in God, and His call on us to stewardship and charity, must make a difference in our everyday lives-including in our budgeting, giving, and economic behavior. Self-sacrifice and generosity never go out of style for the Christian, especially in tough economic times like these. Contrary to what Gordon Gecko said in the movie Wall Street, greed isn't good. And if the current economic mess teaches us anything, it's that we don't need a new moral code, just more people who will follow the one God gave us-the tried and true one.

Miserably Missing the Mark!

So up until now, we've talked about humankind's deplorable spiritual bankruptcy. We're lost. We're ruined. We're nowhere close to whom God created us to be.

The thing is, though, that we seem to be going along on our merry way with no consequences. But Paul, in Romans 2:4-5 tells us not to mistake God's patience and kindness to be tolerance for sin.

"Do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed. God will give to each person according to what he has done."

God's standard is righteousness--absolute perfect righteousness. You might think, "well, I'm a pretty good person." Sorry, but "pretty good" isn't good enough. Perfection is God's holy standard.

Years ago, when Beverly and I were painting our bedroom, we ran out of paint halfway through the second coat. We went back to the paint store and gave them the color number and had them mix up another gallon. We took it home, and painted the rest of the room. It looked great--until it dried, that is! Once it dried, it was obviously a different color. Not a lot different, but just enough different that it was unacceptable.

When I was in high school, I was a part of a music class that performed at various school functions throughout the year. Our class had a picture taken for the yearbook, and on picture day the girls were to wear white blouses and dark skirts while the boys would wear white shirts and dark slacks.

When the yearbook was published, there was one poor soul in the class whose mom apparently wasn't good at laundry. Maybe she had washed his white shirt with some colored clothes. Who knows? But his white shirt stood out in that picture. It was just a bit off, but it wasn't white.

That's how it is with God. We may be just a "little off" of perfection, but it is still not meeting His requirements. That's just how it is!

But God, in His great mercy, knows that we can't possibly be perfect! In fact, as we will discover His whole reason for giving us such a high standard to reach is that we will know that it is absolutely unattainable, and we will call out to Him for help.

That's why He sent Jesus! He knew our sinful helplessness, and responded!

I lift up my eyes to the hills--
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
(Psalm 121:1-2)

The songwriter said it best:

Though Satan should buffet,
though trials should come,
let this blest assurance control,
that Christ has regarded my helpless estate
and hath shed His own blood for my soul!

We serve a God who not only holds us to a high standard, but then swooped in to save us when we couldn't save ourselves! As I've said in previous weeks....stay tuned folks!

Is Prayer Important?

Is prayer important? Well, is it? The obvious answer, the "expected" answer is "yes!" But I think we demonstrate how important we think prayer is by how we "walk our talk!" Consider this:

Some research indicates that the average Christian spends five minutes a day in prayer, and the average pastor only seven minutes.

Wow! No wonder the church is in trouble. How can we expect to be a strong church when we are comprised mostly of Christians who have a weak prayer life? Christians who have a weak prayer life make up a Church who has a weak corporate prayer life. Not good. Not good at all.

So is prayer important? Well let me borrow from Daniel Henderson's message to us at the conference on Saturday. (I use this with his permission.) Why should we pray and pray effectively?

1) Jesus expected His church to pray.

"And He began to teach and say to them, 'Is it not written, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations"? But you have made it a den of theives.'" (Mark 11:17)

2) Jesus Himself prayed. The Bible tells us in many passages that Jesus was praying, went away to pray, etc. (See Luke 11:1-4, Luke 9:18, Luke 9:28, and Luke 22:39 for starters.) If Jesus (who was fully God Himself) prayed and relied on that connection with Father God, why would we need that any less than he did? The last time I checked, no one among us is God!

3) Prayer is vital to supernatural impact. The church is shrinking. Pastors are leaving the ministry in droves, and the Church's efforts to fulfill the Great Commission are severely hampered because of our lack of committment to effective prayer.

4) Prayer is the key to genuine revival. Check your history books, folks! Whenever there has been revival, it has always begun with a Church that prayed in unity.

It is important that we all learn to pray individually and corporately in effective ways. I pray that you will all join me in a commitment to not only pray more, but to learn to pray effectively. This is our only hope for us as individuals, as a church, as The Church, and as beacons of light to a lost world. When you think of it that way, it is a pretty staggering responsibility.

I'd like to see our fellowship be known as a people of prayer. How awesome would that be! Who knows how God would use us in this community if we would begin to be serious about prayer? No amount of outreach is going to do the job if we don't front load the outreach project with a train load of prayer.

Who is with me? Send me an e-mail or give me a call to tell me you're on board to learn to pray effectively. Or, if you like, you can post a comment! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Understanding God's Plan

Today, I feel thankful. We've spent the past few weeks in the first chapter of Romans where Paul lays out with clarity the sinful condition of mankind. It would be very difficult if his letter to the Romans ended there, signing off with something like:

"Well, that is the deplorable condition of mankind, folks! We've certainly made a mess of things! Have a nice day! love, Brother Paul"

But, of course, as we will discover in the weeks ahead, Paul is simply laying a foundation for our need of a Savior in this first chapter. He will go on to lay out, brick by brick, God's plan for saving us all from our sin. So stay tuned, folks.

But I digress...why do I feel thankful? There are all kinds of little nuggets of things in Romans 1 to be thankful for:

1:2 "...the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding His Son, who as to His human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord."

(I'm thankful that, clearly, a faithful God kept His promises.)

1:11-12 "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith."

(I'm thankful for the body of Christ where we encourage and pray for and support one another.)

1:16 "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile."

(I'm thankful for the gospel message that is powerful enough to provide for all people who will believe.)

1:20 "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

(I am thankful that God speaks to us even through creation. Our innermost being cries out "There is a God!")

1:24 "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another."

(God gave them over to what they wanted to do. Gave them permission to go their own way. I'm thankful that it doesn't say that He gave up on them, does it?)

1:28 - 32 "Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 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 disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

This last section of the chapter, Paul kind of "backs up the truck" and lays it all out. In a nutshell, he said--

"They did their thing and God let them, and this is how it turned out! Not so good, eh?"

He shows us that through all of man's choices, the evil continues to grow. It grows. It evolves. Verse 30 tells us that man invented ways of doing evil. So the Creator created what was good (see Genesis 1:31) and then His creation--man, through his sinful choices, used his own creativity to invent ways to sin. Lovely!

And what do we have? Rampant sin. Mutating evil. Hopelessness. No way to extricate ourselves from not only our personal sin but the thousands of years of the "culture of sin" that we live in.

So why am I thankful? I am thankful that Paul didn't sign off here, just like God didn't write us off. The story will continue, and it will be one of grace, mercy, love, and compassion. God sees. God loves. God redeems.

It's the best story around, and I am excited to tell it!

Suppressing the Truth

Truth practiced is truth proclaimed.
Truth disregarded is truth restrained.

We've been talking for awhile now about "Living Like We Belong to God." Hopefully all of us are beginning to get how important it is that we walk our talk, and be who God intends for us to be.

But did you ever think about the fact that when you live like you belong to God, your very life proclaims the Truth? You may have never thought about the fact that when you don't live like you belong to God you are suppressing or restraining the truth.

Paul wrote:

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness." - Romans 1:18

Our lives are literally living letters to a lost world.

"You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on the tablets of human hearts." - II Corinthians 3:3

That is an awesome responsibility, isn't it?

Think how much our culture has changed in the past 50 years, in terms of ethics and morals and what is acceptable, right, and the norm.

• Divorce used to be taboo, it is now "no big deal."
• Pre-marital sex used to be a no-no, and now it is the norm.
• Adultery used to be something that was hush-hush, and now there are websites you can go to in order to sign up to have an affair. Seriously.
• Immodest clothing used to be considered inappropriate, and now it would seem that the more skin you can show the better.

Need I go on?

Cultural norms have changed, and I have to believe that maybe part of the reason for that is that the Church has not done a great job of living the truth. We have been far too willing to "fit in" with the world around us, and as a result our light has grown dimmer.

Folks, that needs to change. Remember that old Sunday School song? In part, it goes:

Hide it under a bushel?
No! I'm gonna let it shine!

So my encouragement to all of you this week is to let your light shine. Live like you belong to God. Be a living letter. Live the truth in a way that truth is proclaimed! If we don't the consequences for that are pretty dire. Paul wrote:

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles." - Romans 1:21-23

Think about your life and what it proclaims to the world around you! You might be surprised if you really examined it!

Talk to me! Post a comment! I'd love to hear what you have to say about this!

A Walk Through Romans

Paul's Passion
Romans 1:1-17

The Apostle Paul was a passionate guy. He, before becoming a follower of Christ, was passionate about stomping out Christianity and persecuting the Christians. After his conversion, he remained passionate, but now his passion was turned in a different direction. He was passionate about spreading the gospel to the Gentiles and he was passionate about God's people, the Church.

We think of Paul as a pillar of the church so to speak, but in this passage he talks about the mutual benefit of his relationships with those fellow followers:

I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. (Romans 1:11-12)

What Paul is talking about here is the fact that we all need each other in the body of Christ. I learn from you, and you learn from me. We are all necessary parts of the whole, and we benefit from relationships with one another. Without that, the individual believer suffers in his or her walk with God, and the Church suffers as well.

In other writings, Paul makes a strong case for relationships within the church, but this passage in Romans certainly underscores the need for connection as well.

He uses some strong language. He longs to see the Romans. He wants to impart to them a spiritual gift that will help them be strong. He wants their encouragement, and he wants to encourage them as well. He wants to experience their faith face to face. Letter writing simply doesn't do it for Paul. He wants to be with them.

So is that a passion of yours, to be with God's people? I pray so, because it is pretty clear throughout the writings of Paul and the other New Testament writers that relationships are necessary to spiritual growth and maturity.

Sunday mornings are nice, but they just aren't enough. So let me take this opportunity to plug small groups. If you are not in a Home Growth Group, I strongly encourage you to get into one. If you don't know which one, talk to me. If you have a hesitation, talk to me about that.

My desire is for all of us is to grow in our faith, and we do that much better together rather than as Lone Rangers.

So what are your thoughts? Post a comment!