This is the final installment on this subject. Last time, we looked at the first three roadblocks to gospel renewal. Now we will consider three others--bearing in mind that the list is not at all exhaustive.
4. Religion [AKA Moralism AKA Legalism]
Religion, moralism, legalism—they all are referring to the
idea that “we must obey the truth to be saved” and/or “we must obey the truth
to maintain God’s favor”. This is
probably the biggest roadblock to gospel renewal faced by believers in our age.
Moralism (legalism, religion) is an absence of God’s
grace—instead, it is a dependence on one’s ability to obey. It also includes man made,
extra-Biblical rules and regulations (think: Pharisees), resulting in
condemnation by the moralist of those who do not “measure up”—the idea is just
like the Pharisee who prayed “God, I thank you that I am not like other men,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector”. [Luke 18]
The Apostle Paul, prior to his conversion, is a perfect
example of one who was “religious”, one who performed out of guilt, one who was
a legalist when it came to his religious life. In Galatians 1 and Philippians 3, Paul talked about his life
before Christ, how he put his confidence in the flesh—his own performance and accomplishments—about
his Jewish pedigree, and how zealous he was for the traditions of his fathers.
Church historian Richard Lovelace wrote that many
believers “below the surface of their
lives are guilt ridden and insecure…[and] draw the assurance of their
acceptance with God from their sincerity, their past experience of conversion,
their recent religious performance or the relative infrequency of their
conscious, willful disobedience.”[1]
Obedience and good works are important to our lives
as believers, but they do not earn us one doggone thing! Obedience and good works do not earn
eternal life, they do not earn God’s approval, and they do not maintain God’s
approval! That is such an
important concept to “get”!
Why is that true? It is true because earning or maintaining approval from God would no longer be a function of his grace! Remember? Grace has absolutely nothing to do with us. Grace has absolutely nothing to do with what we do “for” God. Grace has everything to do with God. It has nothing to do with balancing the scales or our default mode of being “fair”, and it has nothing to do with what we think we deserve or have coming based on our gifts.
Why is that true? It is true because earning or maintaining approval from God would no longer be a function of his grace! Remember? Grace has absolutely nothing to do with us. Grace has absolutely nothing to do with what we do “for” God. Grace has everything to do with God. It has nothing to do with balancing the scales or our default mode of being “fair”, and it has nothing to do with what we think we deserve or have coming based on our gifts.
It is essential for believers to “get” the fact that one’s
performance does not result in acceptance by God. Performance is what Paul railed against in his letter to the
churches in Galatia. Paul made it
clear that “…by works of the law no one will be justified…” (Galatians 2:16) Also, “For all who rely
on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed
be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of
the Law, and do them.’”
(Galatians 3:10) For we
hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of
the law. (Romans 3:28)
No, our acceptance by God is the direct result only of the infinitely perfect
righteousness of Jesus, a righteousness that is imputed to the believer, that
is, credited to the believer. Our
righteousness is in Christ and in Christ alone.
Trying harder or doing more in order to earn or maintain
approval from God does nothing but produce an increased level of anxiety in the
life of the believer. Trying
harder or doing more has its roots in the idea that the gospel is only for
unbelievers. Once saved, most
evangelicals get the idea (from the church no less) that they now need to focus
on sanctification, discipleship, spiritual disciplines, and other worthwhile
endeavors. Understand, they are
worthwhile, but not when they become “have-to’s”.
The problem as described by Jerry Bridges is that “we fail to see the gospel as the solution
to our greatest problem—our guilt, condemnation, and alienation from God…we
fail to see it as the basis of our day-to-day acceptance with him. As a result, many believers live in
spiritual poverty.”[2]
The truth of the matter is that the gospel is not only for unbelievers. The gospel is for believers
too—everyday! Again, Brad will
focus on that tomorrow morning.
Not only that, but too many evangelicals hold the view
that “church” and “being a believer” exists to encourage you, to enable you to
feel good about yourself, to learn the “how to’s” of life (how to be a better
husband, better parent, more successful, handle your money, avoid hell, etc),
and as a place to hear “uplifting, practical, and positive sermons that will
help you accomplish all of these things”.
Yikes! It’s
not about us!!!
Finally, the moralist will become irate at the idea that
one’s acceptance by God is not based on one’s performance. The moralist will become irate at the
idea that every performance falls on its face and is revolting in God’s
sight. Why will this happen? It is because the moralist, has been
pursuing a self salvation project all his life—i.e.: doing more, trying harder,
and really does not see that all their efforts to please God amount to nothing
but filthy rags.
5. Irreligion AKA Relativism AKA Antinomianism
This view stresses grace without truth, that is, claiming
we are all accepted by God and we each decide what is true for us. This view claims that because we are
saved, sanctification is not necessary, a changed life, a changed heart, or changed
behavior—which are all the “fruit” of true salvation—are not necessary.
These folks also argue that the Moral Law—the Ten
Commandments—have no place in the life of the believer, have no place in
providing instruction in how to live.
Not only that, but “relativists live according to their
preferences, believing that they should do what they feel like doing and that
no one else has the right to say they should do anything different.”[3]
I’m sure you can see that this is a dangerous place to be
for the follower of Jesus Christ.
Basically, “anything goes”, and that’s just not Biblical.
6. “Cheap Grace!”
When one talks
about grace in the church, quite frequently there will be an accusation of
“Cheap Grace!” The fact of the
matter is that the greatest threat to the gospel is not cheap grace but cheap
law—the idea that God accepts anything less than Christ's righteousness
(Tullian). How can that be?
A low view of the
Law causes the believer to think that he can please God by what he does “for” God,
that is, that he can keep the demand God has laid down. As a result, we will engage in
self-salvation projects (i.e.: checklist Christianity, good works with wrong
motivations, etc), believing we are capable of meeting God’s demand. The person that lodges this accusation
is one that thinks he must meet
God’s requirements (as opposed to believing Christ already did), that he can meet God’s requirements, and
anything less than making the effort to do so cheapens the grace of God. We all know that is not possible
and not true.
On the other
hand, a high view of the Law blows all our beliefs that we can meet God’s
demands right out of the water. We
recognize that we cannot in any way, shape or form, meet God’s righteous
demand.
Tullian
Tchividjian wrote, “Only when we
understand that God’s Law is absolutely inflexible will we see that God’s grace
is absolutely indispensible…in other words, a high view of the Law produces a
high view of grace. A low view of
the Law produces a low view of grace”.[4]
Summary
All of these roadblocks exist because of a lack of
understanding the gospel, that is, we do not understand just what the
unsearchable riches of Christ really are that Paul talked about in Ephesians 3.
And remember:
If you know you're loved no matter what, you're
really free. You'll find yourself wanting to please God, not 'having" to
please Him.
SDG
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