There are a number of roadblocks to gospel renewal, too
many to cover here. However, there are a few that seem to pop up quite
frequently. They are:
1. The false assumption or belief that we have
anything to do with our salvation
2. A false understanding of just what saving
faith really is
3. Uncertainty regarding our relationship with
God
1.
The false
assumption or belief that we have
anything
to do with our salvation
Many folks today believe that they had something to do
with their salvation, or that someone else had something to do with their
salvation. That is a typical man-centered
observation. After all, like I
mentioned before, most of us were raised to believe that we make our way
in the world, we accomplish the things we go after, we are
responsible for all that takes place in our lives. Therefore, it follows that we made a decision for
Christ, we are the ones that chose him, and we are the ones that
maintain our relationship with him; further, that continuing to keep his
approval is all up to us.
Without getting into the whole discussion of “man’s
responsibility”—which is an important doctrine to understand—it is important to
see that the fact of the matter is, there are no human fingerprints on our
salvation—our salvation is all of God.
Yes, God uses people in the same way he used Paul and Apollos to plant
and water, but remember, it was God who caused the growth [1 Corinthians 3]. It is God who:
·
Chose us
[Ephesians 1, Romans 9]
·
Who paid the penalty for our sin [Galatians 2, 1
Peter 3]
·
It is God who calls us [John 6, Philippians 3]
·
It is God who brings us to life spiritually
[John 3, 1 Peter 1]
·
It is God who gives us faith to exercise
[Ephesians 2]
·
It is God who causes us to exercise that gift of
faith [Ephesians 2]
·
It is God who justifies, sanctifies, and
ultimately will glorify us. [Romans 8, Galatians 2]
Again, salvation is all of God. We do absolutely nothing to earn it,
and we do absolutely nothing to bring it about and we do absolutely nothing to
maintain it.
2. Uncertainty regarding our
relationship with God
Being uncertain about our relationship with God is another
roadblock to gospel renewal. Many
things can cause this uncertainty:
·
Questioning whether or not we really believe
·
An ever-increasing awareness of our own sin
·
Dependence on our own good works (more so than
an awareness of a lack of good works)…wondering if our good works are “enough”
As far as questioning whether or not we believe goes, know
this:
if you believe the promises of God, it is because God has given you the faith necessary to believe! God also is at work in you to do battle with the attacks of the evil one. His Spirit bears witness with your spirit that you ARE a child of God (Romans 8). God does not want us to live in a state of uncertainty when it comes to our relationship with him. John wrote, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may KNOW you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13)
if you believe the promises of God, it is because God has given you the faith necessary to believe! God also is at work in you to do battle with the attacks of the evil one. His Spirit bears witness with your spirit that you ARE a child of God (Romans 8). God does not want us to live in a state of uncertainty when it comes to our relationship with him. John wrote, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may KNOW you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13)
An ever-increasing awareness of our own sin is a
result of having a greater grasp on the truth of the gospel, it is a result of
having one’s heart gripped by the gospel, and that is a great thing! Though we are not to minimize our sin
or ignore it, what we do is take it to the cross, seeing that Jesus bore our
sin and the penalty for our sin on our behalf. Just because we sin does not mean we are not truly saved. Jerry Bridges is again helpful in this
regard. He suggests asking:
o
“Is my life characterized by an earnest desire
and a sincere effort to obey God in all that he commands? What is my attitude toward God’s
law? Do I find it to be holy, just
and good? And do I delight in it
in my inner being event though I find my sinful nature struggling against it?”[1]
Remember, the struggle against sin is not unique to us. Paul struggled with the same thing, and
talked about it in Romans 7.
Finally, when it comes to our good works, our
attitude about them is what is key.
We all know and understand that true saving faith will naturally result
in good works (James 2). What we
need to recognize is that Jesus accomplished it all for us—it is finished—and
that it is because of his good work that we are clothed in his
righteousness. As a result, we
realize that there is nothing left for us to do. There is nothing for us to accomplish. That rids us of the uncertainty created
by a concern for our own good works—or an awareness of our lack of good works—and
the focus on whether or not what we do is enough. What we do could never be enough, and when we “get” that, we
are free from this uncertainty.
Look at our text—Paul wrote,
13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation, and believed
in him, were sealed with the promised
Holy Spirit, 14who is the guarantee of
our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise
of his glory.
Get that!
When you heard the word of truth, when you heard the gospel and believed
in Jesus, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit, you were sealed with the
guarantee of your inheritance!
To be sealed by the Holy Spirit with the guarantee of your inheritance is
God’s proof that you belong to him.
And God never fails to keep his promises!
3. Performancism
“We habitually and instinctively look to other things besides God and
his grace as our justification, hope, significance, and security.”
--Tim Keller
That is a great definition of performancism. So what does performancism look like in
our everyday lives? Think about
the things you focus on—things other than God—to feel good about yourself or
the things that make you feel insecure, such as:
Your job (your position, your
rank, being “self made”)
How much money you have or
don’t have
Your family (how well your
kids obey/behave, what kind of hostess your wife may be, how screwed up you
think your family really is)
Your home (how big, how
little, what neighborhood, how it’s decorated)
What college your kids go to
(or don’t go to)
What college you did
or did not go to
What people think of you—your
friends, parents, co-workers, fellow church members, your church leaders
What you may have or have not accomplished
in your lifetime
ALL of these things get in the way of the easy yoke and
light burden Jesus talked about. The
reason we focus on these things is because it is our default mode to do
so. By nature, we think we have to
earn what we receive, we think we have to perform in order to receive approval
or have people think well of us.
That mindset is reinforced in the society in which we live. We hear, “work harder if you want to
advance!” and “do more if you want people to notice you!” Over and over and over again, we are
inundated with “do more, try harder!”
What we need to get through our thick skulls is that who we
are is not tied to what we do, despite what the world tells us. We are not justified by our actions or
by our activities. “The Gospel tells us something we will never hear from anywhere in this
world: what Jesus has done for you, not what you do, is what defines you.” (Tullian Tchividjian)
God's love for you and approval of you is not lowered by
your failures or heightened by your successes. (Tullian Tchividjian)
John Piper said it well: “God has no lack for which we must fill. And we have no
service for which God depends.”
NEXT: Some Roadblocks to Gospel Renewal (#4 to #7)
SDG
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