Gospel Renewal and Roadblocks (#4-6)

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”! 

SOME ROADBLOCKS TO GOSPEL RENEWAL (#1 to #3)

 What are the Roadblocks to Gospel Renewal?

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: 

THE GOSPEL AND SOME ROADBLOCKS TO GOSPEL RENEWAL

¹¹In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, ¹²so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 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.  (Ephesians 1:11-14, ESV)

         

       Gospel renewal is a work of the Spirit of God in the lives of his people.  It is all about the Holy Spirit continually renewing the spiritual remembrance of our salvation.

The temptation from the outset would be for those who have theological training, and/or have been believers for a long time, to zone out.  Understand, we are not merely looking at “the basics” here. The gospel is way more than “Jesus loves me” and “Jesus paid the penalty for my sin so I can go to heaven”.  Refuse to be satisfied with that!  There is so much more!

So, what IS the gospel?

A number of different people have coined great phrases to help us remember, including:

“The heart of the Christian faith is Good News (gospel), not good advice,

good technique, or good behavior.” Tullian Tchividjian

Religion: I obey therefore I am accepted.

Gospel: I'm accepted therefore I obey.

The gospel is that when we believe in Christ, there is now“no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1).

“…the good news that God has accomplished our salvation for us through Christ in order to bring us into a right relationship with him and

eventually to destroy all the results of sin in the world.”[1]

The Fall

Because of what happened in Genesis 3—The Fall—Adam and Eve deciding they wanted to be like God, man was separated from God, man was placed at odds with God.  Try as he might, man could not regain God’s favor in and of himself.