Our Hearts...and the Gospel

"Once a man gets to know himself & the blackness & deceitfulness of his own heart, he knows that he has to fly to Christ" D.M. Lloyd-Jones

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. 

PRESERVING THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL—PART V: RELIGION VERSUS GOSPEL

…so that the truth of the gospel might

 be preserved for you. (Galatians 2:5, ESV)

 In his dynamic letter to the Galatians, Paul makes clear that there is a distinction between “religion” and “gospel”.  Paul chastised the Galatians for accepting “religion” over gospel.  Were he here today, Paul would have been just as incensed at all of the “religion” that people are adhering to and depending upon rather than the gospel of grace. 

“Religion” is moralism, it is legalism, it is focusing on obedience to the law in order to be accepted by God.  It is avoiding God as Lord and Savior by developing one’s own moral righteousness.  It is characterized by self-salvation projects one may engage in, in order to secure God’s favor or to maintain God’s favor.  “Religion” focuses on one’s activity in the flesh, and puts great weight on the importance of that activity.

Gospel, on the other hand, is God developing and giving us—imputing to us—a righteousness through Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30 and 2 Corinthians 5:21).  It is God’s work in us.

What was the “religion” issue facing the believers in Galatia?  It had to do with accepting the false teaching that Gentiles had to become Jews before they could be Christians.  That was demonstrated in the requirement that they be circumcised—becoming Jews—before they could belong to Christ.  That was just false and Paul called it what it was.

Of course, the false teachers that had infiltrated the churches in Galatia (Galatians 2:4) presented their doctrine in opposition to what Paul had preached, necessitating Paul’s defense of his ministry, which he does at length in Chapters 1 and 2.

In Chapter 3, then, Paul lays it out for these misled believers:

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (Galatians 3:1-3, ESV)

Paul is laying out the difference between religion and gospel.  He is telling them that they, in fact, were sealed by the Holy Spirit by faith, not by works of the law.  He asks them, “so if you’ve begun your life with Christ by faith, by the Holy Spirit, are you really thinking you can be perfected by the works of the flesh?  REALLY?”

In verse 7 of Chapter 3, Paul clearly states that it is those who are “of faith” that are the true sons of Abraham.  He goes on to emphasize that it is faith, and faith alone—which is itself a gift of grace—that secures and maintains God’s favor.

So how does this play out in the church today?

Preserving the Truth of the Gospel—Part IV: Confessing With Our Mouth…

Much has been discussed and written about “belief”—and what belief really is all about.  For the true Christian, belief is much more than merely acknowledging something.  What matters is “saving faith”.  What do we mean when we talk about “saving faith”?

Well, when Jesus was dining at the home of one of the Pharisees named Simon [Luke 7], a “woman of the city”—a prostitute—ministered to him by washing his feet with her tears, drying them with her hair, and anointing him with very expensive oil.  Of course, Simon and the others were freaked out because Jesus allowed such a woman to touch him.  Jesus took it a step further, and, after teaching Simon and the others with a parable:

And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:48-50, ESV)

Yikes!  This really blew their minds!  They were thinking, “Who does this guy think he is, forgiving sin?”

Preserving the Truth of the Gospel, Part III: A Question to Consider...

I've been reading The Gospel Driven Life: Being Good News People in a Bad News World by Michael Horton.

As I have been reading, a question came to mind:

If one claims to believe in Jesus--but at the same time, knowingly holds that they must contribute to their own salvation--does that belief negate saving faith?  That is, does holding to a works righteousness cancel out a claim to have been saved?

Paul's letter to the Romans (Chapter 4) and the entire letter to the churches in Galatia seem to answer the question.  I've had conversations with various friends, mostly coming to the conclusion that adding to the gospel is a false gospel that Paul so vehemently addressed in Galatians.

More later...

PRESERVING THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL—PART II

…so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. (Galatians 2:5, ESV)

The preservation of the truth of the gospel is something that clearly occupied the thoughts and concerns of the Apostle Paul.  He had heard that those he addressed in this letter had basically abandoned the faith they had received in favor of “a different gospel” (1:6-7), a “gospel” that caused them to desert Jesus (1:6).  Of course, Paul argued that there was no other gospel, other than the gospel of grace that had been preached to them, and which they had believed.  What was that gospel of grace, what was that truth?

Paul told them:

¹⁶yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.  (2:16, emphasis added)

Paul later wrote in the same letter:

¹⁰For 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’.  ¹¹Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith’.  (3:10-11)

Why would Paul make this such an issue?  It is because the concern Paul was dealing with had to do with certain people Paul referred to as “those who unsettle you” (5:12), who had infiltrated the church (not unlike what Paul talked about in 2:4) telling the Gentile believers that in order for them to be truly saved, they had to become Jews first, and be circumcised.  These people, Jewish Christians who more than likely came from Jerusalem, came to be known as “Judaizers”.  Paul clearly condemned this heresy, going so far as to say,

If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed (Gr.: anathema).  (1:9)

Paul was preserving the truth of the gospel. 

It is so sad that even today, nearly two thousand years later, there are those who “claim” Christianity, those who “claim” to believe in Jesus, who add to the gospel for salvation.  Even more disconcerting, these folks have no Biblical basis for the works they claim are necessary for salvation.  This particular belief system will be addressed in a later article.

Then there are those who make the gospel into something it is not, by claiming all one has to do is “believe in Jesus”.  James addressed this view, saying:

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!  (James 2:19)

This view will also be addressed in a future article.

Of course, because of the centrality of the truth that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, having the Judaizers come in telling these new Gentile believers they had to be circumcised only heaped a burden upon them.  Instead of experiencing freedom in Christ (5:1), these new believers were being subjected to the law, the law the Judaizers themselves could not keep.  The Judaizers added to the gospel (circumcision), making what the people did as important as what Christ had already done.

Why in the world would the Judaizers trouble these Galatians in this way?  Paul gives us the answer toward the end of the letter when he wrote:

¹²It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.  ¹³For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. (6:12-13)

Really?  Yes, the Judaizers were worried about what other Jews might think of them.  As a result, they reinstituted the law, made the law a requirement for salvation, which completely flew in the face of the true gospel. 

One can readily see the importance of preserving the truth of the gospel.  Failure to do so can and does result in people taking the curse upon themselves, rendering what Christ has accomplished to “be of no advantage to you” (5:2), thereby severing themselves “from Christ” (5:4).

Future articles will address the concerns in the church today with more specificity. 

SDG

PRESERVING THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL…

Introduction

The truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ is being threatened—and not by of some “outside” influence, but threatened by some within the church.  This threat, as will be seen in subsequent articles, is oftentimes not even recognized by those who engage in such activity as being a threat.  Instead, they sincerely see their “logic” as being true.  However, their logic proves to be false when scrutinized through the lens of Scripture.

This is the first in a series of articles springing from the letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatian churches:

…to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. (Galatians 2:5, ESV)

and

But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”  (Galatians 2:14, ESV)

Twice, Paul talks about the truth of the gospel, which tells us that the preservation of that truth was extremely important to God.

Paul’s letter to these churches that were spread out across the region know as Galatia resulted from three things:

    1.    The activity among the believers in Galatia by the so called  Judaizers, and

    2.    The abandonment of the true gospel as a result of the work of the Judaizers, and

    3.    The false accusations made against the Apostle Paul by those who were antagonistic toward him.

Just as it was important in Paul’s day to actively stand against that which might threaten the truth of the gospel, so it is today, because nothing has changed when it comes to “the present evil age” (Galatians 1:4) in which Paul lived and in which we live.  Not only are we faced today with the non-Christian cults and their messages, but the true church is also faced with threats “from within”.  These people are variously described in Scripture as those who “troubled you with words, unsettling your minds” (Acts 15:24), those who present “danger from false brothers” (2 Corinthians 11:26), and “those who unsettle you” (Galatians 5:12).

Those who unsettle some in the church may very well be “well intentioned”, but the problem with that is that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  Good intentions do not make for good theology.  Good intentions do not make for solid doctrine.

It must be recognized that part of the problem—these good intentions—result from the inability of those who present such "good intentions" to follow the logic of the Scriptures because they are derailed by emotion—emotion, for example, resulting from a sincere desire to believe loved ones are truly saved.  Those who allow themselves to be driven by emotion, those who are well-intentioned, end up providing a false assurance of salvation to people they talk to.  That is dangerous.

Then there are those who claim Christianity, who do not hold to a Biblical view of salvation, but instead allow salvation to be a very man-centered thing.  How?  They do this by adding to the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and, in doing so, completely negate the effects of the atoning sacrifice of Christ for themselves. 

Finally, there are those who advocate an “easy-believism”, saying, “all you need to do is acknowledge that Jesus died for your sins and you will be saved”.  Of course, because that statement contains some truth, many will believe it.  However, a statement that only contains “some” truth—even if that “truth” accounts for 99% of the statement—the remaining 1% that is not truth renders the entire statement false.

This series of articles will not address the attacks from without, but the dangers from within, as described above, with a view toward Preserving the Truth of the Gospel.

SDG

Who Is Controlling You?

I just finished another book called Who Will Deliver Us?  The Present Power of the Death of Christ by Paul Zahl.   Powerful.

One of the things he wrote had to do with the power we give to others, power over ourselves.  Zahl wrote:

A ministry of imputation calls for preaching and teaching a dramatic affirmation of the self.  (I had a little difficulty with that sentence, till I read the rest of what he wrote).  It is initially a question of recognizing a virtually universal negative experience (something everyone might experience) of life:  that we allow others to carry our value.  Other people have an extraordinary hold over us:  their view of us, or what we think their view is, matters more than what we think of ourselves.  Imputation (Christ's righteousness credited to us) turns this situation around, declaring that in the great transaction of the death of Christ, God has reaffirmed the priceless value he conferred on human beings in our creation.  (p. 73)

That is pretty heavy.  We all relinquish that kind of control to others every day of our lives--some of us more than others.  How?