And the verdict is...

"The Christian is the man who no longer seeks his salvation, his deliverance, his justification in himself, but in Jesus Christ alone. He knows that God’s Word in Jesus Christ pronounces him guilty, even when he does not feel his guilt, and God’s Word in Jesus Christ pronounces him not guilty and righteous, even when he does not feel righteous at all. The Christian no longer lives of himself, by his own claims and his own justification, but by God’s claims and God’s justification. He lives wholly by God’s Word pronounced upon him."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer from Life together
(thanks to Mockingbird blog)

Why accepting free stuff is so hard

Have you ever gone out for coffee with a friend and had that awkward moment at the till which goes a little something like this:

The friend - “I’ll get it”

Me – “no, it’s OK I can pay for mine”

Friend – “no, I insist. I don’t mind”

Me – “are you sure?” (hasn’t put wallet away yet)

Friend – “I’m sure. Go find us a table”

Me – “OK, I’ll get it next time”

I told you it was hard to accept free stuff, and you didn’t believe me, did you! In our relationships we feel most comfortable when we are equal to the other party. We don’t want to be the charity case who everyone is always helping along. If someone does something nice for us we feel guilty until we have returned the favour.

Jesus told a story about a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee lists off a whole lot of things he has done for God; he fasts, he tithes, he doesn’t cheat. He believes that he and God are tight because God does good things for him and then he returns the favour. But the tax collector just breaks down in fear and sorrow before God; he is worried because He knows that God is holy and good and he is bad. There is no way he could start to even up the relationship and so he cries out for God to have mercy on him. And God justifies him (makes the tax collector right/perfect in His eyes). 

As Christians we know that we should be like the tax collector because in the end he is the one that God approves of. But we don’t really want to be the tax collector because deep down you and I actually act like the Pharisee! And how can I make such a bold claim? Well, when someone buys us a coffee we fight that free gift. We want to be able to contribute something towards it. We can’t just take it for what it is. And we treat our relationship with God in the same way. His unconditional embrace of us sinners seems like an offer that is too good to be true. So we fight it, always wanting to give something back, and feeling guilty when we fail. But God does not need anything from us, least of all our filthy good works. He freely gives us all His good works and they are enough. 

So when you are feeling down because you failed yet again to make yourself acceptable in God’s eyes, be comforted that your relationship with God is 0% dependent on your contribution and you are 100% acceptable to God because of Jesus Christ. So relax! Rest in this good news and savour it’s sweetness like free cup of coffee.

The person you need is...

Have you and your family seen “Nanny McPhee”? Well if you haven’t then shame on you ;)

(**Spoiler Alert**) 

Mr. Brown’s children are monsters and have driven away over 15 nannies. He is at his wit’s end until he is visited by a mysterious stranger who calls herself Nanny McPhee. There’s a scene in the kitchen that’s a vivid illustration of Romans 1. The children have tied up the cook and are up to all sorts of disgraceful behavior when in walks Nanny McPhee. With a thump of her magical cane the children are unable to stop what they were doing. Their naughtiness escalates until they are about to do something that even they realize is horrific. She has given them over to do whatever their shameful heart’s desire and they must live with the consequences. 

As time goes on and Nanny McPhee shows her care for the children their perception of her changes. What at first they thought was an ugly, old, unwanted spoil sport slowly becomes an attractive, loved lady. 

When I didn’t know much about God I struggled with an “ugly” perception of His character. He seemed judgmental and unreasonable. How could it be fair that He chooses some for salvation and not others? That didn’t seem right. I didn’t like him very much at all. But as I saw the great love this “unlovable” God showed me by dying for me despite my rebellion against him He became more attractive to me. Now I see that He has given me the Bible and good teachers who teach me about Him and the better I know Him, the more I love Him. 

Unlike Nanny McPhee who had to leave when the children no longer needed her, Jesus has promised that He will never leave me, nor forsake me and I’m thankful for that because I know there’ll never be a time when I no longer need Him.

Whoomp! there it is: a sermon by Jesus

A friend and I have been going through the book of Luke and we got to Jesus’ first sermon: the sermon on the plain. At first reading it’s like “So Jesus is a great teacher huh? What on earth is he talking about?” Here’s my two cents…

I think the sermon is one of those three point deals. The first point is a description of two groups of people: true and false prophets. What is a prophet? Someone who tells others about God. This section is a reversal of the Deuteronomy blessings and curses. In Deuteronomy the obedient people are blessed and the disobedient are cursed. But Jesus says that the “disobedient” people who realize that they have nothing to offer God, weep over their sin and are persecuted by men because they believe in Jesus will be the blessed ones. The “obedient” people who think they are making it in God’s eyes and teaching others that they can keep God’s laws are loved by men but they will be cursed by God.

Then Jesus goes on to lay down the heaviest law you have ever heard on his listeners; Love your enemies, give to those who steal from you, do not retaliate when you are insulted, give away your stuff, don’t look down on others, forgive others. All this law comes with a large side helping of hardcore self examination: look at your heart, is it good or evil? You correct your neighbour for tiny sins but you have a huge log in your eye called self righteousness etc. Just when you can’t take it anymore Jesus finishes the sermon with the “two builders” parable.

If you obey all of the law Jesus has just laid out, you will be sitting on the “solid rock” of righteousness (perfection). When God’s judgment sweeps through like a flood you will be safe. But if you examine yourself and you have broken any of it then you will be swept away like a man who builds his house on sand when a flood comes. Well I’m screwed, so much for Jesus meek and mild.

But this is not the end of the story. Go back to section 1. Doesn’t Jesus start the sermon by saying that the person who knows they are on sinking sand before God (poor) and weeps over their sin will actually be blessed by God? Huh?

Yes!  And Jesus can say that because this sermon is not the end of the story. Jesus' whole reason for coming to earth was to look for people despair because they can’t keep His laws, then save them and He’ll do it by dying on a cross. His original listeners don’t know about this yet but we do! On the cross He took your sinfulness and gave you His righteousness. So if you recognize that you are on sinking sand because of your sin and you put your trust in Jesus to save you from God’s judgment then you are actually on solid rock and blessed because you wear Jesus’ righteousness! You are safe!

I think legendary 90’s hip hop group Tag Team sums up Jesus’ description of God’s kingdom best:

“Upside down and inside out

I’m bout to show all you folks what it’s all about”*

(*If you click on the link be prepared for some bad language)

Happy New Year everyone ;)

Dance Monkey, Dance!

Head under water

And they tell me to breathe easy for a while

The breathing gets harder, even I know that

Made room for me but it's too soon to see

If I'm happy in your hands

That’s the first verse from “Love Song” by Sara Barielles. When Sara wrote these lyrics she felt like she was under pressure from her record label to write a popular love song so that they would continue her career. The resulting song speaks about her resentment at being put under pressure to perform to others expectations, OR ELSE!

Sara nails the nature of human relationships, especially when it comes to business. Why is it that so often celebrities crash and burn? (Charlie Sheen anyone?). Perhaps it’s because their relationships with their agents and the press are conditional. The major condition of these relationships is that the celebrity is expected to sustain certain level of performance and if it is not achieved then the celebrity will find themselves dropped like a hot coal into the oblivion of D-list status. They are slaves to obey the law of “perform or see you later”. 

Maybe we’ve experienced this when someone we thought was a friend abandons us when we let them down.

The solution to this problem isn’t “choose your friends better” or “perform better” but it’s that there is someone out there who loves you despite the fact you don’t come anywhere near his required standard of performance. He once said to those who felt like they were drowning because of the burden of their sinful hearts “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” We can be happy in His hands because He demands nothing from us; instead He did it all for us.

The limited power of the law

"While the law guides, it does not give. It has the power to reveal sin but not the power to remove sin. It simply cannot engender what it commands. The law shows us what godliness is, but it cannot make us godly like the gospel can. The law shows us what a sanctified life looks like, but it does not have sanctifying power as the gospel does. So, apart from the gospel, the law crushes. The law shows us what to do. The Gospel announces what God has done. The law directs us, but only the gospel can drive us. It’s very important to keep these distinctions in mind.

The operative power that makes you a Christian is the same operative power that keeps you a Christian: the unconditional, unqualified, undeserved, unrestrained grace of God in the completed work of Christ. As I said, the banner under which Christians live reads, “It is finished.” So relax, and rejoice… You’re free!"

Tullian Ttchividjian
From Jesus + Nothing = Everything 
thanks to Mockingbird blog for the link...