Many Christians, if asked and if they answered honestly would characterize their Christian walk with the following phrase:
If I do....... then God will …....
and the idea is basically that if I:
when the true biblical characterization of what Christianity really is looks more like this statement:
Because Christ …... Now i can …......
Because Christ:
When we can embrace the true gospel as it was delivered by Christ and the Apostles and communicated to us in His word a whole different worldview begins to emerge. We begin to realize that it is not what we have but what we don’t have that qualifies us for this great Grace that we receive (2 Cor 12:9). It is not about what we can do but what Christ already did. (RM 5:6) These revelations can be so freeing if we just allow ourselves to accept and believe them.
But in order to accept and believe them we have to lay down something that we have clung to for our entire lives. Something that we have nurtured and spent much time, money and care protecting and that is our selves. And it comes as a death blow to our self centered, man centered worldview to accept that it’s not about what I did and it’s ultimately not about what I do but it’s about what Christ did and what He set me free to be able to do in His power. The point in all of this is to say that it’s not about us!!!!!
But how liberating those words are. I for one am so glad that my salvation is not based on something as flimsy as my own works or my own capacity to do the right things because I would surely loose it. God created us to be beneficiaries of a great benefactor, Himself. And He gifts us with grace. Not grace that we deserve, not grace that we could ever earn but just simply Grace that he has decided to give us. And without this grace there is no hope for any of us. So, when I can begin to understand the gospel of grace in those terms it makes me a happy beneficiary for sure!!!!
If I do....... then God will …....
and the idea is basically that if I:
- Pray
- Read the word
- Go to church
- Share my faith
- Do acts of service
- Be a good Christian boy or girl
- Answer my prayers
- Bless me
- Open doors for me
- Give me what I want
when the true biblical characterization of what Christianity really is looks more like this statement:
Because Christ …... Now i can …......
Because Christ:
- Died on the cross
- Rose from the dead
- Completely fulfilled the law and lived a sinless life
- Made me righteous
- Die to my flesh
- Have Spiritual life within
- Obey His commandments out of love
- Rest in His righteousness and forsake my own righteousness.
When we can embrace the true gospel as it was delivered by Christ and the Apostles and communicated to us in His word a whole different worldview begins to emerge. We begin to realize that it is not what we have but what we don’t have that qualifies us for this great Grace that we receive (2 Cor 12:9). It is not about what we can do but what Christ already did. (RM 5:6) These revelations can be so freeing if we just allow ourselves to accept and believe them.
But in order to accept and believe them we have to lay down something that we have clung to for our entire lives. Something that we have nurtured and spent much time, money and care protecting and that is our selves. And it comes as a death blow to our self centered, man centered worldview to accept that it’s not about what I did and it’s ultimately not about what I do but it’s about what Christ did and what He set me free to be able to do in His power. The point in all of this is to say that it’s not about us!!!!!
But how liberating those words are. I for one am so glad that my salvation is not based on something as flimsy as my own works or my own capacity to do the right things because I would surely loose it. God created us to be beneficiaries of a great benefactor, Himself. And He gifts us with grace. Not grace that we deserve, not grace that we could ever earn but just simply Grace that he has decided to give us. And without this grace there is no hope for any of us. So, when I can begin to understand the gospel of grace in those terms it makes me a happy beneficiary for sure!!!!
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