Taking the Striving Out of Faith Part 1: The Faith of Abraham

As believers, it is important to know about the man called Abraham. He is actually the first covenant believer in the Bible per se. This is why he is called the father of our faith. It is also important to know that the covenant he had with our God was separate from the covenant of Law that came through Moses to Israel 430 years after Abraham. Some people think that Abraham and Moses were just Old Testament people and aren’t really significant today. But we as New Covenant believers are actually said to be blessed with the blessings of Abraham. So I want to look at the life of Abraham and the direct correlation it has to a life of faith in Christ.

Abraham’s Faith or God’s Grace?

I’ve heard people talk about how great Abraham’s faith was and if only we had the faith of Abraham, then this and that would happen. But when the Bible makes mention of how Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness, it is not making a point of how Abraham had such great faith but rather that he did not have to earn his righteousness. The main catalyst in this story is not Abraham and his faith but God and His goodness and election. He called Abraham, appeared to him, made a covenant with him and a promise to him. It is pointing out that all Abraham had to do was accept what God was doing. Believing God is simply how we have relationship with Him; if we were ignorant or unbelieving of what God was doing, it would be one-sided and not a relationship. Here is how Romans 4 in the Message Bible puts it:

So how do we fit what we know of Abraham, our first father in the faith, into this new way of looking at things? If Abraham, by what he did for God, got God to approve him, he could certainly have taken credit for it. But the story we’re given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story. What we read in Scripture is, “Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own.” (vs.1-3)

That famous promise God gave Abraham—that he and his children would possess the earth—was not given because of something Abraham did or would do. It was based on God’s decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered when he believed. (vs.13)

We call Abraham “father” not because he got God’s attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. (vs.17)

So the whole Abraham believing God and having imputed righteousness thing is used by Paul as a contrast to life under the law which says, “blessed if you do, cursed if you don’t”. He makes the point that the blessings made to Abraham were  based on a promise and not contingent on his obedience to a code of law.

When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned.  But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners…  Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless…..So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. (Rom 4:4-5,13-14,16 NLT).

But I have heard people point to Abraham’s obedience as the cause of the blessings in His life. Yes, he did step out in obedience and was commended for that, but he clearly was not 100% obedient like the religious might imagine him to be. For example, if you go through his life, you will see that he lied about Sarah being his wife to king Abimelech (see Gen 20). What happened? The king,  rather than Abraham, almost got in trouble for taking her to be one of his wives! God basically said, “hey, you’re taking a righteous man’s wife you know.” The king obviously replies, “God, how was I supposed to know. I was lied to. Give a guy a break here.” By the way, this is actually not the only instance of something like this happening (see Gen. 12).

Well, that was a half lie because Sarah was his half sister one might say. But what about Ishmael? Abraham obviously was trying to do God’s job for Him there. This was a serious mistake. In our law oriented minds, we might think that God would cancel the blessing of Isaac because of Ishmael (because I did bad, I don’t get the good). But the miracle of Isaac was based on a promise from God, not Abraham’s performance. Am I saying that it is okay to disobey God? Obviously not. As in the example of Ishmael, there are bad consequences to sin. But the troubles that would come through Ishmael were not evidences of God’s judgment on righteous Abraham. Its like if I were to step off of a cliff, the hand of God would not suddenly appear and push me down to my death, the natural consequence would do the job. God is the One who works to restore us and redeem our mistakes.

OK, So What Does This Have To Do With Us Already?

So we have seen how Abraham lived under a covenant where he was righteous and blessed based on God’s promise rather than his works. So let us now see where we come into the picture? When God first called Abraham, He told him that through him all peoples on the Earth would be blessed through him (see Gen. 12:3).God later told Abraham that in his seed all the nations of the Earth will be blessed (see Gen.22:18). This was spoken to him right after obeyed God when He was told to sacrifice Isaac. I wonder if old Abe thought that God was referring to only Isaac here. I think Abraham was getting a glimpse into the grand plan of salvation.

The significance of the sacrifice of Isaac, or the lack of I should say, is that God was pointing to the sacrifice that the “seed” would have to go through. Now it doesn’t say it in Genesis, but Hebrews tells us that Abraham went up the mountain of sacrifice with Isaac in full confidence that God was able to raise the dead. He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type (Heb. 11:19). Before you get scared and think God will call you to sacrifice your child, realize that the point is our sacrifice, even the best, could never be sufficient for the putting away of sin. Only the uppercase Seed could have done this.

My point is, the covenant that God made with Abraham was always about the Person and work of Christ. In fact, He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev.13:8). We see that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus (Rom. 3:25-26 NLT).  

So Abraham’s descendants right up until the Law was given were blessed “in Abraham”. But the law was not based on this faith we read in Galatians 3. You can read the chapter; it basically says it was given to expose sin and reveal our need for a Savior until the faith would arrive.  And now, we are living in the righteousness and blessing brought through the Seed. Therefore it was also credited to him (Abraham) as righteousness.  Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him,  but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification (Rom. 4:23-25).

Here we see the full manifestation of the blessings of Abraham through Jesus’ vicarious death and resurrection on our behalf. He was delivered over because of our transgressions, meaning, He bore the curse of our sin in His body. But He was raised for our justification because when He rose from the dead, our sin was left in the grave never to return! His mission conceived in the realm of eternity was completed in the Earth. And now we can boldly say we have been born again to a living hope through His resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3).We have as much reason to lose hope as Jesus has of dying again!

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.  Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:8-11).

So the whole point of this discourse in Romans is that we, just like Abraham, are made right with God by entering into what God has done rather than trying to save ourselves. This new way of life, this faith, is the total opposite of a life lived trying to obtain righteousness through our own obedience. The “faith of Abraham” is shown in those who have received Christ as their Savior and Substitute. This is not a striving thing. It is a response to the God who invites us to relationship.

Related Post:

Abraham’s Seed, Not Seeds

Who Are The “Meat Eaters” In The Kingdom Of God?

I’m sure you’ve  heard it said that we need to be able to  go beyond the milk and eat the meat  in our  Christian walk. This comes from the book of Hebrews, which was written primarily for the purpose of magnifying Jesus and the superior New Covenant that came through His work. There were some Jewish believers who needed encouragement in this as they would slip back into Old Covenant mindsets from the assurance of salvation in Christ. Thus, the passage about milk and meat:

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil (Heb. 5:12-14).

So who are these mature carnivores among us? When I heard this taught growing up, one thing the meat for mature believers was said to refer to was the “hard sayings” that the immature could not stomach. So if the Lord wanted to bring some scary corrective judgement stuff, this was equivalent to the deeper things. While God definitely brings correction to all of His beloved children at all stages of their maturation process, this is not in context with this part of Hebrews.

Another thing meat was said to be was the mysterious hidden meanings of Scripture; “mystery meat” if you will. So if you learned the original Greek, cracked the Bible code, and had special revelation reserved for only the spiritual giants, then you could say you had that good meat. I was more inclined to believe this interpretation. Those spiritual babies only had a shallow insight into the word; unlike me of course. But this interpretation does match what is actually being said here either.

How do I know this? It is as plain as day if you read through the entire book of Hebrews. Though I don’t plan on explaining the whole book, I do want to give a solid summary of this portion. Before giving my rendition of the milk vs meat mystery, let’s look at the verses that directly follow the ones above.

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits (Heb. 1:1-3). 

So these Christians needed the basic foundational teachings taught to them again before they could move on to maturity. These teachings would therefore be the milk. So what then is the meat? Well, if we keep reading, the writer actually doesn’t go into detail about that. So one thought about that is that the writer does not mention the meat because they were not ready for it. But in the preceding verses, the writer does indeed reveal what the meat pertains to. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant (5 :13, italics mine).

So things that accompany  ”the word of righteousness” must be what this meat  is all about. Other translations render this “the teaching of righteousness” . So before we go any further, we must define what this word righteousness means. Is it simply talking about right doing? I highly doubt it because these Hebrews would have heard the rights and wrongs of the Law their whole lives and the purpose of Hebrews is to tell us: (the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God (7:19). 

So to recap some things I have previously said about righteousness: the Bible mentions two types. Romans gives us a good glimpse into this. **As a side note, Paul also mentions these two types of righteousness in Philippians 3:9.**

No one is righteous—not even one. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.  We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are (Rom. 3:10,20-22, NLT). 

Dare I say that Hebrews is referring to the latter type of righteousness? So those who are unskilled in this are not ready for the meat. This is because they will keep needing to have the basic principles of Christ taught to them over and over again.

The Meat Of The Covenant

So what does this look like? Well, for example, if I tell a fellow Christian that they are perfect and blameless in God’s sight, but they do not understand the gift of righteousness in Christ, they will have a hard time receiving it. This might be because they have only known self-righteousness and man’s efforts at achieving spiritual stature. So they will not be able to stomach the “meat”; they will not be nourished by it as it will be rejected.

Another example is when you tell some believers that they are no longer a sinner because of Christ’s work, they fight it because that threatens all comforts we have placed in the law for righteousness. They will need to be reminded of the elementary teachings of Christ first. They will need to know that we are to repent (change our minds about) dead works and trust in God instead. They will need assurance of their stance when it comes to the resurrection and the judgement.

I will dare say that many who warn others or are themselves scared of this grace revelation that is sweeping the church are themselves on milk. Some get very nervous when you say that your identity in Christ is secure and not based on your efforts; that you don’t have to work your head off to please the God who is already pleased with us. They might just be skilled in self-righteousness and not the righteousness of God that is revealed in the gospel.

Paul said, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last… (Rom.1:16-17 NIV).

This righteousness refers to a right standing with God (not merely right living) in which we become a target of every blessing and the affections of God’s heart. It transcends man’s feeble righteousness and comes through revelation of the gospel. It is not connected with what we have or have not done but what has been done for us in the Person of Christ and is given as a gift to be believed and received.

Some are weaning off the milk as they are being nourished by Christ and realizing just how good this salvation really is. Sometimes they get intimidated by law preachers and the accusations of the enemy. “How dare you say you are holy. Look at what you just did! How do you even know you are saved?” They may need to be reminded of the elementary things of no longer trusting in themselves for favor with God and assurance of salvation. But in time they will open up to the depths of love and union that we can live in because of Christ’s finished work.

It is our portion to feast on the love steaks and the tenderloins of grace that nourish us and build us up in a fearless righteousness in our Beloved’s eyes. It will strengthen us to resist fear and sin while we unashamedly stand in God’s presence.

So it is not that this meat is too harsh but too good! It will completely blow away the influence of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in our minds. It far surpasses the shallow stream of religious striving. In fact, we need God to help us process this meaty goodness. We need the intoxicating wine of the Spirit to help us digest (believe) this meat.

The Retraining Of Our Senses

But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil (Heb.5:14). After a while, this word of righteousness fine tunes us to be able to discern true New Covenant truth from the old system of law we are freed from.  We will sense the deception of the enemy because it will not produce the fruits and freedom we have become accustomed to. We will become sensitive to anything that takes away from the message of grace and the cross of Christ.

I hope you understand that this discerning good and evil is not a reference to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (the Law). This is a knowledge that stems from the new life of God within us that rewires our senses. We will no longer have a fleshly understanding of good and evil but will discern by His Spirit who dwells in us. We will instinctively be drawn and refreshed by the things that speak to our new identity.

So let us grow strong in the solid meat of the gospel. Rather than throwing away the foundational teachings of Christ, we are to keep growing and mature into our identity as righteous sons and daughters. This is what will enable us to reign in this life as we discover that this salvation is better than we ever imagined. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ (Rom.5:17).

Related Posts:

Jesus With Us Or Jesus In Us?

Shining The Light On The Grace Controversy Part:2

Intro to Grace: Interview with John Long

I recently was interviewed by my friend Jon Paul Miles, author of the blog: Revelations In Grace. I wanted to post this on my blog so that many of you who read can get a glimpse into why I preach and write what I do as well as have some FAQs answered. Enjoy!

 

Intro to Grace: Interview with John Long.

The Blood Cries Out For Us

Have you ever wondered why the Bible says that the blood of Jesus  speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (see Heb.12:24)? What word is that? What is the blood speaking? Wait… blood has a voice?

Apparently so. After Cain murdered Abel, the Lord said to him:

What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground (Gen.4:10).

Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance. So what is the “better” thing that the blood of Jesus cries out? I mean if you just get murdered, a little vengeance wouldn’t be so bad right? So let’s investigate the death of Jesus a little bit and find out what this better message is all about.

The Body and the Blood

I remember learning about the communion table as a young boy. I think I developed a pretty good idea about what the cup/blood signified but what about the body? Are the two elements one in the same or do they both have significance?

The Scriptures make it clear that our sins were punished in His Body and that forgiveness came through the blood.

… He Himself  bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed (1Pet.2:24).

And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Heb.9:22).

So our sins have been punished already in the Body of Jesus. Obviously, he had done nothing wrong. So would his blood not have the right to cry out for justice and vengeance much more than the blood of Abel? But what is this better message that it speaks instead?

We get a clue into this in the book of James: For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.  For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.  So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment (Jas.2:11-13).

At first glance, this might seem like a ‘law’ passage, but it is actually a profound revelation of grace. You see, James is saying that the standard of the law of Moses is so holy and perfect that if we just violate one law, we are guilty of breaking the entire entity of the law. But he then goes on to say we are not under that law, but under the law of liberty. This is what Paul refers to as “the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus” in the book of Romans. He is saying that though these standards are more than humankind could bear, mercy triumphed over the judgement that we would face if judged by the former law. So Jesus’ blood is crying out for mercy!

When Jesus’ flesh was torn, the blood spilled out and said, “I forgive you!” My friends, this is the greater message that is the power of our salvation.

When the soldiers whipped His back, the blood that gushed forth from the stripes cried, “I heal you”. When the crown of thorns was placed on His head, the blood cried out, “I crown you as sons in my royal family.” When the nails bound Him to the cross, the blood said, “I release you from the binding curse of the Law.” When we rejected Him, the blood accepted us. This is how we know the love of God.

This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins (1 Jn. 4:10 NLT).

Something that has not been taught enough, in my opinion, is that after Jesus died and rose again on our behalf, He then became our High Priest who ever lives for His people; pleading that what He did for us bear power in our lives. This is why it says that blood speaks, not spoke. So even if you are struggling and not seeing the kind of fruit you want to as a Christian, the blood cries out for you.

When we sin, the blood cries out that we have been forgiven. Does this sound like  ”cheap grace” to you? Won’t we be punished if we break His commands? Well, let me ask you: was the blood sufficient for sin’s penalty? This blood actively speaks about how it obtained justice towards sin. John testifies to this in his letter. My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.  He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world (1 Jn. 2:1-2 NLT).

Jesus showed up 2000 years ago and revealed the cry of God to the Earth He created. Was it a cry of revenge and exacting punishment? No, but instead He cried out, “Let Me heal you, let me reconcile you. I have come not to condemn the world but to save it. In fact, I will carry the burdens and curses of a depraved and hurting world. I will take on this condemnation brought about through rebellion and sin.”

After the Old Testament era was said and done, one might have been confused about how God thought of man. After all, there were some pretty severe judgments incurred by God’s people under the Law and against the nations that opposed them. But Jesus came to reveal God in the fullest revelation possible. And what does He do? He cries out louder than the sin and darkness that prevailed on the Earth. In the midst of the oppression of the enemy and perversion sin brought, He cries out that God is bigger than that and is the Savior, not the enemy, of mankind.

And after loving us to the fullest extent of dying the most agonizing death as our Substitute, He was exulted to the highest place where He lives for us as our High Priest. He is ever living to make intercession for us, the Bible says (see Heb. 7:25). That means that He is always ministering the new Covenant which says we are forgiven and free. He is always mediating between us and God based on His finished work. So it is still all about the blood.

For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom;  but we preach Christ crucified,to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,  but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1Cor. 1:22-24).

This cross, this blood is the power of our salvation in that everything evil ever done was answered and resolved by a love that did not insist on its own way but freely gave up itself in exchange for us. What depths of love exist in our wonderful Savior, who rather than trying to get away as I assume Abel did, allowed Himself to be murdered by His own creation. And rather than insisting on His own recompense, which would have been absolutely just, He cried out, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” Friends, today the blood still speaks that message so we need not fear anything from God or this life. So don’t focus on how much faith you have or don’t have, but let your faith rest in the blood which always cries out for you on your behalf.

Does Jude Warn Us To Be Cautious Of Grace?

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord (Jude 3&4 NIV).

Recently, there have been a whole lot of “warnings” about the message of grace that is being preached today. Many people from across all denominations have claimed to have had a fresh experience with the grace of God. But labels such as “hyper-grace” and “greasy grace” have been attached to messages that aim to show people how good and radical true grace is. While there is always a possibility of people interpreting a message wrongly, my concern is that God’s people will start to put on the brakes when something sounds too “gracey”. They may say things like, “Hey wait a minute: that preacher just said we are righteous apart from what we do… that sounds like that greasy grace deception thingy I heard about from somewhere.” What a sad thing it would be if the grace of our Jesus becomes blacklisted among His own.

My friends, we are aiming our guns at the wrong target. The New Testament is filled with warnings against going back under Law in order to be right with God and to stay away from legalism rather than warnings against too much grace. But those who preach against this excess of grace as they deem it must have a scripture or 2 to throw out there. So hence the warning that Jude gives to the church in the passage above.

This warning, if you look at it in context, is actually not a warning against focusing on grace and how that might cause people to think they can go out and sin like a devil. The warning is against “certain individuals”. What did those individuals do? They slipped in to the church and brought some pretty bad stuff along (i.e. perverting grace and denying the Master).

First of all, Jesus said: Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture(Jn. 10:1,9) . This means that the individuals Jude speaks of did not receive Jesus and His sacrifice for salvation , but infiltrated His church. So the first thing we learn about them is that they are impostors. If you read the rest of Jude, you will see that he is talking about the evil influence of these people until vs.17 when he starts addressing the Christians directly. It’s only a one chapter book; check it out.

Grace IS The Gospel

Jude then goes on to expound on what these ungodly people do. The first thing he mentions is that they pervert grace by using it as a license for immorality and deny Jesus. But if we look into this from a NT perspective, we see that this actually is just further clarifying the fact that they are impostor Christians. So they entered the Sheepfold by illegal means and therefore had perverted grace and denied Jesus.

You see, grace in this passage, as in many others, is synonymous with the gospel. So in other words, these people made a mockery of Jesus and His gospel. Paul said to the Galatians: I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all (Gal. 1:6-7 NIV). So we see that grace and the gospel are one in the same! So Jude was not saying that these corrupt folks were overemphasizing the doctrine of grace but had not truly received the gospel of Jesus Christ;  though they were trying to incorporate it into their own selfish ideas.

Grace Is A Person Not A Doctrine

When Jesus is introduced on the scene in the book of John, He is said to be the One who brought grace and truth as opposed to the Law of Moses (see Jn. 1:14-18). So you get the point. The gospel, Jesus, grace… these all were referring to the Messiah and the New Covenant that He initiated through the shedding of His blood. This is why Paul and others would begin and end their letters by saying things like, “the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you all.” They were declaring that the revelation of the gospel would be alive in the souls of the believers. This was the new way to God that was being preached as opposed to the Old Covenant law many had been accustomed to.

But the reason many wrongly interpret this very clear statement in Jude is because they suppose grace is a doctrine of Christianity among many others such as holiness, repentance, and baptism. They don’t fully realize that when the early church said grace, they were saying gospel. You will hear things like, “Thank God for His grace but we need to  go after holiness and live right”, or “God gives us grace, but… it is so we can have power to obey His commands.” This might sound  noble; “yes a little grace is ok, but hardcore obedience is what we should focus on.” But this would be like if I said to my plants, “Yes water and sunlight are good, but what is important is that you blossom and grow.” The problem is that grace is our nourishment and will produce the good fruits of holiness, devotion, and such. So if you preach grace as just another doctrine along side the others, you will come short of the power you need to be the awesome devoted Christian you aspire to be. You will ever be trying to “balance” grace with obedience, character, and whatever else.

The Bewitchment

Let us now take a look at a very serious warning given to the church of Galatia. This church as many know had been bewitched. But here is what exactly was this deception was all about: Mixing grace and law; in other words, thinking grace was just another good thing that we must balance with the rest (like keeping the good old fashioned commands of Moses). Paul writes:

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.  I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh (Gal.3:1-3)? 

So this bewitchment entailed the following:

• Losing sight of the power of the cross
• Relying on works of the law (the flesh) to finish what only God could have started (by the Spirit)

I’d say that almost every Christian preacher agrees that the beginning of our Christian lives are birthed by the Spirit of grace, but after that the well gets muddied at times. Namely, we start to rely on our own religious devotion to grow in our life in God rather than said grace. Paul also had to warn the Colossian church about this:  So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness (Col.2:6-7). How did we receive Christ Jesus as Lord? By grace through faith, right? So then how should we live the rest of our lives in Him? It says “just as” we received Him. So the whole deal is by grace through faith!

So let me ask you? Do you think Jude is implying that we can get carried away with focusing too much on the gospel of grace? Is there some higher truth of utilizing our self-efforts in trying to please God that we should focus on instead? Or does Jude, like all of the other NT books, call us to embrace the gospel (grace) wholeheartedly? The verse right before our opening passage  further clarifies the point:

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people (Jude 3).

Salvation… faith… these are also words that point to… You guessed it! The gospel. And according to this gospel, we are saved by GRACE through faith (Eph. 2:8). So Jude’s message is actually that the church should be contending for the true revelation of grace in the midst of the counterfeit gospel being promoted by these ne’re-do-wells. Folks, this is totally different than what these people who are warning against “hyper-grace” are doing. The warnings that I have heard (I can’t speak for everyone) have basically said that what is now being called grace is a deception. But Jude says, “dude, we gotta really step it up in our grace-gospel-faith-salvation partaking. Then these wolves in sheep’s clothing will have the true light shine on them!” But my friends, we the church are actually being told to beware and shrink away from grace to focus on how we are supposed to act holy and be zealous for God. “Plants, don’t focus too much on that water and sunlight stuff. Just grow  and please the farmer!”

My prayer is that many who are being sold fear of grace will get the clarity they need to see the gospel of Jesus in all of its glorious grace. May we run with it and not from it to another gospel.

Related Posts:

Conditions, Contradictions, and the Pure Gospel

Do We Preach Grace or A Grace Period?

Don’t Have A Cow Part 8: Revival

Sacred cows can take on many forms. Some cows are more obvious than others. Most of us would not fall for it if a preacher said that wearing briefs as opposed to boxers makes you more holy or that wearing make-up would cause you to lose your salvation. But what about the cool buzz words of the modern church? They can’t be full of bull, can they?

I have been involved in all kinds of things in the church that I’m now realizing were infected by religion. One of the popular things of the church today (and has been for a while) is to cry out for revival. Now I do want to see the church and society transformed and am not knocking anyone who is working to see this accomplished. But some of this revival talk is Old Covenant at best and just plain deception at worst.

Let start by reviewing some of the key things accomplished for us by Christ; blessings which we have right now:

• Absolute forgiveness of all sins for all time – Eph. 1:7 | Heb. 10:1-14
• Unlimited access to the presence of God (interactive relationship) – Rom. 6:11 | Heb. 10:19-23
• God indwelling us as we are His temple – 1Cor. 3:16, 6:19 | Col. 1:27
• The anointing/empowerment of the Holy Spirit to advance God’s kingdom - Acts 1:8 | 1Jn. 2:27
• Every spiritual (given by the Holy Spirit) blessing IS ours – Eph. 1:3 | 2Pet. 1:3 
• The revealing of mysteries previously hidden in God – Matt.13:11 | 1Cor.2:9-16

Now most believers will acknowledge that these things are ours in Christ, but for some reason we also need this magical thing called ‘revival’ before we can really get “closer to God” and have world impact. Please tell me where that is in the New Testament.

Let’s step back and think about what the word ‘revival’ means. It means “life again”. This means that you must be dead in order to get revived. So Jesus said He came to give us life more abundantly and we are called ‘dead to sin but alive to God’. (see Jn.10:10 & Rom.6:11). While a powerless church definitely needs to be reminded and revived in their sense of identity and purpose, I find it odd that many sincere and devoted Christians are praying for revival (since they already have life). I don’t want to get nit-picky about terminology, but am addressing a mindset of lack that many revival pursuers have bought into. “Yes I am alive in Christ, but…. I need revival to sweep my life, church and land.” Do you see the problem here? When are we going to change our outlook and confession to: “I am alive in Christ so its time to heal my land!”

In fact, crying out for what we commonly define as revival, actually is an Old Testament sort of thing. God’s people would get into all kinds of messes and then cry out for mercy.

Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
Who knows? He may turn and relent
and leave behind a blessing— (Joel 2:13-14)

Keep in mind that this is before the Messiah had come. The people had to rely on acts of God’s mercy as they waited for their Deliverer to come and make things right once and for all. But He did come and He gave us mercy. And yet, even in the O.T., David prayed:

Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
 the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
 Then we will not turn away from you;
  revive us, and we will call on your name (Ps. 80:17-18).

What we typically do is call on God’s name and cry out for Him to revive us. But here, David is saying that God reviving them would actually cause them to call on His name. See, God is the Giver of life, the Author and Finisher of faith and the One who loves us first. Everything must be received from Him.

Open The Heavens?

One of the most popular O.T.  passages that is frequently prayed in modern revival meetings is:

…if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land (2 Chron. 7:14).

What is not typically taught is that this verse is actually the end of a sentence that begins in the verse prior. It says:  If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people,if my people who are called by my name….. (2 Chron.7:13). So the context of this verse is that the people failed to keep their end of the law covenant and are suffering the effects. But does God shut and open heavens now that Christ has come?

This brings us to another one of the modern day revival mantras: “Open the Heavens Lord”. Lets look at the story of the baptism of Jesus in regards to this plea. As you probably know, when John the Baptist baptized Jesus, the heavens were opened and Holy Spirit came down as a dove and remained upon Jesus. First of all, what was the significance of Jesus baptism? Well, obviously it served no cleansing/repentance purpose as far as Jesus’ own personal life was concerned, since He was without sin. But He said to the baptizer: Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness (Matt.3:15). 

This was part of Him fulfilling the role as our Substitute. In order for man to be restored to God’s righteousness, Jesus would have to identify with our condition and fulfill the Law on our behalf. He would represent us before the Father all the way to the cross. So the heavens were opened because Jesus was stepping in and becoming our Righteousness; bearing the burden of the Law and eventually, our sin. So this is why the heavens could then be opened. And my Bible never says they were shut again. This New Covenant that we are in is not contingent upon us keeping our part and God keeping His (as in the time that 2 Chronicles was written). Therefore, because this covenant is between God and God (see Heb. 6), the heavens will stay open. Whether we live in that reality or not does not affect the truth that it is raining grace and has been for 2000 years!

So in regards to 2Chronicles 7:14, the final answer for us and our land is not found in our prayers and in us trying to turn from wickedness but in Christ who became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (see 2Cor.5:21) It is no longer “if My people…” but “since God has…” .

A Culture Of Need

But cries for God to open the heavens, forgive sins He has forgiven, and send what we call revival has led to a culture of neediness in the modern charismatic/prophetic stream. We cry out for more of this and more of that; we always need someone else’s anointing and then we need a fresh outpouring of it. We are always relegating the good life in God to a future event or blessing, but the NT declares that we have been blessed with every blessing and have been made complete in Christ (Eph.1:3, Col.2:10).

Here’s a thought: Maybe the reason we have not demonstrated the power of the gospel is because we have not really preached the pure gospel. Maybe the New Covenant does not need this additive called ‘revival’ to see sustained glory, but that we have been sliding back into the Old Covenant, the glory of which has faded away.

 Indeed, in view of this fact, what once had splendor [the glory of the Law in the face of Moses] has come to have no splendor at all, because of the overwhelming glory that exceeds and excels it [the glory of the Gospel in the face of Jesus Christ] (2Cor 3:10, AMP).

But What About Revival History?

You might say, what about the awesome revivals of the past, such as the Welsh and Azusa Street revivals? Am I saying those weren’t legitimate? Absolutely not. God has done amazing things throughout church history. But I think we have made the mistake of basing our faith and theology off of past revivals rather than Jesus and His word. So we turn how God moved in the past into a formula and standard of how God is supposed to manifest Himself.

For example, we might think that the way to get God to move is to go to the Northernmost part of your city and pray 7 hours a day for 7 years (because that supposedly worked for someone in revival history). But did Jesus or the apostles model this? Did they constantly gather and cry out for God to do something “new”?

Something to keep in mind is that the people whom we label as revivalists were in desperate situations where revelation of the gospel had been scarce. They did not even really know what they were asking and hungering for. They just looked at the state of the church and said “this ain’t right!” Then they got hold of God and made a difference. But if you look at what these people say afterwards, many of them attest to having a greater revelation of God and His gospel years later and admitting that they ended up realizing they had what they had been praying for already through the finished work of the cross.

Glory That Remains

So rather than modeling our lives after these people, however great they indeed were, why not get back to the standard of Christ and the gospel that saves us completely? My friends, revival is not an add-on to the gospel of grace, but a means to get us back into the flow of this grace. Rather than praying 2 Chronicles 7:14 as believers, why not go with 2 Corinthians 3:11, which says:

For if that which was but passing and fading away (Old Covenant Law) came with splendor, how much more must that which remains and is permanent (New Covenant grace) abide in glory and splendor!

The glory we cry out for is inherent in this New Covenant we are under! Rather than striving for something in addition, we must return to the simplicity that is in Christ. As we realize He is in us both at an individual and corporate level, we will become the revival we have been praying for as His rivers of living waters start to bubble up from our innermost beings. After all, the message of Jesus to His own is not “I will come visit once in a while” but “abide in Me” (John 15). May His abundant life flow freely in you and may you not strive to chase a carrot on a string in the name of revival.

Jesus With Us or Jesus In Us?

One of the most shocking scriptures, in my opinion, is found in John 16 where Jesus tells His disciples that it is to their advantage that He leave them. How could that be? What could be better than having Jesus Himself with you in the flesh? But take a look at these words of the Lord Himself:

But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’  But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you (Jn 16:5-7).

So He is saying it is to our advantage to have God in us rather than just with us. But if you ask the average Christian what would be better, they would probably think that Jesus walking with them in the way He did with disciples was the ultimate God encounter. Maybe we just have not tapped into the reality that Jesus spoke of here. So why is it better for the modern followers of Christ than the disciples at the time Jesus spoke these words?

If we read on in John 16, Jesus goes on about what it was going to be like once the Holy Spirit would live in His followers.  I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come (vs. 12-13).

So what were these things that the disciples could not bear at the moment that Jesus wanted to tell them? I mean, He had been with them for over three years at that point. I have heard it taught that the Lord has many intense corrective things to say to us that we cannot bear in our present state. So does this mean He will progressively tell us how awful we are? I doubt very much that is what He was trying to say because the Scripture makes it clear that only Jesus and His finished work could have removed our sinful nature and that under the New Covenant, God will remember our sins no more (see Col.2:11 & Heb.10:17). So He will lead us away from sin and back into faith in His work if we start to go the wrong direction. But His focus is not on highlighting our shortcomings, but to magnify the all sufficiency of Christ. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30).

What Were These Many Things Jesus Wanted To Say?

But apparently there were many things that Jesus wanted to teach the ones He had been constantly teaching. I propose that these things refer to what He revealed after His resurrection both through appearing to His own and through the New Testament epistles. But there is this mindset which says that we should mainly pay attention to what Jesus said before He died and rose again and not get too into the epistles. It is said that Jesus said everything necessary when he walked the Earth and that Paul and the other writers of the NT simply commented on what Jesus had said.

I would agree with that to an extent. Jesus did elude to the New Covenant realities but He did not expound on them to the extent that some of the epistles do. Some might think I am getting into error by saying that, but let us return to what Jesus was saying to them in our opening verses. Could one of the reasons that it was better that He went away be that He could then not only speak to His disciples but speak in them? In other words, He Himself could not only give the word but receive it and help us process it by means of His indwelling. So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit (1Cor 15:45).

Remember that He came to Earth as our Substitute to bear the burden of the fall and our sin all the way to the point of death on the cross. But after He arose, He could then unceasingly pour new life into us; His very own life. My was it to our advantage that He leave earth by means of His crucifixion for us and as us so that He could then be the King of our hearts, not just an earthly king like the disciples thought He would become.

But their eyes were not opened to the truth of the cross. It seemed to fly right over their heads whenever Jesus would mention it. Finally after He rose again and appeared to them we read, Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,  and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day… (Luke 24:45-46).

Surely the mysteries of the cross and the great inheritance we therefore have were the things the disciples could not bear. They had to be born again of the Spirit to see these things. Until Christ’s death, they did their best to follow Him and lay down their lives, but feeble human devotion to the Lord was about to be eclipsed by the mystical reality of our co-crucifixion and resurrection with Him. This union would produce every good fruit and work in our lives; what Paul deemed our “hope of glory” (see Col.1:25-27).

They would no longer be trying to carry the cross and deny themselves in their own strength and zeal, but enlightened to the truth that they had been “crucified with Christ” and now live by His faith. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me (Gal.2:20 KJV).

I don’t think the Lord could have revealed this to them before His death to the extent He did afterwards. If that rubs you the wrong way and you think we only need the “red letters” of Jesus, let me ask you: don’t you believe the rest of the NT was written by Jesus through His followers? Is not that part of this advantage of His earthly departure? Every religion and sect had a teacher that once lived and taught a group of disciples and then died, leaving them with instructions. The difference is that our Jesus still speaks! After obtaining eternal redemption, He became our High Priest and imparts Himself to us from the heavenly throne.

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son… (Heb 1:1-2a)

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God… (1 Cor 2:12)

What I Am Not Saying

I am not saying that Jesus will continue to reveal “new” truths that contradict the already established Scripture. What I am saying is that He will continue to reveal Himself to us through the Holy Spirit and give us insights into what He accomplished for us through the cross. It is not about Paul vs Jesus or Jesus’ earthly ministry vs His heavenly ministry (as to which one we should deem more important). It is about seeing Jesus in all things. The big picture was that God planned from the foundation of the world to unite us with Himself through Christ’s work of redemption (see Rev 13:8).

May we come to the knowledge of that everything Christ is is now in us and that we have something greater than even the disciples had when Jesus walked this Earth. …for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people (2Cor 6:16 KJV).