People seem hell-bent [literally] on trying religion as their hope. "Doing" the right religious things and doing them "right" is often the measurement of success in our culture of Christianity even when that kind of success is deadly to the soul of man.
"Doing the right thing right" could even be defined as keeping the ten commandments, having a quiet time, going to church, or doing what Jesus would do and it would still be deadly. It is the same sin committed by Adam when God told him to NOT eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and he did anyway.
Knowing what is "good" and what is "evil" and trying to do the "good" the right way is as bad as doing the "evil." It is that same independent spirit Adam had originally that is found at the heart of rules keeping and being religious, with the same results. Death!
What we discover is that even doing a "right" thing right and trying to please God, is the "wrong" thing because, as already stated, it evidences that we're caught up in that original independent spirit instead of walking in FAITH trusting that He's accomplished it ALL on our behalf and we must remember that.." Whatsoever is not of faith...is sin."
What God is after is relationship and it has nothing to do with following any rules. It is trusting Him explicitly, from start to finish, because it is a grace thing entirely with the very gift of His life as our own. We don't do "good things right to have a good life." He IS our life.
It is a CHOICE between relationship OR rules/religion, because a real relationship can NEVER be defined or reduced to RULES KEEPING even if they're religious rules. That may be religion but it is not the relationship of grace.
But when we choose to rest in who He is and what He is___on our behalf___which is what faith is___we may do right things well, [even wrong things on occasion as well] but the motive will not be to get Him pleased with us, but rather, celebrating who and what He Is to us by grace. That's a real relationship.
Paul B.
Paul B.
18 comments:
I'm a strong believer in grace, but the concept you describe continually tries to creep into my brain. Thanks for the reminder.
Garen,
Mine too. Any reminder I give is to myself first. Glad it spoke to you too.
I think you are a first time commenter. Welcome and didn't we have a BLAST on our "Footsteps of Paul" journey!
Hey Paul,
Isn't it nice to know I am not BOUND by a certain time of day to ensure I do the right things. I do relish the morning hours however but I understand I have Jesus all day and this does make the times sweet when I acknowledge this and my want to in doing the right thing is a motivation of having Him reveal to me who He is not just what is He going to do with me. Thanks brother.
Steve
Proverbs 16:2: "All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord".
Paul,
Adam’s sin was NOT keeping rules but breaking them.
A lawyer could take your words (“,,,doing what Jesus would do and it would still be deadly”) and conclude that Jesus did NOT trust his Father etc.
I’m afraid you’ve gone overboard on NOT obeying rules. Jesus said, “Keep my commandments.” He told the woman, ‘Sin no more.’
Our actions reveal what’s in our heart. Jesus said, ‘what inters a man’s stomach does not defile him, but what comes out of his mouth’.
I hate to quote James because I believe he did not understand “faith”. James said, “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” (James 3:24 Holman)
When James said, “Faith without works is dead”, he missed the boat because the definition of “faith” is works. So in a way his words are saying, ‘works without works is dead’.
Back to the subject.
Paul said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7 Holman)
Maybe your post is like: “One step ahead and you’re a leader; two steps ahead and you’re a crusader; but three steps ahead and you’re a martyr.” :)
Rex,
I appreciate your view and I think I understand why you would say it that way. I see it a little differently as you can tell. But, hey, I'm fine with that and I'll bet you are too. ;)
I will say this, Adam's act of disobedience was there of course. But that willful act, as do all acts of sin, began from within and it was him deluding himself into thinking [which always precedes action] that he could choose his own moral truth, that he could be like God and decide for himself what was good and what is evil. The breaking of the rules [his act of disobedience] was because of his desire for a new set of rules.
But whatever one thinks of Adam, in the New Covenant we live by faith in what has been done not by our hope in doing anything.
Long time reader, first time commenter.
A great trip made even better by the relationships we built with fellow believers. I taught Sunday School yesterday and used Ephesians to show that the early church at Ephesus lived in a similar culture to ours. Paul gave some very practical advice on how to deal with culture. We also covered my favorite description of "Grace in a Nutshell" Eph. 2:1-10
Paul,
I think we’re on the same side. I believe this Scripture says it all:
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The World is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. (John 14:15-18)
Verse 21: “The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.”
We obey, not to be good, but because we love.
Rex,
I think your last sentence says it all. That is the point being made by the post.
This...."What we discover is that even doing a "right" thing right and trying to please God, is the "wrong" thing because, as already stated, it evidences that we're caught up in that original independent spirit instead of walking in FAITH trusting that He's accomplished it ALL on our behalf and we must remember that.." Whatsoever is not of faith...is sin.".....is the opposite of DOING because we KNOW we're loved and we LOVE in return. [We love Him BECAUSE He first loved us.]
Thanks for commenting Rex. I hope you're doing well and I enjoyed your Dad's story immensely.
Paul,
What a blessing to read someone who has gone through the "do" and "don't" mill and come out the other end with the certain knowledge that God's plan for His people was/is for us to "be".
As you so well said,"It is a CHOICE between relationship OR rules/religion, because a real relationship can NEVER be defined or reduced to RULES KEEPING even if they're religious rules. That may be religion but it is not the relationship of grace."
The great difference is in whether we take note of God's amazing words in Matt 17, "“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; LISTEN TO HIM.”
Moses had given similar advise in Deut. 16:15," The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is TO HIM YOU SHALL LISTEN— "
So many are still listening to Moses in Exodus 20, and the evil one loves that.
I thank God that your writing oozes grace!
Aussie John,
“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. (Deut. 18:15 Holman)
Yes, Moses with the aid of the Holy Spirit predicted the coming of Jesus.
But I don’t believe the Holy Spirit told Moses that Jesus would be “like me.”
Jesus did not have the ego of Moses that caused Moses to lie to the people three times why God wouldn’t let him go to the Promise Land, (Deut. 1:37, 3:26, and 4:21) or the ego to prevent them from knowing that God’s glory had faded from his face: “…not as Moses did, who put a veil over his face so that the Israelis could not see the glory fade away.” (2 Cor. 3:13 Living)
Moses should have said he was not worthy to tie the shoes of Jesus instead of saying Jesus would be like him.
You wrote: “So many are still listening to Moses in Exodus 20…”
What about thousands of Christian Jews who were “zealous” for the Laws of Moses in Acts 21:20? I believe Paul fought an ‘uphill’ battle with these guys and lost.
Of course, if I had a nickel for every time I've heard "Make a commitment to the Lord", or "Make a decision...", I'd be a whole lot richer than I am. It's about surrender, and about trust, and a lot of folks seem surprised when I mention that in some class or another.
I don't believe the church itself is guilt-free in that respect.
Rex,
I enjoy reading your comments in blogdom! Thanks for causing me to think more :)
You said, in response to my comment: "But I don’t believe the Holy Spirit told Moses that Jesus would be “like me"."
Moses DID use the term "like me",but there was no element of arrogant pride in what he said. He certainly wasn't regarding himself as a model of the One of whom he prophesied!
The ESV is a little clearer when it says, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, FROM YOUR BROTHERS—it is to him you shall listen—....".
"from your brothers" is the key to understand what Moses means when he says, "like me".
The NEV says it this way," The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you - FROM YOUR FELLOW ISRAELITES; you must listen to him".
Moses was prophesying that the Redeemer would come from the same racial stock as he and those he was speaking to.
Moses brought the Old Covenant to his people; Jesus brought the New Covenant to His people.
By the way; Moses actually elevated the One of whom he was speaking by saying,"it is to him you shall listen".
If only the Israelites and we of the modern world would take Moses advice and "listen" to our Saviour!
Jesus and Moses are in complete agreement, as John 5:46-47 reveal.
By-the-way, I'm with Paul when he says, "I think your last sentence says it all. That is the point being made by the post."
Aussie John,
Yes, it’s good that we “think more”, and usually both sides believe they are ‘more’ right. :) …just look at the First Church Counsel in Acts 15—my favorite subject. :)
I think Paul said he would write on this chapter someday.
I believe we’d both agree that “like me” is not needed in the prophesy of Mosses since “from your brothers” establishes that Jesus would be a Jew.
Thanks for John 5:45 in reminding me that Jesus was talking about this verse you mentioned.
Paul, I enjoyed your post here more than just about any you've posted. Lots of good input. Two thoughts:
1. One good summary would be one of my fave passages:
"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?"-Gal 3:1-3 It's all about really hearing the voice of the One who is "especially fond" of me!
2. Rex, im sure we agree the Holy Spirit wrote James, and they both understood grace, faith and works. I don't see faith as equal to works, but rather that genuine faith expresses itself in--and is perfected by--works. I can have works without faith, but never faith without works. That would be dead faith that was not generated by the Author of faith. Perhaps it would be a faith that came from my own head, rather than from "hearing, and that by the word of Christ."
Scott,
Who do you think “bewitched” the Galatians?
Wheaton College Library records a letter that Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, wrote to John. “We ought to receive every one whom the Master of the house sends to be over His household, as we would do Him that sent him. It is manifest, therefore, that we should look upon the bishop even as we would upon the Lord Himself.”
Maybe this type of preaching replaced faith in the Gospel with faith in their leaders for them to produce works.
Maybe they were “bewitched” by the letter received by the Gentiles from the First Church Counsel. The Gentiles expected the letter to tell them how they could be Christians, but instead James switched the topic to how they could be accepted by the Jewish Christians. Big difference!
Maybe the Galatians thought the more the Jewish laws they obeyed the better Christian they would become.
“Watch out for those wicked men—dangerous dogs, I call them—who say you must be circumcised to be saved.” (Phil. 3:2 Living)
“…those false teachers of yours…bring long letters of recommendation [kin to the letter sent to the Gentiles?] “We do not tell them that they must obey every law of God or die…” (2 Cor. 3: 1, 6 Living)
“…his salvation is for the Gentiles too. I am in chains now for preaching this message from God.” (Eph. 6:19-20)
“I am afraid that someone may fool you with smooth talk.” “…world’s ideas of how to be saved---by obeying various rules—why do you keep right on following them…as not eating…certain foods?” (Col. 2:4, 20, 21 Living)
(Three of the four rules given by the First Church Counsel to the Gentiles were food rules.)
“There are many rebellious people who…deceive others. This is especially true of those who insist on circumcision for salvation.” (Titus 1: 10 NLT)
Scott,
I agree the Holy Spirit wrote ALL that is truth in James, but NOT any untruth.
Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit to teach us, but to say, “…and they both understood grace, faith and works” seems to imply the ‘student’ is as smart as the ‘teacher’. I have a problem with that.
In the first place, James missed three years of ‘college’ from his Brother, the greatest teacher that ever lived. In fact, James didn’t believe in him (John 7:3-5) until Jesus visited him after his resurrection. (1 Cor. 15:7)
James’s nick-name was “The Just”. He was raised from birth as a Nazirite and the only one allowed in the Holy Place to pray daily for the sins of the people. (Fox’s Book of Martyrs)
Why did James keep his job after he trusted Jesus? Did he not understand Calvary replaced his job, or did he like the prestige?
He rubbed elbows daily for 30 years with those who killed his Brother, and they killed him the first time they heard him testify for Jesus.
James was an expert on law, and we need his Book to understand how to act, but not how to remain saved as shown by (James 5:19 Living)
“Dear brothers, if anyone has slipped away from God and no longer trusts the Lord, [once saved but now lost?] and someone helps him understand the Truth again, [saved twice?] that person who brings him back to God will have saved a wandering soul from death, [Hell?] bringing about the forgiveness of his many sins.”
Rex,
There are people with a different take on James 5:19-20. Several in fact.
One take is that the term "save" in verse 20 meaning "to deliver or to restore" is used in verse 15 to refer to a "physical restoration" from an illness. So, in context, the "death" of verse 20 is most likely referring to "physical death" and not" spiritual death" which would be seen in verses 14-16, as well.
Confessing faults connected to healing in context could be understood in the light of the "death"mentioned in 1 Corinthians 11:30.]
That's just one possible understanding that would be different than the position you suggest. On this we would need to tread softly on any hard and fast interpretation. Salvation may not be the issue with James 5:20 at all.
Just a thought
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