ARE YOU ABUSING GRACE? James Denney's Surprise

The grace of God is beautiful and glorious. Since it is not good to abuse what is beautiful, do you think that it is good to abuse God's grace? I suggest that this topic is full of surprises. Let's begin by making the issue personal.

• Do you think that you have ever abused the grace of God?
• If so, how did you abuse it? 
• If you were only pretending to abuse grace, would you want to know?

I suggest that you were only pretending to abuse God's grace. Read on to discover what you were really doing when you were pretending to abuse grace.

The Abuse of Grace:  an Important Concern

Does the abuse of grace concern you? Have you heard anyone express concern about the abuse of grace? I have read this concern in books and heard it in sermons. Mostly I have heard it in my many hundred annual conversations about grace with non-Christians.

The Reason for Concern about the Abuse of Grace

When I have declared that a person's forgiveness with God is guaranteed by the the sin-bearing death of Christ apart from any personal works, my non-Christian hearer has more than occasionally responded with concern that such a guarantee would give a person a license to sin. We Christians commonly emphasize our point with non-Christians by quoting Paul's declaration "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9).

It is common for non-Christians to continue their objection and declare that guaranteed forgiveness would mean that God doesn't care about good works. At this point it is common for a seasoned evangelist to respond that God actually does highly value good works and indicate such by quoting the next verse, Ephesians 2:10: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." This has generally not persuaded my non-Christian hearers. After many hundred such conversations I have concluded that the critics of guaranteed forgiveness are not really concerned about good works—though they declare that they are and I suspect that they honestly think that they are. But in listening closely to those who disagree on this point, it seems clear to me that what they are really concerned about is human effort. Since it is good to do good, they unwittingly think that good works are sourced in human effort—in trying to do good.

Many true Christians have expressed to me a concern about specific non-Christians, Christians, pastors, or authors—that these people are abusing grace. Have you ever wondered if another Christian might be abusing grace? 

• Have you heard a non-Christian declare that Christians are abusing grace?
• Have you heard a Christian express concern that some Christians are abusing grace?

Who is Concerned About the Abuse of Grace?

My conclusion from much reading, discussion, and meditation of scripture is that God is also concerned about the abuse of grace. Who do you think is the most concerned about this issue: you, me, your pastor, your favorite theologian, the apostle Paul, or God? 

I find that framing issues in terms of questions helps me to notice my confusion. Let's go back to the beginning and apply some questions to the assumption that you weren't pretending but were actually abusing grace.

1. Is it good to abuse grace? Yes or No
2. Can you abuse grace?  Yes or No
3. How can you abuse grace? Pause and write down your understanding of how grace is abused and how you have done it. If you are unsure then write down what you have heard other people say that it means. Note: Jude 1:4 may be the scripture you have heard used to explain this issue. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. What prevents you from abusing grace? Pause and write down what you understand or what you have heard. Note: Romans 6:1-2 may be the scripture you have heard used to urge people not to abuse grace. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Are you meeting the standard you set in your answer to question 4? Write down the name of one or two people you think might be meeting those standards. Write out your understanding of the proper standard for evaluation of abusing grace or preventing the abuse of grace. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Who is Responsible to Prevent the Abuse of Grace?

If it is not good to abuse grace, then God must have a way for grace to not be abused. 

1. Who is responsible to carry out God's way? Write down your understanding of who is responsible. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Is God's way being successfully carried out by whomever you named. Explain if necessary. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In all your pondering of my above questions, did you consider God as the person who might be responsible to prevent the abuse of grace? Let me ask the question more clearly.

• Who is responsible to prevent the abuse of grace: God or humans? 

James Denney's Insight: God Guarantees that Grace Cannot be Abused

James Denney was a Scottish theologian and pastor. I. Howard Marshall called Denney the theologian's theologian. I find reading Denney to be like Jeremiah's experience of having his heart on fire while seeing the Lord as our dread champion (Jer. 20:9-11).  Denney saw all of life and theology to be about the sin-bearing love of Christ. In 1894 Denney gave a series of lectures at a seminary in Chicago. The lectures were promptly published as Studies in Theology. Currently there is one review of the book on Amazon Kindle. It is a very long review in which the pastor author declares: "I want to explore this point further to attempt an answer to a perplexing and disturbing question: Why has the evangelical church in America refused to embrace wholeheartedly this uniquely gifted pastor/theologian whose passionate expositions of the Gospel far exceed anything that has been written or preached in the entire twentieth century?" The author ends by urging saints to read Denney with an honest heart. 

Here is Denney's bold and surprisingly simple declaration that God is the only one who is responsible to prevent the abuse of grace and He does it perfectly. At the end of this post is the quote in a lengthy context that is full of light and life. 

"But in the death of Christ, and in faith laying hold of that death, we have the security against such abuses of the grace of God." page 146

Here are four explicit or implicit declarations in Denney's sentence. 

1. God is responsible to prevent the abuse of grace.
2. God guarantees, secures, and enables that grace cannot be abused on any condition.
3. Thus it is impossible to abuse God's grace.
4. God's way to perfectly prevent the abuse of grace is through the death of Christ, and the faith that lays hold of that death.

According to Denney, God's grace cannot be abused; therefore no human has any participation in abusing or preventing the abuse of grace. This should make us sigh with relief. Points 1 to 3 are equivalent statements that God makes it impossible to abuse grace. Point 4 summarizes how God does it. Is his meaning clear to you, even if you disagree with him?

Reading Denney takes some getting used to. It isn't that Denney uses too much academic language or lacks clarity of style. The exact opposite is the issue. We are the problem. First, we are not used to Denney's clarity. We are used to talking in circles and fooling ourselves into thinking that we are saying something useful. Second, we are used to using words in artificial ways that are disconnected from real life. Denney chooses his words so very carefully and roots them so deeply in the reality of life, that we feel intimidated. How can life be that clear and simple? Denney declares in the book "that the more we reflect upon it [the sin-bearing death of Christ] the more we shall be convinced that it is as simple as it is great." Wow! The great scholar declares that the atonement is very great and very simple. Can you explain how both are true?

• Thank the Father often that grace cannot be abused.
• Thank the Father often that the sin-bearing death of Christ is the door into freedom.
• Thank the Father often that true faith lays hold of the sin-bearing love of Christ.

If Grace Cannot Be Abused, Then Why is there a Problem?

First, we need to notice our common confusion about grace. If grace means unmerited favor, then why do we so often use it as a synonym for kindness or leniency? My Mormon culture has much helped me notice my confusion. In my culture grace has two common definitions: God's help to keep the commandments and God's additional chances to keep the commandments. These are both moralistic and un-scriptural. Let's remove more potential confusion from unmerited favor by sharpening our definition of grace as a relationship of total freedom from merited favor. This clearly implies that there is zero pressure from any source of obligation, duty or rules. Unmerited favor is not like an empty jar that used to contain law, though for many years I was trapped in that confusion. Unmerited favor is like a jar full of the performance of Christ, which always honors the perfection of the law. Every true Christian is full of the unmerited favor of God—of the performance of Christ, which is the life of Christ. Have you been tricked to seek to live your old life better rather than to live the new life? Paul declared in Galatians 2:20 that "you no longer live, but Christ lives in you and that the life that you now live in the flesh [the realm of human faithfulness] you live by the faithfulness of the Son of God." 

Second, the apostles speak much about forgetting and remembering and the power of both. Let's use Peter's letters. In the first letter he commands his readers to set their hope completely on the unmerited favor brought to them in Christ (1:13) At the end of the letter he commands his readers to stand firm in unmerited favor (5:12). Every word in the letter is an explanation of the power of unmerited favor. In 4:1-2 Peter declares that unmerited favor frees a person from sinning—from doing evil. "One who has suffered [experienced strong emotion with Christ] in the flesh [the realm of human faithfulness] has ceased from sin [rebellion against goodness] so as to live in this world for the desire of God." Let's be honest. Do you agree with Peter that unmerited favor frees a person from doing evil? If this seems unrealistic to you, then I suggest that you don't understand the simplicity and power of standing firm in unmerited favor. Christ's life is yours to live now, but Satan seeks to trick you to try to live your old life better. Read Peter's second letter and notice in the first chapter his triple declaration of the call to remember unmerited favor, which is the performance of Christ. Also notice that Peter declares that bad fruit is the result of forgetting unmerited favor. Can life really be this simple?

The Problem is Forgetfulness of Christ's Performance

You can't abuse unmerited favor, but you do have a problem. It is a problem of vision. Your every sin has been a natural result of disregarding Peter's commands to stand firm in unmerited favor—to set your hope completely on the performance of Christ—to resist the devil by standing firm in the faith [which means Jesus' faithfulness] (5:9). When you expect a person to be perfect and for Jesus' sacrifice to be enough for that person, it is impossible for you to be surprised and upset by the person's failure to perform. But when you lower your expectations from Christ, you are on your own. You are seeking to manage or control life your way and God doesn't support that way. This is not your job and you should not be surprised by your bad reactions. Also, since it is wickedness to lower God's expectations, why do it? This means that all the sins of people result from the disregard of Peter's commands. Let's get over ourselves.

I have discussed this with many hundred people [Christians, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, agnostics] in the past two years. Recently I discussed these matters with an old Chinese woman who didn't believe in God. She had heard of the Bible and Jesus but knew nothing about them. She was surprised to hear that Jesus had never done evil. She said that she should always do good, never do wrong. She feels bad when she does wrong. We started there and laughed together much as we talked about the power of comparing ourselves to perfection and the evil of lowering expectations to control other people. By the end of the long conversation she was surprised to understand the reason for her bad reactions, the importance of always judging life compared to perfection, which is Jesus, and her need to be free from having to obey her conscience. It made sense that God wanted to take her place in death to free her to do good without pressure. She gladly took a bilingual New Testament and materials I have written on this topic. 

What Were You Pretending When You Thought You Were Abusing Grace?

As you began reading this article, were you worried that you might have abused grace? You may even have been a bit worried about God's reaction against your possible abuse, but God knew that you were only pretending to abuse grace, even if you didn't know. This should be a relief and comfort for you about yourself and about all other people. God has guaranteed that grace cannot be abused, but He hasn't guaranteed that grace cannot be forgotten or neglected. 

Pause to let that sink in. 

All evil has already been put away by the sacrifice of Christ (Heb 9:26). Why not embrace God's way of sin management? All evil is a result of neglecting, forgetting, or losing focus on God's way of managing life. Distraction from the simplicity and purity of Christ is Paul's great fear (2Cor. 11:3). Are you familiar with Paul's words here? Have you ever heard a sermon on this passage or matter? This is Paul's introduction to his description of Satan and his helpers as counterfeiters of righteousness. I suggest that we need imitate Paul and make his concern ours.

Context for the Quote from James Denney

James Denney's words are simple and piercing. They cut through human pretenses, discomforting our pride. But is it possible that you have some blind spots that you need help to notice? Below is some context for Denney's declaration [in green] that God guarantees that grace cannot be abused. The passage is multicolored to facilitate meditation. I plan to write soon a post on his last sentence about miserable theology.

"This suggests the last remark which I would make on the subject. Reflection on the atonement, a recent theologian has observed, has in our time proceeded mainly under two impulses: (1) the desire to find spiritual laws which will make the atonement itself intelligible; (2) the desire to find spiritual laws which connect the atonement with the new life springing from it. The legitimacy of these desires no one will contest. There is certainly work for theologians to do under both of them. It has always been too easy, referring to this last point first, to treat the atonement as one thing, and the new life as another, without establishing any connection whatever between them. It has always been too easy, in teaching that Christ bore our sins and died our death, to give conscience an opiate, instead of quickening it into newness of life. It is a task for those who hold such a doctrine of Christ’s work in relation to sin, as I have just been asserting, to show that there is a natural, intelligible inspiration to a new life in the acceptance of it, and that it cannot be lodged in the heart, in all its integrity, and leave the life, as it was before, under the dominion of sin. Even in New Testament times the gospel which Paul preached was accused of antinomianism; and so will every gospel be accused which makes pardon a reality. But in the death of Christ, and in faith laying hold of that death, we have the security against such abuses of the grace of God. To accept the forgiveness so won is to accept forgiveness which has in it God’s judgment upon sin, as well as His mercy to the sinful; it is to have the conscience awed, subdued, made tender and sensitive to the holy will of God, and the heart bowed in infinite gratitude to His love. It is not the law which can secure its own fulfillment; it is not by gazing on the tables of stone that we are made good men. It is by standing at Mount Calvary, and taking into our hearts in faith that love which for us men and for our salvation bore our sins upon the tree. It would be a miserable theology that by any defect in this direction gave room to think of Christ as the minister of sin." pp.148-9

LOVE: WHY DO WE REBEL AGAINST IT?

Do you ever rebel against love?

Do you think that it is good for you to love other people? How often do you think that God wants you to take a break from loving other people? Is it good to get impatient, frustrated or angry toward other people? Can you remember having a bad reaction toward someone in the past year? Why do you think you had that bad reaction? Ponder this a moment before reading further.   

Haley’s Conversation of Surprises

Recently Haley stopped by the free book table at USU and joined conversation with Kyle and me. Both spoke like active Mormons. I commonly get at our rebellion and our need for Christ by asking about a person's experience of struggling to love others. Here is the sense of our conversation that revealed to her surprises in her heart (understanding). This reflects very many conversations I have had the past 2 years. 

Read along as if you were Haley.

Me: Do you ever struggle in loving others?

Haley: Sometimes.

Me: Do you know why you struggle?

Haley: I am an imperfect person.

Me: That sounds like an excuse to me. I know why you have done every evil thing you have ever done. You know it too but don't realize that you know it. Would you like to hear what I mean?

Haley: Yes, I would.

Me: It is easier to understand this matter if we evaluate our experience. Theoretical conversation often leaves us confused. Here is a simple example that has helped me. 

The sun and moon illustration

Me: The sun and moon both light our world, but shine for different reasons. What is the difference?

Haley: The sun has its own light, but the moon only reflects the light from the sun.

Me: How much light of its own does the moon have?

Haley: None.

Me: Even though the moon has no light of its own it does a good job lighting our world. We get the benefit. The moon’s role is to be a reflector of light. The sun's role is to be a source of light. Isn't this what we learned in school?

Haley: Yes

Me: I suggest that this can help us understand our role in life. God is good. He is the source of all goodness and created the world in a good way to display his goodness. He created us in his image to be in a good relationship with him where we would live in his goodness and shine out his goodness in all directions. This keeps pride out of life. Do you like this illustration?

Haley: Yes, it makes sense to me.

Me: There is a difference between the moon and us. The moon is not a person. Light simply reflects off of its surface. The moon doesn’t think about it. But we are people who live from the heart. God’s goodness and love flow from our hearts while we are properly focused on his love and goodness. 

How do we shine out God's love?

Me: Here is how it works. Can you think of a recent time when you got irritated, impatient or frustrated with someone?  We all have these experiences.

Haley: I am thinking of one.

Me: Don't tell me about it. Just keep that experience in mind.

Haley: Okay.

Me: Let’s start simple. Do you believe in God?

Haley: Yes.

Me: Do you believe that God is love?

Haley: Yes.

Me: Do you believe that God showed his love by sending Jesus to die for your sins?

Haley: Yes.

Me: For all your sins?

Haley: Yes.

Me: So, all your sins are forgiven?

Haley: Yes.

Me: That is wonderful. Do you ever beat yourself up for your failures? 

Haley: Very often. 

Me: Is God's love only for you or for other people, too?

Haley: God loves everyone and Jesus died for everyone. 

Me: Did Jesus die so that everyone could be completely forgiven?

Haley: Yes.

Me: We are on the same page. Go back to your experience of being irritated. Does God love that person and did Jesus die to take away all that person's sins?

Haley: Yes.

Me: Are you sure?

Haley: Positive.

Me: While you were irritated at that person, were you thinking about how much God loved her and that Jesus died to forgive all her sins?

Haley: (with a surprised look) No, I wasn't, but I should have been.

Me: Everyone tells me that. They should have been thinking love but weren't. 

The experience of remembering Jesus' death for sinners

Let's say that one day you were praying for that person who gets under your skin and thanking God for loving her and sending Jesus to die to take away all her sins. And let's say that while you were praying this way, the woman came up to you and did the thing that often irritates you. While you were praying or thinking this, do you think that you would have gotten irritated? 

Haley: (in surprise) No, not while I was thinking that. But I might forget easily.

Me: Isn't that interesting. While you are thinking of God's love, you don't get irritated. I have asked many people about this and they all describe the same experience. 

The experience of seeing people properly

Me: There is one other surprise about Jesus that helps us understand our experience of not loving others. Is it good for you to look down on me so that you can feel good about yourself?

Haley: No.

Me: Is it good for me to look down on you so that I can feel good about myself?

Haley: You should not do it either. No one should, but everybody does it.

Me: That is painful but true. Then how should we compare ourselves?

Haley: We should look up and compare ourselves to Jesus.

Me: That is good to do, but our pride doesn’t like it. Is it ever okay to lower the standard from Jesus?

Haley: No. We should never do that.

Me: I agree with you completely. Go back to your experience of irritation. While you were irritated, were you comparing that person to Jesus?

Haley: (in surprise) No. I was thinking about what she did wrong.

The experience of forgetting love

Me: You simply forgot that your place in life was to see that God manages her through love. The situation needed to be managed and you took matters into your own hands, lowering the standard and managing her through rules. It gets ugly when we do this. And we do this more that we realize. Our bad reactions always have this same cause. Jesus reveals the love of God through his perfection and death in our place. While we are remembering these two things, God's management through love overflows from our hearts. And it works this way for everyone else too.

Why is it easy to forget love?

Me: Here is the reason that we so easily forget God’s way. Go back to our illustration of the sun and moon. The moon shines brightly unless something happens. What can stop the moon from shining? 

Haley: When there is an eclipse. 

Me: For us the problem is different. No one else can block light from us. But we can self-eclipse. we can block the light from ourselves by forgetting our proper place of dependence on God’s goodness and love. We are made in God’s image and feel deeply his imprint that it is good to be a source of goodness. But that is his role in life. It isn’t yours, or mine or anyone else’s. We thrive when we are satisfied with our role as receivers of love and goodness. While we are satisfied this way, we overflow properly with his love and goodness to those around us, even while they are causing us trouble. But when we get tricked into forgetting our role, then we can have bad reactions.

The experience of self-condemnation

Let’s go back to something you said earlier. You said that Jesus died for you and that you are completely forgiven. Am I remembering correctly?

Haley: Yes, that is true.

Me: Has Jesus taken all your condemnation, shame, and guilt?

Haley: YesHH

Me: Has he taken all your beatings?

Haley: Yes

Me: It sound like you believe that Jesus is enough for you for all of life.

Haley: He is enough for me.

Me: I really like what you are saying. But if Jesus is enough for you for everything, and has taken all your beatings, condemnation, and shame, then why did you tell me that you often beat yourself up for your failings?

Haley: (surprised and embarrassed) I don’t know.

Me: (smiling) You forgot Jesus and in forgetting Jesus you tried to do his job. You were pretending to be God. This is really bad. Jesus took all your beatings and you believed the lie that there are some left for you to carry. Right?

Haley: (smiling) Yes

A testimony of how we experience change

Me: It is not good to believe this lie but we all do sometimes. I suggest that you are too weak to change, but there is hope because God wants to change you. Your job is simple—to trust him to do it by you remembering who Jesus is for you. The most natural way to remember is to pray without asking. Here is a testimony I wrote about my friend Pat, who was diagnosed with three mental illnesses and was nearly always super depressed. He read the Bible much and memorized many verses, but couldn’t escape his depression. He was so depressed that some people felt depressed just being around him. After many years of seeking to encourage him, in 2000 I gave him a piece of paper containing four Bible verses simplified into a prayer of thankfulness for who Jesus is for him. I told him to pray that daily. He said he couldn’t because it was too hard. But he somehow began to pray it. After five months he began to smile and now after 18 years he is consistently cheerful and seeks out discouraged people to encourage them. Please take a copy and follow his simple example. Pray as often as you want, thanking God for what you told me is true. Don’t ask for anything. Just thank God something like this. “Father, thank you that Jesus is enough for me for all of life. Thank you that Jesus carries all my sins. Thank you that Jesus has taken all my shame, guilt and beatings.” As the months go by you may notice that your mind more easily goes to what Jesus has done for you.

The beauty of self-honesty

Haley: I have been thanking God for my family, friends and church…

(beginning to cry) but I have forgotten to thank him for what Jesus has done for me.

Me:  Don’t beat yourself up. Simply start today thanking God for who Jesus is for you. He is enough for you for all of life.

Haley: Please may I take Pat’s story?

Me: Yes of course. You likely know someone else who struggles with self-condemnation, with whom you could share the story after you begin practicing it. We need each other. I am glad for our conversation. I am here on Wednesdays in good weather. Feel free to come downtown to Oasis Books inside the Great Harvest Bakery if you want to talk on other days.

Note: Haley left happy, with two books and Pat’s testimony.

HOLINESS AND WORLDLINESS - WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

Holiness simply means to be set apart or to be different. Different from what? Different from the world. Both holiness and worldliness are about focus. Worldliness is about focusing on imperfect human effort. Holiness is different in that it is about focusing on perfection which is embodied only in Jesus. Jesus is enough for all of life.

Holiness is about the experience of being aware that Jesus is enough--that both 1) his perfection is the only good measuring stick and 2) his death is the only good resolution for the problem of human failure. This easily and naturally applies to all human relationships in all circumstances. Life flows freely from a heart while it is satisfied with goodness. A satisfied heart doesn't struggle, but rather responds to others as valuable people. This is what it means to be human.

Worldliness is the distortion of what it means to be human. It is a focus that doesn't see the whole picture of life, that only perfection is good. Life becomes a check list of good and bad thoughts and actions. I doubt that  you appreciate people seeing you as part of their check list. No one does, but there is no other way to function when perfection is not in view. Goodness is shattered and the only way forward is to try to pick up the pieces one by one. Trying mocks doing, mocks our humanity, and mocks goodness. It bears the ugly fruit of the works of the flesh (Gal 5:19-21). Worldliness denies goodness as a real experience.

Humans live only in the current moment. Therefore, in the current moment we either see life as a check list of ideals (kindness, patience, self-control, love) to strive for, or as perfect goodness to experience now. As you notice human behavior, do you occasionally get distracted into forgetting the big picture that goodness includes perfection, or do you always maintain awareness that only perfection is good? Where is your focus? You can't do perfection, nor can anybody around you. But Jesus did, and his life flows out of you when you simply focus on His goodness (His perfection and His sacrifice for sin). Trying is like a hamster wheel. Only the hamster thinks he is getting somewhere.

Note: In a recent sermon (listen here) in Hebrews 10, I explained how the world is all about trying and how trying is a lie. The sermon visual aid (white board photo) can be seen here by scrolling down to Hebrews#35.

ARE YOU A GOOD CHRISTIAN?

What would you think if you overheard a friend tell someone that you were not a good Christian? Of course if you claimed to be an atheist, Muslim, or Buddhist you would not in the least disagree, though you might wonder about the motive for such a confused statement. But let's assume that you see yourself as a Christian. In that case, what would you think of those words? Would you think them to be judgmental or hypocritical? Might you feel a bit offended? Now let's say that the next day you overheard another friend talking about you, and that person said that you were a good Christian. How would you respond to those words? Let's evaluate more closely.

The Surprise in a Good Question

Are you a good Christian? There are only two possible answers. If you are not a Christian at all then the answer is obvious. But if you are a Christian, then what does it take to be a good one? I live in a part of Utah which may be the friendliest and most expressively religious part of the USA. Ninety percent of the people claim a heritage with the Mormon Church and all of them now claim to be Christians. Outsiders may say that they are not, but they claim to be. I discuss religious matters with hundreds of Mormons annually and commonly inquire whether they consider themselves to be good. Nearly all Mormons tell me that they see themselves as good. I always ask curiously how they come to that conclusion. They then always explain that they simply compare themselves to other people. One USU student said that she was good compared to everyone else. When I then ask how they would do if compared to Jesus, all stop smiling and say they would not be good. The conversation usually turns humorous at this point as they all declare that it is not good to compare oneself to others, but that we all do it. They are often surprised that they think it good to compare oneself to Jesus. They also say that they don't like people looking down on them but freely do it to others to feel good about themselves. Do you see the quandary this puts us all in?

Now back to our question. If we honor what my Mormon acquaintances tell me, then it is never good to compare myself to you, my wife, or any other Christian to determine if I am a good one. The Apostle Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 10:12 that it is not good to compare myself to my past performance. Now compared to Jesus I am a failure. How about you? Thus no one is a good Christian if being a good Christian is based on right behavior. But what does God see when He sees a Christian? Certainly He notices our behavior. But when He sees me as a person He sees me in Christ as dead to law--as dead to my old identity under the obligation to always do what was right. My righteousness was corrupt, lawless, and sinful. Christ took my righteousness, my identity as a law breaker, and gave me His identity as a righteous son. Because of the cross He could do this. It is a real identity exchange; it not an illusion. It is not just God checking a box in heaven and then continuing to relate to me like I am still in my old identity as unrighteous under law. I really am always in Christ and thus am always in a right relationship with God. God sees me as being as righteous as He sees Christ because Christ is my righteousness. This means that my behavior is not my righteousness. 

Identity or Behavior?

So in God's judgment--which is the only one that really matters--I am always righteous and He always smiles on me because of Christ, even at my worst. This implies that God always sees me as a good Christian because of Jesus. Thus to be a Christian is to be a good Christian--to be filled with all goodness as Paul says in Romans 15:14. This is true for you if you are a Christian. Our question reveals how much we are gripped with seeing ourselves and all other people through behavior. Behavior is important, but it needs to be kept in perspective. A non-Christian who works hard and stops most of his sins is still trapped in his identity under law under God's good reaction against all evil. I live surrounded by some really nice people who hate the gift of righteousness with a passion. They are in big trouble with God if they don't swap identities with Christ. It is important for us saints to take seriously our role as God's ambassadors of reconciliation to these nice lost people. The behavior of Christians also concerns God. He cares so much about it that he has made our good behavior the work of His Spirit. I suggest that the Spirit always points every saint to the person and work of Christ--to perfect love and righteousness as a gift--and when we hear the voice of the Spirit and keep our minds set there, then the fruit of the Spirit flows out effortlessly to everyone we meet. This sounds like good behavior to me. God worked at the cross, and when we remember the meaning of that work, then we work God's way.

Identity, identity, identity. Right thinking leads to right action.

The answer to our original question depends on whether you are thinking of behavior or identity. God thinks in terms of identity. Which will you think in terms of? It is critical to learn to think and speak clearly so that God gets the glory and we don't quench the work of the Spirit. I suggest that you start by pondering the meaning of your identity as fully righteous in Christ, then begin thinking about how that identity applies to all the Christians you know, and finally ponder how it applies to all the non-Christians you know. Especially apply this to the obnoxious people you know--non-Christians, Christians, and yourself.

Love: The Wellspring of Mercy and Grace

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" 

-Ephesians 2:4-6

Have you ever wondered how the love, mercy and grace of God fit together? The Christian life should be marked by "joy inexpressible and full of glory" and probably would be if we meditated continually on this question. His love for us is simply His disposition, inclination, habit, desire, and tendency to do good to us. Mercy is a demonstration of love toward one who is an adversary, something we certainly qualified for with God. Scripture declares that God's mercy abounded toward us. One would expect that from a heart full of love. Now self-focused human hearts can be stingy in extending mercy. This looks ugly, somewhat like tolerance of one who is undesirable—not exactly an enemy anymore, but certainly not a friend either. Grace goes beyond mercy because it is favor. While mercy is related to the alleviating in part or in full punishment that is deserved, grace is a change in the relationship to one of favor and blessing. Humans can give grace only in degrees because we are all flawed and weak. But God's glory shines because His heart is wide open toward sinners and His limitless love overflows in perfect righteousness through the sacrifice His dear Son.

John declares that "God is love" (1 John 4:8). He is eager to do good to us—continually! Because of this, mercy has flowed like a river from His heart. There is absolutely no stinginess with Him. The depths of His love could not be contained in mere mercy. His love filled up the measure of mercy and overflowed into grace (favor and blessing). This favor and blessing is beyond anything we see in human relationships. There is almost always some sense merit or hesitation in human relationships. Look again at Paul's words. Do you notice any hesitation on God's part for intimacy with sinners? We do NOT read that He gave us new life alone at a safe distance from Him so that He could maintain His holiness. Rather we read that His love for us is so great that when we were dead in our sins He made us alive together with Christ, raised us up together, and made us to sit together in Christ in the heavenly places. This is a done deal for all who know Him, or rather are known by Him (Gal 4:9). Do you see His heart of favor for you? There was absolutely no hesitation on His part to reach down into filthiness and lift you up and give you every spiritual blessing in Christ in the heavenlies (1:3).

The question is: do you trust His declaration of His unwavering love, even when trials buffet you, or do you heed the voices of the world that judge God by human desires for comfort or rules of fairness? This is the spiritual battle line. On page two of my Bible the serpent slandered God's favor toward Adam and Eve. They heeded Satan and their souls were thrown into darkness. They hid from God, who had only favored them. But God continued to favor them . . . He sought them out, moved into their darkness and declared what He had already planned, that one day the woman's Son would crush the serpent's head. The rest of the Bible is the unfolding of God's lavish grace (favor and blessing) on rebellious mankind.

Have you tended to rejoice that you are out from under God's wrath by simple faith without any works? Of course that is wonderfully true. But that is really just mercy. Favor is far more than that. God's grace is so lavish that we can doubt it, misunderstand it, and even forget it and it still remains all of our life and hope and glory. He has favored us with a life of intimacy with Him—the one who first loved us. So even if we only see His mercy we still have His grace. This is an amazing grace from the heart of love beyond our understanding.

WHY LOVE OTHER PEOPLE?

"He who is forgiven much loves much." --Jesus of Nazareth

Those of us who think that this is true have no excuse for our lack of love for other people, but we do have a reason for it. Are we paying attention? According to Jesus, I have no one to blame but myself for not loving the most obnoxious person around. Active awareness of the greatness of God's forgiveness for me would move me to overwhelm that obnoxious person with love. Apparently Jesus knows something we don't want or like to think about--that our Irritation, frustration, and lack of gladness toward others is caused by our lack of vision of the immensity of God's forgiveness toward us and even toward that other person. Let's get over ourselves and learn to laugh at our failures and those of other people. At our best moments we all are weak. Forgetfulness of the cross is the Christian's great enemy. For the non-Christian ignorance of the cross is the enemy.

Rwanda, Africa: A Love that Overflows in Persecution

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." -1Thes. 5:16-18

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
-Matt. 5:9

Civil war devastated the small central African country of Rwanda in 1959-62. For many years the Hutu people had been downtrodden by their Tutsi feudal overlords—a small minority. The Belgian colonial rulers educated, supported and used the Tutsi.

Christian missionaries arrived about 1920 and preached the love of God for sinners to both Hutu and Tutsi. In 1931 God gave a few missionaries and locals such a vision of the greatness of God's love in the cross of Christ, that they began to confess their sins to one another and embrace one another open-heartedly. The gospel of God's grace began to spread rapidly in the power of the Holy Spirit—not just with missionary perseverance as before, but with an overflowing love, joy and thankfulness. Western missionaries began to see Africans as equals. Barriers between brothers came down as vision of the cross grew. Even the hostility between Hutu and Tutsi was overcome as believers rejoiced in the cross.

As independence from Belgium (1960) drew near, the Hutu began to see their opportunity to gain power and get revenge. What were Christians to do as the massacres spread and terror reigned? How could they be peacemakers when faced with attackers carrying axes, machetes and torches? Christians were from both tribes. Who should they help? Most were intimidated by the terror, but a few saints shone the light of Christ brightly. A missionary doctor who was among that first small group in 1931 to be overwhelmed by a vision of sin and forgiveness, received the following letter from one such African Christian in 1961.

"We are all well because Jesus has turned death into victory through the wonderful Gospel you brought to us. You know all that has happened to us in Rwanda. Here, we have had our home destroyed, and after it happened I was beaten for four days and left for dead. But this time was a blessing to my soul. All the time they were beating me, I couldn't help singing and saying, over and over again, 'Jesus be praised.' I kept praying for them very much all the time, and in my heart I was thankful because they said they had nothing against me except the fact that I was a Tutsi.

"Now, in case we shall never meet again before I die, I want to tell you that you and the other missionaries who brought the Gospel to us have done a great work. When I think how you found me in those days, I love you more than you know. Only Jesus knows how much I love you. I know quite well that you did not come for any personal gain or for what you could make out of it, so I want to comfort you in all suffering that may come to you 'even unto death' not to be downhearted; it is not in vain. Jesus will give you your reward. It is I, A. Mandari (Gahini, 2.3.62)."

This is a love letter--love for the torturers, love for Christ and love for the missionary who had shown him the glory of the cross. What an encouragement this letter must have been to the old missionary. Did you notice who this suffering brother was concerned about? We have the same God of all comfort, the same throne of grace to run to, and the same Holy Spirit of power. Do you want to overflow with heavenly love as this brother did? Do I? The lack is only in our vision of God's love. Let us pray often for God to give us together with all the saints a fresh vision of His great love for us—a love that passes knowledge. And let us expect Him to do it.

[Breath of Life: the story of the Ruanda Mission, by Patricia St. John, page 210]