LONGING FOR GRACE

 Ephesians 6:12

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

                 I have begun rereading Vanishing Grace by Philip Yancey. I have to confess that the opening chapters have been sobering and a little discouraging. It makes the case that Christians in America today are not viewed as people of grace but as combative and anti-social. This is not just media spin; it is born out in the way many vocal and prominent Christians have acted in public. We are rapidly losing the hearts of people because we have failed to demonstrate the grace of God to them.

                In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul reminded the believers that our fight is not against other people, but against the spiritual forces of darkness. The people all around us long for grace, not condemnation. Most people are struggling to find meaning and purpose in life. They want to be loved. They want to be known. They want to experience grace. Too often what they have received from the church is condemnation and ridicule.

                Jesus was strongly criticized for extending grace to “publicans and sinners.” The religious people of his day saw this as a violation of their faith. They wanted nothing to do with sinners, yet Jesus intentionally extended grace to them. Because of that amazing grace, the early church turned their world upside down. Could that happen again? Is it possible for us to turn the tide and become a people of grace again?

                Former President Donald Trump used as his campaign slogan; Let’s make America great again. I think he missed the point, at least from a Christian perspective. I think our slogan should be; Let’s make the Church grace-filled again. Instead of arrogance, this will take humility. Instead of militant aggression it will take self-effacing service. As Jesus told His disciples, if you want to be great you have to be the servant of all. (Matthew 20:25-28)

                Jesus set the standard for us when he told the parable of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:25-37) Jesus was dialoging with a religious leader. The religious leader summed up what it means to truly be a child of God by saying that we are to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. Then Luke records, the man, wanting to justify himself, asked, who is my neighbor? Jesus responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Our neighbor is anyone who crosses our path, no matter what they ethnic or social status is.

                We do not have to compromise our faith in order to be grace-filled believers. Instead, we need to learn to extend the love and grace of God to all those who God brings into our circle of influence. We need to learn to look beyond the outward actions and attitudes that tend to dominate our vision. Instead, we need to look at their heart; to see them as people for whom Christ died. As the Bible tells us, they are lost in their sin and they don’t even realize it. (2 Corinthians 4:4) Condemning them will only push them farther into the darkness. Instead, we need to learn to disarm them with love and compassion. (Romans 12:17-21)

                Yancey points to two ways that we can begin to dispense grace to those around us. First, find the common ground between us. Where are the areas of life that we can connect in a positive way? Second, listen to their story. Everyone, everyone wants to be heard. When someone honestly listens to us, we feel valued. If we would listen more than we pontificate, we would make a much greater impact on our world.

                As one individual, we cannot change our society. But we can impact another life. We can share the grace of God with those around us. We can love those whom God have placed in our path. Jesus said that others will know that we are His disciples if we love one another. If we want to turn our society upside down, we need to work much harder at being a people of grace. Those people around us who we disagree with are not the enemy, they are lost souls for whom Christ died.

Mark 12:30-31

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

 

THE KING IS COMING

 

John 12:13

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

"Hosanna!"

"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"

"Blessed is the King of Israel!"

                This coming Sunday is traditionally known as Palm Sunday. It is the day of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It is the beginning of what is called Holy Week; the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. The triumphal entry is an event full of symbolism and mixed messages. On that day, Jesus claimed His rightful place as King, yet not the kind of king that the people were looking for. Palm Sunday reminds us that we all have mixed motives for raising our palm branches in praise to Jesus.

                Jesus was very intentional about the way that He entered Jerusalem on that day. Jerusalem was filled with pilgrims who are arriving to celebrate the Passover. The emotions of the people were very high. They were looking for the Messiah to come and free them from the oppression of the Romans. They were looking for the arrival of a new king. Jesus intentionally accepted the role of king on that day.

                Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey. This is the only place in scripture that says that Jesus rode on an animal. Jesus chose to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey that had never been ridden before. This alone was symbolic, because only that which has never been used for other purposes came be used in the service of God. In reality, this colt was holy to Jesus. But there was another intentional message that Jesus was giving. When a king returned home in peace, he would ride a donkey. Jesus was subtly proclaiming that He was coming as the King of peace.

                Jesus allowed the people to openly praise Him. If you pay careful attention to the gospel accounts, time and time again Jesus refused to allow the people to hail Him as their king. On several occasions, after He had performed some miracle, He instructed those involved not to tell anyone. Of course, in almost every case they disregarded Jesus’ instructions and broadcast what happened to whoever would listen. On the day of His triumphal entry, Jesus openly accepted the praise of the people. They laid branches and their cloaks in the path before Jesus as they would for a king. Jesus did not rebuke them, but accepted their actions. The people openly applied the traditional Psalms of ascent directly to Jesus. Instead of telling them to be quiet, Jesus accepted their praise. This was not lost on the Pharisees, who complained to Jesus that this was inappropriate.

Luke 19:39-40

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"

"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

                 Jesus was sending a clear message that He had arrived in Jerusalem to take His place as the rightful King of Israel, the Messiah. But the shouts of the people quickly turned to disappointment when Jesus didn’t fulfill their expectations. The crowd wanted a warrior king, but Jesus came as the suffering servant of Isaiah. The people wanted Jesus to conquer the Romans, but Jesus came to conquer sin and death. The people wanted Jesus to restore the kingdom of Israel, but Jesus came to establish the kingdom of God.

                Many of the recent events in our country show that like the crowds on Palm Sunday we misunderstand our King. Many people still want Jesus to be a political leader who will overthrow those who we feel are against us. Others want Jesus to be an agent for social change. What we all want is the Jesus of power, not the suffering servant. Palm Sunday should remind us that Jesus didn’t come to set up an earthly kingdom, but that He came to redeem a world lost in sin; the world we still live in.

                But the time is coming when the King will return in power and glory. When He does, He will forever banish all sin and death. He will establish His kingdom for all eternity, and He will welcome in all who have placed their faith and trust in Him. The King is coming. We don’t know when, but we need to be ready.

Matthew 24:42

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”

Matthew 24:44-47

So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

 

   

 

AN OPEN INVITATION

 

Revelation 3:20

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

                I recently received my invitation to get my COVID vaccine, which I accepted. Tomorrow I will finish the process by getting my second shot. Right now, those invitations are going out to only a select group of people, but soon they will be extended to everyone. Everyone who says yes to the invitation will get the vaccine. Those who say no will remain unprotected.

                Until Jesus came, the invitation to enter into a covenant relationship with God was basically restricted to the people of Israel. They were the chosen people of God. They were given the Law and invited to place their full trust in Jehovah. When Jesus came into the world, the invitation to enter into a covenant relationship with God was extended to all people. In fact, Jesus made it very clear that He expected His followers to announce this invitation far and wide.

Matthew 28:19-20

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

                This is the good news of the Gospel. The invitation is open to all who will receive it. We have the opportunity to enter into an eternal relationship with the living God. It has been offered to all as a free gift. It is not something we deserve or can earn, but we can receive it by faith.

Ephesians 2:8-9

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.

                By receiving this gift, we move into a new reality. We move from exclusion to inclusion, from hopelessness to hope, from despair to joy, from being abandoned to being accepted. We are embraced by the love, grace, and mercy of God. We have the chance to exchange the uncertainty of life for the certainty of life eternal.

Ephesians 2:12-13

…remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

 1 Peter 2:10

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

                Many people are waiting for their invitation to get the COVID vaccine. But no one has to wait for their invitation to enter into eternal life through Christ Jesus. The invitation has already been extended. All it takes from you is to say yes.

Acts 2:21

And everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved.'

 

 

AVOIDING RESPONSIBILITY

 

Matthew 12:36

 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

                Most people would say that they would like to have more responsibility. What they mean by that is that they would like to have more control over themselves and others. But when it comes to taking responsibility for their words and actions, that is a different matter. Those who are in positions of responsibility often work very hard not to take responsibility for their actions when something goes wrong or they run afoul of public opinion. When the heat is on, they do their best to deflect it and place the responsibility elsewhere. They are not alone. We all do it.

                We live in a world that increasingly is devising ways to avoid personal responsibility. This is really not something new. It has been happening from the very beginning of time. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they automatically turned to the blame game to divert attention away from themselves. Adam blamed both Eve and God. “The woman you gave me gave me the fruit and I ate it.” Eve blamed the serpent. This tendency to avoid responsibility has been handed down from generation to generation. When Cain murdered Abel, and God confronted him, his response was “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Although he tried to avoid taking responsibility for his actions, God was not fooled.

                Throughout the ages, we humans have devised many ways to avoid taking responsibility for our actions. In some cultures, people hide behind fate or Karma. In other places we blame culture, society, our parents, even our genes for our misdeeds. In a more blatant attempt to excuse our behavior we fall back on “I’m not hurting anyone” or “It’s my life and I have the right to live it any way I like” or “What I do in private is no one else’s business.”

                When God created us in His image, He endowed us with an enormously significant gift, free will. He has allowed us to make choices in our lives. He could have created us like all the other creatures in the world that act according to their innate, instinctual nature. Animals don’t make moral choices. They just do what their species does. No one holds them accountable or blames them for their actions. But humans are different.

                I have been reading a challenging book by F. LaGard Smith titled Troubling Questions for Calvinists and the Rest of Us. I just finished reading three chapters dealing with the bedrock, Calvinist doctrine of predestination. Without going into the extensive arguments outlined in the book, there is an unintended outcome of this doctrine that should cause all who hold that view to pause and reflect. If every person’s life was set in stone before they were born (actually before the creation of the world) then how could they be held accountable for their actions? Back in the 60’s there was a popular phrase that was used to avoid responsibility; the Devil made me do it. If we take Calvinism’s doctrine of predestination to its logical conclusion, we would be forced to say, God made me do it. But that goes against everything that the Bible teaches us about God and about ourselves.

                The overwhelming teaching of the Bible is that we are free to make our own choices and that we will be accountable for those choices. Why would God constantly call us to make moral choices if we don’t have the free will to do so. Let’s look at just a few of the places in scripture that call for us to make choices for which we will be held accountable.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

    See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. [16] For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

    [17] But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, [18] I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

    [19] This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live [20] and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Joshua 24:14-15

    "Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. [15] But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

John 3:16-18

    "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. [18] Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

Ephesians 4:1

    As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

Ephesians 4:22-25

    You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; [23] to be made new in the attitude of your minds; [24] and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

    [25] Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

Philippians 4:8-9

    Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. [9] Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Romans 14:12

So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

                No matter what smokescreens we put up, we cannot avoid taking responsibility for our lives. The weight of evidence in scripture is that we have been granted the right and the responsibility to make our own choices. We will be held accountable for the choices that we make. We cannot shift the blame on anyone else.

2 Corinthians 5:10

    For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.