God’s grace is the most amazing thing in the universe. The scriptures say that even the angels marvel that frail and imperfect mankind is such an object of God’s affection. Psalm 8:4 asks the eternal question, “What is man, that you are mindful of him?”
The message of the gospel is one of grace, that immortal God of His own accord would pursue a love relationship with a mortal human race that has repeatedly spurned His affections. And when He finds those who want to enter covenant with Him, He takes them in as one would take in an orphan child, forgives their rebellion against Him, wipes the slate clean, replaces their evil with Jesus’ own righteousness, begins to change their character, and lavishes them with His love and provision.
The scriptures also teach that the Old Testament Law was given to show mankind how utterly sinful we are. The Law can’t save us, but it shows us that we do indeed need a Savior, because none of us have kept God’s commands. And the wonderful news of the gospel is that even after mankind repeatedly broke covenant with God, He came along in the form of God-in-flesh, Jesus Christ, to form a new and better covenant. In this new agreement, God said in essence, “I’m going to keep my part of this covenant just like I did with the last one, but this time you don’t have to rely on your own righteousness, because I’m going to place your punishment upon my Son, and by simply placing your trust in Him and walking in His example, you will be my children forever.”
So, imagine there are three choices set before you. On the one side, there is a works-based salvation that is full of striving and that ends in eternal destruction. On the other end there is a self-centered life driven by your own lusts that leaves godly character out of the picture. That one, too, ends in eternal punishment. But the choice in the middle is one where God says, “Enter my rest. Leave your sinful ways, and come and rest in my ability to save you and fulfill you by living life My way.” And that choice ends in blessing here on this earth and eternal bliss in heaven. Well, maybe I’m not a genius, but I think I’ll take choice #3! It’s an incredible deal!
So then, how are we to respond to such a grace? And how should we be preaching it?
The life and ministry of Jesus is a good representation of how to preach the gospel. Without exception, Jesus preached Law to the proud, and grace to the humble.
To the Pharisees, the self-sufficient, the rebellious, the proud, and the spiritually smug, Jesus always preached Law to reveal to them their sin and insufficiencies. Remember the rich young man? He was one who came to Jesus seeking salvation. What did Jesus say to him? Did He say, “Well, just believe in Me and – poof – you’ll be saved.” No, he preached LAW to that young man, because He wanted to reveal his idolatrous heart. And without understanding his idolatrous heart, he could not respond to grace.
However, to the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the dejected, and all those who already knew how wretched they were, Jesus always preached grace. And His message even to the repentant was clear: “I don’t condemn you, but go, and sin no more or else something worse might happen to you.” (see John 5:14, John 8:11) In other words, sin gives place to satan to wreak havoc on people’s lives.
In Post-Modern America we have preached His amazing grace very differently. We have shamefully twisted that grace into something unrecognizable by just teaching the cross and unconditional love alone, without teaching why Jesus had to die on the cross in the first place. Jesus had to die, of course, because He was acting as a scapegoat, a substitutionary sacrifice in place of you and me. You and I were under the judgment and wrath of God because of our willful rebellion against Him, and Jesus took our punishment upon Himself so that you and I might be declared “not guilty” simply by throwing ourselves upon the mercy of the court.
I heard a story of a judge in California that beautifully illustrates this truth. His own daughter was arrested for speeding at over 100 mph, and she had to make her court appearance in HIS courtroom. Being a just judge that cared about justice, he pounded the gavel and declared, “Two-hundred dollars, or two days in jail.” And then he did something pretty amazing. He stood up, removed his robe, went down and stood beside his daughter, and then took out his wallet and paid the fine himself. That’s exactly what God has done for us. We were guilty of the crime, and God paid the fine.
So what do you think an appropriate response from the judge’s daughter would be? Imagine if she walked out of that courtroom and said, “Whew! That was a close call. Glad dad was there to bail me out. He must really love me, so since he’s there to bail me out, I guess I’ll go live it up some more.” And that’s exactly what people do to God, and they point to God’s grace as a license for empowering them to do so. But the Bible teaches that until true repentance comes, we are all children of Satan, and that we are only adopted when we repent and place our trust in Christ. So unless true repentance comes, we remain in our sins and in the family of Satan and under his control. And until people understand this, they do not have enough information to truly make a decision for Christ. That’s why the Law MUST be a significant part of gospel declarations, because the Law shows us how far short we fall of God’s standards, and then when conviction comes, we present grace. Until people understand that they are under the eminent judgment of God, they cannot appreciate or respond to grace.
Consider carefully the following quotes from some great men of faith:
“Satan, the god of all dissension, stirs up daily new sects, the latest of which I would have never foreseen or once suspected. He has raised up a sect such that teaches that men should not be terrified by the Law, but gently exalted by the teaching of the grace of Christ.”
-Martin Luther
“[Sinners] will never accept grace until they tremble before a just and holy Law.”
-Charles Spurgeon
“Repentance can be a threatening message, and rightly so. The Gospel must be the bad news of the conviction of sin before it can be the good news of redemption… Repentance is an inescapable consequence of regeneration, an indispensable part of the conversion process that takes place under the conviction power of the Holy Spirit. But repentance is also a continuing state of mind… Without a continuing repentant attitude – a persistent desire to turn away from our own nature and seek God’s nature – Christian growth in impossible. Loving God is impossible.” -Charles Colson, from ‘Loving God’
“Evermore the Law must prepare the way for the gospel. To overlook this in instructing souls is almost certain to result in false hope, the introduction of a false standard of Christian experience, and to fill the church with false converts.”
-Charles Finney
It appears that perhaps today’s Church IS filled with false converts based upon Charles Finney’s statements, because the Church certainly IS filled with a gaping absence of the Law in preparing the way for grace. Thus, many people have gently exalted themselves with soft assurances of a grace that they may have never even experienced, because they have never trembled before a just and Holy God.
King David summed it up well when he penned, “There is an oracle within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked. There is no fear of God before His eyes, for in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to hate or detect his sin.” -Psalm 36:1-3
Folks, as wonderful as grace is, it IS in fact conditional, and it does not cover willful rebellion against God. There are conditions to meet: Repentance, and trust in Christ for one’s entry into eternal life. And those who do not repent and begin taking on God’s nature are still in their sins. I don’t apologize for saying it even though I have been scoffed at for proclaiming this message. I don’t apologize because I know that what I am preaching is the gospel. And come hell or high water, I will continue to proclaim His Word so long as God enables me.
The message of the gospel is one of grace, that immortal God of His own accord would pursue a love relationship with a mortal human race that has repeatedly spurned His affections. And when He finds those who want to enter covenant with Him, He takes them in as one would take in an orphan child, forgives their rebellion against Him, wipes the slate clean, replaces their evil with Jesus’ own righteousness, begins to change their character, and lavishes them with His love and provision.
The scriptures also teach that the Old Testament Law was given to show mankind how utterly sinful we are. The Law can’t save us, but it shows us that we do indeed need a Savior, because none of us have kept God’s commands. And the wonderful news of the gospel is that even after mankind repeatedly broke covenant with God, He came along in the form of God-in-flesh, Jesus Christ, to form a new and better covenant. In this new agreement, God said in essence, “I’m going to keep my part of this covenant just like I did with the last one, but this time you don’t have to rely on your own righteousness, because I’m going to place your punishment upon my Son, and by simply placing your trust in Him and walking in His example, you will be my children forever.”
So, imagine there are three choices set before you. On the one side, there is a works-based salvation that is full of striving and that ends in eternal destruction. On the other end there is a self-centered life driven by your own lusts that leaves godly character out of the picture. That one, too, ends in eternal punishment. But the choice in the middle is one where God says, “Enter my rest. Leave your sinful ways, and come and rest in my ability to save you and fulfill you by living life My way.” And that choice ends in blessing here on this earth and eternal bliss in heaven. Well, maybe I’m not a genius, but I think I’ll take choice #3! It’s an incredible deal!
So then, how are we to respond to such a grace? And how should we be preaching it?
The life and ministry of Jesus is a good representation of how to preach the gospel. Without exception, Jesus preached Law to the proud, and grace to the humble.
To the Pharisees, the self-sufficient, the rebellious, the proud, and the spiritually smug, Jesus always preached Law to reveal to them their sin and insufficiencies. Remember the rich young man? He was one who came to Jesus seeking salvation. What did Jesus say to him? Did He say, “Well, just believe in Me and – poof – you’ll be saved.” No, he preached LAW to that young man, because He wanted to reveal his idolatrous heart. And without understanding his idolatrous heart, he could not respond to grace.
However, to the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the dejected, and all those who already knew how wretched they were, Jesus always preached grace. And His message even to the repentant was clear: “I don’t condemn you, but go, and sin no more or else something worse might happen to you.” (see John 5:14, John 8:11) In other words, sin gives place to satan to wreak havoc on people’s lives.
In Post-Modern America we have preached His amazing grace very differently. We have shamefully twisted that grace into something unrecognizable by just teaching the cross and unconditional love alone, without teaching why Jesus had to die on the cross in the first place. Jesus had to die, of course, because He was acting as a scapegoat, a substitutionary sacrifice in place of you and me. You and I were under the judgment and wrath of God because of our willful rebellion against Him, and Jesus took our punishment upon Himself so that you and I might be declared “not guilty” simply by throwing ourselves upon the mercy of the court.
I heard a story of a judge in California that beautifully illustrates this truth. His own daughter was arrested for speeding at over 100 mph, and she had to make her court appearance in HIS courtroom. Being a just judge that cared about justice, he pounded the gavel and declared, “Two-hundred dollars, or two days in jail.” And then he did something pretty amazing. He stood up, removed his robe, went down and stood beside his daughter, and then took out his wallet and paid the fine himself. That’s exactly what God has done for us. We were guilty of the crime, and God paid the fine.
So what do you think an appropriate response from the judge’s daughter would be? Imagine if she walked out of that courtroom and said, “Whew! That was a close call. Glad dad was there to bail me out. He must really love me, so since he’s there to bail me out, I guess I’ll go live it up some more.” And that’s exactly what people do to God, and they point to God’s grace as a license for empowering them to do so. But the Bible teaches that until true repentance comes, we are all children of Satan, and that we are only adopted when we repent and place our trust in Christ. So unless true repentance comes, we remain in our sins and in the family of Satan and under his control. And until people understand this, they do not have enough information to truly make a decision for Christ. That’s why the Law MUST be a significant part of gospel declarations, because the Law shows us how far short we fall of God’s standards, and then when conviction comes, we present grace. Until people understand that they are under the eminent judgment of God, they cannot appreciate or respond to grace.
Consider carefully the following quotes from some great men of faith:
“Satan, the god of all dissension, stirs up daily new sects, the latest of which I would have never foreseen or once suspected. He has raised up a sect such that teaches that men should not be terrified by the Law, but gently exalted by the teaching of the grace of Christ.”
-Martin Luther
“[Sinners] will never accept grace until they tremble before a just and holy Law.”
-Charles Spurgeon
“Repentance can be a threatening message, and rightly so. The Gospel must be the bad news of the conviction of sin before it can be the good news of redemption… Repentance is an inescapable consequence of regeneration, an indispensable part of the conversion process that takes place under the conviction power of the Holy Spirit. But repentance is also a continuing state of mind… Without a continuing repentant attitude – a persistent desire to turn away from our own nature and seek God’s nature – Christian growth in impossible. Loving God is impossible.” -Charles Colson, from ‘Loving God’
“Evermore the Law must prepare the way for the gospel. To overlook this in instructing souls is almost certain to result in false hope, the introduction of a false standard of Christian experience, and to fill the church with false converts.”
-Charles Finney
It appears that perhaps today’s Church IS filled with false converts based upon Charles Finney’s statements, because the Church certainly IS filled with a gaping absence of the Law in preparing the way for grace. Thus, many people have gently exalted themselves with soft assurances of a grace that they may have never even experienced, because they have never trembled before a just and Holy God.
King David summed it up well when he penned, “There is an oracle within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked. There is no fear of God before His eyes, for in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to hate or detect his sin.” -Psalm 36:1-3
Folks, as wonderful as grace is, it IS in fact conditional, and it does not cover willful rebellion against God. There are conditions to meet: Repentance, and trust in Christ for one’s entry into eternal life. And those who do not repent and begin taking on God’s nature are still in their sins. I don’t apologize for saying it even though I have been scoffed at for proclaiming this message. I don’t apologize because I know that what I am preaching is the gospel. And come hell or high water, I will continue to proclaim His Word so long as God enables me.
5 comments:
Andy, you are sounding a tad Lutheran with all this talk of Law tied up with Grace! ;) This is exactly why our pastors are instructed to always present both Law and Gospel in every sermon. I remember as a child being taught "the Law shows us our sin and the Gospel show us our Savior". And of course the historic Christian liturgy includes both Law and Gospel. I have never attended a church service without hearing both.
However, do you really mean to say that God's grace is conditional? I beleive it is truly and perfectly UNconditional -- as Scripture says we can't even repent or trust without His gift of faith. Certainly we can reject his gift and lose it. That doesn't make it conditional though on God's part. (Just like if you gave someone a gift and they threw it back at you -- that wouldn't mean you had put conditions on the gift. It would mean that they had rejected it.)
Enjoyed taking a break to think about these things tonight... :)
While I have never had any Lutheran influences, if my dissertation on Law and Grace is Lutheranesque, then so be it. :-)
Regarding my breif comments on conditional grace, or perhaps more appropriately said, conditional security (the opposite of UNconditional eternal security), I realize this is an issue that is hotly debated, and I will not be able to solve that dilemma here. I would encourage you to read me book, Eternal Security: Can a True Christian Fall Away from Grace, which I believe handles this sensitive issue with thoroughness respect toward both sides. Check it out. You can go to the side bar in the blog and click on the link to my books and order it from Barnes and Noble, or call me and I'll give you a copy on the house.
Hi Andy,
I have actually flipped through your book before -- one time Donna had it at Nicky's. It struck me as "Yeah -- who DOESN'T believe this?" You have to understand that, before my exposure to the homeschool group, I had never heard of the debate over eternal security. It is not in question in Lutheran (or Catholic, Orthodox, etc. circles) or even by apologists of the faith like C.S. Lewis. I have always been raised that a true Christian can certainly choose to turn away -- thus Satan constantly attacks Christians and hopes to convince them to turn away. Thus the need for a constant life of faith and worship. Thus the existence of spiritual warfare.
I wasn't debating eternal security. I don't think Scripture supports such a notion. I just think that we shouldn't use the term "conditional GRACE" as it seems to limit the amazing unconditional gift God offers to everyone. Just because people choose to reject the gift doesn't mean that it was offered with conditions -- we can't do anything to deserve or earn it.
Maybe it just seems like I'm focusing on semantics. I'm glad to know you were really referring to the eternal security debate. It's just that grace is so important I don't want to see God's free gift seem limited in any way, as so many people feel they're not "good enough" or need to earn God's grace. I think we're in agreement in the end.
Charmaine
Charmaine,
Yes, it's really a semantics issue, but perhaps I should indeed be more careful in clarifying what I mean. I was aiming my comments primarily at the eternal security issue - which, by the way, you can't believe how many Christians believe in an UNconditional eternal security. That said, grace is conditional only in the sense that it is contigent upon one's willingness to repent and embrace Jesus as the LORD of one's life and not just a fire insurance policy. That's what I was getting at. But your comments are well aimed at causing me to pay better attention at how I articulate that, so thanks!
Andy
Cool. :)
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