The Crown of Grace

As we sang "Amazing Grace" in church yesterday, it struck me how amazing God's grace really is.  Like the peace of God which passes understanding, it is past finding out.  The brutal irony remains that the place where grace ought to flourish the most - among the people who profess to know God - is the one place grace is not found.  Instead of seeking restoration or salvation for the woman caught in the act of adultery, the Pharisees were gathering stones to injure and destroy.  It took Jesus stepping into the scene to prevent destruction.  Instead of sympathizing with the adulteress, Jesus desired the woman cease her sinning and be saved.

In my own life I have struggled with giving grace freely.  It is very easy to limit the grace we dole out, but we are rewarding according to merit.  If we only give grace where it seems warranted, it is not grace!  All people are undeserving of God's favor, for we all have sinned against Him ignorantly, willingly, and purposefully.  When we see people in sin we are not shocked, for all are sinners.  But when we see professing Christians stuck in sin, our flesh recoils in that familiar Pharisaical disdain:  how dare he!  And when we do so we become hypocrites equal to the worst of sinners.  Because we do not consider our own past faults and sins, we now stand in judgment of those who are devastated by sin's curse and condemn whom God has forgiven.

I am grieved when I see people "punished" by men after they have freely confessed their sin and repented.  That is one thing God never does.  Is not guilt and separation from God punishment enough?  Instead of the grace of God, man's method is devised of making up for wrongs through trying to do good.  "Penance" is something placed upon one who has voluntarily confessed their sin to a pastor or priest.  Penance is defined as, "a punishment usually consisting of prayer, fasting, etc., undertaken voluntarily as an expression of penitence for sin; a punishment of this kind imposed by church authority as a condition of absolution."  Should prayer or fasting ever be a punishment?  Can one work off the debt of sin through any mortification of the flesh?  I have known people who have freely confessed sin, repented, and were forced to stop all formal service for God for an arbitrary space of time.  It is as if the church refuses to believe that the sufferings of Christ are enough to pay for sin:  we must do all we can to further increase guilt and humiliation.

It seems that in the church we often construct an environment where failed people are no longer allowed to fail.  We are all failures before God, but the lie of Satan is we can never let others know how rotten we really are.  As a man, I am aware of my gross failures and past sins.  As a pastor, I am aware that many people do not feel safe or free to share their own failures because of fear they will be judged, ostracized, or condemned.  Because they feel this way, they keep their sins hidden.  Why should they confess sin and repent to be punished by man in addition to their burdened consciences?  These people can be casual church attendants or people in leadership.  All cry out and long for the grace of God.  Those in leadership feel additional pressure to be outwardly perfect and the lack of confession can not only hinder but destroy their witness entirely.

How beautiful it is that God gives us grace!  How wonderful it is when we can share church fellowship where everyone sees themselves as a complete wreck God has restored!  What a testimony to the life-saving power of the grace of God where all who repent are included, and none who are lost remain excluded:  God's grace is available to all, and it is only our own pride, fear, and selfishness that prevents us from rejoicing in it.  I am tired of the work of Christ's church being hindered because of this lie of perfection before service.  Peter was not a perfect man, nor was Paul.  But God used them anyway.  King David was a great king in Israel, and he sinned horribly with Bathsheba.  Though there were consequences in his life, God allowed His reign to continue.  Why?  Because he freely admitted his sin before God, something Saul would not do!  Though flawed, David was a man after God's own heart because he acknowledged and repented of his sin.  Allow me to share a beautiful song of forgiveness, Psalm 32.

A Psalm of David. A Contemplation. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. ² Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. ³ When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. ⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah ⁵ I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah ⁶ For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they shall not come near him. ⁷ You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah ⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. ⁹ Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you. ¹⁰ Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. ¹¹ Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!"

Psalm 32:1-11

Let us put aside the bit and bridle of guilt and shame which prevents us from repentance.  Instead of demanding penance from those who are in sin, may we seek to restore such in a spirit of gentleness and realize soberly that we too may be drawn away from God to sin.  Let us be honest with God and one another, confess our sins one to another, and pray for one another that we may be healed.  The church is as desperate for this healing as the lost, sin-stricken world in which we live.  Do we mash a crown of thorns upon the heads of those who transgress as those who crucified Christ and in doing so pierce ourselves with sorrows, or do we lovingly adorn them with a crown of grace?  May our lives be a testimony of God's grace, forgiveness, and restoration!

Yancey quote...

I have been reading the Philip Yancey gem Where is God when it Hurts? and came across a terrific paragraph.  His point is that God made the world good, but it has been polluted by sin.  While we see the skill and beauty of God in His Creation, man has labored continually to destroy God's handiwork.  I speak not in terms of environmental destruction, through there could be a case easily made, but the wreckage man has made of His relationship with the Creator.  We have been separated by God because of sin:  sickness, death, and suffering have followed.  Praise God He seeks our restoration through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ!  Thank God for His wondrous grace.  This quote can be found on page 59:

Imagine this scenario:  vandals break into a museum displaying works from Picasso's Blue Period.  Motivated by sheer destructiveness, they splash red paint all over the paintings and slash them with knives.  It would be the height of unfairness to display these works - a mere sampling of Picasso's creative genius, and spoiled at that - as a representative of the artist.  The same applies to God's creation.  God has already hung a "Condemned" sign above the earth, and has promised judgment and restoration.  That this world spoiled by evil and suffering still exists at all is an example of God's mercy, not his cruelty.   - Philip Yancey

Satan Wins!

Much is made in Christian circles that Satan is a defeated foe.  Some downplay the attacks and deceptions of Satan through the broad application of 1 John 4:4:  "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."  So why is it then, that so few Christians seem to live a life of victory and power?  Why is our labor futile and fellowships rife with division?  If the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead fills us with that life-giving power, why do so few actually walk in the demonstration of it?  One of the main reasons is simple:  sin.   Though Christ has crushed the power of Satan under His feet, we can grant the devil legal authority through strongholds of sin.  He will gladly take back whatever territory we give him and fortify himself.

Ephesians 6:11-12 reads, "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."  It was necessary for Paul to instruct the Ephesians concerning the spiritual battle they faced continually as children of God.  They likely recoiled against the immorality, idolatry, and pagan practices of the day and laboured to defeat them.  But Paul told the Christians at Ephesus that their battle was of another kind:  they were fighting a spiritual battle of hand-to-hand combat against satanic forces.  The intent of our enemy is to steal, kill, and destroy.  His easiest victories come when we don't realize he has us in a vulnerable position by our secret or unconfessed sin.  A direct assault against God's people is rarely effective because they have been granted victory over sin through Jesus.  But if we offer position by our sins, he will choke us out.  It is when we justify our lack of confession or repentance that Satan wins.

A child of God can be down but is never out.  We have the hope of salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, our LORD and Saviour.  A great lie of Satan is that we must only confess our sin to God and not to the person we have wronged through our sin.  A Christian's conscience will not rest easy until a full confession is made.  William Gurnall, a Puritan writer, had this to say about this tactic of the devil:

The very strength of some temptations lies in the concealing of them, and the very revealing of them to some faithful friend, like the opening and pricking of an imposthume (abscess), gives the soul present ease.  Satan knows this too well; and therefore, as some thieves, when they come to rob an house, either gag them in it, or hold a pistol to their breast, frighting them with death, if they cry or speak; thus Satan, that he may more freely rifle the soul of its peace and comfort, overawes it so, that it dares not disclose his temptation.  O, saith Satan, if thy brethren or friends know such a thing by thee, they will cast thee off; others will hoot at thee.  thus many a poor soul hath been kept long in its pangs by biting them in.  Thou losest, Christian, a double help by keeping the devil's secret - the counsel and prayers of thy fellow-brethren.  And what an invaluable loss is this!" (The Christian in Complete Armour, pg. 100)

How Satan will lie to us!  He will tell us we will lose all credibility, that the concealing of our sin protects others from pain, and points to our changed behaviour as an impetus not to publicly confess.  But what does God's Word say?  James 5:16 reads, "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."  The offering of Job's friends was not accepted until Job prayed for them.  Likewise, we must confess to the one we have wronged before our guilt shall be absolved before God.  Ephesus was a Christian fellowship that did well, yet God had something against them:  Revelation 2:2-5 reads, "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; ³ and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. ⁴ Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. ⁵ Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place--unless you repent."

The first step of repentance is acknowledgment, agreement with God.  The second step is confession.  Without confession there is no repentance, and without repentance there is no salvation.  If we harbour sin in our hearts, we cannot expect to be filled with the Spirit because we have polluted His temple.  The temple must be purged of all filth by the blood of Christ before we can expect the glory of God to fill the most holy place.  Without the Spirit we have no power, are devoid of all spiritual discernment, become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, the Word becomes unfruitful, and put up no resistance to Satan's schemes.  We have traded the power of God for the satisfaction of our lusts, and willingly place ourselves under bondage again.  Doctors cannot treat a man who refuses to see a doctor, and God will not deliver even a Christian who will not humble himself in confession and repentance.  Satan wins when we hide our sin.

If we will but humble ourselves and confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  Are you tapping out, O Christian?  Do you feel powerless in the jaws of the enemy of your soul?  No man who hides a deadly serpent in his bosom is better for it.  Confess your secret sins in agreement with God.  You can be sure Christ will deliver you and by His grace grant you the victory He purchased with His own blood!

Do You Love People?

Yesterday I took Zed to his soccer practice and was blessed by the love of total strangers.  When Fred and Mary sat down and started a conversation, we didn't stay strangers for long!  For the duration of Zed's practice we talked about all kinds of things:  sport, family, work, Australia, WWII, the weather, and Jesus.  Towards the end of practice we exchanged details.  Our family has been invited to share a meal with two of the most delightful people imaginable.  Before we shook hands and left for the evening, I was struck by a statement Fred made:  "We love people."  And it really showed!

A heart of love is not revealed by words but by caring actions.  God's love is so unnatural but comes through people in the most natural ways.  How many practical ways was I shown genuine love?  Fred and Mary sat right down next to me and started talking.  They were interested and happy to chat.  During our conversation I was offered a toffee.  When the rain began to fall I was offered shelter under an umbrella.  Instead of distance, I was invited right into their lives through the sharing of experiences.  After all this, they were delighted to extend an invitation into their own home to share a traditional Italian meal.  They gave me personal details and entreated me to call them soon.  Why?  Because they love people.

This kind of unsolicited love is also seen in my Saviour, Jesus Christ.  God's active love is revealed through deeds.  Those who are filled with the Holy Spirit will reveal the same quality of sacrificial love seen in Jesus Christ.  The love of my friends reminds me of Matthew 25:31-40:  "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ³² All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. ³³ And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵ for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? ³⁸ When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹ Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' ⁴⁰ And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me."

As Christians, we ought to love like Jesus.  Sometimes we struggle to see what shape this should take in our families, workplaces, or even at the soccer field.  It is hard to fathom that when we see the lonely and sick, the imprisoned or thirsty, the hungry or destitute, we are looking at Christ.  It is not physically Christ Himself, but when we do good towards those in need we do it to Christ.  Consider this quote from Mother Theresa's book, No Greater Love (pages 66-68):

If you are really in love with Christ, no matter how small your work, it will be done better; it will be wholehearted.  Your work will prove your love.  You may be exhausted with work, you may even kill yourself, but unless your work is interwoven with love, it is useless.  To work without love is slavery...You can touch the sick, the leper and believe that it is the body of Christ you are touching, but it is much more difficult when these people are drunk or shouting to think that this is Jesus is His distressing disguise.  How clean and loving our hands must be to be able to bring that compassion to them!  We need to be pure in heart to see Jesus in the person of the spiritually poorest...We consider it an honor to serve Christ in the distressing disguise of the spiritually poorest; we do it with deep gratitude and reverence in a spirit of sharing.

It is impossible to share the love of Christ with the world in a moment.  But it is possible to share His love with one person in need.  That is how Jesus reached the world and still does today:  one person, one act, one conversation at a time.  Even when sharing God's love with one person seems overwhelming, the power of God works to empower us to do what we naturally cannot.  2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."  All things are possible for those who believe!  Jesus loves all people, and we ought to love them too.  And because we love both God and man, we do.