Grace for Then - Grace for Now

Some time back, a controversy arose in the evangelical church over what is called “lordship salvation.” In its simplest terms, the question is whether one can have Christ as Savior but not as Lord. That is, can one possess salvation for eternal life while exhibiting no discipleship in this life? The “lordship salvation” people say that if one has been redeemed by the grace of God, one should also expect that one will be renewed by the grace of God. Those who oppose, say that to measure whether or not people are saved by judging their progress in holiness is a form of legalism — if grace is free apart from works then we should not be judging that grace by works. Lordship people counter by saying that, indeed, grace is free, not a result of works, but the grace imparted for salvation is also imparted for sanctification, they cannot be separated.

I’m with the “lordship salvation” camp. What I find comforting in this doctrine is that the holiness expected of disciples throughout the New Testament does not rest in my will or determination to realize. It is grace that is “training [believers] to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Titus 2:12). As John MacArthur observes, “It is unthinkable that God would sacrifice His Son to purchase heaven for sinners but leave them to fend for themselves against the power of sin in this life.” Grace is available, is at work, to make us into the kind of people Jesus came to save, “a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14).

Does that mean that there is nothing for us to do regarding sanctification? Do we just persist in feeding on sin until grace comes along, grabs us by the scruff of the neck to drag us away from the trough? I don’t think that’s what Paul (nor the “lordship” camp) has in mind. Consider the description of the activity of grace in the letter: training. This is the Greek term used to describe the instruction of children. The purpose of training is to direct children to what is good and healthy for them. The hoped for result is that they will learn for themselves, evidenced by their following the wisdom they have embraced, what is profitable and what is not. It’s no different for us. Grace is at work awakening us to what is true, good, and beautiful so that we would “live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” Grace saves; grace trains. Grace for then; grace for now. Soli deo gloria.

Advent: The Politics of Christmas 1

When a Christian confesses “Jesus is Lord” he or she is making more than a personal statement of faith. The title “Lord” is fraught with political significance, as is evident in the vision of the victorious Christ that includes his wearing a robe on which “he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19 ). He is the one to whom “all authority in heaven and earth” was given and he wields it as Sovereign over all. There is no higher authority on this earth than the one whom we confess as Lord.

This is important for us to remember in the wake of the recent election. Too often we heard Christians speak fearfully of a loss of our religious liberties. Such liberties are a cherished benefit granted by the Constitution of this country, and the country would be wise to protect them. But Christians should not be acting out of fear when they cast their vote. While the Constitution may promise religious freedom, Jesus did not. Nevertheless, we are to hold fast to our allegiance to him for he is building his church, against which the gates of hell will not prevail.

One of the most familiar prophecies concerning the coming of Christ is from Isaiah 7:14, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” This was fulfilled historically in the conception and birth of Jesus. Significant to note is that this sign was first given to Ahaz, a king of Judah, who, out of fear, struck a deal with a pagan nation in an attempt to defend himself from an attack by an alliance that was threatening his kingdom. The sign was given by God to assure Ahaz that he had nothing to fear, He would take care of his foes. Alas, the king trusted the pagans more than Yahweh and paid the price for it.

The birth of Jesus is as much of a sign to us as it was to Ahaz, if not more so. It teaches us that the church needs to be mindful about whom we make political alliances with. We need to be governed by faith, not fear, for the one who we confess as Lord is the same one about whom it was prophesied “the government shall be upon his shoulder [and] . . . of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end . . .” (Isaiah 9:6-7). Jesus IS Lord.

Pentecostal Preaching, Part 3

The first car I owned was a real clunker. Thankfully, it was of a pedigree that one could spend time tinkering with it to keep it going; and a lot of time was spent tinkering. At one point the gas gauge broke. Gas gauges are not an easy fix. Consequently, I drove without a working gauge, trying to judge when I next needed to fill up by how many miles I had driven. Needless to say, I ran out of gas more than once. At such times one becomes acutely aware of just how difficult it is for a car to do what a car is supposed to do without the requisite fuel in the tank. Having to push a car to the side of the road -- by yourself -- brings it home.

A task has been given to the church, a task that can no more be accomplished without the requisite fuel than a car can take a person from point A to point B without gas in the tank. This is why Jesus told his followers to tarry in Jerusalem after his ascension. He had commissioned them to bear witness to him and they needed to wait until the One who was to be sent, whose job it was was to to bear witness to Jesus (John 15:26), had descended and filled them. In His power they could, and did, carry out the task.

We are in no less need of the Holy Spirit to fulfill our role in making Jesus known than were the first followers of Christ. Persuading people to hand over the reins of their lives to an unseen Savior is not something that will be accomplished using ordinary methods of human persuasion. Mass marketing, appeals to emotions and desires, propaganda, even threat of death, will not bring a soul under the Lordship of Christ. It is only a work of the Spirit, a work of grace, that awakens a spiritually dead soul to life (John 3:3). This is why we need to pray with the early church for fresh fillings of the Spirit that we might speak “the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31). Our Spirit empowered proclamation connecting with people prepared by the Spirit to hear it, is what Jesus envisioned when he commissioned the church to be witnesses for him “in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

We Have No King but . . .

The Israelites' demand that Samuel make them a king (1 Samuel 8) was in and of itself not an evil request. Israel being ruled by a monarch had been anticipated in the covenant God made with Abraham, reiterated in the blessing of Jacob, and detailed in the Law of Moses. What made the demand offensive was the motivation and manner of the demand. They wanted to be "like all the nations" around them and they wanted it now.

But Israel was not like other nations. They were a chosen people who had as their sovereign the God who made heaven and earth. He was the one who had brought them out from the slavery of Egypt and into the land that he had promised to their forefather, Abraham. Throughout, Yahweh had exercised his rule over them by the people he had raised up and when it came time for the monarchy they were to await his selection. Their faithless and untimely demand for a king, however, showed once again how prone they were to being like the other nations around them (1 Samuel 8:8).

A warning is here. As Christians we confess Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9). Biblically, such a confession brings with it the expectation of otherness, as was upon the Israelites, as well as the need to be ruled by Christ, in all of his kingly sovereignty. As it did for the Israelites, this will demand faith and courage. The pressure to be like "the other nations" is great, particularly when our separateness brings with it strife. The solution, however, is not to slip into a posture that renders us indistinguishable from those around us. On the contrary, we are to hold fast to our confession without wavering (Hebrews 10:23), trusting that our Lord is able to protect us and cause us to prosper.