Adopting Grace

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oGTU4sJSNY

It’s surprisingly difficult to find a video on grace that you can share with non-believers. A lot of resources on the internet are christian-centred or use so many bits of theological vocabulary that they may just go over your head – christian or not.

Grace is a founding column of our faith, so we really need to understand it, when we do, it completely transforms how we live and think. If you’re looking for scripture on it: Ephesians 1:7-8 & 2:8-9 and 2Thessalonians 1 are good places to see it put in quite clear ways.

Grace and works or “doing good deeds” are antitheses but so many people think somehow we have to earn our way into heaven so that God will like us and let us into heaven. Sometimes we’ve been taught this by people of God, preachers, pastors, public speakers. But this is wrong.

If you’re interested Pastor Mark Driscoll has fourteen points on grace that are really useful. If you don’t have tonnes of time do look for the first one in conjunction with this as it sets up the concept.

Here On Purpose, Ephesians 1:4-5

“For He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will –”
(Ephesians 1:4-5)

I love stumbling across parts of the Word on the theme of purpose. So often we can feel a bit lost and we tend to know the more famous Bible verses on purpose and intention so well that we can lessen the meaning they have as we just reel them off. God knew us before we were even formed and intended us on purpose (Jer 1:4-5), “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps 139:13) etc. Sometimes, we can say these things to ourselves so often that we forget the greatness of these words. God…the creator of our universe, giver of life, Father of Christ Jesus…made you as you are…joyfully…on purpose…and intended to do so before your parents were even conceived…you…you in particular. Ever dislike and scrutinise certain things about yourself? God doesn’t. Mind blowing stuff.

But Paul says not only did God create us with intention, not only do you matter to God but He chose YOU to be “holy and blameless” in a very dark world. I’ve always thought of light and darkness as helpful imagery, symbols, but when we really look at the world around us it is not a nice place. We live in a world rife with sexual assault, oppression, extreme poverty and extreme greed. An article on the rape of two women (one pregnant) by army militia in Syria brought me to tears a couple days ago. In a world full of darkness, God chose you “for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will-”

You accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour and with great pleasure, foreknowledge and intention God granted you freedom from condemnation (Romans 8:1) in a world of death and sin, ruled by Satan. “Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins. You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God” (2:1-2).

The term sonship is used a lot in the New Testament. In Ancient Greece inheritance worked on the basis of primogeniture: inheritance through the oldest son. This could be through your biological child but you also had the option to adopt a man into your family who would take on your name and the possessions and stature that came with it. In Paul’s own life the oppressive Emperor Nero was adopted by his Great Uncle. When Paul says we have been adopted into sonship he is intentionally using this same language. This adoption is God’s bond, God’s covenant with us for a stable future, one where “we can now come fearlessly into God’s presence, assured of His glad welcome” (2:12).

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago” (2:8-10). WE are God’s masterpiece. He looks at us with love and pride, and gifted us with eternal life and wisdom through Christ Jesus, so that we can do things He had planned about before we even physically existed. The bountiful gifts we receive when we come back to God are so awesome.

Out of love God created you and determined that you were to know eternal life and do amazing works in His name. You matter to Him, you please Him, through Christ you are blameless in His sight.

“I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future He has promised to those He called. I want you to realise what a rich and glorious inheritance He has given to His people.” (1:18) And people think of Paul as just being mean….

God bless and keep you always x

Prove it! John 10:37-38

^“Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” (John 10:37-38)

The New Testament makes it quite clear that Jesus got harassed a lot, the more public we are about our faith and the more we work to become Christ-like, the more we will share in His persecutions. Accepting Jesus is not an easy path, but it is the only path. Ever got into what feels like an inane argument in defence of your faith? I guarantee those will only continue, not decrease. Wherever Jesus went, even supposed men of God, would question Him and try to trip Him up so that He would say something blasphemous or punishable. Likewise, you may feel that there are people just waiting for that moment to make you feel as if your faith is something stupid. Welcome to the life of a Christian.

In yet another conversation defending himself, “that I and the Father are one” (10:30), Jesus says something remarkable that can be quite easily missed in the landscape of this chapter. Jesus says “Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father.” Jesus. The Messiah. Immanuel. The guy that the Old Testament is leading up to and the New Testament is all about, our bridge back to God. That very same Jesus says “look, you don’t have to take me on my name, because if I’m slack at acting in the way I’m meant to, you don’t even have to take me seriously” !!! Jesus didn’t ask the Jews for blind faith, He didn’t demand they simply accept Him because He is the Son of God. He could have, but He didn’t. Instead, He said look at the things I do in the name of our Father, at the way I live and lead my followers, the way I interact with nonbelievers, and those who are poor in spirit to whom I give the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus didn’t simply give really good talks up hills and in temples, He healed people, He forgave people, He loved people. Even in this chapter Jesus tells His opponents that even though they don’t believe Him, “believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me” (10:38). In the face of continual denial, Jesus is still giving them a chance to see the truth and the only way to true salvation: through Him. Jesus’ capacity to act in love is something we should all strive towards. When you’ve been in an argument about Christ how often has your beginning intention of helping them to see or understand Him gone awry out of irritation, exhaustion or personal offence?

To be more Christ-like we’ve got to stay away from the Pharisee approach of just reciting scripture, but live it out, regardless of the convenience to us, we must live the Gospel. Do people who know you know you’re a Christian? Do you pray for patience and then lose your temper in a conversation? Or do you actively trust in the Lord, take risks in the name of the Father and see the bonuses pay off (even when it isn’t for your benefit)? We haven’t been given the gift of salvation to keep for ourselves, the knowledge isn’t there to be a secret but for others to see you as a shining beacon of what it means to live in Christ. If Jesus said people don’t even have to trust Him but look at His behaviour… us in our imperfect ways, not being sent down to save the world and such…we definitely need to demonstrate what it is to be a Christian. A good place to start may be with what Graham Cooke calls “grace growers”. People in your life who it feels are there to just antagonise you, who bring about unnecessary hurt or stress, almost speed up our understanding and appreciation of living a Christ-like life, one of love first and foremost. Being called to love even those who make it feel difficult, gives us the slightest insight into what our Saviour faced and the example He set for us all to follow.

 

God bless and keep you always x