The Greatest Compliment I’ve Ever Heard

I heard the greatest compliment ever this morning. Unfortunately, it was not directed towards me. I wish it was. Today I was at a rehearsal brunch for a wedding that I’m photographing tomorrow morning. During the lunch friends and family were given the opportunity to say something nice to the bride and groom. There were the normal niceties…welcome to the family, etc. However, one girl got up and said something that really stood out to me. She said that when she talks about this new couple with others she has to share the gospel with whomever she is talking. Their lives are so focused on living and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ that it is impossible to talk about them without sharing the gospel. It’s true. These two really do LIVE the gospel, so much so that it cannot go unmentioned.

The statement that girl made caused me to think two things. First, it made me wonder what people have to talk about when they talk about me. I kind of doubt that it is the gospel that MUST come up. It might have something to do with religious activity, but I doubt talking about me would necessitate sharing the gospel. Talking about sports is likely, but I’m not sure Jesus and his love for all mankind would be necessary. People might say, “he’s a good dad” or “a good husband.” Still, I think you could get away with talking about me without mentioning Jesus.

The second thing I thought is that I need to set a new life goal. My goal needs to be: “To live life in such a manner that the gospel of Jesus Christ must be presented when others talk about me in my absence.” How cool would it be if it was absolutely necessary for others to share the gospel in a conversation about me? That’s the greatest compliment ever. I hope that one day it will be said about me regularly.

Life’s Purpose Under Control

How much of life is really under our own control? Do we determine the outcome of our life? Do we get to choose how happy and fulfilling our lives will be? If so, why are so many people not happy? Have they just not learned how to control their own lives? If we can’t control our own lives, who or what does? To what extent is our life and its meaning out of our control?

These are tough questions with which atheists and Christians alike need to wrestle. No matter whether you think you are in complete control and determine your own meaning in life or whether you believe God determines your each and every step (or your belief falls somewhere between those two ends of the spectrum), you still need to wrestle with these questions. Those who believe that we are in complete control have to wonder why so many things happen that seem to be out of our control. Those who believe God determines every circumstance of our lives have to wonder why it seems we have the ability to make our own choices. Also, one must wonder why God is acting so sinfully through so many people.

Much of this article will be spent asking more questions. I’m hoping for dialogue. I’ll give a brief synopsis of what I think at the end of this post.

For the atheist who believes that we are in control of our own destiny, meaning, purpose and/or outcome of life, what has led you to such a conclusion? Do you believe this simply because you can’t fathom a universe where God is manipulating every move we make? Do you feel under control at all times? Why or why not? If you can’t control everything, does that negate any meaning or purpose you have in life? It’s easy to feel that you have meaning and purpose when life is good, but what about when bad things happen to you that you would not have wished upon yourself (or your worst enemy for that matter)? Assuming some things are out of your scope of influence to control, where does your control end? Where does it start? Is happiness and meaning in life really wrapped up in being able to control the course of our lives? Is there any way that happiness would be possible if someone else was in control?

For the theist/Christian who believes that God controls every detail, every action, every event and outcome of our lives, what has led you to such a conclusion? Do you believe that you have zero responsibility to live a good life, because it is all up to God? If so, why does the Bible command us to take responsibility for our actions and to obey certain commands? Would there be a need to tell us to obey if we had no choice in the outcome anyway? Why would God dictate our lives in such a way that we disobey the commands He has given us? Assuming that we have some, God given, control of our lives, where/when does our control begin and end?

My brief thoughts on the matter are that neither extreme is the correct one. It is not safe to assume (granted/possibly among many other reasons) that there is no God in control just because we would then not be in control. At the same time it is silly to think that God dictates every little action of our lives. I think the Bible teaches that God is both in control and that He gives us the ability to make our own choices. No one is in control of everything. No one in their right mind would chose to end their life in a car accident. No one would chose to lose a child before birth. From the beginning of our lives, it is clear that we are not in control. One has to look no further than your own belly button to notice that at one time we were completely dependent upon the life of another human being…our mother. We are alive today because our mother chose to give us birth, to feed us, to care for us. Drawing a hard line that says, “I gain control here, but not there,” is impossible. What seems to be clear is that there is much that is out of our control, but much has been given to us to control as well. I do not think that God dictates our every move and circumstance. I do think that he can, but I don’t believe that he always does. He has given us the option to love him and serve him. At the same time, it is only by increasingly yielding our lives to his control that we can live more like His Son, Jesus Christ. That’s a life worth living and a purpose under control, because it looks with hope to the life that is yet to come.

Do You Want Powerful Grace or Wimpy Grace?

The past few weeks I’ve been teaching a class at my church. The passage we’ve been focusing on is Deuteronomy 6. In essence I’ve been trying to communicate the necessity of a life of obedience. Our obedience should be a necessary outflow of our faith in Christ. It’s automatic. It has to happen. Where grace is present for salvation, it is also present and effective to produce obedience. It follows then, that where obedience is consistently not present, it is not safe to assume grace is also present.

For a number of reasons some seem to bristle at the idea that obedience is necessary in the Christian life. I understand why, because in the past I’ve bristled at the thought myself. The typical line of thinking goes something like this (give or take): “Christ died for my sins, both the one’s I’ve committed in the past and the ones that I will commit in the future. He fulfilled the law so that I don’t have to, therefore I don’t have to obey the 10 commandments…that’s Old Testament stuff.” I can completely agree with the first sentence, but the second sentence does not follow logically. Nowhere does the Bible teach that obedience is optional for those who are under grace.

First, let me make it clear that I believe that salvation is by grace through faith…ALWAYS. God’s salvation has always been by grace and has always required faith. Second, let me make it clear that I do believe that there are aspects of the Old Testament Law that we do not have to obey. That is subject enough for many books, let alone blog posts! Let’s suffice it to say that the 10 commandments do not fall under that category of things we do not need to obey under the covenant of grace. I say this because Jesus teaches specifically or refers to each of the 10 commandments. He not only indicates that they need to be obeyed, but he raises the bar on all of them. For example, one of the 10 commandments says, “Do not murder.” Jesus says, “If you hate your brother, you’ve already committed murder in your heart.” The 10 commandments say “Do not commit adultery.” Jesus says, “If you look lustfully upon another woman, you’ve already committed adultery with her in your heart.” Each commandment gets similar treatment in the Gospels. Jesus makes them issues of the heart rather than just mechanical outward obedience. This makes them infinitely more difficult to obey, which obviously leads us back to God’s grace. It is necessary not only for the forgiveness of our failure to obey such high standards, but it is also necessary so that we CAN keep such high standards.

Where was it that we decided that it was okay to subtract obedience from the Christian life? It seems to be a prevalent, if not sweeping, problem in our churches. Let me point to two passages that indicate we should think (and live) to the contrary. First, when Jesus was giving his final instructions to his disciples, he said “Go, make disciples…baptizing them…teaching them to obey everything I’ve commanded you…” (Matt. 18:19-20) Seems we leave off that last part in our thinking and our teaching. If we take Jesus seriously, and we should, then we need to obey the 10 commandments, because he taught us that we should.

Let’s also look at a passage that many use to proudly proclaim that we need not worry about obedience, because salvation is by grace alone…Ephesians 2:8-9, which says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast.” I believe this with all my heart. My salvation is not brought about by my obedience. It is only the result of God’s grace. I do, however, also believe the next verse to be true (Eph 2:10), which says, “For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.” We were not just saved from eternal punishment. We have not only escaped the flames of hell, but we are also made to do good works. This is also by God’s grace. Where grace is present, so is obedience.

God’s grace is immeasurably powerful. It’s so powerful that is saves us from our sins. It’s powerful enough to allow us to spend eternity in the presence of a holy God. It’s powerful enough to raise us from the dead…even though we deserve to stay dead forever. Why then do we assume grace is not powerful enough to produce obedience in our lives here and now? I trust that my God is able to both save me from eternal damnation and from my life of sin. I want God’s powerful grace to change all of me. Do you?