The Gravity of Grace
As I've mentioned before, I've been reading Knowing God by J.I. Packer. I got to the chapter on the grace of God. I was struck by several statements.
1. "Modern men and women...naturally incline to a high opinion of themselves. They...are resolutely kind to themselves....refusing to take seriously the idea that, morally speaking, there is anything much wrong with them."
He goes on to say that they might see the faults they have, but they believe they are "good folks at heart." The problem with the way the seeker-friendly church operates, is that it feeds this point of view--if we have guys like Olsteen who refuse to use the words "sin" or "sinner" when preaching, and instead gives them a list of things that makes their life better, does grace have a place in the discussion? People simply reform (or attempt to reform) their lives, thinking that this is what Christianity means, when it in fact is just the opposite.
2. "Willingness to tolerate and indulge evil up to the limit is seen as a virtue, while living by fixed principles of right and wrong is censured by some as doubtfully moral."
The culture of "tolerance" that surrounds us challenges the very notion of objective truth. The world is very aware of the Scripture, "judge not, or you will be judged." They use it often in response to our call to others to adhere to the commands God has in the Bible. Even some who profess Christianity would immediately say others are being legalistic if someone points out that something is sin. It's important to note something: being personally in judgment over someone and pointing out truth from the Scripture are two completely different concepts. We should shy from the former and embrace the latter. The very nature of grace is that we could not live the perfect life that God demanded (and still demands) under His law--the beauty is that Christ did live that life and upheld the Father's justice and holiness by His sacrifice on the Cross, taking the Father's righteous wrath for us.
3. "Modern paganism has at the back of its mind a similar feeling that God is somehow obliged to love and help us"
This feeling is behind much of the world's belief that all will go to heaven, because "hey, I've lived a good life and done the best I could--a loving God couldn't send me to hell, right?" Packer correctly stresses that "the grace of God is love freely shown toward guilty sinners, contrary to their merit and indeed in defiance of their merit." This is the greatness and the gravity of grace--the Father didn't have to save one, but because it pleased Him to do so, He did.
This is the magnitude of grace--that the Father, in His pleasure, decided to awaken some to the mercies that can be had through Christ. Praise, adoration and worship to the King of Kings for the riches of His grace!
1. "Modern men and women...naturally incline to a high opinion of themselves. They...are resolutely kind to themselves....refusing to take seriously the idea that, morally speaking, there is anything much wrong with them."
He goes on to say that they might see the faults they have, but they believe they are "good folks at heart." The problem with the way the seeker-friendly church operates, is that it feeds this point of view--if we have guys like Olsteen who refuse to use the words "sin" or "sinner" when preaching, and instead gives them a list of things that makes their life better, does grace have a place in the discussion? People simply reform (or attempt to reform) their lives, thinking that this is what Christianity means, when it in fact is just the opposite.
2. "Willingness to tolerate and indulge evil up to the limit is seen as a virtue, while living by fixed principles of right and wrong is censured by some as doubtfully moral."
The culture of "tolerance" that surrounds us challenges the very notion of objective truth. The world is very aware of the Scripture, "judge not, or you will be judged." They use it often in response to our call to others to adhere to the commands God has in the Bible. Even some who profess Christianity would immediately say others are being legalistic if someone points out that something is sin. It's important to note something: being personally in judgment over someone and pointing out truth from the Scripture are two completely different concepts. We should shy from the former and embrace the latter. The very nature of grace is that we could not live the perfect life that God demanded (and still demands) under His law--the beauty is that Christ did live that life and upheld the Father's justice and holiness by His sacrifice on the Cross, taking the Father's righteous wrath for us.
3. "Modern paganism has at the back of its mind a similar feeling that God is somehow obliged to love and help us"
This feeling is behind much of the world's belief that all will go to heaven, because "hey, I've lived a good life and done the best I could--a loving God couldn't send me to hell, right?" Packer correctly stresses that "the grace of God is love freely shown toward guilty sinners, contrary to their merit and indeed in defiance of their merit." This is the greatness and the gravity of grace--the Father didn't have to save one, but because it pleased Him to do so, He did.
This is the magnitude of grace--that the Father, in His pleasure, decided to awaken some to the mercies that can be had through Christ. Praise, adoration and worship to the King of Kings for the riches of His grace!
posted by Dan B. @ 10:04 AM
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