legalism

A Different Take on Colossians

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“Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It’s not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you’re already in—insiders—not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. If it’s an initiation ritual you’re after, you’ve already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets” (Colossians 2:11-15, The Message).

I don’t always love the Message paraphrase. Sometimes, it gets a little too loose with the text. But sometimes, it captures the nuances of the original Greek or Hebrew better than any traditional translation. I think this time Eugene Peterson got it right on the money.

Living a fulfilled life as a child of God isn’t about keeping all the rules and regulations. It’s not a matter of dotting all the i’s and crossing all your t’s in terms of having the absolute correct beliefs and doctrines about every little matter of faith. It’s about once being dead in sin and now being alive to God, all thanks to Jesus.

Elsewhere in the Bible, it says that what we could not do for ourselves in terms of fixing our brokenness and making ourselves right with God God did for us in Jesus. As I heard a pastor say, every other religion is about finding a way to get to God while Christianity is the story about how God in Jesus has come to us.

The beautiful story of the gospel is that Jesus has done for us what we could never in a million tries or in a million years do for ourselves. Jesus is 100% God, 100% man, and 100% for us. That’s the hope we have.

Another Shameless Plug

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“In a culture where busyness is a fetish and stillness is laziness, rest is sloth. But without rest, we miss the rest of God: the rest he invites us to enter more fully so that we might know him more deeply. “Be still, and know that I am God.” Some knowing is never pursued, only received. And for that, you need to be still. Sabbath is both a day and an attitude to nurture such stillness. It is both time on a calendar and a disposition of the heart. It is a day we enter, but just as much a way we see. Sabbath imparts the rest of God—actual physical, mental, spiritual rest, but also the rest of God— the things of God’s nature and presence we miss in our busyness” (Mark Buchanan, The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath).

My latest Audible listen is a book called The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect, but so far this book has beyond exceeded my expectations and been a game changer for the way I look at Sabbath. In fact, I might just start the book over once I get to the end. It really is that good.

The part that I learned that I can immediately put into practice is this: the first three days after Sabbath are spent reflecting on the previous Sabbath, while the next three are for preparation for the next one. To think that the whole week revolves around one day is a bit mind blowing for me.

For me, Sabbath is a “get to” and not a “have to.” It’s not supposed to be a burdensome kind of day with a bunch of legalistic restrictions. It’s a day of rest from the rest of the hectic week (see what I did there?) and a chance to pause and refresh and reflect.

A lot of what makes for a healthy Sabbath mindset comes from the idea that we’re not living and working and striving for God’s favor but out of the overflow of knowing we already have it. The Christian life isn’t fighting for victory but instead fighting from victory that’s already won. A biblical view of work and play and rest leads to a biblical view of Sabbath.

Anyway, the book is available on Audible (and probably any of the other book listening devices out there). I’m also including a link to the Amazon website in case you want an actual book with actual pages.

The Difference Between Legalism and Holiness

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The Difference Between Legalism & Holiness

A lot of people chant, ‘I’m just not into legalism. We have freedom in Christ!’ But what they mean is they want to sin without guilt. That’s not freedom in Christ. That’s sin. That’s slavery. That’s not freedom. Read the New Testament!

(Jokingly) But I love legalistic Christians. I always want more of them as a pastor because they run churches: they give, they tithe, they show up, they feel guilty if they don’t show up. Some pastors preach against Pharisees – but give me 20 Pharisees – I can create a church movement out of that!

Seriously though – the call to holiness has been lost by our generation. We need to recapture the beauty of a holy life. Calling people to obedience to Jesus and calling sin ‘sin’ can be done graciously, thoughtfully, in a nuanced manner, but it is not something to be ashamed of. You’ll get accused of being a legalist but remember – you’re going to stand before God one day” (John Mark Comer).

My own take is that legalism operates out of a “have-to” mentality. I have to tithe. I have to read my Bible. I have to pray. I have to evangelize. All these things make me a better Christian. All these things will cause God to love me more.

Holiness is more of a “get-to” mindset. Because God has blessed me, I get to tithe. Because God has given me a revelation of Himself, I get to read my Bible. Because God has made a way for sinners like me to go from death to life, bondage to freedom, sorrow to joy, I get to evangelize.

Nothing I do can make God love me more. Nothing I do will make God love me less. Because God loves me, I live not out of a license to do whatever I want, but I live to please the One who was pleased to lay down His life for me. That’s the difference.

Things I Love 43: It Is Well With My Soul

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island hammock

“Instead of filling with expectations, the joy-filled expect nothing–and are filled” (Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are).

“When we lay the soil of our hard lives opened the rain of grace and let Joy permeate our cracked and dry places, let joy soak into our broken skin and deep crevices, life grows. How can this not be the best thing for the world? for us? The clouds open when we mouth thanks” (Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are).

At another Kairos Night of Worship, I was reminded of just how much in control and how good God is. Even when prayers seem to go unanswered or don’t get answered the way we wanted. Even when life wounds us by loss and pain. Only when the seed is wrecked can new life emerge and the resurrection take place.

1,331) A night of singing old hymns with some very creative arrangements.

1,332) The rhythmic pattern of rain hitting my bedroom window at night.

1,333) Pictures of big dogs and little cats being friends with each other.

1,334) My USAA car insurance.

1,335) Testimonies of how God brought transformation and healing out of deep sorrow and pain.

1,336) 900 people singing as one a Kairos.

1,337) Bananas, which were the only fruit I would eat for a long time.

1,338) The lack of 100+ temps so far this summer.

1,339) Not having to worry about drought conditions this year.

1,340) That God doesn’t just love good little children. He loves even the ones who can’t seem to get their acts together.

1,341) Not being in a legalistic church.

1,342) FInally getting the time zone thing right on my WordPress settings after only 3 years of blogging.

1,343) Appreciating people who think differently than me, i.e. left-brained, logical, liberal, etc.

1,344) How laser printers are so much quieter than the old dot matrix.

1,345) Remembering that life is more of a marathon than a sprint.

1,346) Jumping in the occasional puddle of rain water.

1,347) Browsing (and not stalking) other peoples’ facebook pages.

1,348) The No Crop app that lets me post full pictures on instagram.

1,349) Being reminded of truths through friends’ facebook posts.

1,350) No more pop quizzes ever.

1,351) Being able to cheer and be happy when my friends find their true loves and get married.

1,352) Family and friends who keep encouraging me to keep believing that I will find my own true love.

1,353) Knowing that a chicken coop only has two doors because four would make it a chicken sedan.

1,354) That my 18-year old car still works and runs good.

1,355) Sending Facebook birthday greetings.

1,356) Boxers. No more whitey tightys.

1,357) Getting the room cool so the bed feels extra warm.

1,358) My own unique brand of logic.

1,359) Me.

1,360) The way God sees me as I am, loves me as I could be, treats me like I will be, and is making me more like Jesus.