Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Grace-full Obedience

The other day Mitchell and I were having a conversation with a couple who are good friends of ours and also students at Southern Seminary here in Louisville. I became overwhelmed as I thought of the opportunity that we have as Christians in seminary, to learn how to walk this life of holiness we are called to walk as we have the privilege of observing and learning from fellow members of the Body of Christ.
I mean, we are literally being discipled by some of the greats in the faith. We're being equipped to better understand the Word, to know what we believe and to apply it. That's huge. 
(Hubby chatting with one of our profs)
As I realized the opportunity I have here I also realized the responsibility that comes with it. Almost immediately Scripture's command to us as followers of Christ came to mind: to be the very picture of good works, teaching soundly and living with integrity, so that the Enemy will be put to shame and not have anything evil to say about us.—“Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us” (Titus 2:7-8). My immediate thought after reading this? Well, shoot. 

It’s easy for me to look at my life and think, “My opponents would have many things to say about me.” I’m selfish and arrogant at times, I know the evil that wars within me to control my actions. The list could go on and on. But, that’s why I love what you see if you go down just a few verses in Titus 2:

“For the grace of God has appeared…”

Let’s stop there for a second. Hear the truth in these words. If you look back at verses 1-10, the Lord is commanding us to live what seems to be this perfect life characterized by self-control and purity, faith, love, and steadfastness. And if you’re like me, you read those things and automatically think “Well, I’ve already failed in pretty much all of those areas…how in the world can I do this?!” When I read what seems to be a list of impossible requirements of me, I pretty much feel like this:
But then you come to these precious words, “For the grace of God has appeared”. We’re right—we CAN’T do this on our own. But our Lord has shown us grace in a way that enables us to do these things. Here’s what the author of Titus goes on to say:
“For the grace of the Lord has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:11-14).
So. Let’s recap:
  • God redeemed us (bought us back from slavery to sin).
  • The cost of that redemption was the death of His Son, Jesus.
  • Now that we are His, He intends to purify us for Himself and make us zealous for good works.
  • All this was done because of His grace (undeserved favor) toward us
  • And now, based on that same grace, He is training us to live this life described in verses 1-14.
My point? My obedience to the Word of God rests on His promise that His grace is sufficient enough to enable me to obey. On my own, I cannot. But I’m not on my own, and therefore I can take the things I am learning here and teach them to others. I can live a life of integrity and purity and self-control. Resting on His promises and His grace that came to me in Christ's life, death and resurrection, I can. And so I must, because I have been entrusted with a precious truth that saves lives. We all have. If you are a follower of Jesus doubting your abilities to live the life of holiness the Scriptures command (1 Timothy 6:11-16, 1 Peter 1:13-16) or doubting you can actually share the truth of the gospel with someone, find refuge in this truth: The same power that raised Christ from the dead is working in you to enable you to continue to grow in holiness (Romans 8:2, Ephesians 1:19-20, 2 Peter 1:3-11). And that power is dependent on God and His grace, not on your works. Rest in this truth. Act in this truth.

What specific area in your life is the Lord calling you to obedience in? 

It may be the act of coming to Him for salvation, or repenting of a sin you are living in as if you're a slave to it (even though Scripture says, as His child, you're not--Romans 6), or admitting your dependence on the Word of God and committing yourself to reading and studying and living by it. Whatever it may be, do not let fear of failure stop you. For me, at this point in my life, it is to teach and protect the deposit that has been entrusted to me: "Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity" (1 Timothy 4:11-12). This blog is a very practical example of me striving to pursue obedience to the Word of God, as I share what I am learning during this time of intense discipleship and growth. So for you, whatever it may be, ACT. Repent. Walk in obedience. This is the life of a Christian--a constant pursuit of obedience and holiness that is based on the grace-filled promise of our Holy God. 
"But as for you, O man of God, flee these things (worldly pleasures). Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." (1 Timothy 6:11-16)

Friday, January 17, 2014

Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me.

For those who know me, it's no secret that my all time favorite hymn is Rock of Ages.
There are a multitude of reasons why I love this hymn, but today I saw an even deeper connection between the hymn and a story about Moses found in Exodus...I had an "ah-hah!" moment, if you will.

In Exodus 33 Moses is talking with the Lord (which is NUTS, by the way...he's literally just having a convo with God...) about his next move as the leader of the Israelites. In verse 18 Moses asks God to show him His glory. What an odd request. I mean, this is the same Moses who is talking with God in a pillar of cloud a few verses beforehand (Ex 33:9), not to mention the same guy who saw God bring the plagues upon Egypt (Ex 7-12) and who witnessed God split the Red Sea (Ex 14), and yet he's asking for the Lord to show him His glory. Weird. It's almost as if Moses could sense that he was still not in full and complete fellowship with God, despite all of the ways he had seen and interacted with Him.
So how does the Lord respond? "'I will make all My goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you My Name 'The Lord.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy'" (Ex 13:19). So He agrees! Oh how elated Moses must have been in that moment, that the Lord said He would show mercy toward Moses and reveal Himself to him! But, there was a catch. The Lord would show Himself to Moses, but not fully, because He knew that Moses was a sinful man and that the Law was not enough to grant Him complete access and fellowship with Him. So instead, in His mercy, God offers a cleft for Moses to hide in as He passes by. "And the Lord said, 'Behold, there is a place by Me where you shall stand on the rock, and while My glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with My hand until I have passed by'" (Ex 33:21-22).
Example of a cleft in a mountain
The Lord provided Moses with a way to behold His glory, to have access to Him. Why? Because He chose to be merciful toward Moses!

So, here's how this ties into my favorite hymn. The first verse of the hymn says,
"Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee; let the water and the blood, from Thy wounded side which flowed, be of sin the double cure; save from wrath and make me pure." 
It's the first time that I connected the magnitude of the fact that Christ is our cleft! He is what the Lord has given in order to grant us full fellowship with Him! (1 Timothy 2:5 says, "For there is one God, and there is one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus...") On our own we are unable to have fellowship with God because of our sinfulness (1 John 1:5-6) or walk in obedience and righteousness (Gal 2:16), but with Christ and because of Christ we are able to not only have fellowship with God but continually grow in becoming more and more like Him. Thus the second verse of Rock of Ages:
"Not the labors of my hands can fulfill Thy law's commands; could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow, all for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone."
Thou must save and Thou alone. After Moses encountered the Lord, he wore a veil over his face because it shined so brightly that the Israelites couldn't bear to look directly at him (Exodus 34:33). When Paul talks about this veil that kept the Israelites from beholding the glory of God in Moses, he says, "...because only through Christ is it (the veil) taken away" (2 Cor 3:14). 
So, here's the greatness of the gospel. Are you ready? Under the old covenant and the law, Moses needed a cleft to hide in and a veil to cover his face because he (along with Israel) could not bear to have full access to the glory of God. "But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed...And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another" (2 Cor 3:16, 18). Did you catch that? Because Christ is our cleft, our Mediator, we have access to God and we no longer have a veil over our faces; instead we have the opportunity to have full fellowship with Him and to grow more and more like Him each day. We've not only been transformed, but we are being transformed!

So, what does this mean for us?
        We have freedom (2 Cor 3:17) to walk boldly in the presence of the Lord because He has mercifully given us access to Himself through Christ and is now purposefully transforming us into His image. Meaning, even though I can look at my life at this very moment and see ways I have failed to walk in obedience to Christ, I can look at myself and compare where I am now to where I was 4 years ago, when the Lord revealed the gospel to me, and see that He has been continually transforming me to His image each day. I am different, I am transformed; I can see this in the way I spend my time, the way I treat those around me, where my priorities lie, etc, etc. And the beauty is, I will continue to be more and more transformed until the day Christ calls me home. This is why I can boldly sing,
"While I draw this fleeting breath, when mine eyes shall close in death, when I soar to worlds unknown, see Thee on Thy judgment throne; Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee."