Legalism or Holy Living?

Anyone who hangs around evangelical circles long enough will most likely hear the “dirty” word legalism.  There are three ways in which this term is typically defined: Some people use it to indicate works-based righteousness (meriting salvation), others use it to refer to the addition of extra-biblical commands, and still others use it to allude to any emphasis upon biblical commands whatsoever. Let’s examine more closely these three different uses for the word legalism. 

The first two ideas about legalism (as works-based righteousness or as the imposition of extra-biblical commands) are not taught in God’s Word, and these teachings should be rejected.  Many times in our day, however, the term legalism is used in the third way stated above: to refer to any emphasis upon God’s commands as expressed in the Bible. If someone is using the term in that way, he is either using it wrongly or he is potentially misunderstanding God’s grace. 

Jeffrey Greenman writes, “Divine grace is not opposed to human effort, but rather is opposed to earning divine favor.”  Simply put, we are not saved by holy living, but rather saved unto holy living.

There is a very fine line between legalism and holy living.  Legalism is sinful, while holy living is godly.  If we attempt to live rightly in order to earn divine favor, that is moralistic and self-righteous behavior; but if we attempt to live rightly because God has already shown us favor then we are simply living out our salvation. 

Titus 2:11-12 reads, “For the grace of God 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.” These verses show us that grace has appeared in the face of Jesus Christ, achieving salvation for His people. And not only does grace bring about salvation, but it trains the people of God to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives. 

The grace of God is foundational for the Christian.  By God’s grace, salvation has been made known, and this salvation springs forth godly living within us.  Jesus Christ does not redeem a people for Himself so they can continue to live ungodly, worldly lives.  J.C. Ryle dealt with this exact issue when he preached on Hebrews 12:14, which reads: “Strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”  In Ryle’s sermon on this passage he said, "Suppose for a moment that you were allowed to enter heaven without holiness. What would you do there? What possible enjoyment could you feel there?"

Holiness matters. We see in Scripture that God calls His people to be holy; therefore, we as Christians must strive to be holy. The alternative is of the gravest consequence, for the only alternative to holy living is ungodly, worldly living.

You see, Jesus Christ gave Himself to redeem His people from lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:14). Nowhere in Scripture will you find Jesus dying on the cross just so we can trust in Him, escape Hell, and then live like pagans.  Jesus Christ did not give Himself for our redemption so that we can continue to walk in ungodliness and then be purified on the last day.  He gave Himself for us, to redeem us from lawlessness and to purify us to live for Him now.

So as we wait for our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13), we follow in His ways, and we strive to walk as He walked, for He is not only our example, but He is our Lord.  The Christian faith is not passive; it involves following hard after Jesus Christ, walking in His ways, and being zealous about the good works in which God has prepared for you to walk (Ephesians 2:10).  Therefore, when we reject that dirty word legalism, I hope we are rejecting the tendency some have to add laws and rules to the Scriptures, or the fatal belief that God’s grace can be merited.  For if we reject holy living, then we are rejecting the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

~Corey

Heaven Without Christ?

If you knew, as a Christian, that when you died and went to heaven everything would be wonderful (no sickness, no death, no mourning, and no sin), but Christ wouldn't be there, would you be content with that?

This question was posed in a recent sermon I heard, and - wow! - did it cause me to think and examine myself. I'm sad to say there was definitely a time when I looked at salvation as my "Get Out of Hell Free" card, although I wouldn't have admitted it back then. During that season of my life Christ was not my treasure; I just knew hell was real, and I didn't want to go there. While, in this life, I will never fully adore the Lord Jesus with the passion and zeal he deserves, God has definitely grown me up in Christ and caused me to treasure Him more. It is no secret that heaven will be an amazing place without sin, death, or sadness, but it is the absence of those earthly struggles and cares that will allow us to finally do what we were created to do: worship Christ wholly and completely. The fact that our trials and afflictions will be gone is simply the side show to the main event! Christ will be there - our Savior and Lord, who lived a perfect life and died a criminal's death on a cross. He took our punishment and blame upon Himself and bore the full weight of our sin, experiencing God's wrath in a way none of us could imagine. Heaven without Christ wouldn't be heaven at all! 

So why do you desire heaven? Because of the streets of gold? The crystal sea? Because there'll be no more sadness, or because you'll see loved ones again? Or is it so you can see and worship Jesus Christ for all eternity? He is our treasure and the ultimate reward for those who have been called according to His purpose.

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with him, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.'" ~ Revelation 21:3

Love,

Kristen

Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart

Throughout the course of my childhood and teenage years I "asked Jesus into my heart" probably at least a thousand times. I know that may seem outrageous to you and, believe me, I desired more than anything for my soul to experience peace and rest in Christ. Instead, however, I lived with a terrible fear that I would one day die and go to hell. Over and over again I had prayed the "sinner's prayer" as I lay awake in bed each night, but had my prayer ever really been sincere? That question haunted me and choked out my spiritual growth for many years. 

As a child I was taught that in order to become a Christian, you simply needed to "ask Jesus into your heart." If you prayed a specific prayer and meant it in your heart at the time you said it, you were saved, which meant when you died you would spend eternity with God in heaven. Sunday school classes would end with the teacher asking his students to bow their heads and close their eyes. He would then ask anyone who did not know Jesus as Savior to raise their hands and, many times, would tell those people to repeat a prayer line-by-line after him in order to be saved. Youth gatherings and church services ended much in the same way. In addition, I sat under the teachings of many traveling evangelists who would essentially scare the entire congregation into reciting a certain "prayer of salvation" for fear of spending eternity in hell. I remember one specific youth camp I attended where the evangelist sent the crowd into a panic and cleared out nearly every pew in the church. People were kneeling at the altars and in the aisles with tear-filled eyes, trying to gain assurance that they were truly saved - even camp counselors who were faithful saints that had been walking with the Lord for years! Now, please don't get me wrong, while only God can judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart, looking back it truly seems that these teachers, preachers, and evangelists had good intentions and were simply carrying out what they had been taught to do. After all, the "sinner's prayer" is considered to be the "norm" in church-life today. But just because something is normal or traditional doesn't make it biblical. It is certainly true that God can use these prayer recitations and scare tactics as a means to prick a lost heart, but more times than not these good intentions only produce false converts who are persuaded that breathing a simple prayer is all they'll ever need to do to gain eternal security. 

For me, that type of teaching generated a life lived in fear and uncertainty. For years I would consistently question myself: Did I really mean that prayer when I said it back then? I would regularly think back to the time and place I had prayed that prayer and would try to reimagine the exact feeling I felt at that moment. Yes, my prayer was definitely genuine, I would sometimes decide, while other times I questioned my sincerity and wondered if I truly knew Jesus as my Savior. At that point I would think, Well, maybe I didn't mean it back then, but I'll pray it again right now and will really mean it this time. This battle ensued for years and years as I constantly questioned my salvation, wondering if on the day I died and stood before God Almighty He'd say, "I'm sorry, Kristen, but that prayer you prayed a thousand times was never sincere. I never knew you; depart from me." 

Then one day God revealed a beautiful truth to me. I was sitting in a church service and the preacher was giving the invitation at the end of his sermon. "It doesn't matter when you were saved," he said. "All that matters is that you're trusting in Christ now." Once again, doubt sprung up within me. Well yes, I'm trusting in Him now, but how can I know I'll still be trusting in him five years from now? Do I really have that kind of faith in myself? Can I really trust in my fickle, wandering heart that much to think that I'll still be believing in Him in the future? You see, the problem was I had been trusting in my prayer and not in my Lord. I was attempting to put all my confidence in a moment instead of in the Eternal God. And ultimately, I was hoping in my faith instead of in my Creator. At that moment it was as though God removed the scales from my eyes: Salvation did not involve me holding on to God. No, it was all about God holding on to me (John 10:27-29, Psalm 139:5). I cannot and will not trust in myself for eternal security. I cannot trust in a prayer or a feeling. God never said we would always feel saved. What He did say is that we must "run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:1b-2a). No, I can't trust in a prayer; I can only trust in God and press on, abiding in His unending grace.

Interestingly enough, the "sinner's prayer," as we know it today, didn't come about until the 19th century, and the phrase "ask Jesus into your heart" wasn't commonly used until the 1970s. Once I really dug in and began to see what God's Word actually said about conversion I discovered that the Christian life does involve praying to God, of course, but that there's no specific words anyone needs to pray in order to be saved. In fact, it is God Himself who brings our dead, hardened hearts to life and causes us to cry out to Him in faith! Ezekiel 36:26-27 says, "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." It is only after God has raised our lifeless souls from the dead that we are able to call out to Him in faith and repentance (Ephesians 2). 

The title of this blog post is attributed to a wonderful book I read by J.D. Greear entitled Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart: How to Know For Sure You are Saved. In it he says:

"Salvation is not a prayer you pray in a one-time ceremony and then move on from; salvation is a posture of repentance and faith that you begin in a moment and maintain for the rest of your life."

Salvation does involve prayer, but it's so much more than that - it's a posture of the heart. In Luke 18, the tax collector cried out with a broken and contrite heart, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" His words aren't what saved him; it was the posture of his heart. 

There are countless people all over the world who are convinced they are going to heaven one day because they recited a prayer line-by-line after a preacher ten years ago. Unfortunately, however, so many times these same people soon prove that their hearts were, in fact, never changed, as they quickly abandon a life of faith and return to a life completely contradictory to what God's Word tells us Christians will look like (Matthew 13:1-9). If not for God's marvelous grace, my soul, too, would be at enmity with God. I'm so thankful for the freedom and security I have in Christ, not because of a prayer I prayed, but because of His shed blood and the salvation He freely offers to all who believe. My heart has been made new in Christ, and for that I will praise Him.

"I fall asleep quietly confident that I will be a believer in the morning not because of my free will but God's free grace." 

~John Piper

Love,

Kristen

Bringing All Things to Light

As we quickly approach another presidential election, the disapproval and criticism surrounding both of our nation’s leading candidates is at the forefront of every media outlet. There are reports that Donald Trump is angry, erratic, unfair in business dealings, greedy, a loose cannon, and an adulterer.  Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, is broadcast as a liar, a crook, inauthentic, extremely careless, and a self-serving individual who thinks she is above the law. 

Name-calling and accusations such as these are commonplace during presidential elections.  The candidates’ lives are placed under a microscope, as they should be, and all their dirty laundry is aired for the world to see.  As their lives are examined, the good, the bad, and the ugly come to the surface.  All their faults and failures are exposed.  Every one of their sins comes to light, which leads me to wonder how I would fair if my life came under the same scrutiny as that of a presidential candidate. 

It’s easy for me to cast stones at Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, but what if someone were to take a peek into my life?  Or into your life?

While we might not ever run for public office, there will come a day when even the things we have done in secret will be made public.  When Jesus Christ returns to earth, as He has said He will, “He will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14).  On that Final Day of Judgment, He will disclose every sin, including the purposes and intentions of our heart (1 Corinthians 4:5). 

When Christ finally does appear, how will you measure up?  When He returns to repay each person according to what they’ve done (Matthew 16:27), what will be said of you?  If you’re anything like me, your sins are much worse than those of our current presidential candidates.  If you’re like me, you’d cringe at the idea of having your skeletons revealed to the masses, much less having the secret thoughts and intentions of your heart exposed before the Almighty God Himself.  Therefore, if you truly are a sinner like me, the only hope you have is to cling to Jesus and to His righteousness.  He lived a sinless life, and He gave Himself for wicked sinners such as you and me.  So I implore you to trust in His works and not in your own.  For there will come a day when your heart and soul will be unmasked, and this unveiling will far outweigh any exposure our presidential candidates have ever known.  On that day you’ll have no way of covering up your scandals.  There’ll be no place to run and hide.  You won’t be able to lie your way out of condemnation, for God has all the facts.  He sees and knows all, even the true intentions of your heart.

If this disturbs you or if you have questions, please feel free to contact me, or better yet, contact a pastor at a local church near you.  Here are a couple links you can use to find a good church in your area: 

Founders-Friendly Churches

9Marks Church Search

~Corey

Prone to Wander

I don't know about you, but many times I come to a sudden realization that distractions have completely overtaken me. Diversions tend to creep in unnoticed when I least expect them, and before I even recognize what's hit me, I'm spiritually parched and in need of refreshment - refreshment that can only be found by spending time in God's Word and in prayer. Over the years I've noticed that my spiritual life suffers most when I allow my circumstances to pull my attention away from God. There's no one to blame for this but myself. Just the other day my cheerleaders and I were discussing how a runner will naturally slow down if he takes his eyes off the finish line and begins looking at the other runners around him. The same is true in a believer's spiritual walk: If we take our eyes off Christ and start focusing upon the circumstances that encircle us, we'll undoubtedly start to slow down and veer off course. 

Often the things that lead me astray are good things in and of themselves, but too many times I allow those things to reign over my thoughts and my actions. Circumstances consume me and step in to vie for my attention, attempting to draw my focus off of the very One my heart needs most. My walk with the Lord is filled with hills and valleys. Thankfully, the trend line seems to be going upward as God molds me into the image of Christ. But it is a very slow growth, and sometimes seems stagnant. God's unending patience toward my wretched heart is overwhelming at times and, in response, I can only repent of my wanderings, focus my attention back upon Christ, and run the race set before me, knowing that God is the Author and Finisher of my faith.

O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be!

Let thy goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee

Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love

Here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.

(Robert Robinson)

Love,

Kristen

Pom Poms, Hair Bows, & Finding Our Identity in Christ

Not long ago, I took on the role of coaching a junior high cheer squad at a private Christian school in our town. Several years back I taught second grade at the same school, and now I'm coaching a few of my former students. It's so neat to see how those sweet little girls I taught years ago have blossomed into precious young women! It is a great privilege and a tremendous responsibility to be able to teach and mentor these young ladies. I've told them several times that, while I want them to be good "cheerers," it's more important to me that they be good "leaders." We've talked about what it means to be a leader among their peers: welcoming new students who come to the school, making sure everyone feels included, helping teachers, and serving others, even when it's not convenient or popular. I giggled as they asked me if I'd make them run sprints if they messed up a cheer or couldn't stick a particular stunt (that's cheer terminology for dropping the girl they're holding in the air). I explained to them that learning cheerleading skills is definitely an important part of being a cheerleader, but that being good at cheerleading isn't our top priority or our number one goal. To me, a lousy cheer routine doesn't begin to compare with a lousy attitude. I've told these girls already, and will continue to remind them, that they weren't selected to be part of the cheer team based solely upon their cheerleading abilities. Their character is what counts! But we can't stop there. 

You see, having good character from a worldly perspective certainly matters in this life, but it makes no difference in eternity. A person can seek to be well-mannered, kind, and hard-working, but if they don't know Christ, they have nothing. King Solomon paints a clear picture of this truth in the book of Ecclesiastes. He was a very rich and wise king who tested himself with all sorts of worldly endeavors and delights - hard-work, wise-living, and self-indulgence, to name a few -  but he found all these pursuits to be empty; like chasing after the wind. Phillip Holmes, a writer for Desiring God, said, "The problem is our hearts are black holes of discontentment, devouring relationships and possessions, all while screaming, 'I need more.' We're always eating, but famished. Always drinking, but never satisfied."  If the girls learn nothing else this year, I pray that the amazing truth of our ultimate satisfaction being found in Jesus Christ alone will cause their hearts to swell with adoration for Him.

When I first took this job, I began brainstorming ways I could share Christ's glorious gospel with these girls and could strive to show them the beautiful truths found in His Word. I thought about the sins teens struggle with most today. Undoubtedly, at the top of my list is the propensity for all females to compare ourselves with others, and the tendency we have to worry so much about pleasing and impressing people. While these have always been struggles for teenage girls, and women too, it seems to be so much worse now, as we all interact through social media, aiming to post the perfect photo and trying to give the impression that we live an ideal, pain-free life. These thoughts reminded me that all of us, no matter our age or gender, have one thing in common: We all need Christ! It's only once we have been saved by His marvelous grace and have been covered by His precious blood that we are truly free from our struggles. Only then can we seek to live holy lives and aim to please - not people - but Christ alone, trusting in His grace to carry us through when we fail. In that moment, as I pondered these ideas, I was reminded that as believers, our identity is found in Christ alone, and I decided that that would be our spiritual theme for the year: Finding Our Identity in Christ. For it is only when we identify ourselves wholly and completely in Christ that we will find satisfaction and fulfillment unlike anything we've ever known. Just as I told the girls in one of our devotionals: Yes, I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and cheer coach. But I can't take any of those identities with me when I die. They will be useless when I stand before God Almighty. The only identity that will matter in that glorious moment is that I am a child of God and that my identity is found in Christ alone. 

Love,

Kristen

Religious Liberty for All: A Christian Perspective

Let’s start with an obvious question: What exactly is religious liberty? Well, religious liberty grants Americans the freedom to worship as we please, and gives us the right to peaceably assemble as a religious group without interference from the government. It also grants us the right to speak freely about our religion and to persuade and proselytize others.

The First Amendment to the United States Bill of Rights, which was passed by Congress in September 1789 and ratified in December 1791, states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”  

The Bill of Rights was ratified less than a decade after the American Revolution ended. The thirteen American colonies rejected and overthrew British rule, and thus adopted a governing document known as the Constitution of the United States of America. In the Constitution we find the Bill of Rights, written in order to ensure protection of individual liberties and to list specific prohibitions on governmental power.

Influenced by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison penned this first amendment to prohibit a national church. Great Britain’s national church, The Church of England, denied religious liberty at the time; therefore, the founders of the United States passed an amendment that prohibited the establishment of a national church. In addition to this, the first amendment also guarantees individuals the right to worship, freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble, and the right to make complaint/seek the assistance of the government without fear of punishment. While much could be said about the first amendment, I want to focus on religious liberty.

Russell Moore, the president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, points out that religious freedom does not mean freedom from being mocked or ridiculed. Nor does it mean freedom from being offended, but it does give us freedom to worship as we choose.

Is this always a good thing? Should Christians defend religious freedom for others with whom we disagree? Should we defend the rights of Muslims to freely worship, even though they deny Jesus as being equal to God? Should believers fight for the rights of Atheists to gather and speak freely when they deny the very existence of our Creator? Should Christians defend the rights of Satanists to worship as they choose, knowing that they bow down to the adversary of our Sovereign King?

I realize that these can be difficult questions to answer, particularly if we believe that these groups are fighting against us and stand in direct opposition to our faith. It would seem as if we are advocating blasphemy against the Holy God. Well, here is some food for thought:

Jesus preached in the Sermon on the Mount, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). In this text we see Jesus call us to treat others in the same way that we want to be treated. Now, I realize this is an extremely difficult command, especially when the other person does not always treat you well in return.  But if you’ll notice, in Matthew 7, Jesus doesn’t add any conditions. He doesn’t say, “Do unto them as you want them to do to you, as long as they treat you how you want to be treated.” Essentially He is saying, “Do unto them as you would have them to do unto you, regardless of what they do unto you.” If someone treats you with disrespect, Jesus calls you to treat that person with respect anyways.

So, one might ask, “How does this apply to religious liberty for all?” Well, let’s look at it this way: If I desire religious freedom for myself then I should desire religious freedom for others as well, even those with whom I strongly disagree. How could we possibly expect religious freedom for ourselves and, in turn, deny the same freedom to others? Russell Moore, in his book Onward, uses Muslims as an example as he paints a clear picture of this idea for us. He writes, “Christians should fight for the liberty of Muslims to be Muslims, to worship in Mosques, and to freely seek to persuade others that the Koran is the true revelation of God.” He says these things, not because he affirms Islamic claims, but because he affirms the power of God. You see, like Moore, I believe in advocating and defending the rights of any religious group to freely worship, to freely proselytize, and to peaceably gather, but I am by no means affirming their doctrines. I am simply confident in Christ’s Gospel and am persuaded that His truth will prevail. After all, the Gospel is the power of God for salvation to all who believe (Romans 1:16).

The Christian faith does not depend upon law and governmental force in order to advance the kingdom of God.  Suppressing other religious groups is not God’s means for advancing His kingdom. He doesn’t need other religions to be suppressed in order for His truth to shine brightly. It is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ alone that advances the kingdom throughout pagan lands. In Onward, Moore points out, “A religion that needs state power to enforce obedience to its beliefs is a religion that has lost confidence in the power of its Deity.”

Therefore, we have to ask ourselves: Are we living out of fear?  Have we lost confidence in the power of God? Are we scared of diversity and disagreement? Do we think that the Gospel is unable to withstand other religions?

If we are united with Christ, we have a promise that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power and love and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7). Christians need not fear other religious groups or other ideas, even if those ideas lead to violence. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 10:28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Rather than retreat, we should rejoice in times such as these. Isn’t it wonderful that while Matthew 28:19 calls us to go make disciples of all the nations, we are currently watching as all the nations come to us? Yes, there are tensions, and yes, there are potential dangers, but we should praise God as we see Him plopping the nations right into our laps, here in the United States.

One reason for this mass flood of people into our country is Amendment One to the Bill of Rights. It is the freedom of worship and freedom of speech that lead many to this nation. You see, individuals don’t typically flee to countries like the Islamic Republic of Iran for religious freedom, which is why 98% of the population is Muslim, but many freedom-seekers do come to the United States.

My call for the Christian is to stop living in fear and to see the amazing opportunity that is right before our eyes, as God brings the mission field to us. I live in the outskirts of Houston, Texas, which is actually becoming one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world. Last time I checked, there are somewhere between 350 to 400 different ethnic groups in the Houston area. As we observe this incredible influx of people, we have to remember that Muslims are not our enemies, Hindus are not our opponents, Buddhists are not our competitors, Atheists are not our adversaries, and Satanic groups are not our nemeses. We are all created in the image of God; therefore, let us talk with our Muslim neighbor, let us befriend our Hindu co-worker, and let us share the Gospel with our Atheistic family member. Jesus is the only hope for any of us!

And as for the Christian, let us thank God for religious liberty, and let us defend the rights of others to worship as they choose, not because we affirm their convictions, but because we believe the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation to all who believe.