Not By Works, Pt I

Years ago I recognized that the main stream church I grew up in had an inordinate emphasis on what we do as Christians. There was a sense of always trying to do what was expected of us, but never quite being good enough. There was a heavy cultural judgment against those who weren't like us and no real understanding of how to work with those who didn't measure up to the church's standards. This despite the core theology preached that, "by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that  no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NASB).

At it's heart, this way of thinking comes from an inability to receive love and approval without having earned it. On top of this, deep down, the person really doesn't expect to be able to measure up. We refer to it as 'Performance Orientation' and it leads to all kinds of ungodly striving. The person obsessively works to gain approval, but even when they get it they can't really receive it. If they do get some momentary satisfaction, it doesn't last. They need to keep working hard to maintain or exceed what they think is expected of them. It results in all kinds of harmful attitudes and actions including perfectionism, pride, discouragement, disillusionment, depression, judgmentalism, lack of compassion and understanding, etc. At best, the person is effective in their 'jobs' either at work, with the family, or at church, and other people appreciate their efforts but miss the person's real needs. Their busyness keeps them from really connecting with others. At worst, discouragement settles in and they begin self destructive behaviors. They may sabotage their own hard work either to get the attention their striving wasn't able to garner, or even simply as an expression of their hopeless inability to measure up. Even when they're shown genuine love and approval, they aren't able to receive it because deep down they don't believe they're worth it.  A good sign that someone is performance oriented is that they are always willing to help, yet never willing to let anyone help them. They can look very noble, but in fact are wracked by an insecurity that keeps them from being able to be vulnerable.

There are several problems with this way of thinking in relation to Church life and salvation including the following:

• We try to earn what Jesus has already fully accomplished through His death on the cross and His resurrection.
• We aren't able to come into community by letting the Church help us when we need them.
• We preach the sufficiency of Jesus's sacrifice, yet model an incompatible lifestyle.
• We become unable to show compassion, holding others to the same or greater standard than what we've created for ourselves.
• We are unable to receive the fullness of who God is or really understand His heart and character.
• The root of what we do is actually insecurity, fear, self protection, manipulation and control. Though in His grace God will meet those we minister to, those wrong motivations will keep us from seeing the fullness of His fruit in our own lives and service.

So, for years I have emphasized that, in regard to being 'born anew' as well as for working out our salvation, God's grace is at work in us and our primary responsibility is to receive His love and to love Him in return. I haven't changed that emphasis, especially after praying with numerous people who've been told over and over by the world and organized religion that they're not good enough. However, rather than trying to convince them that they are good, I emphasize God's grace.

See, for many people, grace now means that God is a cuddly loving Father who would never judge us. You are His precious creation that He loves so much and you're perfect just the way you are.
This just isn't backed up by the Bible. In fact, sentiments like this take power away from God's grace. After all, grace is needed because we aren't good enough and on our own could never be good enough. Grace says that we need help. We need something greater than ourselves. We need to be killed and remade in order to escape the corruption of who we were. Any attempt to ease the conscience or remove guilt outside of Christ's crucifixion is simply Freudian psychology at work. Covering over a legitimately guilty conscience with convincing logic and platitudes doesn't get to the root of the problem and doesn't lift the individual out of their corruption or enable them to come into the image of God. Only the power of the crucifixion and resurrection, and the active application of grace can do that.

I don't want to insinuate that God doesn't love us. That's not the part I take issue with. On the contrary, while we were in our worst, most sinful state, Christ died for us. It's not that we're good enough as is, but rather that He sees us in our broken, sinful, deluded state and His heart breaks for us, knowing that we are beyond help. There is nothing in all of creation that could save us from our own corruption. The Father wanted relationship with us so passionately that He had to take the most drastic measure in history. God had to become perfect flesh and blood, had to live our lives, had to suffer and die having become our sin, in order that we could become His righteousness. It has never been about how good we are, but His sacrifice is certainly about how bad we were. How can we fully appreciate the effectiveness and power of God's grace if we don't understand just how rotten to the core we have been? His love is so deep and we see this depth in relation to how far He had to and was willing to go to see us fully restored.

Jesus put it this way when the religious official had a judgmental attitude toward a repentant woman:

For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 

So, we see three different ways of reacting to grace. First is working to earn it. That actually sidesteps God's grace entirely. The very definition of grace is that it is a gift we cannot earn. The second reaction takes grace for granted, not understanding who God is, where we came from, or appreciating the sacrifice. The proper reaction can actually look like either of the first two, depending on the season and the individual, but is actually a loving and grateful response to what Jesus has done for us. Sometimes that looks like we're working furiously to please Him, while at other times we simply rest in the peace that He gives. In reality we're no longer slaves to our sin and we're passionately submitted to Him, knowing our lives are no longer our own. The results are pure fruit and good works motivated by pure love for Him, and empowered by His grace.

---

In part two I want to examine the concept of 'works' in the New Testament.

Theology

I've been thinking a lot about theology. To many regular Christians I've met that can be a bad word. Theology has been used to brow beat and corner many of us to the point where the grass roots cry is simply to return to the essentials of the faith and get back to loving each other. What I think we're really saying is that we're tired of arguments for the sake of arguing and being attacked by people who are more interested in being right than they are in meeting people's hearts, but that's not really what theology is. Theology is simply the study of God. Who wouldn't want to know more and more about the One they claim to be in love with? Theology should be one more way to get closer to each part of who God is. Paul says it's important for our spirits to be built up, but its also important for our minds (I 
Corinthians 14:14-15). Eventually, every part of who we are is destined to be brought into conformity with the image of Jesus.

I'm not at all saying that everyone should be an academic. Each one is given their gifts as Holy Spirit wills, after all. Feeling the need to make everyone conform to the way one person's gifts operate has been a problem with Christianity throughout history. Paul talks about this in I Corinthians. Divisions were already forming among the first century church based on which teachers they preferred to follow. The whole point of the 'office' gifts, mentioned in Ephesians, is to see the whole Church built up into unity, yet right away, people were using them to create factions. It seems to be human nature to take something that is meant to build us up and turn it into something that we can use to attack each other. We constantly beat our ploughshares into swords. In my opinion, this is exactly what's been done with theology. We've taken something that was intended to help people's understanding of God and instead inflicted it on people, reinforcing a very wrong view of Father. Every time a peer, or worse, an authority figure in the Church, attacks us, puts us down, verbally 'disciplines' us, shames us, or belittles what is precious to our hearts we get the message that we can and should expect the same from God. There is a place for strong leadership and discipline within the Church, but it should come out of a real investment in the people and the Father's heart, not from a need to see them conform to our idea of how things should be done.

I've been really blessed. Not only have I had some phenomenal teachers over the years, but I've also had the chance to see the contrast between people who taught because they were right versus those who taught because they cared. What a difference. The first engages your mind and forces you to examine every word they are saying. You ready defenses and lob your own ammunition in support of your position. The second cuts through to the heart. You sense the attitude and Spirit behind the words and it forces you to examine yourself instead. After all, real enlightenment happens, not when you gain some higher knowledge, but when you come to believe in your heart. This has been my experience, and why, I think, I see theology as precious to the Church. As a teacher, I want to reach people the same way my teachers have been able to reach me.

Paul says it's not simply a matter of words, but of power. The truths themselves have the power to transform and sanctify, regardless of the teacher. That's why Paul said he didn't care why people were preaching the Gospel, only that it was being preached. But, as a teacher, I want to go beyond spoken or written communication. I know that anything I do in my own effort is worthless. The more I strive without God to make something happen, the worse the results. So, the only alternative is to ask for and trust Holy Spirit to do the teaching, regardless of what I say or don't say. My first concern is to trust that He is working in the people He's asked me to speak to. My job is to put my own way of doing things aside and enter into what He is doing supernaturally. Sometimes my natural way and His supernatural way will look very similar, but the difference is in the fruit, sometimes seen, sometimes not so much.

Whether we're dealing with theology or handing out loaves of bread to the poor, it comes down to the same thing. We need to put our agendas and expectations aside. We need to stop trying to figure out if God is on our side and start making sure we're on God's side. We need to see and enter in to what the Father is doing.

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.