The recent theme continues with another blogger's recent entry which I thought was worth re-posting here:
I had a great time at the Gospel Life Conference tonight.
Tullian Tchividjian preached on the Gospel and the Individual, how the gospel is both the ignition for the Christian life and also its fuel.
One idea that I found particularly interesting was this notion that both legalism and lawlessness are the same.
The Christian life is often pictured as an attempt to balance legalism and lawlessness. Too great of a focus, dependence, and emphasis on law and rules and you end up in legalism. That's one extreme. The other extreme is lawlessness, stemming from too much grace.
But that's problematic. Too much grace?
God's grace to us is so extreme, so radical, so undeserved, so ... so ... so gracious. How can you have too much grace?
What if lawlessness didn't stem from too much grace, but from a misappropriation of a law, hiding behind a law, leveraging technicalities? And isn't legalism, at its core, also a misappropriation of a law, using a law to make you feel superior to others?
This is how Pastor Tchividjian came to the conclusion that lawlessness is just another form of legalism.
If you start from the assumption that there's no such thing as too much grace, you need another way to explain lawlessness (aka licentiousness).
Addendum: I love how God works. I posted this earlier today and now tonight I run across a video from Driscoll in which he also makes the connection between legalism and lawlessness. There are no coincidences with God.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Darkness is Real but so is the Light
http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/when-darkness-falls-at-Christmas
"To pretend there is no darkness is another way of extinguishing light." --Madeleine L'Engle
The emphasis on light in darkness comes from the Christian belief that the world’s hope comes from outside of it. - Tim Keller
"Here is joy that cannot be shaken. Our light can swallow up your darkness: but your darkness cannot now infect our light." - C.S. Lewis, "The Great Divorce"
Christmas Eve was a wonderful celebration with God and family. I do treasure my time with my family over the holidays. This year we went to Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines, IA. It was certainly a service on a grander scale than our usual church destination but it was the message that has stayed with me with most. I absolutely love hearing about stories of conversion when God changes the hardest of hearts. I love it because it is what I pray will happen in the lives of so many that I call friends but God does not yet call children. These stories remind me of what is possible...of what God can do when it's the right time for Him to do it. This is one such story as eloquently told by Pastor Housholder on Christmas Eve 2010...
There is a great author who I love. I was an English Lit major in college. His name is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He lived in the 1800s including in the time of the Civil War. When he was in his 50s in 1861, the light was pretty bright for him in his life. He was one of those poets who was pretty popular in his own day which is rare. People really admired his work and so he had fame and fortune that came with that and reputation, too. So the light was pretty bright. He was married. He had family. Everything was going well.
This was before 1861 just as the Civil War is coming into the country and there is no peace on earth for Americans. His wife died in a tragic accident in a fire. Longfellow, madly in love with his wife (married since 1843), is completely devastated. Even though his life has been going well he has no living faith to fall back on. He knows the Scriptures. He is aware of it. He is aware of God. He is aware there is a light but he never opened the gift. He never made it his own.
Christmas of 1861, Longfellow writes in his journal...prolific writer, not just in poetry but even in his own journals...long entries. Very short entry, Christmas of 1861 - "How inexpressibly sad are all holidays." Turning the pages of his journal to a year later and it's Christmas 1862. Even though Longfellow writes long entries in his journal almost every day, on Christmas Day 1862, he only writes, "A merry Christmas' say the children, but that is no more for me."
The next year, Christmas of 1863, Longfellow has nothing to write. The page is blank. Between Christmas of 1863 and Christmas of 1864, Longfellow's son, against his father's wishes, joined the Union and was shot. Physically, he never recovered.
Longfellow sits down on Christmas Day 1864 to write in his journal and he is going to let God have it. He is a poet and he is really going to let God have it. He is going to write a classic poem that is going to blow God out of the water and all of the world is going to see it and they are going to feel the darkness that surrounds him and this whole world. Longfellow is just going to lay it out there. He has been quiet for too long. He sits down at his desk in his study and he takes out his pen and he starts to write. Only he is distracted because he looks out his window over his desk and across the street in the little church - a church bell rings on Christmas Day.
"How dare you! How dare you ring your sounds of joy into the darkness of this world! How dare you try to bring your light into the reality of the darkness of death and suffering and disease that surrounds us all! How dare you talk about a God like that! Where is your God!?! HOW DARE YOU!"
Well, it dares again and rings again and it rings a third time and a fourth and a fifth and a sixth. Somewhere around the seventh or the eighth ring, Longfellow is inspirited. Somehow his heart opens up just a crack as he hears the church bells ringing because he has this vision of church bells ringing on Christmas Day all over and not stopping because it's Christmas...so they just keep ringing, just keep ringing, and he is overwhelmed and inspired by the thought and the Spirit of God fills him up. So he scratches out what he is going to write and starts to write a new poem. You know it. It was turned into a Christmas carol. It's played over and over and over and over.
"I heard the bells on Christmas Day. Their old familiar carols play. Wild and sweet, the words repeat." They dare to keep ringing even though they know we live in this world. "Wild and sweet, the words repeat. Of peace on earth, good will to men."
Skip down several stanzas, Longfellow writes about where he has been in his soul for the last three years because he didn't have a light, a living faith. "And in despair I bowed my head. There is no peace on earth I said. For hate is strong and it mocks the song of peace on earth good will to men."
The darkness is real but so is the light. So Longfellow doesn't give darkness the last word. He testifies to the light. "Then pealed the bells more loud and deep. God is not dead nor doth He sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail with peace on earth good will to men."
You can almost hear it...can't you?
https://www.jeremylucarelli.com/blog/2018/8/6/defiant-light
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/christmas-doesnt-ignore-your-pain
https://corechristianity.com/resource-library/articles/christian-your-depression-is-real-so-is-gods-deliverance
"To pretend there is no darkness is another way of extinguishing light." --Madeleine L'Engle
The emphasis on light in darkness comes from the Christian belief that the world’s hope comes from outside of it. - Tim Keller
"Here is joy that cannot be shaken. Our light can swallow up your darkness: but your darkness cannot now infect our light." - C.S. Lewis, "The Great Divorce"
Christmas Eve was a wonderful celebration with God and family. I do treasure my time with my family over the holidays. This year we went to Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines, IA. It was certainly a service on a grander scale than our usual church destination but it was the message that has stayed with me with most. I absolutely love hearing about stories of conversion when God changes the hardest of hearts. I love it because it is what I pray will happen in the lives of so many that I call friends but God does not yet call children. These stories remind me of what is possible...of what God can do when it's the right time for Him to do it. This is one such story as eloquently told by Pastor Housholder on Christmas Eve 2010...
There is a great author who I love. I was an English Lit major in college. His name is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He lived in the 1800s including in the time of the Civil War. When he was in his 50s in 1861, the light was pretty bright for him in his life. He was one of those poets who was pretty popular in his own day which is rare. People really admired his work and so he had fame and fortune that came with that and reputation, too. So the light was pretty bright. He was married. He had family. Everything was going well.
This was before 1861 just as the Civil War is coming into the country and there is no peace on earth for Americans. His wife died in a tragic accident in a fire. Longfellow, madly in love with his wife (married since 1843), is completely devastated. Even though his life has been going well he has no living faith to fall back on. He knows the Scriptures. He is aware of it. He is aware of God. He is aware there is a light but he never opened the gift. He never made it his own.
Christmas of 1861, Longfellow writes in his journal...prolific writer, not just in poetry but even in his own journals...long entries. Very short entry, Christmas of 1861 - "How inexpressibly sad are all holidays." Turning the pages of his journal to a year later and it's Christmas 1862. Even though Longfellow writes long entries in his journal almost every day, on Christmas Day 1862, he only writes, "A merry Christmas' say the children, but that is no more for me."
The next year, Christmas of 1863, Longfellow has nothing to write. The page is blank. Between Christmas of 1863 and Christmas of 1864, Longfellow's son, against his father's wishes, joined the Union and was shot. Physically, he never recovered.
Longfellow sits down on Christmas Day 1864 to write in his journal and he is going to let God have it. He is a poet and he is really going to let God have it. He is going to write a classic poem that is going to blow God out of the water and all of the world is going to see it and they are going to feel the darkness that surrounds him and this whole world. Longfellow is just going to lay it out there. He has been quiet for too long. He sits down at his desk in his study and he takes out his pen and he starts to write. Only he is distracted because he looks out his window over his desk and across the street in the little church - a church bell rings on Christmas Day.
"How dare you! How dare you ring your sounds of joy into the darkness of this world! How dare you try to bring your light into the reality of the darkness of death and suffering and disease that surrounds us all! How dare you talk about a God like that! Where is your God!?! HOW DARE YOU!"
Well, it dares again and rings again and it rings a third time and a fourth and a fifth and a sixth. Somewhere around the seventh or the eighth ring, Longfellow is inspirited. Somehow his heart opens up just a crack as he hears the church bells ringing because he has this vision of church bells ringing on Christmas Day all over and not stopping because it's Christmas...so they just keep ringing, just keep ringing, and he is overwhelmed and inspired by the thought and the Spirit of God fills him up. So he scratches out what he is going to write and starts to write a new poem. You know it. It was turned into a Christmas carol. It's played over and over and over and over.
"I heard the bells on Christmas Day. Their old familiar carols play. Wild and sweet, the words repeat." They dare to keep ringing even though they know we live in this world. "Wild and sweet, the words repeat. Of peace on earth, good will to men."
Skip down several stanzas, Longfellow writes about where he has been in his soul for the last three years because he didn't have a light, a living faith. "And in despair I bowed my head. There is no peace on earth I said. For hate is strong and it mocks the song of peace on earth good will to men."
The darkness is real but so is the light. So Longfellow doesn't give darkness the last word. He testifies to the light. "Then pealed the bells more loud and deep. God is not dead nor doth He sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail with peace on earth good will to men."
You can almost hear it...can't you?
https://www.jeremylucarelli.com/blog/2018/8/6/defiant-light
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/christmas-doesnt-ignore-your-pain
https://corechristianity.com/resource-library/articles/christian-your-depression-is-real-so-is-gods-deliverance
Friday, January 21, 2011
This Makes Me Smile
Trail Mark Promo : Ashley, Susan & Nick from Red Rocks Church on Vimeo.
I admire my brother.
I respect my brother.
I love my brother.
Even though his name isn't Nick.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Going Deeper Into The Gospel
Thought I would put this here for future reference. From Pastor Tullian:
As I’ve said before, I once assumed (along with the vast majority of professing Christians) that the gospel was simply what non-Christians must believe in order to be saved, while afterward we advance to deeper theological waters. But I’ve come to realize that once God rescues sinners, his plan isn’t to steer them beyond the gospel, but to move them more deeply into it. The gospel, in other words, isn’t just the power of God to save you, it’s the power of God to grow you once you’re saved. After all, the only antidote to sin is the gospel—and since Christians remain sinners even after they’re converted, the gospel must be the medicine a Christian takes every day.
This idea that the gospel is just as much for Christians as it is for non-Christians may seem like a new idea to many but, in fact, it is really a very old idea.
Well, I’ve had some great help along the way as I’ve wrestled with this “new idea.” There have been some books (beneath the Bible) which have helped me better understand how God intends the reality of the gospel to mold and shape and liberate us at every point and in every way. The following list of books (not in any particular order) is not exhaustive, but if you read them you will be moving in the right direction toward a better, more Biblical understanding of the Christian’s need for the gospel.
1. Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges
2. The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges
3. The Gospel-Driven Life by Micheal Horton
4. In Christ Alone by Sinclair Ferguson
5. Scandalous Freedom by Steve Brown
6. When Being Good Isn’t Good Enough by Steve Brown
7. Because He Loves Me by Elyse Fitzpatrick
8. Christ Formed In You by Brian Hedges
9. Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller
10. The Prodigal God by Tim Keller
11. The Reign of Grace by Scotty Smith
12. Holiness by Grace by Bryan Chapell
13. From Fear to Freedom by Rose Marie Miller
14. Counsel From the Cross by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson
15. The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification by Walter Marshall
As I’ve said before, I once assumed (along with the vast majority of professing Christians) that the gospel was simply what non-Christians must believe in order to be saved, while afterward we advance to deeper theological waters. But I’ve come to realize that once God rescues sinners, his plan isn’t to steer them beyond the gospel, but to move them more deeply into it. The gospel, in other words, isn’t just the power of God to save you, it’s the power of God to grow you once you’re saved. After all, the only antidote to sin is the gospel—and since Christians remain sinners even after they’re converted, the gospel must be the medicine a Christian takes every day.
This idea that the gospel is just as much for Christians as it is for non-Christians may seem like a new idea to many but, in fact, it is really a very old idea.
Well, I’ve had some great help along the way as I’ve wrestled with this “new idea.” There have been some books (beneath the Bible) which have helped me better understand how God intends the reality of the gospel to mold and shape and liberate us at every point and in every way. The following list of books (not in any particular order) is not exhaustive, but if you read them you will be moving in the right direction toward a better, more Biblical understanding of the Christian’s need for the gospel.
1. Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges
2. The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges
3. The Gospel-Driven Life by Micheal Horton
4. In Christ Alone by Sinclair Ferguson
5. Scandalous Freedom by Steve Brown
6. When Being Good Isn’t Good Enough by Steve Brown
7. Because He Loves Me by Elyse Fitzpatrick
8. Christ Formed In You by Brian Hedges
9. Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller
10. The Prodigal God by Tim Keller
11. The Reign of Grace by Scotty Smith
12. Holiness by Grace by Bryan Chapell
13. From Fear to Freedom by Rose Marie Miller
14. Counsel From the Cross by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson
15. The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification by Walter Marshall
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Where Good Works and Salvation Meet
If I were to say, "Good works and salvation are intertwined", would you initially draw the conclusion that I was promoting legalism? Without question, God has been teaching me, or I should say re-teaching me, the true meaning of the Gospel, which could be expressed this way:
"The Gospel never starts with what we need to do; it always begins with what God has already done; to get it backwards is to miss the Gospel." - Pastor Tullian
So, let's be clear. We are saved by God's grace. There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation. This is where Christianity differs from every other major religion. It is where I like to start a conversation when I am witnessing.
"Without faith it is impossible to please God." - Hebrews 11:6a
I was watching a show on Friday in which people who had been clinically dead, and were later revived, shared what they experienced when their hearts were no longer beating. One guy said that he went to a place in which there was a big hill with millions of people walking up and down a winding path to the top. At the top of the hill was a large figure, which he assumed to be Jesus by the physical similarities to images he had seen during his life. As he stood next to this figure, he was asked the question, "What have you done for others?" He said there was a year-by-year review of his life and when he was unable to remember what he had done, the wall next to him turned into a video of scenes from that moment in his life. He now believes he was brought back for one reason - to help others.
Clearly, I can't verify this guy's story. But what is your reaction to that? Does it bother you that he didn't just play the "I believe in Jesus card" and skate on through?
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ - Matthew 7: 21-23
God desires that we have a relationship with His Son and not merely use His name to make much of ourselves. We will stand in front of the Creator and Judge of the universe and give an account of our life. God is ultimately interested in your heart - for Him first and then for others. But the latter should naturally follow the former.
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” - Matthew 25
To be saved is to have a transformed heart, to be a new creation, to live a changed life. Sanctification is the process of being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. So it won't happen all at once...but it should be happening in some way, shape or form in a consistent manner. If you don't love others you can't say that you love God. If you do love God and have been saved by His grace then having a heart for others will be a natural part of your life. It may not always be easy because we remain sinners but you will be perpetually moved by the Holy Spirit to make sacrifices on the behalf of those God has placed in your path.
"It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a “living sacrifice”— to let Him have all your strengths that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God." - Oswald Chambers
"The Gospel never starts with what we need to do; it always begins with what God has already done; to get it backwards is to miss the Gospel." - Pastor Tullian
So, let's be clear. We are saved by God's grace. There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation. This is where Christianity differs from every other major religion. It is where I like to start a conversation when I am witnessing.
"Without faith it is impossible to please God." - Hebrews 11:6a
I was watching a show on Friday in which people who had been clinically dead, and were later revived, shared what they experienced when their hearts were no longer beating. One guy said that he went to a place in which there was a big hill with millions of people walking up and down a winding path to the top. At the top of the hill was a large figure, which he assumed to be Jesus by the physical similarities to images he had seen during his life. As he stood next to this figure, he was asked the question, "What have you done for others?" He said there was a year-by-year review of his life and when he was unable to remember what he had done, the wall next to him turned into a video of scenes from that moment in his life. He now believes he was brought back for one reason - to help others.
Clearly, I can't verify this guy's story. But what is your reaction to that? Does it bother you that he didn't just play the "I believe in Jesus card" and skate on through?
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ - Matthew 7: 21-23
God desires that we have a relationship with His Son and not merely use His name to make much of ourselves. We will stand in front of the Creator and Judge of the universe and give an account of our life. God is ultimately interested in your heart - for Him first and then for others. But the latter should naturally follow the former.
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” - Matthew 25
To be saved is to have a transformed heart, to be a new creation, to live a changed life. Sanctification is the process of being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. So it won't happen all at once...but it should be happening in some way, shape or form in a consistent manner. If you don't love others you can't say that you love God. If you do love God and have been saved by His grace then having a heart for others will be a natural part of your life. It may not always be easy because we remain sinners but you will be perpetually moved by the Holy Spirit to make sacrifices on the behalf of those God has placed in your path.
"It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a “living sacrifice”— to let Him have all your strengths that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God." - Oswald Chambers
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Intimacy
"The gospel leads to both awe and intimacy in worship, for the Holy One is now our Father." - Tim Keller
Do you see God as your Father? The more I grasp God's grace, and subsequently His immense love for me, the more I see Him with relational intimacy. The more deeply I understand what God has done and continues to do for me, the more I am compelled to worship Him with greater depth, authenticity and devotion.
If your view of worship is primarily based on duty and obedience rather than awe and intimacy, I strongly encourage you to pray for the Spirit to transform your heart and to open your eyes to what worship should be and can be. Rather than simply seeing worship as something to check off your weekly list, God desires that you come to Him as His child - dependent, faithful, reverent, devoted and deeply loved.
“The Law scolds us, sin screams at us, death thunders at us, the devil roars at us. In the midst of the clamor the Spirit of Christ cries in our hearts: “Abba, Father.” And this little cry of the Spirit transcends the hullabaloo of the Law, sin, death, and the devil, and finds a hearing with God.” - Martin Luther
"It is folly and pride to think I am anything but a baby in the arms of God." - John Piper
Do you see God as your Father? The more I grasp God's grace, and subsequently His immense love for me, the more I see Him with relational intimacy. The more deeply I understand what God has done and continues to do for me, the more I am compelled to worship Him with greater depth, authenticity and devotion.
If your view of worship is primarily based on duty and obedience rather than awe and intimacy, I strongly encourage you to pray for the Spirit to transform your heart and to open your eyes to what worship should be and can be. Rather than simply seeing worship as something to check off your weekly list, God desires that you come to Him as His child - dependent, faithful, reverent, devoted and deeply loved.
“The Law scolds us, sin screams at us, death thunders at us, the devil roars at us. In the midst of the clamor the Spirit of Christ cries in our hearts: “Abba, Father.” And this little cry of the Spirit transcends the hullabaloo of the Law, sin, death, and the devil, and finds a hearing with God.” - Martin Luther
"It is folly and pride to think I am anything but a baby in the arms of God." - John Piper
Monday, January 3, 2011
Remember The Duck
From Pastor Tullian...
This story told by my friend and former professor, Steve Brown, illustrates well the radical discrepancy between the ways in which we hold other people hostage in their sin and the unconditional forgiveness that God offers to us in Christ.
Do you remember the story about the little boy who killed his grandmother’s pet duck? He accidentally hit the duck with a rock from his slingshot. The boy didn’t think anybody saw the foul deed, so he buried the duck in the backyard and didn’t tell a soul.
Later, the boy found out that his sister had seen it all. Not only that, she now had the leverage of his secret and used it. Whenever it was the sister’s turn to wash the dishes, take out the garbage or wash the car, she would whisper in his ear, “Remember the duck.” And then the little boy would do what his sister should have done.
There is always a limit to that sort of thing. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore–he’d had it! The boy went to his grandmother and, with great fear, confessed what he had done. To his surprise, she hugged him and thanked him. She said, “I was standing at the kitchen sink and saw the whole thing. I forgave you then. I was just wondering when you were going to get tired of your sister’s blackmail and come to me.”
If he already saw and forgave you, don’t let anybody say to you, “Remember the duck.”
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:19, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.” The good news of the gospel is that, for all of us who trust in the finished work of Jesus, God does not count our sins against us–he counts our sins against Christ!
Our own failure to grasp the gospel shows itself when we demand penance from those who have wronged us. Whatever offense I’ve received is infinitely smaller than the offense God has received from me. And since God has freely, fully, and unconditionally forgiven us in Christ (counting our sins against him) we should be quick and desirous to freely, fully, and unconditionally forgive.
There’s simply no better way to get people to contemplate God’s unfathomable love and grace than by granting them what he’s already granted.
This story told by my friend and former professor, Steve Brown, illustrates well the radical discrepancy between the ways in which we hold other people hostage in their sin and the unconditional forgiveness that God offers to us in Christ.
Do you remember the story about the little boy who killed his grandmother’s pet duck? He accidentally hit the duck with a rock from his slingshot. The boy didn’t think anybody saw the foul deed, so he buried the duck in the backyard and didn’t tell a soul.
Later, the boy found out that his sister had seen it all. Not only that, she now had the leverage of his secret and used it. Whenever it was the sister’s turn to wash the dishes, take out the garbage or wash the car, she would whisper in his ear, “Remember the duck.” And then the little boy would do what his sister should have done.
There is always a limit to that sort of thing. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore–he’d had it! The boy went to his grandmother and, with great fear, confessed what he had done. To his surprise, she hugged him and thanked him. She said, “I was standing at the kitchen sink and saw the whole thing. I forgave you then. I was just wondering when you were going to get tired of your sister’s blackmail and come to me.”
If he already saw and forgave you, don’t let anybody say to you, “Remember the duck.”
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:19, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.” The good news of the gospel is that, for all of us who trust in the finished work of Jesus, God does not count our sins against us–he counts our sins against Christ!
Our own failure to grasp the gospel shows itself when we demand penance from those who have wronged us. Whatever offense I’ve received is infinitely smaller than the offense God has received from me. And since God has freely, fully, and unconditionally forgiven us in Christ (counting our sins against him) we should be quick and desirous to freely, fully, and unconditionally forgive.
There’s simply no better way to get people to contemplate God’s unfathomable love and grace than by granting them what he’s already granted.
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