Grace Party: Escape to Reality Greatest Hits, Volume 3 (4 page)

A man, blind from birth, learns of
an operation that will give him the gift of sight. Encouraged by his friends
and family, he undergoes the procedure. The operation is a success and for the
first time in his life he can see.

However,
he finds himself disoriented and confused. He recognizes nothing and is unable
to process light and distance. Everything appears alien to him so he begins to
walk with his eyes shut. Darkness is the world he knows and can navigate. After
some time, he begins to act in every way like the blind man he used to be.
Although his eyes are perfectly normal, he never uses them.

This is
how it is for those of us who are born of the spirit but who have not learned
how to walk after the spirit. When we were in flesh we walked after the flesh.
Spiritually numb, the natural world was the only world we knew and we relied on
our five senses to live. But when we were born again we were given a new life
with new senses. Like the blind man in the story, we can now live in two
worlds: the natural world and the spiritual; the seen realm and the unseen
(Hebrews 11:3).

We use
our natural senses to navigate the natural world, but in the spiritual world we
walk by faith. It is only by faith that we can make sense of things we do not
see (Hebrews 11:1). The trouble is that faith often runs contrary to what we
see and understand (2 Corinthians 5:7), so the temptation is to revert to the
old way of the flesh.

To walk
after the flesh is to be mindful of natural things — what we see, hear, touch,
etc. But to walk after the spirit is to be mindful of spiritual things — what
God has said and is now saying, what God has done and is now doing.

If we
live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25, NKJV)

You have a choice

The unsaved person cannot walk in
the spirit since the natural world is the only world he knows. But when you
have been born of the Spirit you have a choice. You can interpret any situation
with your natural senses or with faith.

Suppose
you go to the doctor and he shows you an x-ray of your brain, says you have a
tumor, and tells you that you have a week to live. If the natural world is all
you know, you’d better start wrapping up your affairs. Everything you have
heard and seen is telling you that you’re going to die. You can choose how
you’re going to die — bravely or fearfully — but that’s about the only choice
you have.

The
spirit-conscious person, on the other hand, has options. She will not accept
the doctor’s report as the last word but might say, “I need a second opinion.
What does Dr. Jesus say?”

Do you
see what she’s doing? She’s switching her attention from the natural realm to
the spiritual. She’s fixing her eyes on something unseen and eternal. Her
spirit is one with the Holy Spirit and through that connection she is being encouraged,
perhaps even reminded of life-giving promises pertaining to healing (e.g.,
Psalm 103:3).

Although
in the natural she may be battling anxiety, the spirit-conscious believer
strives to enter that rest which is found in Jesus. So she begins to think
about Jesus who carried her infirmities, and as she sets her mind on things
above she senses supernatural peace and faith stirring within.

When you
walk according to the flesh, life always has the last word. The circumstances
of your life will tell you when to be sick, poor, and anxious. Sickness and
poverty will rob you of your appetite, sleep, and joy.

But when
you walk according to the spirit you will find yourself talking back to your
circumstances. You’ll speak to your bank account. You may even shout at
sickness. If you think that’s weird, consider Jesus who spoke to trees and
storms. Jesus said we would speak to mountains. The spirit-conscious believer
talks back because he knows that life does not have the last word. He refuses
to let his circumstances dictate his actions.

Walk the talk

Learning how to walk is a skill
that takes practice. There is much to say about this but here’s the short
version:

Trust in
the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all
your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5–6,
NKJV)

The operative word in this passage
is acknowledge. This does not mean tipping your hat to Jesus whenever you go
charging off on a scheme of your own invention. Neither is it saying “I want to
thank the Lord Jesus” in all the victory speeches of life. Acknowledging the
Lord means
knowing him
in all your ways.

Here’s
the same verse in a literal translation:

In all
thy ways know thou him, And he doth make straight thy paths. (Proverbs 3:6,
YLT)

When the doctor has just
pronounced the sentence of death, you want to know the Lord — what does he say
on the matter? It’s his word that counts. When you’ve been offered a promotion
or you’ve met the perfect man or woman and it all seems good to you, you want
to know the Lord — what does he think about this? The spirit-conscious believer
is not so interested in what his experience or natural understanding tells him.
His heart’s desire is to know and follow Jesus every day.

Knowing
the Lord as you walk through life will make a crooked path straight. When you
know the Lord you’ll walk through the valley of the shadow of death without
fear. You’ll feast in the presence of your enemies.

A word after

A friend of ours had some
complications with her second pregnancy. The doctor told her that she would
probably miscarry her baby. The verdict of medical science was, “Your baby’s
going to die.” But that was not the last word in this story. My wife went to
pray for the lady and commanded life where the doctor had spoken death. A short
time later the baby was born without complications and he is now a healthy, six-year
old boy.

From
time to time, babies are lost in pregnancy. It’s not uncommon. But this baby
wasn’t lost and I am convinced it is because our friend sought to know the Lord
in her hour of need.

Why
aren’t stories like this more common? Maybe it’s because many of us simply
don’t know how good we’ve got it in Christ. We’ve been trained to rely on our
own resources instead of Christ’s infinitely greater riches. We lean on our own
understanding, but we doubt the goodness of God and his grace.

God is
greater than we can comprehend and his love surpasses knowledge. He is able to do
immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). The skeptic may
ask, “Where’s the proof?” The proof of God’s goodness is seen in that six-year-old
boy who should’ve died but lives. Was there ever a better cause for celebration
than this?

The
kingdom of God is a party because Jesus is awesome! He is the last word on
every subject. This is why I say Christians ought to be constantly celebrating.
It’s not because we’re holding out for the sweet by and by, but because we are
seeing the sick healed and the dead raised. We are seeing heaven on earth, here
and now.

Grace is God’s response to our
messes. If you don’t acknowledge your mess, you’ll never receive his grace.
Confession is a way to receive grace and deal with the messes and brokenness of
life. However, confession is a word that is poorly understood. Like the word
repentance, confession has been mangled through the machinery of manmade
religion. Instead of bringing freedom to the bound and life to the dead,
confession is seen as the cost of admission into the House of Grace. “You wanna
clear your conscience? Then ‘fess up you miserable sinner!”

Confession
is good for you, but only when it’s not abused. We might say there’s good
confession and bad confession (see 1 Timothy 6:12). What is good confession? It
is articulating faith. It is agreeing with God and acknowledging your
dependence on him. And what is bad confession? It is verbalizing unbelief in
God’s goodness and the finished work of the cross.

To help
you grasp this distinction, I want to draw twelve lines between healthy and
unhealthy confession.

1.  Unhealthy confession is an admission of my badness, but
healthy confession is a declaration of my trust in God’s goodness (Psalm 145:4–7).

2.  Unhealthy confession leaves me focused on
my
needs,
my
weaknesses, and
my
shortcomings, but healthy confession
connects my need with
God’s
grace,
his
strength and
his
limitless provision (2 Corinthians 12:9).

3.  Unhealthy confession puts the focus on me and what I
have or haven’t done, but healthy confession puts the focus on Christ and what
he has done for me (Romans 10:9–13).

4.  Unhealthy confession requires no faith at all and so
cannot please the Lord (Hebrews 11:6), but healthy confession stirs and reveals
the faith in my heart (Romans 10:8,17).

5.  Unhealthy confession is based on the hope that I can
convince God to do something or give me something. In contrast, healthy confession
is based on the revelation that God has already given us everything we need for
life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us (2 Peter 1:3).

6.  Unhealthy confession is begging God to forgive me, but
healthy confession is only possible when I know he already has (2 Peter 1:9).

7.  Unhealthy confession is begging God to bless me, but
healthy confession is thanking God that in Christ I am already the beneficiary
of every blessing there is (Ephesians 1:3).

8.  Unhealthy confession perpetuates a cycle of Adamic
self-reliance and death (Galatians 6:7–8), but healthy confession helps me to
walk in newness of life.

9.  Unhealthy confession is hedged with excuses,
finger-pointing, and blame (see Genesis 3:12). In contrast, healthy confession
is an honest admission of my need for God’s great grace (Psalm 51:1).

10.  Unhealthy confession is often motivated by a perceived
need to restore relationship with God. In contrast, healthy confession is only
possible when I am secure in his promise that he will never leave nor forsake
me (Hebrews 13:5).

11.  Unhealthy confession follows sin, but healthy
confession preempts it. By being honest about my weaknesses and vulnerabilities
I position myself to receive the grace that empowers me to say no (James 4:6).

12.  Unhealthy confession is agreeing with the Accuser that
I am still a miserable sinner. “Look at what you did!” In contrast, healthy
confession is agreeing with the Holy Spirit that I am still a saint despite
what I did (John 16:10).

In this life you will make many
messes. Confessing-to-be-forgiven or to otherwise manage your sin is like
trying to clean house with a filthy mop. You’ll be busy but you won’t make any
difference. If anything, you’ll make things worse by adding self-righteous unbelief
to your pile of sins.

True
confession is freely acknowledging your total dependence on God’s grace — grace
for salvation, sanctification, and every other thing. True confession is
putting faith into words and relying on the One who cleanses you from all
unrighteousness.

Bad
confession seems right to man but ultimately leads to death. Good confession
leads to life and godliness. Unhealthy confession is the funeral march of dead
religion, but healthy confession is the joyful soundtrack of living grace!

A word after

I’ve got nothing to add to this
brilliant and liberating article (cough!), so here’s a confession joke. A man
in Amsterdam felt that he needed to confess his sins, so he goes to his priest.

 “Forgive
me Father, for I have sinned. During World War 2 I hid a refugee in my attic.”

 “Well,”
answered the priest, “that’s hardly a sin.”

“But I
made him agree to pay me 20 guilders for every week he stayed.”

“I admit
that wasn’t good, but you did it for a good cause.”

 “Oh,
thank you, Father. That eases my mind. I just have one more question...”

“What is
that, my son?”

“Do I
have to tell him the war is over?”

C.S. Lewis said that the safest
road to hell is the one without signposts. You might say the same thing about
the road that leads back to the law. It’s gradual and unmarked. Can you imagine
the Galatians saying, “Let’s stop trusting Jesus and try to complete in our own
efforts what he began”? Of course not, for if they had thought about what they
were doing, they would’ve stood firm and not fallen from grace.

Paul
said the Galatians were bewitched. Some translations say they were under a
spell. To set them free from the spell of the law, Paul asked pointed
questions. “Are you trying to complete with human effort that which God began?”
(see Galatians 3:3).

If the
road to law is not well signposted, then one way to avoid it is to be conscious
of grace-killers such as human effort, manmade traditions, and rules and
regulations. Self-imposed law can take many forms. Elsewhere I have listed
seven signs that will alert you to the danger of trading grace for law. Here
are seven more…

1.  You feel rejected, guilty,
condemned, or unworthy

Condemnation is the number one
symptom of a law-based life for the law is a ministry that condemns (2
Corinthians 3:9). Before the cross, Adam’s sin meant condemnation for all, but
there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 5:18, 8:1).

By God’s
perfect standard, all of us fall short. None of us deserves what God has given.
That’s why it’s called grace. He qualifies the worst of us and makes us his
beloved sons. A life captivated by grace is marked by gratitude and praise, but
a life under law remains captive to guilt and condemnation.

2.  You think working out your
salvation means working
for
your salvation

Jesus’ work on the cross was
perfectly perfect and completely complete. Because of his sacrifice you have
been made perfect forever (Hebrews 10:14). There is nothing you can do to
improve upon his perfect and finished work. To
work out
your salvation is
to express and exercise the gift he has placed within you. It’s working out in
your circumstances the full implications of what Christ has done.

3.  You treat the Bible as a
road map or instruction manual

We are to live by the Spirit, not
the book. God wants us to have a relationship with himself, not his letter.
Jesus gave us a pattern for Bible study on the road to Emmaus when he pointed
out in the Scriptures all those things concerning himself (Luke 24:27). Don’t
read the Bible to find out what to do. Read it to learn about Jesus.

4.  You think the remedy for
lukewarmness is to get zealous for God

Contrary to what you may have heard,
we are not in a Mr. or Ms. Enthusiasm contest. God is not watching you on
Sunday morning to see if you’re singing or clapping louder than the person next
to you. Jesus is not going to vomit you out if you don’t get up and dance or
hand out a gazillion tracts. Religious zeal gets you nowhere with God.

Genuine
enthusiasm comes not from what you have done for God, but from appreciating
what he has done for you. And what has he done? He has made you righteous and
acceptable through the blood of Jesus. There is no middle, lukewarm ground. You
are either “the people” of God or you’re not (1 Peter 2:10). We don’t declare
his praises to become a people belonging to God. We praise him because we are a
people belonging to God and he is praiseworthy!

5.  You are conscious of your
debt to God

On the cross, the righteous
demands of the law that stood against you were fully satisfied. If the debt had
not been paid in full, Jesus would not have risen from the dead (Romans 4:25).

Perhaps
you think this act of grace obligates you to God, that since he paid your debt you
now owe him. Beware, for this perception of indebtedness will make you resistant
to grace.

God
didn’t redeem you because he thought you might be a good investment. He did it
because he is a Giver and it’s his nature to love on us. He gave you his Son,
his Spirit, indeed, himself. Stop trying to repay him for his priceless gifts.
Just bow your grateful head and say, “Thank you, Jesus!”

6.  You think your illness is
God punishing you for your sin

A law mindset says you reap what
you sow: If you get bad (e.g., sickness), you must’ve done bad (e.g., sin). In
other words, your sickness is God’s punishment. But grace declares that God has
already judged all your sin at the cross and no punishment remains.

Jesus
went around healing people. If God the Father is making people sick while God
the Son is healing them, they are a house divided. Jesus provided for your
salvation and healing at the cross. Someone under grace won’t take sickness
lying down but will proclaim the Lord’s death over their infirmities.

7.  You think there is too much
emphasis on the goodness of God

And let me guess — not enough
emphasis on the badness of God?! There is no variation, no shadow of turning
with God. He is good all the way through and he is good all the time. It’s no
more possible to overemphasize his goodness than it is to grasp the width,
depth, height and length of his love (Ephesians 3:18). But I encourage you to
try!

A word after

Those of us who preach grace
sometimes hear this objection. “You are opposed to the law.” Only we’re not.
We’re opposed to
living
under the law. Like Paul, we think the law is
good. It just has no power to make
you
good.

“Yeah,
but you still have a pretty dim view of the law.” Actually, the opposite is
true. We have the highest regard for the law, for law reveals our need for
grace.

I agree
with Tullian Tchividjian who, in his book
One Way Love
, says that one of
the biggest problems in the church today is not cheap grace but cheap law,
namely “the idea that God accepts anything less than the perfect righteousness
of Jesus.” Any message that says you can get away with less than 100 percent
perfect obedience diminishes the law, insults a holy God, and distracts you
from grace. As Tchividjian says, “A high view of the law produces a high view
of grace. A low view of the law produces a low view of grace.”

So if
you must preach law then preach an exalted and lofty law, as Jesus did in the
Sermon on the Mount. Preach a law that inflames sin and silences the
self-righteous. Preach a law that reveals our need for Jesus who fulfilled all
the righteous requirements of the law so that we might be freed from its curse.