Extreme Makeover: In Christ You Are A New Creation

L. Dwight Turner

One of the primary reasons so many Christians walk in much less victory than God intends stems from the fact that they still don’t understand the full extent of the gospel message. For much of our shared history, American Protestants have emphasized the blood of Christ and the atonement for sins. Granted, this is a portion of the gospel truth, however, the mission of Christ was far greater than that. Unfortunately, a significant number of Christians don’t fathom the rich treasures Christ has provided through his incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascendancy. In order to regain a full perspective on the accomplishments of Christ, our new identity as Children of the Light, and the authority and power granted to us, we need to carefully study Scripture and ascertain the full extent of the blessings of God’s provision through Christ.

 

Often, we toss about the word salvation and, after hearing the word so many times, lose sight of just what the word implied to the first Christ-followers and, by implication, to us as well. “Sozo” is the Greek word for salvation and it implies a sense of completion, soundness, health, and the absence of disharmony on all levels. Sozo thus refers to a reality far greater than the remission of sins, although that is an important aspect of the word’s meaning. Sozo, taken in its biblical context, refers to the fact that God’s, through Christ, has given His grace whereby we are freed from all obstacles and hindrances that could stand in the way of us becoming all that we were created to be. Salvation implies that through God’s grace we freed from bondage to anything that hinders our ability to become complete in Christ, manifesting our original nature, created in the image of God.

 

I think that this general lack of awareness on the part of many Christians stems from a complex constellation of factors, but for the sake of simplicity, perhaps we can focus on four sources of misinformation about the full extent of the gospel: the pulpit; the enemy; the world; our own habitual patterns of thought and behavior.

 

Perhaps many of you are wondering how I could imply that the pulpit may in some way be responsible for our general lack of understanding of who and what we are in Christ. The answer is simple. By choosing to consistently focus on the blood of Christ at the expense of the provisions generated as a result of his resurrection and ascension, many pastors and preachers have contributed to this miasma of misunderstanding. This in no way minimizes the blood of Christ, but instead, it completes the work done on the cross. If Christ died for our sins, but left us completely under the power of “sin,” (our sinful nature), then we would be no better off than the Israelites who were dependent each year on the placing of their sins upon the “scapegoat,” which was then release to wander in the desert until it died. After the Day of Atonement, the Jews then began the process of accumulating sin that would need atonement the following year.

 

Pastors, preachers, and Bible teachers need to repeatedly stress that God has provided all that we need to lead a godly, holy life (see 2 Peter 1:5). Through the blood, our sins are forgiven; through the cross, our sin is dealt with. Unfortunately, the pulpit has not stressed this aspect of the gospel nearly enough.

 

In terms of the enemy and the world, these two forces often act in concert to minimize what we have been granted in Christ. After all, the popular views of our culture are often in opposition to what God would have us do, whether it is in terms of our actual behavior or, at an even more subtle level, how we think and how we view the world. Let’s take a brief look at how these two forces, Satan and the world, might be a formidable obstacle when it comes to understanding our true blessings “in Christ.”

 

In today’s spiritual marketplace, the church is often assailed by the enemy in ways both manifest and subtle. One of Satan’s main strategies is to put forth teachings that contain a grain of scriptural truth and, at least on the surface, sound good, especially from a worldly perspective. For example, many contemporary Bible teachers focus on material wealth and prosperity. Don’t get me wrong – there is nothing wrong with wealth and having possessions, so long as we are not controlled by them. However, these teachers often go to scripture to support their contentions and, in so doing, often miss the point of the particular verse or portion of scripture they cite. Most of the current prosperity gospel advocates justify their teaching by quoting Jesus in John 10:10:

 

I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.

 

According to the prosperity teachers, Jesus was speaking of material abundance when he uttered these words. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Given the situation they were in, I doubt the early Christians were overly concerned with gaining material wealth. In the early days of the church, the prime focus was on solidifying the local church, spreading the gospel, and staying alive.

 

 When Christ spoke of abundance in John 10:10, he was speaking of the fullness of life. Here Jesus is talking about the fact that through his mission, believers will now have the capacity to have the fullness of life that was lost due to the Fall. In essence, He was referring to a restored humanity, now in proper relationship with God and ready to bear fruit.

 

 

The theological minutia surrounding the discussions of justification and sanctification can be both confusing and distracting. Although gaining an understanding of these concepts is important, for our present conversation going into depth about such matters would be an unnecessary distraction. For now, let’s just suffice to say that understanding and accepting who we are in Christ is central to the process of spiritual formation. Further, it is important that we see that our adoption into God’s family is an act of grace. Neil Anderson tells us:

 

Only as we see ourselves as sons and daughters of God can we really grow in holiness (see Romans 8:15). Only as we are free from the task of trying to gain a relationship with God by our own righteousness or cleanness will we be free to appropriate His righteousness and holiness for our growth.

 

Without Christ, his work on the cross and in rising from the tomb, we could not even begin to progress in terms of spiritual formation. In order to grow in spirit, we have to be connected to God. Just as a fish cannot thrive unless it is in water, we cannot thrive outside of our natural environment, which is proper connection with God. Christ’s mission accomplished this reconnection with our Maker and made all spiritual formation possible. Without the regeneration provided by the mission of Christ, we would remain in a state of separation from God. Listen to Neil Anderson as he so accurately elaborates this theme:

 

Spiritual growth in the Christian life requires a relationship with God, who is the fountain of spiritual life. Only through this relationship can we bear new seed or tap into the root of life. As in nature, unless there is some seed or root of life within an organism, no growth can take place. So unless there is a root of life within the believer – that is, some core of spiritual life – growth is impossible. There is nothing to grow.

 

The thrust of what is being said in this article is centered on the fact that we need to seize our proper identity in Christ, but in doing so, we must also understand the work of Christ on the cross and through his resurrection and ascension. Underlying this vital comprehension is that fact that we cannot be who and what we were intended to be without being in proper, intimate relationship with God. In order for that to be possible, our relationship must be restored. That’s where the Blood of Christ comes into play. Through his death, in some mysterious way Christ paid the debt for our sin and made reunion with the Father possible.

 

Beyond that, through his dying to self and rising in new life, we, too, may also die to our old way of being and rise in newness of life. But the story doesn’t end there. Christ, through his ascension into heaven, made possible the coming of the Holy Spirit. As Christ himself said, “Unless I leave, the Spirit won’t come.” As stated, Christ’s departure and his seat at the right hand of the Father make possible the Spirit’s presence in our lives. Now, just as the Father walked in the garden with the first couple, the Spirit walks along side of us. Even more important, he has also taken up residence within us.

 

It is not enough to die and rise again. We must also live in a new manner and it is the Spirit that makes this new way of thinking, feeling, behaving and relating possible. Grasp that, and you are well on your way of appropriating your new identity in Christ.

(c) L.D. Turner 2008/All Rights Reserved

 

Responding to God: Just Keep It Simple

Mick Turner

I think one of the most comforting and encouraging truths of the gospel message is that, in spite of past screw ups, Jesus loves and accepts us as we are. Not only that, but through the actions of the blessed Holy Spirit, he is willing to help us change. And even more mind boggling, he is planning on making us a full partner in his father’s business. Author and teacher Billy Joe Daugherty speaks to these themes in a clear manner:

This is the good news of Jesus: He loves you just the way you are, yet He sees you for what you can become…..He sees you sharing the living water with others who are dry on the inside….God has big plans for you. It may seem like you have wasted your life, but with Jesus you can make up for lost years in a short time. He will not reject you for your past failures. He welcomes you to come to him and receive living water.

As I said, I find this aspect of the Lord to be most comforting because I have certainly messed up things many times. Further, I can truly relate to that feeling of having wasted my life. Yet Jesus is willing to put that behind us now and turn both His eyes and mine toward a more positive, successful future, one where I can have a positive, beneficial impact on the world in general and my family in particular.

More amazing is the fact that I never have to go it alone. Instead, the Paraclete, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit is walking next to me and living inside me in a miraculous way I can never understand but can fully appropriate through the simple act of faith. I don’t know about you, but when I truly take time and reflect on all this, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. The only thing required of me to receive the healing water of Christ is faith. It really is that simple.

Unfortunately, many Christians fail to understand what if means to have faith. Jesus plainly told us that he has overcome the world and all that we have to do to have a life of spiritual fulfillment is to accept what He has told us in faith. As I was sitting here writing these words I was reminded of the following words, again from Daugherty:

Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. It is our faith in Jesus and what He did on the cross. In His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus defeated Satan and took the keys of authority from him. Now Jesus Christ reigns forever.

Jesus reigns forever and scripture assures me that I am co-heir with Him, as are you if you have accepted his gift of grace with faith. This acceptance I am speaking of here involves more than the forgiveness of sin, although it certainly involves that. By His blood the Lord purchased our forgiveness and justified our being before the Father, but the cross also accomplished something equally significant, not to mention precious. Through Christ’s cross, his death, and his resurrection, we are empowered to live as he says we should live. Just as we could never do enough to attain forgiveness and justification before God, we can never live the full Christian life under our own power. We need something more and Christ has provided that power for us in the person of the Holy Spirit. Further, we have on the inside of us the same resurrection power that brought Jesus back to life. The ultimate nature of that power is far too profound and mysterious for me to ever get my mind completely around but, on faith, I am fully convinced that it is mine.

So what stops us from simply accepting what Christ is freely offering us? There are a number of reasons I suspect, but one I encounter with more than a few sincere believers is one you might not immediately think of. Christians seem to have an uncanny knack for taking simple truths and complicating them through debate, dogma, and doctrine. I don’t mean to imply that these issues are not important. Certainly doctrine and dogma have their place. But I often wonder if Christ smiles in approval when he hears us debating his simple truths to the point that we divide ourselves into countless denominations and sects and tear asunder the Body that he meant to live in love and unity. On the contrary, I suspect this endless hairsplitting and theological nitpicking brings tears to his eyes.

 

During the early 1980’s I enrolled in several Religion courses at a small university near my home in north Alabama. I recall one course in particular that centered on the life of Jesus. My fellow classmates were an interesting group. Some were undergraduate students pursuing coursework in Religion and Philosophy in preparation for seminary. Others were ordained pastors of small local churches who, after preaching for a number of years, felt the need to further their education. Others, like myself, were there seeking a deeper understanding of the Christian faith as well as its history and traditions. Then there was Henry.

 

No one knew exactly why Henry was enrolled. He rarely spoke and when he did, it was with a soft, slow voice with a pronounced rural southern brogue. Considering the diverse make up of the class, it was natural that heated discussions would often break out. The professor often encouraged this in fact. The class argued about many issues. The nature of the Trinity, immersion versus sprinkling, the permanency of salvation, the list is endless. I admit I often enjoyed these ballyhoos as they lent a degree of excitement to the proceedings and made the class time pass more quickly. One night the class was engaged in a verbal free for all centering on the Virgin Birth. I remember clearly hearing a wide range of viewpoints on this, mostly in support of the indisputable validity of the doctrine of virgin birth. I for one remained on the periphery of this dispute mostly out of ignorance. The doctrine of Virgin Birth was not for me an issue of central importance to my daily experience of the Christian path. In fact, unless it was brought up for discussion, I rarely consider it. It was one of those issues that I had placed on the theological back burner.

 

After a lengthy discussion, the professor looked to the back of the room and said, “Well Henry, you’ve been mighty quiet in this discussion. Why don’t you share your thoughts on the Virgin Birth with us?”

 

After a long pause Henry folded his hands on the desk, looked cautiously around the room and said:

 

“Well, I’ve been a settin’ here for over an hour listenin’ to you gents discussing this here thing about the Virgin Birth of Christ. I guess ya’ll know a heck of a lot more about all this than I do. You must or else you couldn’t talk about it for so long. All I know is this. Jesus loves me and I love him and try to do what he says. I reckon it don’t matter much to me what his momma done.”

 

Point taken Henry, end of discussion.

 

Instead of simply taking Christ at his word and freely receiving his gift of both salvation and sanctification, we often enter into arcane debates over issues that are not fundamental to the issue at hand. At the end of the day, we complicate a simple offer and this confuses believers inside the church and turns away many on the outside. I could give countless examples of this because I used to do this very thing. We all too often major in the minors and minor in the majors.

 

One issue that I have often heard brothers and sisters discussing, often in heated tones, is the order of salvation. Some say that we repent, and then we are saved. Others say that we repent because we are saved. I imagine one could make a case for either side of this issue by citing various passages of scripture but in terms of our response to God’s grace I don’t see that it matters much on a practical level. The fact is God makes His offer and we respond. The mere act of responding is in itself an act of repentance. We accept that we are accepted, complete with our cuts and bruises, our shortcomings and short-fallings. This is the meaning of grace, pure and simple.

 

Our role in this process is not to analyze, dissect, or debate. Our job is to respond. We either accept the offer or we refuse it. God has so arranged this process that it is really up to us.

 

Grace is not something we can earn. We can’t work our way into God’s grace because, in spite of our best intentions, nothing would ever, ever be enough. We can’t even pray our way into God’s grace. We can’t plea-bargain and attempt to get a lighter sentence for our sins. No, all we can do is get it through our heads, however thick, that grace flows from God to us. Our task is to accept it fully and get on with the task of letting the Holy Spirit flow into us and do His work to make us more like Christ.

 

The “Doctrine of Grace” is one thing; the reality of God’s grace is quite another. It is freely offered to all who would humble themselves enough to receive it. I suspect that each of us has his or her own way of resisting God’s grace. Some of us, as mentioned above, feel we don’t deserve it; some of us are too prideful, feeling that we can fix ourselves on our own; others think the concept of grace is just too simplistic. Whatever our reasons for struggling with this basic Christian principle, until we resolve our conflict, we will not advance very far on the spiritual journey.

 

As I have previously shared on this website, I can attest to this fact from my own experience. Paul says that the idea of “Christ crucified” as the means of salvation would be foolishness to the Greeks. Well, for many years it was foolishness to me. I much preferred the complexity of Buddhism and Hinduism, or the sanity of New Thought. Still, somewhere down in the pit of my being, the Hound of Heaven was chewing on me. God was unrelenting in his pursuit of me and I, like Jonah, headed for the hills more than once. Still, God’s grace kept surrounding me and I could not escape. In fact, I came to treasure the comforting feeling of being surrounded by God. Finally, I accepted that I was accepted.

 

Once I stopped running; once my struggles with God came to a halt, it was like a whole panorama of spiritual reality opened before my eyes, including a deep sense of optimism and hope. As a result, I began to view the world, including its problems and pain, with a greater degree of compassion and a genuine desire for healing involvement.

 

 With the help of the Holy Spirit, I came to understand at a deeper level that I was in fact accepted. Accepted in my weakness because this is where the strength of Christ is seen. Accepted in my brokenness because this is where the healing of Christ is seen. Accepted in my faithlessness because this is where the fidelity of Christ is seen. Accepted in my wandering in the wilderness because this is where Christ’s true and stable mansions are eventually discovered.

 

 

What we can do is express our gratitude by being thankful, expressing our heart-felt appreciation for what God has done for us. Our gratitude must further be translated into positive action and a repentant lifestyle, which expresses itself in obedience, faithfulness, humility, faith, trust and, above all, a selfless love. In other words, we accept God’s gift of grace, forgiveness and adoption into his family, then get on with the work of growing in Christ-Character. Again, get this down and get it deep. Grace comes from God, not from anything you have done or will ever do in the future. Listen to Gary Collins:

 

Grace is not a loan from the past. It is a gift that extends through all eternity. It is a gift that helps mold our lives so that our spirituality is God-centered, Christ-honoring, Spirit-guided, life-influencing, and ultimately, fulfilling.

 

Don’t you just love that? God-centered, Spirit-guided, and life-influencing. Once we accept God’s gift, and importantly, once we accept that we are accepted by God, our duty is to live a life that is focused on God and makes Him the fulcrum of our thoughts, words and deeds. The amazing thing here is that God’s grace extends even to the point that we are aided in making him the focal point of life. The Holy Spirit comes along side of us, in fact, comes to reside in us and guides us as we seek to open our ears so that we can hear Him speak. As this happens, we increasingly become equipped to do Christ’s work on earth, to be his hands, his feet and his heart in a broken, dysfunctional world. Our life is influenced so we can influence other lives. In essence, once we accept God’s gracious gift, we are empowered to become God-centered, Spirit-guided servants that can make a positive difference in the world.

 

© L.D. Turner 2008/All Rights Reserved

 

Wise Words for Today

As the last Adam, Christ is the sum total of humanity; as the second Man, he is the Head of a new race. So we have here two unions, the one relating to his death and the other to his resurrection. In the first place his union with the race as “the last Adam” began historically at Bethlehem and ended at the cross and the tomb. In it he gathered up into himself all that was in Adam and took it to judgment and death. In the second place our union with him as “the sceond man” begins in resurrection and ends in eternity – which is to say, it never ends – for, having in his death done away with the first man in whom God’s purpose was frustrated, he rose again as Head of a new race of men, in whom that purpose shall be fully realized.

When therefore the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross, he was crucified as the last Adam. All that was in the first Adam was gathered up and done away in him. We are included there. As the last Adam he wiped out the old race; as the second Man he brings in the new race. It is in his resurrection that he stands forth as the second Man, and there too we are included. “For we have become united with him by the likeness of his death, we shall also be by the likeness of his resurrection.” (Romans 6:5). We died in him as the last Adam; we live in him as the second Man. The Cross is thus the mighty act of God which translates us from Adam to Christ.

Watchman Nee

(from The Normal Christian Life)

 

God’s Got Your Back

Mick Turner

Christianity is a fascinating religion with a long and varied history. It is unique among the various paths of spiritual pursuit in that it is not so much a way to find God as it is a way to allow God to find us. One of the most magnificent aspects of the Christian faith is the understanding that God loves us more than we can ever imagine and even more startling, is in continual pursuit of us. This revelation of the character of God, along with his marvelous grace, is just a few among the many reasons that it is accurate to say the Christianity is truly a path of spiritual optimism.

 

The foundation of Christian optimism begins with the character of God. We are told in scripture that not only does God love us, but he is love. A number of the parables of Christ further illustrate this reality by showing us clearly that God is a loving Father, the true “Abba” God, and is concerned with the well-being of each and every one of his children. The stories of the Prodigal Son, the Lost Coin, and the statement that a shepherd leaves 99 sheep to go search for the one that is lost, all point to the fundamental reasons we Christians should literally ooze optimism from every part of our being. Put simple, we are optimists because God is love and God loves us.

 

At times, I am shocked into awe when, looking at the night sky on a crystal clear winter evening, I see the utter magnificence and magnitude of the universe. To then reflect on the fact that the Creator of all of this wonder and expanse actually came in search of me because he loves me and wants to adopt me into his eternal family, is just plain overwhelming. I am not being sentimental or overly emotional here. I am just sharing the impact this has on me when I actually take the time to see and think; take the time to see just how incredible life in its essence is and think about God’s power, wisdom, love, and concern.

 

In addition to the Parables of Jesus, scripture is filled with examples of God’s unique and all-encompassing love for us. One of my favorite stories involves Abraham, way back when he was still called Abram. It can be found in Genesis 15: 12-21. This is one of those passages of scripture that is often glossed over in our Bible reading, but it is actually one of the most significant stories in scripture and it points to not only God’s love for us, but also his understanding of the fickleness of human nature. Moreover, it illustrates God’s complete dedication to restoring humankind to the kind of intimate relations he shared with our ancestors in the Garden.

 

To set the stage, God is about to make a covenant with Abram in which God promises to make Abram the father of a great nation and God would use this very nation to eventually bring restoration of spiritual life to all humankind. In those days, when a covenant was made, there was a ritual involved. An animal was slain and cut in half. Each partner entering into the covenant would then walk between the two halves of the beast, signifying that they would each be faithful to the covenant and that if either party broke the agreement, he or she might wind up like the carved up animal.

 

What is fascinating about this story is what God did next. Scripture tells us that Abram fell into a deep sleep and in that slumber the Lord told him the future in terms of the enslavement of the Israelites and how the Egyptians would be punished for this injustice. As Abram sat there he soon saw a flaming fire pot walk between the animal halves alone. Did you catch the ramifications of what just happened?

 

Instead of both of them walking between the animal halves, God walked through them alone. Why? He understood clearly that no matter how well intentioned; no matter how strong a human might be in terms of will and faith, in the end, a human could not keep the covenant forever. And that’s what this was – an eternal covenant. So, what did God do? He walked through the divided animal parts for Abram. In essence, he took on the responsibility for Abram’s half of the covenant because he knew, at the end of the day, Abram could not keep it under his own power. And we know now that God was right. Abram screwed up more than once. A glaring example of Abrams unfaithfulness occurs later when he says that his wife is his sister and when he sires a son by his wife’s servant.

 

Can you also see how in illustrating God’s love and his gracious character, this episode foreshadows what God would do in sending Christ to earth? Again, God did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He took our sins upon himself, just as he shouldered Abram’s responsibility in the covenant.

 

How can we, as Christians, be anything but optimists with a God like this who, as they say in the vernacular, “has our back.” In their highly recommended book entitled, Furious Pursuit, Tim King and Frank Martin comment on the story told in Genesis 15:

 

Don’t miss the magnitude of this act and the power of the Story of God. God was so convinced of his ability to remain faithful and so determined in his plan to restore us to himself that he was willing to lay everything on the line. When God walked between the severed animal pieces, he was saying to us, “This has never been about your faithfulness; it’s about my faithfulness; It’s not about your strength, your ability to remain in covenant with me. It’s about my strength, my ability, my love, my resolve to save you. I pledge to fight for you, to stay in relationship with you, to walk with you no matter what, from now until eternity.

 

As Paul so aptly asked, with a God like that for us, who could possibly be against us? With a God like that for us, optimism is the only justifiable response.

 

I will be the first to admit that I am not always optimistic. I have my bad days, sometimes with discouraging regularity. However, with God’s help and the activity of the Holy Spirit in my life, I can say without reservation that I am much more positive in my outlook than I once was. My friend, you can also be more positive. It takes work, sometimes hard work, to begin the process of taking thoughts captive for Christ; for rooting out the negative and planting the seeds of optimism in its place. However, the effort is well worth the result. Life seems much lighter and far brighter when you see things from the perspective of having a loving God walking next to you and his gracious Spirit residing in your heart.

 

Why not start today by setting aside a quiet time where you can be alone with God. Ask him to come into your life and your heart at a level deeper than ever before. And specifically pray for him to help you become a more positive, optimistic person. Ask that the Holy Spirit give you wisdom and a plan for pulling up the weeds of pessimism in your life and a viable strategy for sewing the seeds of optimism.

 

Keep in mind this thought: God has your back! Give thanks to the Lord for being there for you and, when you complete your prayer, get up and get to work. Remember, each time a negative or pessimistic train of thought pulls into the station, you don’t have to buy a ticket and ride out on it. Instead, purchase a ticket on a more positive train of thought. In the end, the cost is much less, the ride is far more enjoyable, and the one sitting in the seat next to you is far greater than you could ever imagine.

 

Have a great trip.

 

© L.D. Turner 2008/All Rights Reserved

 

Devotions for the Christian Optimist: All Things Work Together

Mick Turner

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28 NLT)

 

If ever there was a reason for Christians to be optimistic it is the promise recorded by Paul in this powerful scripture. The Apostle nestled this verse in the context of a number of other verses towards the end of the eighth chapter of Romans, all of which point toward the central reality that, as Christians, we really have every reason to rejoice and celebrate, whatever our circumstance. The unfathomable intelligence that forged this incredible universe and arranged all the subtle, complex laws that keep it in perfect balance, has also orchestrated the events of our lives to also work in our ultimate favor.

 

I don’t think this means that God planned everything that happens to us. Our own wrong choices many times get us into trouble. But Paul is telling us that even then, and even when disaster and tragedy strikes, God can use the results of our bad decisions, the results of tragedy, loss, and disaster, to ultimately work for our greatest good. In light of this reality, optimism is not only logical, it is unavoidable.

 

Lord, I know that you go before me, making my way both perfect and positive. I now take refuge in the serene peace and complete assurance that you are, indeed, devoted to the unfolding of my greatest good, even when I can’t see it. And I also am aware that this is your promise to all who love you and who are called to your purpose.

 

Father of Lights, I also am aware that each person you place before me is the person you are calling me to love at that moment. I am deeply aware that, just as you direct all things to work for my ultimate favor, I am to love the person before me in the same way. Therefore, I commit all my thoughts, actions, and plans to the unfolding of the greatest good of the persons you bring before me today. I am created in your image, Lord, and as your love directs you to bring out the best in me, I am also committed to bringing out the best in those you place in my path.

 

I thank you Lord for giving me the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to be able to accomplish what I cannot do on my own, and I thank you for making all things work toward my greatest good. In Christ’s most Holy Name…..Amen.

 

Mick Turner

 

© L.D. Turner 2008/All Rights Reserved

 

Wise Words for Today

As I look back on my own pilgramage, marked by wanderings , detours, and dead ends, I see now that what pulled me along was my search for grace. I rejected the church for a time because I found so little grace there. I returned because I found grace nowhere else…..Grace comes free of charge to people who do not derserve it and I am one of those people. I think back to who I was – resentful, wound tight with anger, a single hardened link in a long chain of ungrace learned from family and church. Now I am trying in my own small way to pipe the tune of grace. I do so because I know, more surely than I know anything, that any pang of healing or forgivenesss or goodness I have ever felt comes from the grace of  God. I yearn for the church to become a nourishing culture of that grace.

Phillip Yancey

(from What’s So Amazing About Grace?)

 

The Unmentionable Word: Sin

Mick Turner

If you want to discover a way to end any perfectly good conversation, halt any quality sharing between you and friends, even Christian friends, here’s the best way to do it:

 

Start talking about sin.

 

You see, sin is not a subject that is politically correct these days, even among believers. You can talk about moral collapse in our society; you can talk about the need for political change on any number of fronts; you can even talk about the latest scandal involving a popular televangelist – just don’t talk about sin. People just don’t want to hear about it.

 

In these days and times, we are not encouraged to look at our sin. The whole concept of sin has come to be seen as something left over from an earlier church era. In post-modern culture, we are seen as “dysfunctional” rather than disobedient. I can relate to this because I used to avoid the term like the plague. I did this not so much out of fear or distaste for the subject. Instead, like many others of my generation, I believed that talking about sin was not a fruitful enterprise. I saw the term “sin” as being a superficial concept that reeked of Puritanism and felt that any discussion of the topic would lead friends to view me in a less than savory light. When you get down to the brass tacks of the matter, I was a lot more concerned with what people thought of me than what God thought of me.

 

I was wrong.

 

The fact is, sin is real. I sin daily and chances are so do you. No matter how you may want to slice it, God has standards of behavior and an overall code for living. Try as I might, I often fall short of that standard, no matter how much I want to achieve it. This points to several important realities. First, left to my own devices, I cannot hope to live up to God’s standards for holiness and wholeness. Second, there is something within me which, although I am a Christian, continues to war against my “walking in the Spirit.” And third, if it was not for God’s grace and provision, I would be a goner.

 

The view we get of ourselves when we see our inner being through the lens of Christ can be a bit unsettling. Unless we have a clear picture of what Jesus accomplished on the cross and through his resurrection, along with an understanding and acceptance of who we are in Christ, we can easily be overwhelmed by the enormity of our sin-load. Yet it is imperative we see our sin and our sin-nature if we desire a deep appreciation of God’s act of grace in restoring us to spiritual life.

 

In my own spiritual life, I don’t really think I fully appreciated God’s overwhelming act of love in sending Christ to earth to deal with my sin until I fully began to accept the reality of sin. And it was not until I stopped avoiding looking at sin, talking about sin, and confessing sin that I accepted that reality. I can’t really put into words just how significant this whole experience was for me. I have tried on many occasions to communicate these experiences to my friends, especially those who are Christians, but who downplay the issue of sin. Most of the time, I cannot adequately express what a moment of epiphany this was for me, and that is exactly what it was – an epiphany. On the few occasions that I believe I was able to sufficiently wrap words around this experience, these same friends just didn’t want to hear it. On one unforgettable occasion, a dear friend looked at me after I tried to express all of this and said, with all sincerity:

 

“Who the heck do you think you are, John Bunyan?”

 

For me, an awareness of sin in general and my sin in particular led me to a deeper appreciation of Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the gift of salvation. On top of that, it gave me increased motivation to live a deeper, more consecrated Christian life. Gary Thomas, one of my very favorite writers, voices my feelings at that time perhaps better than I ever could:

 

Think about how God has loved you. Consider the fearful cost he paid to win your salvation. Reflect on his patient mercy and his gentle manner whenever you have gone astray. Meditate on the reality that this perfect God gives to his imperfect children his very name. We are called “Christians,” “little Christs.”…Can we not, in the face of such love, embrace the grace of God that teaches us and empowers us to say no to the passions that war against our souls and yes to the invitation to transformed living? Will we not surrender to the weight of such compelling and compassionate care? Will we still insist on living our own lives our own way and according to our own dictates?

 

 

I am not suggesting that we wallow in the mire of our sinfulness and become bogged down with guilt. All I am saying here is that it is important that we buck the current trend to avoid looking at our sin and take an honest look at where we were before we came to Christ.

 

Further, we need to get a firm grip on the true nature of sin and accept the fact that we live in a culture that is fallen – a culture that in large part is conditioned by sin. In many ways, our world has become so complacent about sin that we don’t even recognize it. Neil Anderson speaks to the importance of grasping the nature and extent of sin in ourselves and our world:

 

It is difficult for us to grasp the true nature of sin for several reasons. First, we have always been personally involved in sin and lived in an environment conditioned by sin…Second, our understanding is skewed because of our own sinfulness. Most people tend to think less of their sin than they should in order to excuse themselves. Rather than confess wrongdoing, they do the opposite – they rationalize it…Third, our awareness of what is sinful can easily grow dull with tolerance and exposure to it…Fourth, no human has yet experienced the full weight of sin’s consequences.

 

I don’t know about you, but when I first read it that fourth point made by Anderson hit me right between the eyes. I had never really paused to consider that perspective on my sin. Anderson is right. My sin has caused me discomfort at times, inconvenience at times, and certainly, stress at times. Still, none of these consequences remotely come close to what my sin would cost me if not for the work of Christ. Forget if you will for a moment, the debates about whether or not Hell exists as a place or whether or not a loving God would exile anyone to such a fate. For the sake of discussion at this point, imagine if you will eternal separation from God with no chance of reunion. Even a paradise constructed from my wildest dreams would be empty if I knew there was an eternal estrangement from the true source of my being.

 

Now, if I had to endure that estrangement while being tortured, roasted, and scorched and I think you get the drift of it. “No human has yet experienced the full weight of sin’s consequences……”

 

I think I’ll stop right here and just let that one dangle there for a time….

 

© L.D. Turner 2008/All Rights Reserved

 

 

Christian Identity and Holistic Optimism: Radical Acceptance

Mick Turner

 

* This is the second entry in a series of articles discussing the reasons why Christians have every reason to be optimistic about life and how this optimism is among our most powerful witnessing tools when encountering the world outside the church walls. We will take a detailed look at how Scripture reveals our new identity in Christ; and how that identity, partnered with the nature of God, the work of Jesus, and the reality of the Holy Spirit, ideally results in a “holistic optimism,” which animates every aspect of the Christ-followers life.

 

One of the key principles that we emphasize here at LifeBrook is the importance of optimism. The reasons for stressing the development and maintenance of an optimistic outlook on life are many, but perhaps the most important benefit of optimism is obvious.

 

Optimism is the womb of hope.

 

More significantly, as Christians, we have every reason to be optimistic. God has given us, through his grace and love, everything we need to live a complete, fulfilling, and rewarding life. Further, the Bible tells us repeatedly that we are now wholly redeemed and acceptable to the Father and that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God. In and of itself, that should be enough to allow optimism to works its roots deep into the soil of our hearts. Moreover, in Romans Paul reassures us that all things work for our benefit, even if we are sometimes blind to the fact.

 

In brief, God accepts us and blesses us. So, why is it that many of us have trouble fully accepting this free gift of grace? Why is it that a significant number of God’s family displays such a negative mindset? Why is it that church pews are often filled with people wearing either plastic smiles or, even worse, displaying such a sour countenance that visitors might think these folks had been baptized in vinegar instead of water?

 

Perhaps the problem stems from the fact that many of us, deep down in our spiritual hearts, just don’t believe that we have really been accepted. If we are among that number, our situation is such that we are actually rejecting the very gospel we proclaim.

 

A renowned Christian theologian, I think it was Paul Tillich, once said that the key to the whole Christian gospel was the fact that we are accepted by God. In fact, he went on to say that the way to appropriate God’s grace was to accept that we are accepted. I am no theologian and, at best, possess a second or third rate mind. But I am capable of comprehending the truth of this statement. We cannot begin the spiritual journey as outlined by Christ until we accept the gift of grace. And the most fundamental aspect of accepting God’s offer is to accept that we are accepted. Yet many Christians don’t seem to get this point. In fact, in their broken, weak state they can’t fathom that they are in any way acceptable to God. Something is wrong here. Very wrong.

 

The crown jewel in the center of the Christian message is that the lowliest, neediest, and most broken people are accepted if they have faith in Christ. Just take a look at the kind of people he chose to hang out with when he was on earth. He associated with thieves, lepers, tax-collectors, prostitutes, cripples, paupers, and even a woman married five times. It now strikes me as absurd to think that I, even with my hang-ups, sins, shortcomings, and defects of character, am beyond the loving pale of God’s grace. However, many people both within and outside the church feel they are unworthy of God’s grace and thus reject the gift that was designed for them in the first place.

 

Consider the familiar story of the Prodigal Son as told by Christ in the fifteenth chapter of Luke. We are so familiar with this tale of a wasted life saved through love and redemption than we often loose the impact that it should have on our lives. Especially if we are wastrels and rogues like the wandering Prodigal. Perhaps more than any other passage in Scripture, the parable of the youngest son of a wealthy landowner illustrates the incomprehensible, counter-intuitive love of God. Brennan Manning speaks succinctly about the Prodigal in all of us and God’s incredible acceptance:

 

When the prodigal limped home from his lengthy binge of waste and wandering, boozing, and womanizing, his motives were mixed at best. He said to himself, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of Hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father”. (Luke: 15:17-18). The ragamuffin stomach was not churning with compunction because he had broken his father’s heart. He stumbled home simply to survive. His sojourn in a far country had left him bankrupt. The days of wine and roses had left him dazed and disillusioned. The wine soured and the roses withered. His declaration of independence had reaped an unexpected harvest: not freedom, joy, new life but bondage, gloom, and a brush with death. His fair-weather friends had shifted their allegiance when his piggy bank emptied. Disenchanted with life, the wastrel weaved his way home, not from a burning desire to see his father, but just to stay alive.

 

Yet even with these mixed motives, borne as much from desperation as from contrition, the wastrel was accepted by his father and a celebration ensued. Of course it is best if we respond to God’s offer with a pure, contrite heart and full acknowledgement of our failure and powerlessness. Yet how many of us are actually capable of this? Not many I suspect. I know I am not. But God accepts our response to his offer in spite of our conflicted hearts and spirits. In fact, if one is to believe what Christ teaches in the parable of the Prodigal, then he in accepts our desperation just as much as he accepts our repentance. This is truly “radical grace.”

 

So what is our response to what God has done? What are we to do if we truly and sincerely want to partake of God’s marvelous offer to accept us, love us and empower us to be better people? What are we to do if we genuinely desire to become Children of the Light? First, we should deeply reflect on just what it is that God has done through Christ and what He is continuing to do through the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit. Brendan Manning again puts it in cogent and moving words:

 

We should be astonished at the goodness of God, stunned that he should bother to call us by name, our mouths wide open at his love, bewildered that at this very moment we are standing on holy ground.

 

Just how do we go about accepting this radical offer made by God? We just accept it. It is really that simple. There is no great mystery here, no elaborate initiation rites, no secret oaths or pledges. We just accept it because God offers it. We accept it on faith and leave God to work out the details and understanding later. The comfort we find in accepting God’s love comes after faith, never before it. Remember, it all begins with and hinges on faith.

 

Christians seem to have an uncanny knack for taking simple truths and complicating them through debate, dogma, and doctrine. The “Doctrine of Grace” is one thing; the reality of God’s grace is quite another. It is freely offered to all who would humble themselves enough to receive it. I suspect that each of us has his or her own way of resisting God’s grace. Some of us, as mentioned above, feel we don’t deserve it; some of us are too prideful, feeling that we can fix ourselves on our own; others think the concept of grace is just too simplistic. Whatever our reasons for struggling with this basic Christian principle, until we resolve our conflict, we will not advance very far on the spiritual journey.

 

I can attest to this fact from my own experience. Paul says that the idea of “Christ crucified” as the means of salvation would be foolishness to the Greeks. Well, for many years it was foolishness to me. I much preferred the complexity of Buddhism and Hinduism, or the sanity of New Thought. Still, somewhere down in the pit of my being, the Hound of Heaven was chewing on me. God was unrelenting in his pursuit of me and I, like Jonah, headed for the hills more than once. Still, God’s grace kept surrounding me and I could not escape. In fact, I came to treasure the comforting feeling of being surrounded by God. Finally, I accepted that I was accepted.

 

Once I stopped running; once my struggles with God came to a halt, it was like a whole panorama of spiritual reality opened before my eyes, including a deep sense of optimism and hope. As a result, I began to view the world, including its problems and pain, with a greater degree of compassion and a genuine desire for healing involvement.

 

 With the help of the Holy Spirit, I came to understand at a deeper level that I was in fact accepted. Accepted in my weakness because this is where the strength of Christ is seen. Accepted in my brokenness because this is where the healing of Christ is seen. Accepted in my faithlessness because this is where the fidelity of Christ is seen. Accepted in my wandering in the wilderness because this is where Christ’s true and stable mansions are eventually discovered.

 

(c) L.D. Turner 2008/All Rights Reserved