The Answer Is Grace

Month: April 2022

Game Over…Or Is It?

April 28, 2022 /
Game over
Game over. Credit: cottonbro studio.

What are some of the core features that comprise the typical video game?

Despite what type of game it is (platformer, adventure, role playing game, etc.), most video games have the same core elements:

  • Main characters
  • Storyline and plot
  • Lives
  • Continues
  • Game overs

How do you feel when you’re on your last continue, you make a mistake, your character dies, and you get a game over? If you are anything like me, you get frustrated – frustrated with the game, yourself, or possibly both. You spent a lot of time getting to that point, and now you’re either going to have to start back at the beginning of the game (let’s hear it from the old-school gamers in the back!), or your last save point. If you lost any essential items or power ups, you may need to collect those again, and depending on the game, this could take a significant amount of time. Sometimes it is a long, hard journey to get back to where you were! When you get a game over, you go backward before you can continue going forward.

Life Like a Video Game

Isn’t that similar to life? Again, if you’re anything like me, this has happened to you. You made a mistake, wanted to let it go, but didn’t. You kept it in, it kept bothering you, embarrassed you, made you mad, (or insert other negative emotions), and you let it fester and boil inside. This is going backward instead of forward. When you hang on to these types of emotions, it prevents you from living your best life.

This sometimes happens to us in our spiritual lives as well. We sin, either intentionally or unintentionally, and once we realize our actions were against God’s will, we take those feelings about our sin (anger, resentment, etc.) and lock them away. Maybe it’s because we don’t think God is capable of forgiving us because the sin is “too big” to be forgiven. Or maybe we think we are beyond redemption. Whatever the reason, that isn’t the way it works. Let’s take a look at Psalm 103:11-12:

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”

God has compassion on his people as sinners. Christ is ready to forgive us of our sins. Whatever it is you have done is what has separated you from God and He is ready to reconcile you back to Himself. He is ready to wipe the slate clean. He is ready to take all of the corrupted files from your hard drive, move them to the trash, and empty the trash so they are no longer recoverable. He is ready to give you more continues with no more game overs. He is ready to renew you.

Unlimited Continues

There is a retro video game arcade near where I live that has no game overs! All of the games are set to free play and there are unlimited continues! You can regenerate and continue playing even if you die hundreds of times!

This is also like our spiritual life! Even though we’ve made mistakes, we’ve sinned, and we’ve separated ourselves from God, it doesn’t have to be the end of the story. We can move forward and find life! However, we need Christ in order to do it. To be renewed, we need to repent of our sins, allow Christ to forgive us, and then move in another direction away from sin.

Continue?
Continue. Credit: cottonbro studio

Sin and Grace

What is important to remember, though, is that we should not intentionally sin in order to receive God’s grace and forgiveness. Paul speaks of this in his letter to the Romans. In Romans 6:1-2, Paul says, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” When we repent of our sin, we move in another direction and strive to continue living without that sin. We can do this because when we repent, we give that sin over to God and it has no more power over us. Dr. James Edwards puts it this way, “Since Christ has broken the claim of sin over our existence, sin no longer determines our existence.”[1] This is freedom in Christ!

Keep Going!

German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer discusses this in his classic book The Cost of Discipleship. In it, he distinguishes between cheap grace and costly grace: “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance…Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.”[2] God’s grace increases where sin increases. However, what cheapens the grace is when we believe that “it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.” The kind of grace the Apostle Paul and Bonhoeffer are referring to is the grace we seek by following Christ and laying down our lives for him.

When we make mistakes in a video game, we can keep going. When we run out of lives, the game over is not final. We will get another chance. When we sin, we can keep going when we turn to Christ and allow God’s grace to cover it.

———-

Please check out my blog post Justification and the New Birth for more on the topic of forgiveness of sin.

I highly recommend reading Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship. His writing is difficult for many, but I encourage you to work through it, perhaps reading it a little at a time or along with others so you can discuss it together.

I encourage you to listen to “East to West” by Casting Crowns. It aligns well with this message and paints a word picture for Jesus’ forgiveness of sin.

[1] James R. Edwards, New International Biblical Commentary: Romans (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1992), 159.

[2] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (revised) (New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1976), 47.

Entire Sanctification

April 7, 2022 /
Sunrise over mountains with clouds.
Sunrise over mountains in central ID. Photo credit: Tessa Mahoney.

If you are unfamiliar with the term “entire sanctification,” there may be different reasons for that. One may be that the term is not often discussed from the pulpit, particularly if you are part of a church that is not part of the Wesleyan-holiness tradition. Another may be that it is an unpopular topic in the current cultural climate in which many churches seek to be “relevant” (whatever that means, but that’s a topic for another day). Still another reason may be that you are unfamiliar with the theology of John Wesley. Entire sanctification is unique to his theology. Other theologians studied and discussed sanctification, but John Wesley is the only one who saw that Christians could become entirely sanctified. He discerned “that salvation was the central theme of biblical theology and sanctifying grace was the essence of salvation.”[1]

Sanctification

Sanctification is God’s will for the Christian, and is the process of becoming more like Christ. It begins with justification (see Justification and the New Birth) and initial sanctification. Sanctification is “a calling to align yourself with God’s will and cleanse yourself from sin.”[2] It is also known as Christian perfection or holiness. The Christian who has been sanctified has been “made free from outward sin.”[3] This process begins when one enters into salvation. They are cleansed from sin and the length of time it takes from salvation to sanctification varies from person to person. It can happen in an instant, it can take years, or any length of time in between.

Entire Sanctification

Entire sanctification is “full salvation, the perfection of love that so fills the heart that there is no more room for sin.”[4] In order to be entirely sanctified, a Christian must be “strong in the Lord, and ‘have overcome the wicked one.’”[5] His heart must be so close to God that temptations are no longer such an intense battle, and because “his heart be no longer evil, then evil thoughts can no longer proceed out of it.”[6] He is both outwardly and inwardly sinless. The entirely sanctified Christian enjoys a freedom from evil in his heart because he has purified his heart by faith (Acts 15:9). His soul is cleansed from all unrighteousness.[7]

It can take much difficulty and refining to become entirely sanctified and cleansed from all unrighteousness. The Christian must “’wrestle with flesh and blood,’ with an evil nature, as well as ‘with principalities and powers.’”[8] This wrestling would cause the believer to abandon many of their old ways in pursuit of new ways. The old, worldly self would disappear to leave only the new, holy, and perfect self. This means the Christian must fight against their sinful nature to follow God’s will. It can involve many different decisions, but ultimately the Christian must fight against many cultural norms and, at best, may be considered “weird;” at worst, there will be persecution and even martyrdom.

One way in which we can effectively understand sanctification is to remember “that the Holy Spirit intends to transform our behavior, not partially but completely.”[9] After one enters into salvation, entire sanctification becomes the goal during the Christian life. Many people come to Christ during a time of crisis and what they need most during that time is hope. They need to know that there is something better for them and that their life does not have to stay the same. The Holy Spirit can change their heart and heal them; He can lead them on the path to sanctification and to entire sanctification. This, of course, it not necessarily easy, but it is possible. In fact, if one becomes a Christian there is something wrong if their life is not changed and they remain in the state in which they were before they became a Christian!

Snail crawling along backyard patio
Snail crawling along stamped concrete

Entire sanctification can be a pretty hard pill to swallow. It is not easy for most people. Wesley said it is “all the mind which was in Christ enabling us to walk as Christ walked. It is the circumcision of the heart from all filthiness, from all inward as well as outward pollution.”[10] We are comfortable in our sin and in our culture. It is uncomfortable to “go against the grain” of our culture. If you follow the crowd, you will end up where the crowd ends up. Look at the crowd. Is that really where you want to be? Sanctification is counter-cultural, and we would do well to follow that path. What is pleasing in our culture provides only a momentary pleasure that is often quickly followed by regret.

Journeying toward entire sanctification, in my experience, provides joy and peace. There are activities and desires I have left behind, but I have had no regrets in doing so. I have found that I really do not need what I have left behind. It may be difficult to change course at first, but it is worth it.

There is much more that can be said, and has been said, about both sanctification and entire sanctification. If you are interested in learning more about them, please see the references below, John Wesley’s sermons in particular.  

[1] Harald Lindström, Wesley and Sanctification: A Study in the Doctrine of Salvation (Wilmore: Francis Asbury Press, 1998), Forward.

[2] “Sanctification,” Bible Study Tools, accessed September 17, 2021, https://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?s=references&q=sanctification.

[3] John Wesley, Sermon 40 – “Christian Perfection,” General Board of Global Ministries, accessed September 17, 2021, http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-40-christian-perfection, II 3.

[4] Thomas C. Oden, John Wesley’s Teachings, Volume 2 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 101.

[5] Ibid., II 21.

[6] Ibid., II 22.

[7] Ibid., II 28.

[8] John Wesley, Sermon 13 – “On Sin in Believers,” The Wesley Center Online, accessed September 27, 2021, http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-13-on-sin-in-believers/, I 2.

[9] Thomas C. Oden, John Wesley’s Teachings, Volume 2: Christ and Salvation (Grand Rapids, Zondervan: 2012), 429 iBooks.

[10] Thomas C. Oden, John Wesley’s Teachings, Volume 2: Christ and Salvation (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 432 iBooks.

The Transformed Life of a Disciple

April 1, 2022 /
Maple trees changing colors in fall.
Maple trees in fall. Photo credit: the answer is grace.

In Romans 12:1-15:13 Paul addresses three religious issues with his audience of both Jewish and Gentile believers in the Roman church. These same issues are present in many Christian churches today, so Paul’s advice is applicable for us as well. First, he gives instructions about living a life of sacrifice to the Lord. Second, he gives practical advice on how to live like a disciple. Third, he explains to the Jewish believers that Gentiles are included with the Jews in God’s plan of salvation. Paul spoke directly to the church about his concerns, their failures, and opportunities for improvement in their thinking about and understanding of salvation. The Roman church needed some theological help, which he provided. He was very honest, but loving, in correcting them where they needed it.

Instructions about living a life of sacrifice to the Lord (12:1-8)

Arguably, Paul’s first and second points regarding living a life of sacrifice and how to live like a disciple are closely related and likely difficult to distinguish because, by definition, the life of a disciple is a life of sacrifice to the Lord. However, in the first eight verses of chapter 12, Paul does specifically tell the church “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” He then instructs them more specifically on how to do that.

First, it is important to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” so as to discern God’s will (v. 2). How is this accomplished? It is not done completely by our own efforts. It begins with the Holy Spirit’s involvement in helping us change the way we think. When we receive the Holy Spirit, our minds begin a transformation. He helps us change what we desire to expose our minds to (music, movies, books, podcasts, friends, etc.) and how we think. What we consume affects how we think and when we change what we consume, our way of thinking will also shift.

Second, Paul tells them not to think of themselves more highly than they should, but rather “to think with sober judgment.” We are to think of ourselves in a humbler fashion than that of the world. Our culture places value on pride and arrogance, but Paul explains that this should not be the case for the disciple of Christ. We should not elevate ourselves above others, but put others ahead of ourselves. He then uses an analogy comparing the Church to the human body, (this is the same analogy he uses in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27). Just like every human body part has an important function, so does every member of the Church. Everyone has something to contribute. Some contributions are more public or highly praised than others, but they are no more important than the less public or less praised contributions. All contributions from the Body of Christ for the Kingdom are valuable. After the analogy, Paul lists gifts of the Spirit and says those who have such gifts ought to use them with gusto because those gifts have been given for the purpose of building the Kingdom.

Practical advice on how to live like a disciple (12:9-15:3)

Paul uses the majority of 12:1-15:13 to give the Roman church practical advice on how to live like a disciple. We are to love with authenticity (12:9-21). It should come as no surprise this is first in his list under the heading “Marks of the True Christian” (English Standard Version (ESV)) since love is the fulfillment of the Law (13:8-14). Love is also the first item in Paul’s list of Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. It is through our love that the world will know we are disciples of Christ (John 13:35).

Paul also explains that disciples are to submit to the authorities (Romans 13:1-7). God has appointed the authorities to their positions, and a failure to submit to or respect the authority God has put in place would tarnish our witness. Disciples of Christ are to be law-abiding citizens unless the law commands evil and the governing authority expects the Christian to act in a way that is inconsistent with the teachings of Scripture. There are several examples of civil disobedience in the Bible, and I will briefly highlight two of them from the Old Testament. In Exodus 1, the Egyptian Pharaoh commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill all of the male Jewish babies. Instead of obeying Pharaoh, they lied to him and allowed the babies to live. God blessed the midwives, and Moses was one of the babies they spared. In Daniel 3, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s false idol, so he had them thrown into the fiery furnace and God proceeded to save them. They were not harmed in any way despite the flames. Paul’s next point is that disciples are not to judge others (Romans14:1-12).

Reservoir with pine trees in foreground and mountains in background.
Cascade Reservoir. Photo credit: Tessa Mahoney.

In the context of the passage, Some of the Jewish believers thought they should remain kosher, but others disagreed and since this issue is not a moral issue (and Jesus declared all foods clean in Matthew 15:11 and Mark 7:19), Paul told them to decide for themselves. When he says not to judge others, Paul means “mature Christians have a responsibility not to flaunt what they are free to do before God in ways that harm other Christians.”[1] Christians are still to hold one another accountable for sin. The last item Paul lists is that disciples are to live cautiously around others so we don’t cause them to stumble (Romans 14:13-23). For example, if you are aware of another believer who is working to overcome an alcohol addiction and you go out to dinner with them, don’t order an alcoholic beverage, because it may tempt them to order one as well. This is a small sacrifice to show love and concern for another believer because “it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble” (14:21).

Gentiles are included with Jews in salvation (15:4-13)

The apostle Paul wrote this letter to both Jews and Gentiles. One of the purposes of this letter was to address the issue of salvation – who is included? The Jewish believers, being part of God’s chosen people from the beginning, believed they were the only ones who could be saved and that Gentiles were not covered by Jesus’ blood. However, Paul gently corrects them. If we look back at Romans 11:11-24, he explains that the Gentiles have been grafted into salvation with the Jews. Another way to look at it is as adoption. The Jews are God’s original children and the Gentiles have been adopted into the family. They will receive the same love and care as the Jews. They will also receive the same inheritance. In 15:4-13, Paul further explains the Gentiles have been part of the plan since the beginning. In verses 9-12, he quotes four verses from the Old Testament the Jews would have known that point to salvation for the Gentiles: 2 Samuel 22:50, Deuteronomy 32:43, Psalm 117:1, and Isaiah 11:1. Jesus did not pick and choose those for whom he died. Salvation is for all.

Paul’s instructions to the Church are clear. He gives practical instructions for Christian living and discipleship: We are to use the gifts God has given us through his grace (Romans 12:4-8), love with authenticity (12:9-21), submit to the authorities (13:1-7), not judge others (14:1-12), and live cautiously around others so we don’t cause them to stumble (14:13-23). Ultimately, we are to live by Christ’s example (15:1-7).

[1] Ted Cabal, ed., The Apologetics Study Bible (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2007), 1702.

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