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THE DYNAMICS OF GRACE,
Part 3
Grace Makes Heroes of
Us All
(Justification lifts us from cowardice to heroism in
dealing with sin.) by Jay Wegter INTRODUCTION –
The Church (or body of true believers in Christ), can be likened to a temple
of praise, a family, a war room (both Pentagon and boot
camp), a survival training institute, a school, an organism
and a hospital. The Church as a
“hospital” takes into consideration the application of God’s cure for the sin
disease. The solution to human sin is
found in the heart of God. His grace,
mercy and infinite lovingkindness are sounded forth in the gospel. He has given His only begotten Son to offer
an effectual sacrifice that is both substitutionary and penal. Christ’s finished work on Calvary satisfies
all the claims of God against us. The
Lord has accomplished a complete redemption that gives believers an immutable
righteous standing by His shed blood. THE MANAGEMENT
OF GUILT IS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND MANMADE RELIGION. The natural man
seeks to work his way out of condemnation by religious effort, moral exertion
and self-reformation. The sense of
justice planted in man’s conscience demands some form of atonement to “offset”
the punishment man deserves. Man’s nature
longs for a “score card,” or means by which he measure the merit he has
“earned.” (Natural religion provides
that score card. Think of examples from Hinduism, Buddhism
and Catholicism.) Scripture
regards all efforts at winning God’s favor through the accumulation of merit to
be dead works (Heb. 9:14). Dead works not only fail to commend man to
God, they also perpetuate the imprisoning principle of fear of punishment. Deeds generated to manage a sense of condemnation
cannot lift a person above personal guilt.
The person will always be left with the haunting doubt, “Have I done
enough to atone for my sins?” ONLY A PERFECT
ATONEMENT WOULD END OUR FEAR OF JUDGMENT. Natural men
devise their own means of atonement.
Unregenerate men assume that a zeal for righteousness accompanied by
sincerity cannot help but find favor with God.
BUT, the problem with atonement is that everything depends upon the
value of the sacrifice as measured by the
Judge! If the sacrifice
is insufficient and not 100% successful in the eyes of the Judge, then man’s guilt,
fear and condemnation remain in place (Rom. 10:1-4). Everything depends upon God’s determination of its value. Atonement is
called for when the first party in the transaction is in a position of actual
guilt in regard to the JUDGE. Guilt has
estranged the two parties. The power of
atonement is its ability to remove guilt from the situation. God has publicly
displayed His own Son as the perfect atonement (Rom. 3:25,26). God has endorsed
the infinite value of His Son’s death.
“He was raised for our justification,” (Rom. 4:25). The judgment due
us because of our sins has been assumed by Another. Not only are believers freed from judgment, they are reconciled
to the Judge! (Rom. 5:10). In the
gospel, the Judge gives His authoritative endorsement of the atonement He has
provided (Titus 3:4-7; Heb. 6:17-20). THE ATONEMENT
DISARMS THE CONDEMNING FORCE OF THE LAW AND FREES FROM THE FEAR OF PUNISHMENT. The gospel
brings incredible news – that what we know to be true about ourselves (our
actual legal guilt and fear of punishment), has been responded to decisively,
eternally from outside ourselves. The human
condition has been brought to light by God’s law. God has intervened sending His Son in human flesh in order that
the full force of judgment that makes our lives so miserable might fall on Him
(2 Cor. 5:21). The whole
oppression of judgment in every sense has descended upon the Son. This spells the end of the law as a power to
deal out death to humanity. Jesus
Christ is God’s infinite grace gift in Whom all men “killed by the law” are
invited to rest (Gal. 2:19-21). In judging Jesus
Christ to death in our place, the law has done its worst. It has prosecuted its standard of obedience
to the furthest possible limit – death to the lawbreaker in ultimate
condemnation (Gal. 3:10-13; Rom. 10:4).
By disarming the law,
the atonement frees from the fear of judgment. Gospel atonement
bursts in upon the fear of judgment.
Remember, the law has not only judged what I do, but also what I
am! (Our conscience witnesses against
us. There is evidence of deliberate
sins, conscious moral failures, compulsive patterns of lust and passion. At times, the believer loathes living in his
body of flesh, Rom. 7:24,25.) Because of
Christ’s perfect atonement, the law is now powerless to condemn me (Col.
2:13,14; Eph. 2:14-16). The law cannot
see me apart from Christ. Because of
justification, I am morally and legally one with Him in the eyes of the law
(Col. 3:3,4; Phil. 3:9). GRACE MAKES
HEROES OF BELIEVERS. It was the fear
of punishment and condemnation that made cowards of us all. We could not deal with sin
courageously. Fear of punishment and
exposure held us in a vice grip of guilt.
The fear of punishment dominated our lives. We sought to “manage” that fear by hiding, denial, flight,
defiance, appeasement and other carnal forms of self-protection. Only Christ’s
atonement could free us from guilt’s captivity. The design of Christ’s propitiatory sacrifice was to deliver us
from the bondage of fear, casting it out, that we might be perfected in love (1
Jn. 4:18). (Fellowship with God and one
another is the priority of grace – 1 John 1:3-7.)
Through justification,
we move from cowardice to heroism. The roots of
cowardice penetrate so deep in our lives because the law condemns our whole
being – what we are by nature (2 Cor. 3:9; 1 Cor. 15:56). BUT, such is the
power and wisdom of God in justification that believers are lifted out of
cowardice to heroism. The very cause of
our cowardice has been dug up by the roots. It is no longer
necessary to turn to flesh mechanisms in order to deflect judgment. The crushing fear of punishment has been
mightily dealt with in the atonement.
Our bondage to fear is broken by the atonement (Heb. 2:14,15). JUSTIFICATION GIVES
US THE LEGAL RIGHT TO COME OUT OF HIDING AND DEAL WITH SIN COURAGEOUSLY. The atonement of
Jesus Christ exists to make us heroes instead of cowards in the area where the
greatest heroism is called for – in the area of human sin. Through justification in Christ, we come out
of hiding and deal with sin courageously in true repentance and
confession. A mighty
atonement is working in our favor. It
is the believer’s responsibility to daily reckon Christ’s work on his behalf,
BECAUSE the believer sins everyday. All
our natural inclinations are to return to the fleshly strategies of managing
guilt, fear and failure. (These are
employed in an attempt to ward off threats of condemnation.) Heroism is
manifested when we believe the
message of Christ’s work for us.
Clothed in Christ’s righteousness, we may admit our sin without fear. The courage and confidence flows from the fact that honesty about
indwelling sin cannot jeopardize my
position in Christ (Rom. 8:1). Application
– All of the pains taken
to avoid the painful truth about ourselves utterly fail. Whether it is denial, rationalizing, blame
or defiance, carnal methods of self-defense fall short of the heroism God calls
for us to practice (1 Jn. 1:6-10).
Gospel “reasoning” is the key to the victory (Gal. 2:20). WHEN BELIEVERS
RETURN TO CARNAL STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING THE FEAR OF PUNISHMENT, RELATIONSHIPS
ARE DAMAGED. The fruits of
our cowardly choices hurt those closest to us.
The carnal methods of managing a sense of condemnation affect our relationships
with others. When we are only concerned
about deflecting judgment and winning approval, we cease to love the other
person at that point. Not only does the
fear of man bring a snare, it also is antithetical to living for God’s glory
(See Proverbs 29:25; John 5:44; 12:43). Every carnal
attempt to escape judgment is a flight from realism and heroism. Cowardice moves us to retreat into blame,
self-justification, hiding and pretending.
The pretender’s attempt to cover guilt ends up hurting those around
him.
Cowardice short-circuits
conflict resolution. It is the wise
man who is able to receive a rebuke, a correction or an admonishment (Ps.
141:5). By contrast, the individual who
is managing his dereliction (fear of judgment), by carnal methods will
inevitably be defensive. He will feel
too diminished to admit he is wrong (Prov. 9:8; 13:1; 17:10). Those who are
justified by Christ can admit when they are wrong. There is no other way to uphold a spirit of unity and maintain
the bond of peace. This must be the
case in a fellowship of forgiveness (Eph. 4:1-3,32; Col. 3:12,13 ff.). The justified sinner can admit when he fails
others. He does not need to retreat
into denial, escape or defensiveness. UNRESOLVED SIN
HURTS THE BELIEVER’S FELLOWHIP WITH GOD. By “unresolved
sin” is meant sin in a believer’s life that has not been confessed and repented
of. In those instances, the Christian
will not enjoy a sense of God’s favor and forgiveness.
We desperately
need heroism at this point.
Self-shielding is an effort of hide our deformities from God and
ourselves, lest they should invite judgment.
Unresolved sin sits there like a malignancy spinning off blame, shame,
alienation, guilt and depression. The Holy Spirit
desires to bring us back to gospel
reasoning. He wants to convince
us of the wisdom of keeping “short accounts” with God (Acts 24:15,16). Gospel
reasoning appropriates the unlimited provision for forgiveness found in
the New Covenant (Heb. 8:12). Application
– If we as believers
continue with unresolved sin, our energies that could be going toward the Lord
and others will be squandered. We will
be too occupied rationalizing and concealing our sin in an effort to deflect
condemnation. This is often
seen in pastoral counseling situations.
Delayed repentance only produced a series of further compromises
resulting in additional regret. The
experience of love and fellowship with God and intimates suffered in the
process. (Note the frequent need of
“family forgiveness,” John 13:10). AN ATTITUDE OF
CONTRITION IS CENTRAL IN OUR FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD (IS. 66:1,2; 57:15). Efforts to
shield ourselves from judgment alienates us from God’s gracious provision for
forgiveness. Moral trust in God
involves the daily application of gospel
reasoning. Courage to deal
with personal sin entails dropping our defenses, false refuges and systems of
self-righteousness. God desires that by
the word of justification applied, you might demonstrate a depth of personal
responsibility for sin known as contrition. Joy follows on the heels of
contrition. It is the contrite who
enjoy God the most. There is a joyful
“integration” that accompanies the realism associated with contrition. Peace floods the heart when we come out of
hiding into the presence of God. THE CALL TO
CHRISTIAN HEROISM IS A CALL TO LIVE A SIN-JUDGED LIFE. Acknowledging
our sin to God is the key to confessing our sin to others. Carnal approaches to conflict destroys unity
(some hurl abuse, some hide, some are openly defiant, some appease – Scripture
tells us to speak the truth in love, Eph. 4:15) All of our
“prickly” defense mechanisms look as if we carry our own worth and
perfection. They appear as if our value
would be decimated if we had to admit we were wrong (See 2 Tim. 3:3; Prov. 27:6;
Lev. 19:16-18). By contrast, the
justified person is equipped for radical realism. He can admit his offense in the interest of God’s glory, in the
interest of the relationship, in the interest of Christian unity and the bond
of peace. He doesn’t have to play the
“I’m right game.” The man who
trusts in his own righteousness may shun admissions of failure, sin and
guilt. But the justified man trusts in
an alien righteousness outside of
himself, in Christ. He has the
resources for radical realism. Application
– The sin-judged life is
one of ongoing Biblical self-confrontation.
The Christian must guard against attempts to raise himself morally by
focusing upon the faults of others (Neh. 4:15; 6:15,16; Luke 18:11). The Christian’s
position is “in Christ.” The source of the believer’s strength and
victory is grace (Heb. 13:9; Jude 20; Gal. 2:20). |
