Works Without Faith Are Dead

I was so excited last night after reading Joel B's post Beware of Dogs - Part 4

It hit me hard that all our efforts at perfection are useless and of no value. My struggles to read the Bible every day, pray everyday, be a good Christian and whatever else, is all for nothing if it doesn't spring from faith in the gospel. The Holy Spirit said through Paul that the ONLY thing that counts is faith working through love. Not striving in a war against sin, but simple love springing up from faith in the pure, unedited gospel. This means all other works we do will not even be acknowledged at the judgment seat of Christ. God loves a cheerful giver. Don't tell me I have to read my bible. I want to read it! It may not be for 2 hours a day, but I want to! Don't tell me I have to pray. I want to pray! I may not want to pray an hour everyday, but I want to pray! Don't tell me I have to give. I want to give! I may not give $100, but I want to give!

You see, when you order people to behave a certain way, you strip the gospel of a pure heart and make it into a job. You take the love out of it and have made it a list of rules.

I might give up my body to the Lord to be burned, but if it's only religious duty and not out of love, then I did it for nothing.

God is Life

I was outside the other night thinking about the law and the Spirit. It was so clear to me how we are to be good. I know that Adam and Eve did not have the law, since the law didn't come until Moses. So they had neither knowledge of good or evil. They had knowledge of God. It was in this Godward gaze that they were good (check out 2 Corinthians 3:18). The law empowers sin. Knowledge of GOOD and evil is to lose a Godward gaze and is now a meward gaze. Thus I get no where, because I have no life in me. It is not the law that has life in itself, but God has life in Himself. A sinner can ACT as good as he wants by observing the law, but that doesn't change the fact that he is a sinner.

Jesus said you will know His followers by their fruit, not their behavior. In other words, it will be natural for them because fruit is natural, and the Spirit produces it, because goodness is from God's Spirit, and it is natural of His Spirit to be good. Struggling to have your behavior change may make you seem good, but it can do nothing to give you life from death. God is life. "In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men." The Ten Commandments are nothing more than a shadow of the Reality. God is the life.

Happy Burfday!

It's my birthday today. The big 21. I told mom I just wanted a book, but she insisted on getting me Halo 3. Either one was fine though. I was slightly torn because I've really been wanting to read "Whats So Amazing About Grace?" By Philip Yancey. But it's a good birthday none the less.

We're going out to eat at Olive Garden after church today (yum!)

I love Olive Garden.

It burns!

I'm never cutting onions again. I wasn't built for it...I couldn't take it. Even safety glasses didn't work.

2nd Peter

I was having some bad dreams last night, so I woke up early this morning at about 4:30AM and read some of 1st and 2nd Peter. I was confused about a few things Peter wrote. Such as the "make your calling and election sure", and also when mentions certain qualities, that if someone is missing, then he is: "So nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins."

I'll take a guess and say "former sins" is in reference to who the person used to be? Like in 1 Corinthians when Paul writes a list of sins, and then follows it by saying: "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

Concerning "Make your calling and election sure." I have no idea what that means.

Can anyone help me out?

Irritatating Love

It is in the moments when you have sinned really horrible when grace is the most precious. In a time when you've committed the worst abomination in the sight of God, and you can almost hear the condemnation. In the way that light is brighter in a dark room, so Jesus is most beautiful when you're your ugliest.

It's almost as if I'm angry at God's love sometimes. I want Him to be mad at me so I can re-dedicate myself to be better for Him. But the gospel is so annoying. It will not allow condemnation. God doesn't condemn me. He wants me to experience His goodness. It literally grieves Him when I sin. There is no anger or condemnation. I try to hide, but I hear, "Matt, where are you?" He wants me, but I want Him to leave me alone. I'm filthy and evil, and He is beautiful and gorgeous.

I feel so grieved by my sin. I can't hang onto it. It's hard to let go...I want so much to be better. But my efforts only last for a season. His love endures forever. I honestly want Him to be angry with me so I can re-dedicate myself to be better for Him. But it's not there. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

The Work Is To Believe

I realize I struggle with grace. lol. It's not that funny, but I love grace and hate it at the same time. I get it, then lose it.

I've replayed a scene in the movie "Hook" over and over. Robin Williams, who plays Peter Pan, gets his 'happy thought', laughs, and starts to fly. Then he stops laughing, and in an "oh crap" sort of tone says: "I lost it" and then starts to fall.

Faith in grace, I think, is when it doesn't even make sense to you and you plunge into it anyway. It's the attitude that says, "screw it", and jumps. Believing Jesus loves me regardless of anything I think, feel, do or say is the toughest leap of faith. This is what it means to believe. To give up being good and to seek Jesus. I don't mean we live sinful lives. I mean we quit worrying about sin, and put our trust in Jesus. To do this, you have to die to the law completely. The law will nullify your attempts at faith in Jesus. I've had it happen over and over again.

Everything in your mind will tell you to focus on your behavior and try to point out everything thats going wrong inside of you and outside of you. The law will continue to bring to your mind more and more failures. That's all it can and will do.

When Jesus talked about not letting your right hand know what your left hand is doing, I think He may have also meant not to even acknowledge your behavior, whether good or bad.

I also realized that when Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits", He didn't say, "You will know them by their behavior." He said fruit. Fruit is natural. Good trees bear good fruit. It's simple. Bad trees bear bad fruit. You can live under the law all you want, but Jesus is the only good tree that bears good fruit. Without Jesus, you can't do anything. You will only bear fruit for death under the law.