there are some things i know about

Some of the things I know the most about are the things I really know least well.

The Gospel of freedom and grace is something I know a lot about. Tons even. Galatians statement that we have "been set free for freedom" is implanted on my brain.

But many times (countless times) I will sin and immediately and guiltily avoid God. I'll feel such a burden that it is hard to breath and I'll feel it for weeks or months. Multiply that by the number of times I catch sin and it ends up being quite the weighty package.

And so, the Gospel that I know so well, is the thing that I know the least. I pray that someday I'll know the true scope of the Grace that saves me.

-joe

how to live holy without succumbing to asceticism

It's a hard question. How do we live holy lives, pleasing to God, without ending up counting the rules we've followed at the end of the day?

Thankfully, Scripture is clear on the issue. Paul, in Colossians 2 and 3, warns against asceticism and the art of discipline...and then he tells us to put to death sexual immorality, greed, obscene talk, covetousness...and so on.

How can he put these two things right next to each other and not be crazy? Because he grounds our disciplined lives in the Gospel. The death of Jesus gives us victory over sin.

WE HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST, therefore those sins in us (like sexual immorality, greed, obscene talk and covetousness) are dead. That's our old self. That's not us. We are free from it.

And so, it is no longer a matter of trying to follow the rules, it is a matter of realizing that those sins are dead and we are no longer bound to it.

To quote from Romans "If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been freed from sin."

How do you avoid rule keeping? By keeping the Gospel in front of you. Jesus took away the POWER of sin in our lives. We get the joy of killing sins. That makes a world of difference.

-joe

sitting on the cross

It is, without a doubt, the most crucial thing for Christians to meditate on the meaning of Jesus' death on the cross.

For me, there are several things this accomplishes and helps me to know.

The first is that it helps me to see God's working for His glory. He is willing to go the extent of killing His Son to perfect a sinner who has stolen His glory. That is motivation.

Leading from that is the, at times, overwhelming feeling of guilt that comes after joyfully believing in Christ as Savior and then sinning. It is like taking the most magnificent gift in the world and then stabbing the giver, for no good reason.

And then I see the resurrection looming beyond the cross and freedom once again comes back. And this, to me, is the more precious of the graces. To be able after believing and sinning to again say and feel and believe that you are truly forgiven and free. That is something that is difficult but is so important. And it comes because Christ died for each sin on the cross. And it frees us.

I want to know the freedom of the cross seen through the resurrection. May we all know that peace.

romans 6

To borrow a term from Watchman Nee, we must 'reckon' our sin dead in order to begin living the 'normal Christian life.'

The first 14 verses of Romans 6 talk about this very idea. One of the greatest gifts given in salvation is the freedom from sin. It is no longer alive, it is dead. It has been crucified with Christ. We are not bound to it. To realize this truth frees us from guilt. It frees us from repetitive sin. It frees us from a legalist form of Christianity.

The second part of Chapter 6 is equally awesome. Not only are we free from sin...we are free to righteousness. That is our great duty and gift. That even though we are free from the law we are now bound in our heart to Christ. We are now to live a righteous life because we are bound to do so.

Let us all reckon these to be true and live truly God-glorifying lives in Christ Jesus.

-joe