Monthly Archives: August 2012

“I will remember their sins and their misdeeds no more.” Hebrews 10:17

Certain statements in the Bible are so arresting, so startling, that every time you read them you have to stop and let them sink in. Did God really mean that? Hebrews 10:17 is one of those verses.

It’s actually a quote from Jeremiah, a part of the wondrous “New Covenant” from the Lord (Jer. 31:31-34). The day would come, said Jeremiah (speaking for the Lord), when God would create a new covenant, completely unlike the old one.

The writer of Hebrews (no it was not Paul, but that’s about all we can say with certainty) realized that the new covenant had become a reality in Jesus Christ. The old one was based on law. The new one on grace. The old covenant was sprinkled with the blood of animals. The new one secured by the blood of the Son of God. The old one was hierarchical. In the new one, no person is better than anyone else.

In Christ there is a new day and a new creation. No more sacrifices. No more High Priests. No temple. Not even anymore law.

What about the sins that we so regularly commit? Here is the incomprehensible part: God forgets them. No, of course, God can never really forget anything, but He can love you as if you are perfect now, and one day through His grace make you perfect indeed. He knows all you have done, but He also knows beyond doubt where He is taking you. He forgets the sin.

The only person who remembers sin is a sinner. Right now someone may be remembering your sin for you and reminding you of it. But trust me, they are throwing stones at you simply as a way of forgetting their own sin. And most people have moved on from whatever you did. They don’t remember nearly as much as you do.

And there’s the problem. Why do you remember your sins when God doesn’t? No one really understands God’s grace. It is puzzling, even outrageous, that God can forgive so completely that a sinner becomes a saint.

In C. S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce is a scene in which an unrepentant man, a “ghost” in the afterlife, meets one of his formers cohorts, a murderer. The murderer has accepted God’s grace, and been transformed eternally. He is a resident of heaven, a “spirit.” The ghost is shadowy and insubstantial. The spirit is real. This is the core of Lewis’ theology of heaven and hell.

The ghost rants at the spirit, reminding him that he murdered a former associate (who also is now in heaven). “He is here,” said the spirit. “You will meet him soon if you stay.” To which the ghost replies, “But you murdered him.” “Of course I did. It is all right now.”

The scene is worth reading in full (pages 25 ff. in the most common edition). God’s grace is so wondrous that it can make a murderer a new man. Even for the worst of us, there is a time when “it is all right now.” It begins the moment we plead for God’s mercy. He loves the invitation.

There is an old story, perhaps hackneyed, but it makes the point. A man had a guilt-ridden dream every night of standing before a silent God. He dared not speak, and cowered in fearfulness, sure that God was silently condemning him for his sins. After a week of such anxious nightmares he sought the counsel of a wise minister (likely Baptist) who suggested he simply ask God in the dream about sins he had committed. So that night he did, and was stunned to hear God say, “I don’t recall.”

You can do a good job of condemning yourself and living in the shadows of guilt. It’s time to quit it. God forgets. So should you.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis

August 26, 2012

“This is the day the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it.” Psalm 118:24

As you read the above scripture, you are in the beginning, middle, or end of a day. Does Psalm 118:24 apply? Of course it does.

You may object that you have had a hard day, or you are anticipating a hard day. Things are not going the way you planned. In fact, this day may be tougher than the previous few. The road ahead looks equally hard. Some people, even some Christians, would say it’s unrealistic to rejoice in a difficult day.

You can rejoice in this day because joy is not a product of circumstances. It is a gift from God, a part of His grace. Remember, joy is the second fruit of the Spirit, a product of His mysterious breath in your life. I do not think Paul listed the fruit of the Spirit in any particular order, but to have joy right after love says something about how accessible and important it is for Christians. Joy is your birthright, a part of what it means to bear the image of our joyful God.

Also remember that nothing has happened to you today that God did not anticipate and provide for. He has given you, or He will give you, the resources you need for this day. That is part of the promise of the Lord’s Prayer when you pray, “give me this day my daily bread.” He will provide, and nothing catches Him off guard. Trust Him and rejoice in this day. If your day is hard look for an insight, a phone call or other encounter with a friend who brings an encouraging word. Look for a reminder of God’s perfection and beauty and remember that those things are eternal, not the bad things that have spoiled your day.

I heard a Christian lady speak about her faith and how God had helped her during a very difficult time in her life. She had been a runner, one of those strange folks who genuinely love to run. Then she contracted spinal meningitis that left her dependent on a cane. She would never run again.

At one point in her story she held up her cane. It was decorated with flowers. An otherwise mechanical and harsh reminder of a lifestyle lost, became a more tender reminder of a deeper grace learned. She said her husband was responsible for the decorations. With each new season he came up with a new theme.

She said she did not believe God gave her the disease, and that she didn’t subscribe to the bad theology that all the terrors of life come from His hand. I was grateful to hear that. Then she added simply, “I am now handicapped. And that’s all right. It’s all right.” That little phrase contains a lot of very good theology. In her love for the Lord and in her confidence of His abiding presence she found something they can’t teach you in seminary. She learned what real joy is. A flower-decorated cane serves as a reminder that God is in the business of transforming the worst of life into an occasion to look more deeply into His grace. That cane is a visible pledge of her determination to rejoice each day.

Josh Hamilton, outfielder for the Texas Rangers, battled drug addiction for many years. His habit threatened his life and career. He gave his life to Christ, and has been sober and in recovery for several years but knows that he can never let down his guard. In a visit several years ago with then-president Bush to discuss a anti-drug abuse program, the former president offered this encouragement: “There are some good days and there are some bad days, but every day is a joyous day.”

I offer you the same encouragement. From one perspective today will be good for some of you and bad for others. But for all of you in Christ it will be a joyous day.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis

August 20, 2012

“And He looked around them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart.” Mark 3:5

Few topics are more misunderstood than God’s anger. We tend to make it very human-like and want to think that God’s anger must be like our anger. This happens in a couple of common ways.

When I hear or read someone addressing the subject, I often sense that just beneath the surface is the author’s justification for his or her own anger. Thus, someone speaking about “7 Things the Lord Hates” (from Proverbs 6:16-19) has probably been the recent victim of haughty eyes, a lying tongue, a man who sows discord, etc. We feel justified in “hating what God hates” and want to let everyone know how we feel.

Related to this passive-aggressive theology is the chronic “indignation at sin.” This kind of anger is purely self-righteous, with the angry person adeptly identifying targets around him. Identifying sinners is no real challenge. We’re all over the place. And if you want to find a reason to justify your anger then the next person you meet will provide plenty of ammunition. Some people seem to want to be angry. I truly believe some Christians look forward to the second coming of Christ (with all the judgments and bowls of wrath) because they don’t much care for the tone of the first coming.

But is our anger really like God’s anger? Because we live in an angry age, we should spend a few moments thinking about what makes God angry, and Jesus provides us a clear example.

The passage for this week’s GraceWaves comes from the story of Jesus’ healing a man with a withered hand on a Sabbath. The Pharisees were watching Him carefully to see if He would violate the Sabbath rules by performing the miracle. So the scene has the feel of a set-up, and Jesus knew it, and it made Him angry.

We should note first that Jesus did get angry. He was not anger-less. The inability or unwillingness to feel anger is no virtue. Anger has a place in our lives. Jesus was not “meek and mild,” but challenging, confident, and willing to become sternly angry with opponents (as in this episode) and disciples (in several episodes). The Gospel of Mark particularly shows us this side of Jesus’ personality. He was no cringing sparrow of a man, but more like Lewis’ lion.

So did He get angry at sin? Of course He did, but at the same time He was a friend to sinners! In fact, He was so well-liked by sinners and spent so much time with them that His opponents called Him a drunkard and a glutton. Make no mistake, Jesus came because of our sin problem and died for our sins. He did not wave off the issue as if it made no difference. His solution was to give His life for our sins, not just became angry about them.

The real source of Jesus’ anger, especially clear in this passage, is “hardness of heart.” The Pharisees who conceived the trap were unwilling to lay aside traditions and see the work of God before them. More than that, they used their legalism to object to Jesus’ healing a poor man.

Plainly throughout the gospels, Jesus’ anger is aimed at the most religious people of the day. As a religious person, this observation has always given me pause. I can bloviate, pontificate, and fulminate myself into a storm of anger, but am I angry because of my own offended nature? Do I long to become an agent of God’s condemnation and even punishment? Do I use religion as a justification for my anger? Honestly, I can be very religious, and I can very wrong when it comes to anger.

The key to “good anger” is the word grieved. Jesus was grieved at their hardness of heart. The word also means sorrow. Jesus was saddened by what He saw in the Pharisees. As the Son of God He knew what man could become, and He saw what these religious people had become. It saddened Him. His anger was not conceived in a fury to punish but more the result of seeing people He loved go down the wrong road. He saw the damage they did to others and to themselves. The Pharisees were merciless and censorious. Jesus came to give grace, and the people who were most “wired” to hear and respond turned their backs and even plotted His death (3:6).

So be very careful with anger. Your goal is not to be without anger, but don’t let it be self-righteous in any way. You’re wired for grace, to receive it and give it. The next time you feel the fury stirring, simply ask yourself a basic question: “would God be angry in this situation?” If the answer is no, then leave it alone.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis

August 13, 2012

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

Not that this is an attention-grabbing opening line, but if I were granted such power I would decree that no one could quote Ephesians 2:8-9 without also quoting Ephesians 2:10. Here’s why:

The debate about works and faith is as old as the New Testament itself. Do we perform works as a means of receiving salvation? Do we perform works because of salvation? Or it some mixture of the two?

Paul stated his position clearly, “For by grace you are saved by faith, this is not [literally] out of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). That is the part I memorized as a child and serves as the foundation for a great deal of Protestant theology. It is true, right, and eternal. My salvation is a gracious gift from God.

So what about works? Paul anticipated the question and penned the verse that should become mandatory memorization. Let’s look at it phrase by phrase. “For we are God’s workmanship” – we did not save ourselves, not one of us. God did the work. “Created in Christ Jesus” – this is Paul’s theological key. He believed in the union of Christ and you in faith. As a Christian you are in Christ, and Christ is in you. You are a new creation.

“For the purpose of good works” – ah, now we’re getting close. We are saved in order to do good works, but not exactly. Anyone can perform good works. The Good Samarian performed a good work, but he was not, per se, a Christian.

The key to understanding my mandatory verse is the often overlooked phrase: “which God prepared from the beginning for us to walk in.” The translation is my own and admittedly awkward. Here is what I think Paul meant. God created us to live in a particular way (i.e. “to walk”). This life of goodness, internal and external, was His original plan from the beginning, thus “prepared beforehand.” The only way we return to the Creator’s original purpose is by becoming a new creation in Christ Jesus.

If you are asking if you are saved because of works, or saved in order to do works, then you are asking the wrong questions. You are saved in order to be good. The good works are a product of who you are in Christ. Good works can never merely be calculated to impress God, earn salvation, or “because I have to.” Grace is its own reason and produces fruit as naturally as an apple tree produces apples.

The point is not an easy one. In fact, Paul’s grace/works theology was so distorted in the first century by both enemies and misguided supporters alike that James was led to write “faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” Theology, even with pinpoint-accuracy, can be completely hollow. A sounding gong, a white-washed sepulcher.

Now of what practical use is this wordy column? Three things mainly. First, no single verse or collection of verses says everything about a single topic. We make no progress at all when we try to play Paul off against James in the faith/works discussion. They both had a point to make, and we had better hear and do that point.

Second, if you are sitting around trying to figure out how to be more peaceful, more joyful, more loving, patient, faithful, etc. then you really are wasting your time. DO SOMETHING! GRACE WORKS! Grace is love in action. The times you felt most joyful coincided with a moment of selfless giving. The impulse to do good came from a non-calculated impulse to be good. You shared a burden, brought a smile, provided an insight. In some way, another person saw God a little more clearly through you. The joy you felt is the song of creation, God’s glory through you.

Third, be an agent of God’s grace. Look for the ways to share grace with someone else. Again, grace is its own reason. You share grace because you are suffused with it. Someone around you needs that grace today. Give it because grace works.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis

August 5, 2012