Grace – Page 3 – Faith Meets World

Grace for those who need it most

On December 4, 2013

A couple of days ago, Matt B. Redmond reposted a fantastic little article from a few years back on his blog Echoes and Stars. Here’s a paragraph to whet your appetite:

Jesus came for those who look in the mirror and see ugliness. Jesus came for daughters whose fathers never told them they were beautiful. Christmas is for those who go to “wing night” alone. Christmas is for those whose lives have been wrecked by cancer and the thought of another Christmas seems like an impossible dream. Christmas is for those who would be nothing but lonely if not for social media. Christmas is for those whose marriages have careened against the retaining wall and are threatening to flip over the edge. Christmas is for the son, whose father keeps giving him hunting gear when the son wants art materials. Christmas is for smokers who cannot quit even in the face of a death sentence. Christmas is for whores, adulterers and porn stars who long for love in every wrong place. Christmas is for college students who are sitting in the midst of family and already cannot wait to get out for another drink. Christmas is for those who traffic in failed dreams. Christmas is for those who have squandered the family name and fortune – they want ‘home’ but cannot imagine a gracious reception. Christmas is for parents watching their children’s marriage fall into disarray.

Christmas is about the gospel of grace for those who need it.

Go and read the whole thing. This is what Christmas is about.

The eschatology of Amazing Grace

By Rob

On November 24, 2013

In Grace, Music, Theology

This morning at church we sang the wonderful hymn Amazing Grace. It is, of course, a well-loved hymn, and for good reason. In a world in which words like “awesome” have been cheapened through overuse, God’s grace is truly amazing, and the more often we remind ourselves of that fact, the better.

But as we sang the familiar words this morning, I was struck by the theology – and, in particular, the eschatology (a fancy word that simply means the “last things”, usually used to refer to what Christians believe about the “end times”) – that appears to sit behind John Newton’s words. His original final verse is as follows:

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call’d me here below,
Will be forever mine.

At first blush, the implicit eschatology behind these words seems to be that when the end comes, the world will be swept away and discarded, and the faithful will be transported up to heaven, where we will spend all eternity in blissful worship of God.

Grace and powerlessness

By Rob

On November 14, 2013

In Christian life, Grace

The question of whether God’s grace provides licence to sin has been the subject of intense debate ever since Paul wrote his letter to the Roman church. Here’s something I read about it yesterday:

The main who sins, presuming grace will abound, self-assured that God must see him through, can hear no word of grace. His state is one where forgiveness is impossible. The Everlasting Mercy can only come to those who have wholly ceased to take it for granted. The Word that speaks redemption can come only as a ‘nevertheless’, that is, to those who recognize that, as far as they have power to evade it or right to reckon, nothing can alter their state of eternal loss.

— John A. T. Robinson, In the End God

In other words, before you can truly receive grace, you have to have reached the end of your rope. It’s like the alcoholic who has finally reached rock bottom: only from that place can he finally admit that he is powerless to rescue himself.

Does God have a clue…?

By Rob

On October 9, 2013

In Gospel, Grace

This evening I have a video for you by a South African author and speaker called Andre Rabe. Rarely am I genuinely moved by a YouTube video, but when I saw this one a few days ago, it touched something deep inside me. Find yourself some peace and quiet for seven minutes, make sure the video is playing in HD (you can change this in the settings by clicking on the little cog below the video), and be blessed.

God’s favour and our desire for control

By Rob

On October 6, 2013

In Christian life, Gospel, Grace

Yesterday I posted about how I fear many people may be mistaking success in various forms as a sign of God’s special favour. (If you haven’t read that post yet, you’ll probably want to do so before you read this one.) Today I’ve been thinking about the whole issue some more.

In yesterday’s post, I laid out the main reason why I think this approach to God’s favour is wrong-headed: because it assumes that the favour of God looks a lot like success as the world defines it (health, wealth, career advancement, etc.). I also pointed out that the New Testament writers warned the faithful to expect trials, suffering and persecution rather than success, and that many of those who were most faithful to Jesus’ commission to preach the gospel endured great hardship and ultimately paid for their faithfulness with their lives.

The question I’ve been pondering is this: where does this belief in God’s favour as a source of success come from? And why is it so pervasive? Here’s where I’ve got to in my thinking.

Favour frenzy!

By Rob

On October 5, 2013

In Christian life, Gospel, Grace

Favour is something of a buzzword in evangelical circles nowadays. Everybody wants God’s favour on their lives. When things are going well in some area or another, we’re quick to claim that this is evidence of God’s favour. If someone is in a tight situation, facing some kind of difficulty or needing a breakthrough, we pray for divine favour to be upon them. Or, if we’re really in the fast lane of faith, we don’t just pray for it – we release God’s favour over their lives as though it were some magical substance we carry around in our pockets to dispense on whom we will (on God’s behalf, of course).

What kinds of things are taken as signs of heavenly favour? Financial increase, career success, physical health… even finding a parking spot just when you need it: all these are sure indications that God’s favour with you.

Or are they?

The great grace debate

By Rob

On October 3, 2013

In Gospel, Grace, Theology

There are few Christians who would not claim to be saved by grace. We usually use this word “grace” to mean God’s incredible graciousness in saving us in spite of our utter sinfulness and unworthiness. (Whether that is, in fact, the best definition of grace is a question for a future post; in any event, it will suit our purposes for now.) But there appears to be increasing controversy over just how far Christians should push the envelope when it comes to grace.

In an interview promoting his new book One Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World, Florida pastor Tullian Tchividjian (try pronouncing that with a mouth full of marshmallows), who also happens to be the grandson of legendary evangelist Billy Graham, sketches the problem:

There’s no question that for far too long the church has been primarily concerned with external change. Preachers are afraid of grace because they think it undercuts obedience and encourages apathy. If Jesus paid it all and it is finished, if the judgment against us has been fully and finally taken care of, aren’t we opening the door to lawlessness? This is what Judaizers were afraid of: they didn’t like Gospel of free grace because they thought people would get out of control. If God is not mad at me and if he will never love me more than he does right now, then why can’t I party my way through life? The underlying fear is that unconditional grace leads to licentiousness.

Faith Meets World

Reflections on faith in a messed-up but beautiful world

Category: Grace (Page 3 of 4)

Grace for those who need it most

The eschatology of Amazing Grace

Grace and powerlessness

Does God have a clue…?

God’s favour and our desire for control

Favour frenzy!

The great grace debate

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