Grace

God the Father looked down on earth and did not see a world full of sinners ready to judge.  Rather, He saw a world full of potential lovers.  So He gave his Son to die for us all, even when we were in open hatred against God's love, in order to give us a chance. God, to this day, does not give up on us, but gives us the Holy Spirit to prompt us to follow Jesus' path of love.
God's grace really is amazing.

He forgives us when we least deserve it.

He gives rain and food to all creatures, even the ungrateful and downright evil.

He gives us air to breathe, and berries to eat, and sun for growth and clouds for shade.  All without cost.

He gives us strength to live, and struggle for justice and compassion so we can help those in need.

God gives us loving family and friends, so we can be supported.

And when we have nothing else, God gives us strangers to help us when we are at our lowest.

God is great and His grace knows no end.


How I wish we could say the same about those who call themselves by God's name.  Instead of being a people of grace, we work to create a society of hatred, assumptions, cynicism and anger.  Grace leads to a society of love, distrust leads to a society of fear and poverty and violence.

I have seen pastors call the police to have the homeless arrested when they are simply seeking a helping hand.

I have seen Christians verbally abuse a mentally ill person, instead of trying to help him.

I have seen preachers express their anger at homosexuals and Muslims, stirring their congregation to hatred and words of violence.

I have heard born again middle class people consider the poor in need of salvation, simply because they were poor.

Instead of telling each other stories of grace and hope for redemption, we all to often speak negatively of those in need of help.

We will judge those whose only crime is being generous, because they make us uncomfortable.

We will separate instead of love.

We will condemn instead of forgive.

We will coldly regard those who disagree with us instead of oozing with mercy and grace, as Jesus did.

God, may we not be the dam of your grace, but channels of forgiveness and compassion and love.

The Deck or the Lifeboat?

I was in a church networking meeting today, and we were discussing a ministry for young homeless women getting temporary shelter, and their struggle to find enough finances to begin their necessary work.  I was listening to pastor after pastor talk about how there just isn’t enough time to focus on a ministry like this, and finally I spoke my heart:

“As a group, we don’t seem to have many resources.  We don’t have a megachurch in our midst that can float a ministry like this on their own.  But the budget isn’t excessive, and all that would be required is for each of the churches who have some financial stability to welcome the director and let her speak to her need for five minutes.  You don’t have to be a partner, but ownership in a ministry like this requires more than being a cheerleader.”

A pastor mentioned that many ministries are asking for help.

The network leader prayed at the end, “May we not use our passion to force other passions out.”

Other passions?  Like perhaps the passion of having prayer groups?  Or the passion of having group praise?  Or the passion of giving our pastor a upper middle class lifestyle?  Praise is essential, as is prayer.  Our pastors deserve to know that they are respected and that their needs are met.

When Jesus came to earth, his ministry was focused on two things: preaching the gospel and saving lives.  His teaching was essential, but the rest of his time was spent feeding the hungry, healing the sick, delivering the mentally ill, and allowing people to practically feel God’s welcome and forgiveness.

For the most part, our church finances are spend re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.  We may hear the people screaming, drowning, but we don’t consider that our business.  We need to spend our time and money on better worship.  We need to set up an event and activities to draw in the youth.  We need bigger, nicer facilities to draw more people in.  We need to get more involved in politics to set our nation on the right course. We need more time to do denominational activities, to calm down the family who wasn’t listened to in the last board meeting.

Rearranging chairs on the Titanic.

We need to stop thinking that the place to be is on the deck, arranging worship as we all sink.  If we aren’t in the lifeboat, then we need to stop thinking that we are in ministry at all.   If we aren’t saving people from drowning, then why did God put us on the Titanic at all?

And when I am saying “saving” I am not meaning this as a symbol of convincing people of our tired doctrine.  I mean saving lives.  Delivering people from death.

• Branice is a nineteen year old who had been on the street throughout her high school years.  Just before her eighteenth birthday, she got pregnant by a homeless man whom she had loved for years.  Branice was still using meth and marijuana well into her pregnancy, given to her by her boyfriend, well into her pregnancy.  Finally, winter came and as a church we decided that something desperate needed to be done.  I obtained some temporary housing for her, and I sat down and talked with her about her future. That she would probably lose her baby at the moment of birth unless she makes some serious changes.  A couple agreed to house her through the winter until the baby came, and she agreed to contact agencies until she had a plan for her life with her baby.  The couple also agreed to adopt the baby if the state refused to let her keep the baby, an open adoption so that she could visit her child.

Today, the baby is healthy and adorable, living with her mom, Branice who is nine months clean and sober, through treatment, going to groups, and looking for work.  Her boyfriend moved on, and she demands that if he sees his baby at all, it is only when he is sober.  She has been transformed.  It didn’t take much. Just some encouragement, and some housing, and some money. 

• Tom was living on the street with his blood pressure so high that the doctors wondered how he was still alive.  The church offered housing and work so he could live in peace.  He praises the Lord every day for his new life.

• Mark was a drug user and dealer until a member of the church allowed him to sleep in their backyard and he finally got himself straight and now leads the landscaping crew at the church.

The church should be a lifeboat.  It should save lives.  If all we are is a show, we should shut down.

What does this have to do with passion? 

If our passion is about the show, about keeping rules, about new songs, about camps and retreats, let’s just pack it in.  We are not a ministry.  If we are not rescuing the dying, if we are not saving lives—literally saving lives—then we aren’t fulfilling the ministry of Jesus.  Letting people die around us, as they call us begging us for help, that is not of Christ.

Our passions should be prioritized.  Saving lives comes first.

“Rescue those being led away to death;

Hold back those who stagger to slaughter;

If we say, ‘We didn’t know!’

Does not He know it who weighs the hearts?”

Proverbs 24:11-12

Three Paths: Judgement, Mercy and Cheap Grace

• Judgment is immediate.
It demands the quick decision and the sentence is as swift and demanding as a guillotine.
• Mercy is slow.
Mercy takes its time, deliberating, mulling over options. Mercy is often second-guessing itself, repenting of former decisions as repentance is made known.
• Cheap Grace is careless.
It cares not what the issues are, and is as swift in its decision of forgiveness as judgment is of condemnation.

• Judgment is simple.
Black and white, clear cut, no recourse, no compromise. Judgment sees all situations from a demanding, no fills position.
• Mercy seeks truth—no matter how messy.
It deliberates, considers, ponders, discusses—but not without a goal. Mercy plods, the tortoise who wins the race, slow and steady. Mercy understands that truth cannot be found in a headline, but in a feature article based on many interviews.
• Cheap Grace triumphs the ignorant.
There is no need for determinations, deliberations or decisions. The decision has already been made—freedom and blessing for all, no matter what the situation.

• Judgment focuses on the law as a principle.
“The law is a standard which once broken cannot be mended. It is the Humpty Dumpty of God. It is an ancient china doll, needing to be placed behind glass—protected, served, and loved from a distance.” But the law of judgment is cold, hard and sharp as a steel blade. Judgment claims to be for the good of society, but the only one who benefits is Judgment itself.
• Mercy loves the law as a benefit to others.
The law is to “love your neighbor,” thus mercy is the heart of the law. The law is to train us in mercy, to see the Other as the beneficiary of all of our actions. Mercy considers the well-being of all—even the law-breaker. Mercy’s law is comforting, light, for it always seeks the benefit of all.
• Cheap Grace discards the law.
“The law was a plaything of youth, but is to be set aside as unworthy of consideration. Grace has set aside all law, especially the law of Jesus, as unworthy of God.” Cheap Grace claims to speak for Mercy, but denies the heart of God.

• Judgment demands recompense.
Judgment seeks equity to the cost of the action of the law-breaker. “You broke it, you pay for it.” It seeks a balanced account book for which each debit has its equal and opposite credit—the coin of which is blood and dishonor.
• Mercy pursues reconciliation.
Mercy can lead to dishonor, should repentance be the flip side of that coin. Mercy pleads for restoration, constantly seeking an ingathering together for all the saints.
• Cheap Grace rejects cost.
Cheap Grace points to Calvary and claims that all had been accomplished there. Cheap Grace ignores the man who said, “All who would follow me must take up their own cross daily.” Cheap Grace demands no personal cost, no change, no death, no discipline, and so gains no gift, no new creation, no life, no restoration.

• Judgment has no escape.
Once judged, there is no exit. The sentence is irrevocable, the differences irreconcilable, the community ununitable.
• Mercy offers an out—repentance.
The one who has harmed another—and so has defied the law—has an opportunity to be brought back under the law. To repent, to reconcile is the extent that Mercy demands, and will seek any way to achieve that goal.
• Cheap Grace is unconditional forgiveness.
It is spiritual bloodletting—seeking to heal the patient, while ignorantly killing him. Cheap Grace sees no need to gather in, to restore, for there was no separation.

• Judgment demands payment from the lawbreaker.
As the law suffered, so must the criminal. As society was harmed, so must the harmer. Judgment claims the lost deserve nothing, and so gives nothing.
• Mercy sacrifices.
Restoration also has a price, and the merciful takes that price on oneself. Mercy pays whatever the cost so the sinner can be restored. Mercy groans in prayer, endures attacks, forgives debts against it, pays debts against others, sacrifices its comfort, its family, its friendships, its resources, its very life—all for the sake of the lost.
• Cheap Grace gleefully ignores cost.
It is the thief, stealing from God’s honor. Cheap Grace receives no payment, demands nothing, gives nothing, since there is no debt incurred. Cheap Grace celebrates at the foot of grace delivered, but ignores the call of grace transferred to others. Cheap Grace requires nothing and so gains nothing.

• Judgment never forgets.
It is the elephant of virtues. It never trusts, never believes, never forgives, never restores. Judgment says “Once a sinner, always a sinner.”
• Mercy gives the benefit of the doubt.
Mercy does not forget, but allows complete restoration, a rebuilding of trust. Mercy believes in new creation, a new life, which has nothing to do with the old.
• Cheap Grace always trusts, even the hypocrite.
It always believes, even the liar. It always forgives, even the unrepentant. It accepts everyone and everything—except God’s truth.

• Judgment is Satan.
Judgment is the accuser of the brethren, the murderer of humanity for the sake of a bloodless law. It is the prosecutor seeking the death penalty.
• Mercy is Jesus.
It is the self-sacrificer, the reconciler to God, the perfect sacrifice. Mercy is the one who said, “Go and sin no more,” “The one whom the Son sets free is free indeed,” “I have come to seek and save the lost,” “Unless you repent you will likewise perish,” “I have not come to call the righteous but the sinners to repentance,” “Be merciful as your Father is merciful.”
• Cheap Grace is the Flesh.
It is self-seeking, self-upholding, self-deceptive. Ultimately, it upholds what is abhorrent to God as the will of God. They practice sin and gives approval to those who practice it.

• Judgment is a liar.
It claims that God does not forgive, sees the sin and not the sinner. It denies the power of God to change the one in Jesus. It is lost, for it has forsaken the mercy of Jesus. Those in the power of Judgment will die by God’s hand—“Judge and you will be judged.”
• Cheap Grace is a liar.
It claims that God’s standard is flexible, and so non-existent. It loves the lost to such a degree that it cannot be separated from the lost. It causes the lost to remain lost, and so dead. Those in the power of Cheap Grace will die by God’s hand—“Whoever does not obey the Son will not see life.”
• Mercy is the truth of God.
It upholds the law, which is to love all. It demands love, even as it offers love. It demands forgiveness, even as it offers forgiveness. It demands sacrifice, even as it sacrifices. It demands purity, even as it offers purity. It demands devotion to God, even as it offers devotion to God. “Be imitators of God, and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.”

Mercy stands with God 

over against Judgment and Cheap Grace

Judge With a Right Judgment

"Do not judge according to appearances, but judge with a right judgment" John 7:24

None of us want to be judged. We don’t want people to think that we are bad people, or to assume we have evil motivations. At the same time, we often judge others in the very way we do not want to be judged. We make assumptions of others and think badly of others, sometimes even if we do not have evidence for it. And every time we make a negative assumption about someone, we are placing ourselves over them as judge and jury—and we might even sentence them if we have the chance. Of course, Jesus has much to say about judging, but some of it may be surprising to us.

Jesus says that by whatever standard we judge, we will be judged by God. (Matthew 7:1-2)
We are all being judged by God, but unlike us, God is completely just. To be just to us, God will judge us not only by His standard, but by the standard that we think is right or wrong. If we live against the measure of right and wrong we use on others, then we are hypocrites. This means that whatever principles we use to judge other people, God will make us stand against as well. If we judge other’s because they interrupt or are sarcastic, then we will be judged if we interrupt or are sarcastic.

Jesus says that we should not judge by our own standard, but God’s. (Mark 7:6-8)
To prevent us from being judged unnecessarily, we should not think that another is evil, unless they break God’s standard, not our own, or even our society’s. A person might be rude or difficult to be around, but we cannot determine that they are a “bad person” unless they rebel against God’s standard. (To see what God’s standard is, read the post "A Complete List of NT Sins")

Jesus says to be aware of our own misconceptions. (John 5:39)
We think we know what is true and right all the time. But our minds are weak—sometimes we remember things that didn’t happen and sometimes we forget important things about another person. We don’t often understand why someone did something inconceivable to us, although we are often ready to put a negative spin on it. We need to recognize our weaknesses and double check what we think we know, especially if what a person said or did doesn’t make sense to us.

Jesus says to get our facts straight. (Matthew 18:15-16)
Rather than assume why a person did what they did, we need to talk to them and ask. We cannot assume that a person is a bad person or has done something evil unless we have seen it or heard it from their own lips. If we still have a problem with someone, we should bring someone who is objective before the Lord and ask them for their perspective. But we should never take action based on our own (mis)conceptions or assumptions.

Jesus says to accept people, even if they responded wrongly in the past. (Luke 17:3-4)
If someone says that they repent from their actions, we must accept them. If someone says that we are assuming wrong motivations for their actions, we must accept their statement, unless it is a clear lie. If someone has done us wrong in the past and it seems as if they are doing it again, but we have no clear evidence and they say they are not doing it, we must not assume they are lying. Paul says that to act in love is to “keep no record of wrongs.” We must be a people who accepts openly those who have repented—not those looking for a reason to blame or attack another.

Jesus says to not make assumptions about a person based on their group. (Matthew 8:11-12)
We must not determine what someone is like based on their race, the neighborhood they live in, their family or their social group. Every person is different, and we cannot paint a whole group as evil based on the actions of one or two. Rather, we have to determine who each person is by his or her own actions and words.

Jesus says to let mercy rule over judgement. (Matthew 12:7)
There is a time to determine that someone’s action is evil. But if there is no clear evidence for it, then we are to allow mercy to make a decision. We shouldn’t judge someone based on circumstantial evidence. Nor should we see a contradiction and assume that someone is lying—let us do the work of trying to find out how they are telling the truth. Making negative judgements of others is easy, a cop out. Having mercy on others’ is hard work, but it will help us receive mercy from God.

Jesus says that anyone can change with God’s power. (Luke 15)
Jesus says that we are never to determine who someone will be in eternity. We just don’t know. If Paul, one who hated Jesus and Jesus’ people changed to be one who allowed himself to die for others’, then anyone can change and become a person who lives in God. Instead of thinking evil against those who do evil to us, we should pray for them and ask God to give them grace to repent.

Jesus said all judgment is in God’s hands.(Matthew 12:36)
If someone seems to be doing something wrong, but we can’t prove it, we must recognize that all wrongs will be judged in the final day. We do not need to search and discover every wrong every person does, for it is in God’s hands. (I Timothy 5:24)

Judge not by our own ideas or assumptions, 

but on God’s word and the truth.

Cramming for the Final Exam

There are many Christians today who want to keep quiet about Jesus’ coming, about the fact that he is coming to judge the world with all of his warrior angels, that he will be accompanied by all the saints and gather every person—living or dead— on the earth to judge them (Matthew 25:31-33; John 5:25-29). We do not know when he is coming, only that he could come any time. We see signs and possibilities all the time that his coming could be right around the corner. The question is, are we ready?

The final day is like a final exam. We have studied and worked hard all of our lives, but we still aren’t sure how we’ll do on the last test. We will be tested on everything that we’ve learned—but are we really ready? Can we cram in the last few minutes, in order to pass? Is there a bribe we can pass to the Examiner, to make sure we pass?

But the real question is: What is on the test? We need to know what will be on the test, so we can pass. If we pass the test, we will have great joy and reward from God. If we fail the test, we will live in eternal torment. So what is on the test is exceedingly important—it means life or death for us. So how can we be prepared?

Although many people make many grandiose claims of knowing how to help us through the Final Exam, there is only one person who has already passed through it, so he KNOWS. That is Jesus—he has already been tried by men and God, and God declared him righteous. Jesus knows what the judgement is going to be like, and he knows the reward. No one else has had this experience like Jesus, because no one else has been given their final reward already. So let’s listen to him, and let him tell us what he knows about the judgement day:

Content of the Final Exam: Our lives
a. We will be held account for every action and speech, no matter how unimportant seeming
The first principle of judgement has to do with the content. What will be examined? What is the content of the test? We need not carry pencils around or be gathering up bits of knowledge. The fact is, we are taking the final exam every day. Jesus says, it is our whole lives—our words and deeds (Matthew 16:27; John 5:29). Not just our lives in a general way, but a specific sifting, looking for every single pertinent act or word—no matter how small or carelessly spoken (Matthew 5:22, 28; 12:36). We may think that a single action is too small to be noticed, or that something is just “small potatoes” to God—but God is concerned about every small step, and will hold us account to it all.

b. Anything we repent of in Christ we will not be accounted for
This sounds so harsh of God, to not overlook anything. But God is a God of mercy and forgiveness, not of judgement. He doesn’t want to condemn us unnecessarily. So he gave us the Giant Loophole to judgement: the Cross of Jesus. Because Jesus died on the cross, we will not be judged for our sins. We have only two requirements: we must commit ourselves to Jesus, so the cross will wash away our sins. Secondly, we need to repent of our sins. Any of the sins we repent of in Christ, under his authority, will be wiped away and completely forgiven—if we would only repent. We need to depend on Christ and His Spirit to lead us into repentance, and then all the evil things we have done will be cleansed, never to be spoken of again. More importantly, these things will not be brought up on the judgement day. (Ezekiel 18:30; Luke 13:5; Luke 17:4)

How to get prepared for the Test : the principles of judgement
The next question then is: How will God look at our lives? Does he have a list of secret sins that no one knows about that he will insist that we have all repented of? God is also merciful in his examining of our lives.  There are three basic principles that he will follow in looking at us.

c. However you treat the Lord, that is how you will be treated

First of all, He will examine closely how we treated Him and His Son. And however we treated Him, that is how He will treat us. Did we praise Him before others? Then he will also praise us. Or did we curse his name? Then he will also curse us (Matthew 10:32-33). Did we take his word seriously and listen and obey him? Then he will listen to our cries. Or did we disregard his commands and teachings? Then he will also not listen to us, and our needs. (Zechariah 7:13; Matthew 12:50; Luke 11:28). Were we completely devoted to God, serving him with a single mind? Then he will be devoted to us and reward us. However, if we were not devoted to him, but desired other powers before Him, then he will not be devoted to us, but punish us. (Matthew 5:8; Judges 10:10-13). Thus, to pass our Final Exam, we must treat the Lord as he deserves.

d. Whatever you give to others, that is what you receive

The second principle that God will use in examining our lives is an extreme version of the Golden Rule—However we treat others in our lives, that is how God will treat us on the judgement day. Do we treat others with mercy, with concern for them and their ultimate benefit, giving others what they need? If so, then the Lord will treat us with that same merciful care and give us what we need (Matthew 5:7). Do we forgive others’ of their weaknesses and take the difficulties they give us without any harm back to them? Then God will treat us with forgiveness and care (Matthew 18:21-35; Luke 6:35-37). Do we treat those with lowliness around us with care and assistance—then we will get such assistance from God when we are lowly before Him (Matthew 25:35-40). On the other hand, if we judge and condemn others, then we will be judged by God (Luke 6:37). If we hate our enemies, and treat them wickedly—with insults and threats— then God will visit evil—insults and punishments— upon us (Matthew 5:22; I John 4:20). If we cause others to sin, and show no care for their needs, then God will throw us in prison and show no compassion on us (Mark 9:42; Luke 12:45-46).

e. Whatever you receive from others, you will receive the opposite

The third principle that God will examine our lives with is one that isn’t thought of as much, because it seems to have little to do with things under our control. However the principle is clear: However we have been treated by others, especially while doing God’s will, we will receive the opposite. It is assumed in Jesus’ teaching that anyone who is truly following God and his ways will face opposition, oppression and anger from those who oppose God. Thus, if you are struggling with oppression or hatred against you; if you are suffering because of poverty or injustice; if you are in terrible circumstances in life because of following God; if you are disenfranchised or outcast—Jesus says then to be glad! Because God will reward us so greatly in heaven, that all of this life will be but a distant memory (Matthew 5:3-6, 10-12; Luke 6:20-23; Luke 16:25; Luke 14:7-11). On the other hand, if we are greatly praised by everyone—even God’s enemies; if we live in comfort and entertainment all the time; if we are considered important and take the opportunity to command many for our own good—then God figures that we have had enough of the good life. We have sought out salvation on our own, worldly, terms, and so have rejected his salvation (Luke 6:24-26; Luke 16:25; Matthew 6:1-5). Again, we may feel—how can I control what circumstances give me? But it is clear, if we follow Jesus’ way completely—confessing Jesus publicly (even if it is not acceptable), sell our possessions and give to the poor, reject the ways of our family and friends—then we will gain much disrespect and even hatred. So we can control it somewhat.

f. The more you have, the more is required of you

God is not severe with us, but he is completely just. If we know much of God’s will and desires, he will judge us more severely. However, if we do not understand much of God’s will, God will show us mercy, according to what we know. That doesn’t mean that he won’t judge us according to the above three principles—he will. But the severity of the judgement will be lessened if we don’t understand it all. (Mark 4:25; Luke 12:47-48)

The last thing we need to remember about these three areas of examination by God—we need to pass in all three areas. If we do not repent in any one of these areas, then we will fail our exam. We must seek to be completely devoted to God, completely merciful to others’ and always lowly before others. If we fail, then we repent. But if we reject any of these ways, we reject our hope of success on judgement day

What are the grades?
g. It is eternal satisfaction, or eternal torment
Perhaps this seems too difficult, too other-worldly for you. But remember the cost that is at stake—it is your eternal soul. Our lives right now are but a small, paltry thing. It is little for us, compared to all eternity. Eternity is forever—that’s not just a long time, it is the real Reality. A bit of suffering or self-control or repentance for a few years on earth—maybe sixty, maybe twenty years, whatever you have left—is nothing compared to a thousand years, a million years, a hundred billion. The numbers of eternity are so large, that you can realize that our current life—in comparison—doesn’t even exist. And we have a choice—follow these principles and gain eternal life and joy and contentment (remember, this is FOREVER), or ignore them and face eternal torment—unhappiness, suffering, fear, frustration. These are the consequences (Matthew 25:46; John 5:29; 3:36)

It isn’t too late!
Perhaps you think that it is hopeless. But God is so merciful, so kind, he is willing to bend over backwards to help you pass the Final Exam. All you have to do is ask. He has already given his Son to die for us, so we can be delivered from judgement—won’t he give us more so we can make it the rest of the way? Of course!  He promises to give the Holy Spirit—the Helper—to anyone in Christ. He will give us all the resources in heaven and earth to help us pass. All we need to do is ask, and allow Him to give us the help to pass!

Judgement Day is serious,

But God is merciful