Filed under: Faith, Modern Church, Theology | Tags: Faith, Grace, Teaching, Theology
This morning we had staff meeting. This is where we breakdown everything that happened the previous Sunday and see where we are going in the upcoming week. This morning, we spent the entire morning dealing with the upcoming sermon and it got me pumped up. The series we are in is called BLUEPRINT. the question we are asking is: What is God’s blueprint for our lives look like? However, what we are finding is that our idea of God’s Blueprint is not what we actually find in scripture.
The passage we are dealing with is Matthew 22:34-40 (The Great Commandment) and it is our nature to look at is just as that another “Commandment.” However, the entire essence of Jesus answer is personal relationship. It’s not another rule, it’s a perspective. As we were hashing out these talks, this analagy came to my mind check it out:
If we truly put this into construction terms it would read kind of like this: (Give me grace for a minute.) A foreman (teacher of the law) asked another foreman (Jesus, who they though was a teacher of the law) what is the most important measurement on this blueprint (greatest commandment)? However, the second foreman wasn’t a just a foreman, he was also the architect (Jesus wasn’t just a teacher, but the author of the Law). And so the architect, or designer, said it’s not about what measurement is most important, it’s your perspective. If you change your perspective, then the measurements will take care of themselves.
It’s the classic case of: Grace? or Grace + Law. And for anyone who is struggling with the idea of just Grace for Justification and Grace alone, then I encourage that person to read Galatians….Yeah the whole book….it’s just six chapters…but it is amazing.
What you think?
Filed under: Faith, Life, Modern Church, Theology | Tags: Psalm, Quiet Time, Theology
I am not a proponent of the “Open your bible and just read a random passage for your quiet time” strategy for a quiet time. However, this morning, I just sat down in my office and decided to see what the inside of my NIV bible looked like (I mostly just read my ESV) and I opened it directly to Psalm 82…Here is what it says:
1 God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the “gods”:
2 “How long will you (plural) defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?
3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed
4 Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5 “They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk around in darkness all the foundation of the earth are shaken.
6 “I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’
7 But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler.”
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance.
That officially set me ablaze this morning.
How ’bout you?
I had a great conversation with John Dunahoo today about Grace and the depths of Grace. I can’t even begin to explain how much God has been showing me regarding His grace. But the coolest thing about the conversation was this idea:
Many people will tell you that Grace is a foundational, but elementary understanding of the Gospel. I have to enthusiastically disagree. Grace is the essence of the Gospel. It is not PART of the Gospel, it is the Gospel. We are alive because of GRACE not a deeper understanding of Theology. I love that.
Please don’t misunderstand. I’m am in no way saying that we don’t need to study theology. I am only saying that if one wants to go deep into the understanding of redemption, that understanding Grace is the way to do that.
Thoughts?
