The Dynamics of Grace, Part 3

INTRODUCTION – The Church (or body of true believers in Christ), can be likened to a temple of praise, a family, a war room (both Pentagon and boot camp), a survival training institute, a school, an organism and a hospital.

The Church as a “hospital” takes into consideration the application of God’s cure for the sin disease. The solution to human sin is found in the heart of God. His grace, mercy and infinite lovingkindness are sounded forth in the gospel. He has given His only begotten Son to offer an effectual sacrifice that is both substitutionary and penal. Christ’s finished work on Calvary satisfies all the claims of God against us. The Lord has accomplished a complete redemption that gives believers an immutable righteous standing by His shed blood.

THE MANAGEMENT OF GUILT IS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND MANMADE RELIGION.

The natural man seeks to work his way out of condemnation by religious effort, moral exertion and self-reformation. The sense of justice planted in man’s conscience demands some form of atonement to “offset” the punishment man deserves.

Man’s nature longs for a “score card,” or means by which he measure the merit he has “earned.” (Natural religion provides that score card. Think of examples from Hinduism, Buddhism and Catholicism.)

Scripture regards all efforts at winning God’s favor through the accumulation of merit to be dead works (Heb. 9:14). Dead works not only fail to commend man to God, they also perpetuate the imprisoning principle of fear of punishment. Deeds generated to manage a sense of condemnation cannot lift a person above personal guilt. The person will always be left with the haunting doubt, “Have I done enough to atone for my sins?”

ONLY A PERFECT ATONEMENT WOULD END OUR FEAR OF JUDGMENT.

Natural men devise their own means of atonement. Unregenerate men assume that a zeal for righteousness accompanied by sincerity cannot help but find favor with God. BUT, the problem with atonement is that everything depends upon the value of the sacrifice as measured by the Judge!

If the sacrifice is insufficient and not 100% successful in the eyes of the Judge, then man’s guilt, fear and condemnation remain in place (Rom. 10:1-4). Everything depends upon God’s determination of its value.

Atonement is called for when the first party in the transaction is in a position of actual guilt in regard to the JUDGE. Guilt has estranged the two parties. The power of atonement is its ability to remove guilt from the situation.

God has publicly displayed His own Son as the perfect atonement (Rom. 3:25,26). God has endorsed the infinite value of His Son’s death. “He was raised for our justification,” (Rom. 4:25).

The judgment due us because of our sins has been assumed by Another. Not only are believers freed from judgment, they are reconciled to the Judge! (Rom. 5:10). In the gospel, the Judge gives His authoritative endorsement of the atonement He has provided (Titus 3:4-7; Heb. 6:17-20).

THE ATONEMENT DISARMS THE CONDEMNING FORCE OF THE LAW AND FREES FROM THE FEAR OF PUNISHMENT.

The gospel brings incredible news – that what we know to be true about ourselves (our actual legal guilt and fear of punishment), has been responded to decisively, eternally from outside ourselves.

The human condition has been brought to light by God’s law. God has intervened sending His Son in human flesh in order that the full force of judgment that makes our lives so miserable might fall on Him (2 Cor. 5:21).

The whole oppression of judgment in every sense has descended upon the Son. This spells the end of the law as a power to deal out death to humanity. Jesus Christ is God’s infinite grace gift in Whom all men “killed by the law” are invited to rest (Gal. 2:19-21).

In judging Jesus Christ to death in our place, the law has done its worst. It has prosecuted its standard of obedience to the furthest possible limit – death to the lawbreaker in ultimate condemnation (Gal. 3:10-13; Rom. 10:4).

By disarming the law, the atonement frees from the fear of judgment.

Gospel atonement bursts in upon the fear of judgment. Remember, the law has not only judged what I do, but also what I am! (Our conscience witnesses against us. There is evidence of deliberate sins, conscious moral failures, compulsive patterns of lust and passion. At times, the believer loathes living in his body of flesh, Rom. 7:24,25.)

Because of Christ’s perfect atonement, the law is now powerless to condemn me (Col. 2:13,14; Eph. 2:14-16). The law cannot see me apart from Christ. Because of justification, I am morally and legally one with Him in the eyes of the law (Col. 3:3,4; Phil. 3:9).

GRACE MAKES HEROES OF BELIEVERS.

It was the fear of punishment and condemnation that made cowards of us all. We could not deal with sin courageously. Fear of punishment and exposure held us in a vice grip of guilt. The fear of punishment dominated our lives. We sought to “manage” that fear by hiding, denial, flight, defiance, appeasement and other carnal forms of self-protection.

Only Christ’s atonement could free us from guilt’s captivity. The design of Christ’s propitiatory sacrifice was to deliver us from the bondage of fear, casting it out, that we might be perfected in love (1 Jn. 4:18). (Fellowship with God and one another is the priority of grace – 1 John 1:3-7.)

Through justification, we move from cowardice to heroism.

The roots of cowardice penetrate so deep in our lives because the law condemns our whole being – what we are by nature (2 Cor. 3:9; 1 Cor. 15:56).

BUT, such is the power and wisdom of God in justification that believers are lifted out of cowardice to heroism. The very cause of our cowardice has been dug up by the roots.

It is no longer necessary to turn to flesh mechanisms in order to deflect judgment. The crushing fear of punishment has been mightily dealt with in the atonement. Our bondage to fear is broken by the atonement (Heb. 2:14,15).

JUSTIFICATION GIVES US THE LEGAL RIGHT TO COME OUT OF HIDING AND DEAL WITH SIN COURAGEOUSLY.

The atonement of Jesus Christ exists to make us heroes instead of cowards in the area where the greatest heroism is called for – in the area of human sin. Through justification in Christ, we come out of hiding and deal with sin courageously in true repentance and confession.

A mighty atonement is working in our favor. It is the believer’s responsibility to daily reckon Christ’s work on his behalf, BECAUSE the believer sins everyday. All our natural inclinations are to return to the fleshly strategies of managing guilt, fear and failure. (These are employed in an attempt to ward off threats of condemnation.)

Heroism is manifested when we believe the message of Christ’s work for us. Clothed in Christ’s righteousness, we may admit our sin without fear. The courage and confidence flows from the fact that honesty about indwelling sin cannot jeopardize my position in Christ (Rom. 8:1).

Application – All of the pains taken to avoid the painful truth about ourselves utterly fail. Whether it is denial, rationalizing, blame or defiance, carnal methods of self-defense fall short of the heroism God calls for us to practice (1 Jn. 1:6-10). Gospel “reasoning” is the key to the victory (Gal. 2:20).

WHEN BELIEVERS RETURN TO CARNAL STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING THE FEAR OF PUNISHMENT, RELATIONSHIPS ARE DAMAGED.

The fruits of our cowardly choices hurt those closest to us. The carnal methods of managing a sense of condemnation affect our relationships with others. When we are only concerned about deflecting judgment and winning approval, we cease to love the other person at that point. Not only does the fear of man bring a snare, it also is antithetical to living for God’s glory (See Proverbs 29:25; John 5:44; 12:43).

Every carnal attempt to escape judgment is a flight from realism and heroism. Cowardice moves us to retreat into blame, self-justification, hiding and pretending. The pretender’s attempt to cover guilt ends up hurting those around him.

Cowardice short-circuits conflict resolution.

It is the wise man who is able to receive a rebuke, a correction or an admonishment (Ps. 141:5). By contrast, the individual who is managing his dereliction (fear of judgment), by carnal methods will inevitably be defensive. He will feel too diminished to admit he is wrong (Prov. 9:8; 13:1; 17:10).

Those who are justified by Christ can admit when they are wrong. There is no other way to uphold a spirit of unity and maintain the bond of peace. This must be the case in a fellowship of forgiveness (Eph. 4:1-3,32; Col. 3:12,13 ff.). The justified sinner can admit when he fails others. He does not need to retreat into denial, escape or defensiveness.

UNRESOLVED SIN HURTS THE BELIEVER’S FELLOWHIP WITH GOD.

By “unresolved sin” is meant sin in a believer’s life that has not been confessed and repented of. In those instances, the Christian will not enjoy a sense of God’s favor and forgiveness.

We desperately need heroism at this point. Self-shielding is an effort of hide our deformities from God and ourselves, lest they should invite judgment. Unresolved sin sits there like a malignancy spinning off blame, shame, alienation, guilt and depression.

The Holy Spirit desires to bring us back to gospel reasoning. He wants to convince us of the wisdom of keeping “short accounts” with God (Acts 24:15,16). Gospel reasoning appropriates the unlimited provision for forgiveness found in the New Covenant (Heb. 8:12).

Application – If we as believers continue with unresolved sin, our energies that could be going toward the Lord and others will be squandered. We will be too occupied rationalizing and concealing our sin in an effort to deflect condemnation.

This is often seen in pastoral counseling situations. Delayed repentance only produced a series of further compromises resulting in additional regret. The experience of love and fellowship with God and intimates suffered in the process. (Note the frequent need of “family forgiveness,” John 13:10).

AN ATTITUDE OF CONTRITION IS CENTRAL IN OUR FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD (IS. 66:1,2; 57:15).

Efforts to shield ourselves from judgment alienates us from God’s gracious provision for forgiveness. Moral trust in God involves the daily application of gospel reasoning.

Courage to deal with personal sin entails dropping our defenses, false refuges and systems of self-righteousness. God desires that by the word of justification applied, you might demonstrate a depth of personal responsibility for sin known as contrition. Joy follows on the heels of contrition. It is the contrite who enjoy God the most. There is a joyful “integration” that accompanies the realism associated with contrition. Peace floods the heart when we come out of hiding into the presence of God.

THE CALL TO CHRISTIAN HEROISM IS A CALL TO LIVE A SIN-JUDGED LIFE.

Acknowledging our sin to God is the key to confessing our sin to others. Carnal approaches to conflict destroys unity (some hurl abuse, some hide, some are openly defiant, some appease – Scripture tells us to speak the truth in love, Eph. 4:15)

All of our “prickly” defense mechanisms look as if we carry our own worth and perfection. They appear as if our value would be decimated if we had to admit we were wrong (See 2 Tim. 3:3; Prov. 27:6; Lev. 19:16-18).

By contrast, the justified person is equipped for radical realism. He can admit his offense in the interest of God’s glory, in the interest of the relationship, in the interest of Christian unity and the bond of peace. He doesn’t have to play the “I’m right game.”

The man who trusts in his own righteousness may shun admissions of failure, sin and guilt. But the justified man trusts in an alien righteousness outside of himself,in Christ. He has the resources for radical realism.

Application – The sin-judged life is one of ongoing Biblical self-confrontation. The Christian must guard against attempts to raise himself morally by focusing upon the faults of others (Neh. 4:15; 6:15,16; Luke 18:11).

The Christian’s position is “in Christ.” The source of the believer’s strength and victory is grace (Heb. 13:9; Jude 20; Gal. 2:20).

The Dynamics of Grace, Part 4

INTRODUCTION – Justification defines our relationship with God. Justification involves the application of the benefits of Christ’s life, death and resurrection to the believer (Rom. 5:8-11). By Christ’s work, we are brought into relationship with God. Justification becomes the basis for our adoption, acceptance, favor and sonship.

Justification is forensic in nature and relational in its result. Justification removes every barrier to eternal fellowship with God. As our Substitute, Christ took upon Himself all of the dis-relatedness, the enmity and the alienation caused by our sin. He became our curse and our guilt. He willingly assumed the temporal and eternal consequences of our iniquity.

Here is the great scandal of the cross. It frustrates natural human reason to think that by God’s own hand the Son of God should be bruised, crushed, tormented and excommunicated. The most righteous man that ever lived was by God’s own plan, crucified by evil rebels and hateful cowards. Christ was brought to abject weakness, agony and shame. He was forsaken to die in ignominy and abandonment.

The cross, the greatest breach in human justice in history, became the greatest satisfaction of divine justice in time and eternity.

Christ became our dereliction of fear. He became our separation, our dereliction and our dis-relatedness. The dis-relatedness of non-being (the exp. of being cut off from God) fell full strength upon His Person. On Calvary He experienced the loss of all well being -- He became the embodiment of man in hell.

As our suffering Substitute, He removed the barriers to fellowship with God. And as our Substitute, He established the foundations of perfect fellowship with God.

Christ not only became a curse for us, He also is the believer’s right-relatedness to the Godhead. His perfect obedience to God, His perfect love to God, His perfect relatedness to the trinity is OURS BY IMPUTATION!

Christ is not only the revelation of God, He is our RIGHT-STANDING with God. He is meeting place, altar, covenant, eligibility, access and living way (Heb. 13:15; Is. 42:6; 49:8; Phil. 3:9; Eph. 3:12; Heb. 10;20).

He is our eligibility for an unbroken flow of divine love and blessing. In removing the barriers of dis-relatedness, He spanned the infinite moral gulf between God and man. Justification is an infinitely gracious exchange. He gives us His own right relatedness to the Father. He takes upon Himself our wretched dis-relatedness.

The right standing we now have in Him is only by union with Him. He is the sole source of our favor, acceptance and sonship. By God’s grace, we have His moral perfection by imputation and by union with Him.

In justification, there is a radical dealing with everything that produces dis-relatedness. Justification is relational grace. It is the ground of our reconciliation. It is the basis for perfect fellowship, for belonging, for oneness, for immutable love. It is by abiding in this divine love that we are transformed (1 Jn. 4:16-18).

As we “preach the gospel to ourselves every,” we are enabled to surrender to God in obedience and adoration. “Gospel reasoning” enables us to take delight in God and to abandon ourselves to Him (Rom. 12:1,2). Justification is of great practical value!

JUSTIFICATION CHANGES OUR WHOLE RELATIONSHIP TO GOD’S HOLINESS.

Through Christ, the justified man has become “rightly adjusted” to God’s person, character and attributes. The justified man is “rightly adjusted” to the claims of God, the government of God and the law of God. The justified man has beenlegally severed from the reign of the Adamic nature (Rom. 6:5,6; Col. 2:11-13). The justified man has a new Master – Christ and righteousness (Rom. 6:16,18,22).

Therefore, sanctification involves taking one’s justification seriously. Sanctification is the process of receiving the word of justification repeatedly and of receiving it in new areas of our being. To the degree that grace truths permeate the believer’s thoughts, values and conclusions, he is transformed by them. That is growth in grace, living in the light of these truths and seeing oneself and one’s relationships in light of these truths (Gal. 2:20).

Application – Study the imagery in Revelation 3:15-21 (“blind, poor, naked, wretched, miserable, needing nothing…”). Contrast the negative description of the Laodicean church with the promised blessings of Christ. In what ways does this contrast provide a picture of self as an ineffective “source” versus Christ as Source Person? (See 2 Pet. 3:18; Eph. 4:15,16; Col. 2:19.)

SANCTIFICATION INVOLVES BECOMING AS WE ARE REGARDED (2 COR. 6:14-7:1).

“Sonship is the motive and meaning of gospel holiness” (Lewis Sperry Chafer). Justification established our status as sons and daughters of God. The bestowal of sonship is completely gracious but our sonship is joined to moral imperatives (Matt. 5:44,45; Rom. 8:12-17; Eph. 5:1,2ff.; 1Jn. 3:9,10).

ROMANS 6 IS THE TRANSITION CHAPTER OR “BRIDGE” THAT JOINS OUR JUSTIFICATION TO OUR SANCTIFICATION.

“The gospel does not command us to do anything to obtain life, but bids us live by that which another has done” (H. Bonar). The soul’s rest in the life-giving truth of the gospel is the root of all true labor.

“In receiving Christ we do not work in order to rest, but we rest in order to work” (Jerry Bridges). Believers work from a position of pardon. Realized forgiveness is the joyful motive for obedience. Justification is the ongoing foundation for all progress in sanctification. “The sinner’s legal position must be set to rights before his moral position can be touched” (H. Bonar).

Romans 6 opens with the federal fact (Christ’s federal rep. of us) -- that Christ’s death was a representative union. (All the legal liabilities and responsibilities of His people rest upon Him.)

Christ’s death was not only “on behalf of” (huper) our sin, but “unto” (eis) sin. Here Paul brings the federal fact to light. Not only was Christ’s death intended to redeem His people from their sins, (Rom. 3-5) it was also intended to change His people’s relationship toward sin (Rom. 6-8). Our federal solidarity with Christ brings not only forgiveness of sin but also freedom from sin’s dominion! Thus, we may affirm “Christ died for us and we died in Him.”

In Romans 6, Paul joins the previous theme – salvation from sin’s penalty, with deliverance from sin’s dominion. Remember, Romans 5 established that the penal consequence of Adam’s sin was that mankind was delivered over unto the legal reign of sin. The great revelation of Romans 6:10 is that Christ died unto sin on our behalf. By reason of our federal union with Him in His death, we died as well to the legal reign of sin (Rom. 6:6-11).

“We could not take one step in the pursuit of holiness if God in His grace had not first delivered us from the dominion of sin and brought us into union with His risen Son” (Jerry Bridges).

THE FACT THAT WE DIED TO SIN IS NOT IMMEDIATELY EXPERIENTIAL.

“Our old self was crucified,” is a revealed truth that is addressed to faith (Rom. 6:6). The positional truth of co-crucifixion and union with Christ is not perceived primarily by experience, it is apprehended by faith.

If we “consult” our unmortified desires, we may conclude that we have not died to sin. Our indwelling sin seems to testify to the contrary that we are dead to sin. Our natural desires, passions and reasonings are not a reliable standard for our behavior (“[We] do not live by the standard set by the lower nature, but by the standard set by the Spirit” Romans 8:4b – Wms. Transl.).

THE FACT THAT WE DIED TO SIN IS A TRUTH EXPERIENCED BY FAITH. Paul affirms that the death of the old self in Christ’s death was necessary in order to “do away with our body of sin.” The Greek word for “do away” in this context means to annul or put out of business (kartegeo). By our co-crucifixion with Christ, all the legal rights of sin are gone. Christ’s work applied to the believer has the net effect of annulling the power of indwelling sin.

The ramifications of co-crucifixion with Christ are carried into practical living by means of faith. The believer is called upon to reckon a fact that appears contrary to experience, namely that he is dead to sin (6:11). To “consider” or “reckon” is an imperative or command in the Greek (Rom. 6:11-13).

Application – The benefit of Christ’s death to sin is the rightful property of His people. Here lies the incumbent challenge of preaching the gospel to ourselves daily. Our experiences of indwelling sin seem to contradict the federal fact of our death to sin. The difficulty resides in believing the astounding revelations of Romans 6. The old self causes trouble and we are immediately tempted to leave off the way of faith (expressed in reckoning) and turn back to carnal reasoning (fleshly strategies for coping with judgment).

The fact that we shared in Christ’s death to sin and that we are alive unto God in Him must be believed. There is no other path that establishes our souls and causes us to rest in Christ (Heb. 4:11).

Our “fruit unto sanctification” turns upon the daily presentation of ourselves to God (an activity born of reckoning) (Rom. 6:22).

SCRIPTURE JOINS THE RECKONING OF OURSELVES IN CHRIST “POSITIONALLY” WITH OUR BEING MADE HOLY “PRACTICALLY.”

In justification, God preempts all of the individual’s efforts to commend himself to his Creator. Status, favor, and acceptance are granted by a gracious divine donation. As a result, the pursuit of sanctification is liberated from every legal effort to enhance standing and acceptance before God. Only in this way can sanctification be all of grace (Rom. 4:3-8,16; 1 Cor. 1:30).

Efforts in sanctification that are completely divorced from the cross belie a carnal confidence that the flesh is perfectible (Note the Galatian error addressed by Paul). Scripture keeps justification and sanctification joined in the Person of Christ. The believer’s federal union with Christ is central in both doctrines. All advances spiritually are grounded upon faith in God’s Word. When the believer reckons the benefits that flow from his solidarity with Christ, God is glorified because Christ is the source Person, not self (Gal. 2:20).

Application – For passages that affirm that progressive sanctification is by faith, see Rom. 6:19,22; 2 Cor. 3:18; Gal. 2:20; 5:16-26; Col. 2:6,7; 3:1-11; 2 Thess. 2:12,13; 1 Tim. 6:12; Heb. 3-4; 6:11,12.

SCRIPTURE KEEPS JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION DISTINCT BUT INSEPARABLE.

The three “tenses” of salvation (I was saved, I am being saved, I will be ultimately saved) are also true of sanctification. (Justification and sanctification are bound together, one never occurs without the other.)

The three tenses of sanctification:

1.) I was set apart for God at the moment of salvation (1 Cor. 1:2; Heb. 10:10).

2.) I am living a life that is continually separated unto God that progresses in practical holiness (Rom. 6:22; 2 Cor. 7:1).

3.) When I am glorified, I will be absolutely set apart from sin, experiencing complete sanctification (Phil. 3;20,21; Rom. 8:30; Eph. 5:26,27; 1 Thess. 5:23).

Errors that result from separating or confusing justification and sanctification:

1.) PERFECTIONISM (Gal. 3:1-3) – This error stresses that the flesh is perfectible. Supposed “progress” in sanctification is given as evidence that man can be perfected by the flesh (supra-biblical standards are often used to measure progress). The “higher life” version of this error is commonly seen in “holiness” denominations. They stress a second work of grace. Sanctification becomes divorced from faith in the Person and finished work of Christ. Justification is devalued as sanctification becomes a new sought after “plane” of existence grounded upon human performance. (See also Quietism.)

2.) ANTINOMIANISM (Jude 4; 2 Pet. 2) – This deadly error denies the need for personal holiness. It turns the grace of God into an excuse for sinful expression. It produces both a false security and a false sense of “freedom.”

3.) SUBJECTIVISM (experience oriented Christianity – Col. 2:18,19) – In this error, religious experience becomes a badge of spiritual superiority. Private revelations, ecstatic experiences and sign gifts are paraded about and turned into a sacrament. Experience becomes the mark of the “spiritual.” In the process, justification is devalued. Union with Christ is de-emphasized.

4.) LEGALISM (Col. 3:16,17; 1 Tim. 1:7) – Legalism is closely associated with perfectionism. False religion is nearly uniformly legalistic, for it seeks to establish merit before God in a man-centered fashion. Perfectionism is more subtle than legalism. Perfectionism is the most common symptom among true believers who separate justification and sanctification.

Application – Discuss how the “narrow way” is a fitting metaphor to describe the biblical salvation path that steers clear of both legalistic perfectionism and carnal antinomianism. (Example - Like the relationship between the two natures of Christ in the doctrine of the hypostatic union, justification and sanctification are distinct yet inseparable. Where there is true salvation, justification and sanctification will be distinct yet inseparable.)

Gal. 2:20 -- We are justified because of union with Christ, not because of our conduct. BUT justification should affect our conduct. For Paul, justification is not merely a past event, but a present reality which he experiences everyday of his life. Peace with God, forgiveness, and acceptance belong to believers because of the righteousness of Christ – thus Paul lived by faith in the righteousness Christ. Though justification is a point in time past event, Paul brings justification into the present in Galatians 2:20. We work, serve and obey from the perspective that Another has performed for us, we live by faith in Him.