What's Wrong with Believing You're Forgiven?

I was nine years old when my parents decided to send me to a new school, a private Christian school. I hated every minute of that first year. I'd gone from being the popular kid to the weird new kid. The jeans and tees I wore to my old school were a much better fit for my boxy frame. My new school required I wear dresses, and I felt like a hippo in a tutu. I went from being a straight-A student to being in what was then known as "the slow class" because of my poor placement scores. I even got into trouble twice that year --a huge difference from the one teeeeny-tiny incident in all my years at public school. BUT one of the very first Bible verses I recall having to memorize was 2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. It and the verses surrounding have become some of my favorites. 

Our pastor spoke recently on this passage. He gave the example of a neighbor committing a crime: I can't go to jail for that because I'm not him. We no longer have to be bothered by, to live in guilt over the things we used to do before coming to Christ; we are no longer bound to those things because we are not that person anymore. And when we choose to daily, faithfully follow Jesus, our sins --past, present, and future --are remembered by God no more. As I listened, I recalled a coworker making light of the premise. Oh, I can just do anything: I'm forgiven for it anyway. In fact, he often pointed out the wrongdoings of Christians and churchgoers over the years, and would sardonically reply to his own remark, But it's okay; we're forgiven. Now, Dietrich Bonhoeffer would probably have preached him a sermon on "cheap grace" had he been present, but as I thought about my coworker, I wished I'd asked a single question: What's wrong with that? I don't mean the idea of cheap grace (basically, taking license to do as I please on the premise I am forgiven anyway) --of course it's wrong (Rom. 6:1-14). But what is wrong with believing you are forgiven? What is wrong with believing the One who created you, who is perfect and holy, who made a way through His Son for you to be counted righteous, who gave His Holy Spirit to work in and through you for your sanctification and God's glory --what is wrong with believing He remembers your sin no more?

Acts 3:19 says, Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. Clearly there is no continuing in sin. Clearly, we are called to turn away from our old nature and walk in the new nature we are given --"new creation," right? But walking around debt-free? How cool is that?! Have you ever paid off a credit card? Made your last payment on a mortgage? What a feeling of freedom that is! I am never getting into debt again! Right? What's wrong with that? You see, we haven't been freed, our slate has not been wiped clean so that we might go out and act the fool again; we have been made new, our accounts settled, our sins cast into the sea, so that we might know the freedom of being unshackled, of being forgiven! Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed (John 8:36).

As time passed, I went from being the new weird kid to being relatively popular again. As I matured, I looked forward to school shopping and selecting new dresses and skirts to wear. My grades improved as I learned what was expected of me, and I not only didn't get into trouble, but I even babysat for some of my teachers. I joined the Bible quizzing team which required me to memorize large passages of Scripture. Change had come, slowly and not without its problems. In fact, it wasn't until years later 2 Corinthians 5:17 really resonated with me. But the longer I hung in there, the easier it got. I didn't want to go back to where I'd been before; I liked "the new." 

The change Jesus produces in us, the pardon and freedom He provides through His shed blood on the cross spurs us on not to license for sin, the perfecting of our old nature, but to boldness and greater faith, to the works ordained for us to do, to the fulfilling of the Great Commission, to the loving of God with every part of ourselves and the loving of one another as we have been loved, to life, free and new!  

Midweek: The Lesson

Even when princes set to scheme against me,

Your servant dwelled on Your statutes.

~ Psalm 119:23 (Alter) 

Imagine Elijah, pursued by the queen's forces for killing the prophets of Baal. Imagine David hiding in caves to escape the hateful designs of the king upon his life. Imagine the disciples of God, fearing and fleeing Paul (before his conversion) as he breathed out threats and racked up a body count of innocents. Fear. Chaos. The unknown. A powerful enemy and what appears to be a serious lack of resources.

Let me tell you a little story...

Chapter One: Bad Decisions. My husband and I took a much needed vacation. Our timing probably wasn't the best --it was just as things were opening up after a certain pandemic, we ourselves were on the tail end of a brief experience with it --but we'd had enough; we needed to get away. Our pick of destination may not have been very wise either --we chose the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee in January --but, again, we'd had enough. I wanted isolation. I wanted to be removed from the busy "normals" of life. So be it! The night we arrived, so did a storm. Snow! Ooh! Ahh! A winter wonderland! But the ice? On a mountain? Not so much. Our dreams of a romantic dinner in town, returning to our mountain hideaway... Our dreams of sightseeing under a Southern sun in forty-degree temps... Gone! Instead, we received for our money an empty fridge, grey skies, and a forty-degree ice-covered slope to the main road. Given little option, we saddled up the luxury SUV we'd rented, hereby dubbed a pavement princess exclusively!, and attempted to procure provisions. 

Chapter Two: The Slope. As we started down the slope leading to the main road, we encountered ice. Slick and terrifying. Terrifying because on one side of the narrow slope was about a foot of brush before the solid rock of the mountain's upside. On the other side of the narrow slope was about a foot of brush before the certain calamity of the mountain's downside.   

        No guardrail. 
                At all. 
With every foot we crept, the rear of our pavement princess slid closer to the edge of the downside while the front threatened to lose traction completely. The option of backing up the slope garnered the same result as the attempt to move down, only in reverse. The front end of the vehicle sought the precipice while the back end struggled to hold the slope. In all my husband's years of driving, he'd never been so unnerved. In all my years of praying, I'd never longed so badly to bounce off of a guardrail.    

Chapter Three: The Lesson. Okay, if I'm being honest, we learned lots of lessons that trip; but here I am, sitting safely in my office almost five years later being shown another. That day I kept wishing for a guardrail, some sort of barrier to keep us from going off the edge. Better to sideswipe some rocks than roll eighty feet down a mountainside! Your servant dwelled on Your statutes. Seeing God's law as the protective barrier that, though we may bounce off it a time or two (or more, if we're particularly inclined to repeat offenses), it keeps us from dropping headlong to our peril. That icy slope represented all sorts of treachery; but having the benefit of a guardrail, as hard as it would have been on our pavement princess were we to ride it all the way to the bottom, would have assured us of safety. God's law, guiding us, keeping us --as hard as it is on our human nature to obey --guards us against the certain peril of leaving the path. Even when the distractions are many, even when fear grips us menacingly, even when all around us is thrown into chaos, even when we cannot know what lies ahead, the statutes of God --if we dwell on them, build our lives on their truth --we have the blessing of a guard and guide as we follow after Christ our conquering King.   

  

Where Is Your Confidence?

This year I made up my mind I was buying myself a new outfit for Easter. I've had the same few thrift store dresses on "REPEAT", and I wanted to celebrate by rocking something brand new. So, I headed out that Saturday to do a little shopping. A cheery little set called to me as I walked in the store. I took a few minutes to try it on in a dressing room and loved it! Comfy, stylish; different from most of my other ensembles, yet "so me." Sunday morning, however, was a different story. Had I gained ten pounds in the hours since I'd left the store? Did it shrink as it hung in my closet? How did I leave the store feeling so confident, and now I'm sitting here rethinking every fashion choice I've ever made?

Weeks after, I was tucking in our youngest and, from the story we were reading, I asked the question, "What is the difference between confidence in yourself and confidence in God?" His answer was profound:

Confidence in God is a complete gift. Confidence in yourself, you are always trying to gain; it comes and goes.

Let me say that again for the folks in the back. Confidence in God is a complete gift. Confidence in yourself, you are always trying to gain; it comes and goes. Who am I kidding? That was not just for the people in the back; that was for me! And, hopefully, it benefits you as well. 

Don Matzat, author of the wonderful book, Christ-Esteem: Where the Search for Self-Esteem Ends emphasizes the importance of keeping ourselves centered on Christ, especially during times of personal struggle. Good Christians who are hurting are sometimes misled into thinking they lack self-love or self-esteem; they can also be misled when it comes to confidence. Oh, Sister Anita does so much for the Lord; she is fearless! Or, Have you heard Pastor Tim is writing a book? I wish I had that much confidence in my abilities. The real truth is, Sister Anita and Pastor Tim (hopefully) are not riding out some tremendous wave of confidence in their own character or talents any more than they have super self-esteem. They are succeeding in what they have been given to do because their identity and their confidence rests in the One handing out the assignments.

Recently, I was asked to take a position in our church. It was explained that this was, in a sense, a mere formality. You're already doing it; that's why we're asking you to receive it. Okay, no pressure. But the day of, the day this was to be "made formal" I contemplated taking the dog for a veeeeery long walk, perhaps into the next time zone. Not only does recognition make me uneasy, but I felt like such a fraud. I don't... I do... I can't... All of the arguments as to why I was absolutely, irrefutably unfit for the job I'd "already been doing." Somewhere along the line, I'd allowed my confidence in the Commissioner to be replaced by a shaky, volatile, coming-and-going reliance on little ol' me, the fractured earthen vessel, the fumbler, the rebel, the commissioned. Confidence in God is a complete gift. Confidence in yourself, you are always trying to gain; it comes and goes. Like the feeling when actually wearing your new clothes doesn't live up to having new clothes. Like the reality check that hits you hours before you're supposed to publicly accept a designation.

Hebrews 10:35 encourages us to not throw away our confidence. Now, I've heard a certain "teacher" explain this to be feeling assured with regard to our abilities, knowing we are children of the King and we can do this. Not at all. In context, God through the writer of Hebrews is clearly talking about the confidence that comes from trusting the One who has called us to do the things we've been called to do.

Meyer's NT Commentary says:

The self-sacrificing zeal for Christianity displayed in the past ought to animate the readers to a joyful maintenance of the same likewise in the present...

Ellicott's Commentary says:

Rather, 'Cast not away therefore your boldness, seeing it hath a great recompence.' To 'cast away boldness' is the opposite of 'holding fast the boldness of the hope' (Hebrews 3:6); the one belongs to the endurance of the faithful servant (Hebrews 10:32; Hebrews 10:36), the other to the cowardice of the man who draws back (Hebrews 10:38). This verse and the next are closely connected: Hold fast your boldness, seeing that to it belongs great reward; hold it fast, for 'he that endureth to the end shall be saved.'

The confidence we have comes from the Shepherd who never leaves His sheep, who is our comprehensive and perfect Atonement, who works for our good at all times, whose grace is sufficient, who gives gifts and cultivates fruit through His Holy Spirit whom He gave us, who promises we are more than conquerors through Him... BUT it's all through Him, in Him, and for Him. The confidence that we never have to gain or work for, that never comes and goes, but is with us in full and always.