Tag Archives: Gospel

Legalism Part 1: Am I the Only Person Who Deals Who Deals With It?

April 13, 2013 philipmt 1 Comment

One day I was walking to class wondering why I was such an arrogant legalist – an annoying little jerk who liked to follow the strictest set of rules and liked to point fingers at everyone who broke them. Never mind the fact that I had sins of my own locked up deep inside…no, I kept the list as far as everyone else knew. But that was the life that I could remember for, well, as long as I could remember.

As I tripped on the bottom stair and continued up the sidewalk ahead hoping no one would notice (peoples’ opinions mattered, after all), I started wondering if there were others who had been hemmed in with similar struggles their whole lives. Well, of course there were! I could name a dozen or two more legalistic than myself…oh wait. That was a rather legalistic thought, wasn’t it? That’s how sneaky legalism is. When you think you’re beating it, you think you can tell by comparing your legalism to other peoples’ legalism.

Pushing this thought aside, I started thinking a little more down another mental path: are there people who don’t struggle with legalism? Are there people who don’t have the spiritual superiority complex? You know, people who just enjoy their relationship with God and love other people like crazy? I thought of a couple people that I really looked up to and wished I could be like them. How epic it would be just to have a spirituality like theirs! Frustrated, I kicked the bottom of the door frame as I pushed it open and moved from the atrium into the classroom hall.

But even these people surely plagued by some of my same problems. Why is it that people like law and not grace? Why do people, like me, like rules and religion rather than the righteousness of Christ? Why does my heart pile up standards like garbage at a landfill, trying to make a makeshift Babel and climb to God? It is almost like I start running to works unless God, by His grace, points me back to the cross. Yes, I know the Gospel is far lighter than my set of rules and self-elevating standards, but I keep running back to them. Why? Why? WHY??? Doesn’t Galatians (4:21) speak about people who desire to place themselves under the law? Maybe that was the key. I remembered something a pastor once quoted from Martin Luther: “Religion is the default mode of the human heart”…or something like that. So maybe this is something endemic of the whole of humanity. Maybe we’re all in on this.

Meditations

Is Ambition Good or Bad?

March 18, 2012 philipmt 2 Comments

This question has batted around in my head off and on for a number of years. It seems like the question is answered differently depending on whom the question is posed to. The answer also seems to vary depending on the definition or the circumstances surrounding the ambition. So before we make a decision on the matter, I think it best to define what we mean and then draw some conclusions.

Ambition can be defined variously, but for our purposes I would like to think of it as the desire for advancement or success. I believe that this desire has been ingrained in the heart of every man, woman, and child since the dawn of time. It is the Adamic compulsion to take dominion over creation that forms the core of ambition. Ambition separates the proverbial wise man from the foolish man, because it drives him away from laziness and towards productivity. So in its purest and natural form, ambition is a healthy drive that motivates us all to strive and to achieve and to succeed.

But there is a dark side of ambition too. We’ve all seen its consequences. It starts so young and innocently. It begins as the child who abandons their playmate in order to hang out with the more popular kids. But it only gets uglier. It is the dad who is too busy pursuing his career that he has no time for his children. It is the wife who is so caught up in her own dreams that she leaves her husband. It is the athlete who is so intent on scoring that his team looses the game. It is the musician who is overcome with chasing success that he abandons everyone who really matters in life and becomes a recluse. It is the pastor who is so consumed with the bigness of the auditorium, giving, and attendance that he misses the bigness of the peoples’ need. Ambition turns dark and hurtful when it is turned inward. Self-centered ambition is, no doubt, one of the greatest plagues of our era.

Thankfully there is hope. In the Gospel I find that Jesus has succeeded fully in my behalf. There is nothing more for me to chase. There is no achievement, no skill, no paygrade, no rank, no praise, no fame, no experience that will ever make me happy, for Christ came to die to fill all those desires in my behalf. Now I find myself motivated by a holy ambition. Driven by grace rather than will-power and driven towards God rather than myself, I find joy in pursuing God’s will for my life. The Gospel turns my ambition around. Rather than wasting my life chasing my shadow, Jesus Christ turns my ambition outward and upward.

Apologetics

Christianity is a Crutch

November 14, 2011 philipmt Leave a comment

Recently I heard a non-Christian call Christianity a crutch for the weak who can’t handle life’s difficulties on their own. At first I had a visceral reaction to the statement (which it was designed to evoke). How dare someone degrade my firmly held beliefs to such a level! But I pondered the idea a little and began to arrive at a different conclusion. Here are some conclusions that I have reached in regard to this statement:

First, a crutch admits weakness, inability, and finitude. The fact that someone needs a crutch indicates that they need external help in order to do some of the simplest tasks in life (viz., standing and walking). At the core of the Christian message, we find that humanity is screwed up. We all need crutches because we’re all lame and damaged due to the rebellion that we joined against God. So when someone says that I use the crutch of Christianity because I am weak, I reply that I am simply being honest enough to admit my weakness. The real question is if my non-Christian friends are willing to admit their inability to stand on their own. This leads me to my next conclusion.

Second, we’re all messed up, so we all use crutches to get through life. Some may call it therapy, medication, or self-help. Others may revert to alcohol, drugs, entertainment, or relationships. Even others may seek out education, family, athleticism, or social activism. Suffice it to say that we all use crutches because we all are weak. Once again, the real difference between the Christian faith and all other crutches is that this faith explicitly states that humanity is unable to better itself and calls for trust and reliance on God. Other crutch-users simply fail to admit what they are relying on.

Third, if we all use crutches to get through life, then the question is not whether we rest on a crutch, but how reliable the crutch is. At this point I have to look at the resurrection. The Christian faith is founded upon this grand idea of the resurrection. That Jesus Christ, fully man and fully God, died in our place so that we may not have to face the punishment for our rebellion against God. The evidence of the success of this great exchange is found in the resurrection that kicked off the movement that we know today as the Church. I know my crutch is reliable because I have undeniable evidence that Someone went to the grave and came back again. Someone has already defeated the greatest enemy of humanity and I can gladly and confidently put my trust in Him.

In the midst of my greatest trials, struggles, and sorrows I don’t have to pretend to be something I’m not. I don’t have to pretend that I can handle the pressures of life on my own. I can admit my own weakness and the infinite strength of the One upon Whom I will lean for the rest of my life.

Meditations

The Cost of Discipleship: Thoughts on the Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

November 7, 2011 philipmt 3 Comments

Dietrich Bonhoeffer lived a life of sacrificial significance. I won’t bother here to attempt a story of his life, but I will note some things that stood out to me as I have been studying his life and works lately. These areas were a challenge to me because I fall quite short in these areas on a daily basis:

Personal Communion with God: Bonhoeffer’s relationship with God was one of intimate fellowship. This glows in his writings. When the German pastor speaks of fellowship with God it is not a sort of academic exercise or a list of attributes set out by a scholar. This is fascinating to me as I consider that Bonhoeffer achieved his doctorate at age 21. He was a scholar, but he did not allow his Christian faith to become a mere intellectual assent. I enjoyed reading his thoughts on the Psalms and how to pray them. He especially pointed out the help of lifting a Psalm to God every morning. To Bonhoeffer, this directed his day and made the most mundane moment a joyful reunion with he Father. It really is no wonder that his fellow prisoners wrote of him, after he was killed by the Nazi regime, that he was one of the few Christians who really lived what they said they believed. How would it change my life if I pursued a similar fellowship with my Father? What would I need to give up? What would I gain?

Personal Sacrifice for the Kingdom: On the month that Hitler rose to power, Bonhoeffer preached on national radio regarding the problem of seeking out an idol to solve the needs of the German people. He was active prior to the war and during the war in ensuring that individuals physical and spiritual needs were met. In life and in death, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a model of personal sacrifice. He gave up an appointment in the Nazi-approved church for a life on the edge as an outspoken opponent of the Nazi takeover of the German churches. He gave up his ability to stay in the United States during the war in order to serve the need of the German people. He knew the danger this posed, but returned to his people. Even after his imprisonment he constantly looked to the needs of his captors and fellow prisoners above his own. How would my life be different if I focused on serving God and others to this radical degree? Do I stand up for what I know is right or do I cave when the pressure builds? Do I run from danger or do I stand my ground? Am I radically committed to the suffering that is necessary in the life of a disciple of Christ or do I fear the commitment of taking up a cross and following Him?

Personal Focus on the Gospel: One major theme glows throughout Bonhoeffer’s writings – the cross-work of Jesus Christ. Bonhoeffer was a man who lived daily in the recognition of his need of the redemption that Christ alone provides. He realized the need of his heart and the guilt of his sin. When writing of praying Psalms that speak to the guilt of the writer, Bonhoeffer wrote, “here it is clear that the believing Christian certainly has to say not only something about his guilt but also something equally important about his innocence and his justification. It is characteristic of the faith of the Christian that through God’s grace and the merit of Jesus Christ he has become entirely justified and guiltless in God’s eyes, so that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). And it is characteristic of the prayer of the Christian to hold fast to this innocence and justification which has come to him, appealing to God’s word and thanking [God] for it.” If I lived in a daily recognition of the depth of my sin and the height of Christ’s righteousness provided to me in the Gospel, how would I then live? Would I not live with a greater love for God, thankfulness for His gift, and passionate desire to live for Him? O that I might have a crisp focus on the Gospel this week that it may shape my life like that of Pastor Bonhoeffer.

Delivered From Darkness