Rambling Meaninglessly About the Only Thing That Matters
I saw a comment on Russell Mann’s blog about his post about (mis)understanding grace. I was cited as “getting it” (I find it really hard to believe that this could in any way be true) so I thought I’d reply to Neb, who said:
Just read your post on “grace” over at the BHT…but the comments are disabled! I agree that grace is grace, unconditionally. However…what about the “ye shall know them by their fruits” issue? A Christian, somebody saved by grace, continuing to flaunt sinful habits is still saved, but is totally missing out on a full relationship with God and is also a terrible witness. At the very least, it just shows a bad attitude! At worst, it calls in to question whether that person truly made a committment to Christ in the first place.
Anyway, that’s how I see it, and I’m open to discussion.
Neb
I went long on it, so I figured I would say it here, too. If you haven’t read Russell’s very honest struggles as he works out his faith, take a walk through.
My overly long comment:
Why the however, friend? If grace is grace, unconditionally, then there can be nothing else. His mercy is gracious. His justice is gracious. His Law is gracious. But they are not grace.
Why ask these other questions? Why not ask how we can continue to live at all, surrounded by our own wretched existence, boldly sinning and loving God more meekly still? God does not condemn me not because I am not breaking the law but because Christ is upon me, the One Who Made Perfect The Law. Because of grace, I am compelled to sanctification of my life (prevenient grace, and not the sanctification of my life the comes from Christ alone), not to gain his favour — for I can do nothing that is worth his smile — but because of his great love for me.
For our brothers and sisters who continue unrepentant in sin, the Good Book gives us solid guidelines on what to do. When Paul had the Church at Corinth cast out the guy who was sleeping with his dad’s wife (whatever that meant), he said it was for the saving of his soul. That doesn’t detract from his point grace saves, not anything we do. When this wretched man repented, it was because of God’s grace to him, returned to the church because of grace, restored by grace.
Why do we always want to say “grace, sure, but…”? When we preach grace to ourselves, we have to continuously give up letting the law do something it was never meant to do, to be our righteousness (as the folks at World Harvest are wont to say).
When Jesus says “by their fruits, you shall know them” it’s a reference to knowing the antichrists, the false prophets, not knowing the Brethern. Perhaps, indeed, this one you think of is a false prophet. If he preaches us to sin so that grace may abound, then we should follow the scriptural mandate for discipline laid out in many traditions.
Grace is confusing, frustrating and irritating. I really hate the grace of Christ at times. I’m not even sure how I feel right now. But there’s no “but” in it, that much I’m sure.
Russell said “I fear if I swallow this grace pill whole, I won’t fit into the church again.” How terrible that it’s true! I fear that if I tell myself “grace alone!” I will commit the sins I long to commit, the temptations I secretly harbour unexamined and un-enlightened by grace. If I understood grace, my response would be to bring out these embarassing, rotten, sad, disgusting parts out into the light of the grace and peace of Christ, confident that my flesh’s desire will not affect his grace to me in any way. I would run to repentance, run to see him, run to taste and see that he is good. What’s that going to look like? What’s going to happen to my reputation? Not that it’s stellar anyway….
And here I am lecturing you on grace — what a farce! I am ashamed of how often I hate the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And yet his grace pours down. No, I swim in it, no matter how I am. How can I resist such a thing? I praise the Father that because he has placed me in Christ’s hand, I am eternally without sin, given a robe of white, a brand snatched from the fire.
And now I’m going to end up weeping like a lost child.
Why would Christ pay attention to me? Why would he care for me? There is nothing in me that warrants any second look. Why would he call me? Why would he run to me? Why am I given to participate his grace upon the earth?
Grace positively undoes me. All I ever do is ramble about it and then start blubbering. Even my awful sin doesn’t matter: all that matters is Him, all that matters is His love, His grace.
