I am a worm

(another post from a class in response to Chapters 9-11 of Jerry Bridges' Transforming Grace)

Reading Bridges this week about "by the grace of God" in both his own life and in the life of Paul in chapter 11, I was reminded of two things - the abundant grace of God and the great cloud of witnesses surrounding me. I had a sort of "aha" moment. I don't have in and of myself all that I need, but that's good. God's grace is sufficient and super-abundant. It is by his grace that I am in the position that I am in here right now and at any given moment. It is by God's grace that I am. It is by God's grace that I have anything at all to offer. And, wherever God may place me, my true audience, my true judge, to borrow from Guinness, is an Audience of One. Bridges primarily focused on the fact that we are inadequate and yet God's grace is more than sufficient - when we are weak (which we are completely and wholly), God is strong (which he is more than completely and wholly). His examples, however, of himself and of Paul were what reminded me of "the great cloud of witnesses." I am not alone in my finiteness. And I am not alone in receiving this abundant grace of God.

Along these lines, I love the picture Bridges borrows from Isaiah 41 and Psalm 22 of a worm. In Isaiah 41, God refers to Israel as a worm, one completely squishable and defeatable by a mere step of their enemy. And yet this passage in Isaiah is where God again and again tells his people to "Fear not!" But he doesn't tell them how strong of worms they are, nor how they are the greatest among people. No. He does precisely the opposite. He reminds them of how small they are and yet how great He is. He is their Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. He is the One who helps them. This is precisely the position they and I need to be in.

The teaching and the application seem to be one in the same. Behold your God. Gaze upon His beauty, His grace. Remember who you are and whose you are. "For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” (Isaiah 41:13 ESV)

"In the upshot there is only one answer for the preacher who wonders whether he is worthy to preach the sermon he has composed or for the writer who wonders whether he is worthy to writ the religious book he is working on. The answer is: Of course not...." Harry Blamires, quoted by Bridges on p.155

You've Gotta Be Raised From The Dead

(another post from a class in response to Chapters 5-8 of Jerry Bridges' Transforming Grace)
Today as I read the next segment of Transforming Grace, I came across 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 in chapter six and I was overwhelmed with a sense of joy. "For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."

Reading and reflecting on grace the past two weeks has reminded me again and again of how far I fall short. Somehow my ingrained desire to perform and be responsible comes out even in my striving to live more by grace. I know, it’s crazy. And yet as I read this passage from 1 Corinthians, the Lord reminded me of what it means to be "compelled by love." It means to live as one dead to sin and alive to Christ. It means to live as the redeemed as the beloved child of God.

Dr. Douglass has again and again stated that our "first identity is first" and I at least intellectually accede to this fact. We are saved by grace, grace alone, and we are now saints securely seated with Christ. That is our first identity. In fact, over the course of this past weekend and past week, I’ve stated these truths again and again to some of the young believers to who I minister. I can explain them well to others and yet I struggle to live them out.

"You may still struggle with sin, but that is no longer who you are. You are a daughter of the King, you are God's beloved. Any sin that you commit or struggle with is accounted to Christ, not you. You in turn have his righteousness, a whiter than white that cannot ever be blemished even to the slightest degree. You are first a saint. That is who you are. Don't let Satan, yourself nor the world tell you anything else." This is the jist of several conversations I had this past week. And yet today, as I think about grace, I am reminded of my striving even striving to not strive. I, too, often forget that I am one of the last hour workers. I forget that I am like any of the myriad of examples Jesus and the Bible give us of those in desperate, dire need of salvation.

Fortunately, for me and us, God never leaves us there. Thank be to God that he doesn’t leave me there! As I am reminded yet again of the fact that I have been redeemed, I have died to sin and been raised to life, all I can think of is my Beautiful, Beloved Savior. He becomes my focus instead of all the things I do or don’t do. He is Holy, Righteous, Just, Glorious, Good, Loving, Beautiful, the Lover of my soul. He is my Lord, my Father, my King, and my Savior. That is indeed VERY good news.

And the irony of it all is that when my eyes are awed and fixed on Jesus, somehow I do both rest in his arms and produce good fruit. When I remember who I truly am in Christ, I live as such. When I focus on my doing, I become anxious, overwhelmed, self-focused, self-critical, and ultimately without any power to change. Praise the Lord that he rescues us, that his grace super-abounds all the more when our sin abounds. Praise the Lord that he has made us dead to sin and alive to Christ. His love compels us.