Preceding the first chapter in the book Messy Spirituality (a book my girlfriend gave me over Easter), there is a quotation from Robert Coles of The Wittenburg Door.

“I go to church and everyone seems to feel so good about themselves. Everyone calls themselves a Christian nowadays. How dare we call ourselves Christians? It’s only for Jesus to decide whether we are Christians or not. I don’t think He’s made a decision in my case, and I’m afraid that when He does I am going to be sent straight to hell. I don’t feel I can call myself a Christian. I can’t be satisfied with myself. We all seem to be pretty contented with ourselves in church and that makes me sick. I think all this contentment makes Jesus nervous.

No, obviously, there’s a lot that’s theologically wrong with that quote. For example, eternal assurance is something we can enjoy—though it has to be discovered for ourselves. It can’t simply be learned or spoken. And, of course, God’s eternal nature would seem to negate the feeling of ‘nervousness’.

But, I think there’s also a healthy humility about these words.

If we are Christians, it’s not because of anything we’ve done or not done. It’s because of grace. In other words, it’s because God has said so. In this way, Jesus decides if we are Christians. And, I think we would do well to see our faith and salvation in that way. I am a Christian because Jesus has decided so.

Friedrich Nietzsche said a lot of thought provoking, stupid things. And his writings still stand to challenge people’s thinking—which is good. I came across this quote on StumbleUpon:

“People who have given us their complete confidence believe that they have a right to ours. The inference is false, a gift confers no rights.”

He is right. Has someone ever shared something extremely personal with you and then shortly after turned around and expected that you would match their vulnerability? I have. In fact, I’ve probably done it. Giving a ‘gift’ doesn’t give a person room to expect something in return. That would nullify the original gift.

As we all know, our relationship with God is no different. We do not give our lives to Christ and expect that he will give us the things we want in return. And likewise, God doesn’t give us the gift life and expect a life of gratitude and sanctification in return, as if for payment (though that is just what happens). That would nullify the notion of a ‘gift’.

Thanks Friedrich. Good reminder.

The concept that all sins are equal is a common misconception in the Church. All sins are not equal. The remedy for all sins is equal. And, our acceptance of that remedy is always equal. There is no prescribed ‘penance’, so to speak. But sins themselves are not equal.

This is easily evidenced by the Old Testament. There are plenty of sins in the Old Testament which demanded physical death. And many which did not. Why would this be so unless some sins were weightier, in a sense, than others? Or, moreover, if all sins were equal, then what could be said about the ultimate sin of unbelief?  There must be a sense in which some sins are greater than others.

In Mark, Jesus tells a scribe of the greatest commandment. Mark 12:29-30:

Jesus answered, "The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

If there is such a thing as  the greatest commandment, then in would follow that the greatest sin would be to violate that commandment. And Jesus indirectly explains what that is.

Idolatry!

“The Lord is one”. In other words, there is one God. And we must love him with “all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength”. But the funny thing is, virtually all sins are a violation of this commandment.

I believe that if we strip away the outer layers of virtually any sin, we discover idolatry under almost all of them. We lie because our success or esteem is valued more highly than God. We steal because we value that thing more than God. See the trend?

While most people don’t take seriously the sin of idolatry—or just consider it strictly in the literal sense—I think we should recognize that any time we find greater value in something other than God, we violate God’s highest law. When we realize this, it should become a source to praise God even louder for his grace and patience with us. And, become a motivator to look for and embrace the sanctification God is working in each of his children.

Samuel has just set Saul up as king of the people. The people demanded it, even though God was their king. Still God allowed Samuel to appoint an earthly king to the people. When Samuel revealed to them their folly, they acknowledged their guilt, but still were stuck with Saul.

So, they asked that Samuel pray for them. This is how he responds.

1 Samuel 12:20-22:

"Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. For the LORD will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for himself.

The Israelites had gotten themselves into a tight spot. Their sin had not left them condemned to death, but they still had to live with the very tangible consequences.

Samuel basically tells them, “You got yourself into hot water, now do the very best you can in the situation you’re in by continuing to serve the Lord.”

There is no question that, at times, our sin leaves us in a troubling spot. Perhaps in the midst of conflict or financial strain. Or, for some, even more severe consequences, like a child is conceived or a prison sentence is faced. But, like the Israelites in their consequences, we must realize that God is a God of grace. Although he will often let us live with our consequences, his grace is greater.

Our ongoing duty is to serve and follow the Lord. Whether we have sinned, or seen a victory over sin, we must continue to move foreword. Until we are glorified with Him, we can neither reach our goal, nor stop reaching for it.

And finally in 1 Samuel 12:23, Samuel adds:

“Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you”

Now, of course we are not prophets to a nation of people like Samuel was. It may be too strong to say that it is a blatant sin to not pray. But for Samuel to call it a sin that he should stop praying for the people, highlights for us, among other things, the weight of the practice and discipline.

Though we fail, we should continue as if we had not failed, because the failure is already forgiven us. And crucial to that endeavor is that we would pray for success in our service to the Lord.

Puritan thinker and author William Gurnall, when writing about how we can have assurance when our various comforts have left us, shares this piece of insight:

Take heed thou thinkest not grace decays because thy comfort withdraws… Did ever faith triumph more in our Saviour crying “My God, my God!” Here faith was at its meridian when it was midnight in respect of joy.

These are thoughts we’re acquainted with. Most of us have already reasoned with our spirit that our standing with God isn’t necessarily measured by the comforts we’re enjoying. But, it’s good to be reminded.

Gurnall, then, reminds us that perhaps the highest peak of Christ’s faith rested on him as he hung on the cross. Yet, in that moment, there was perhaps nothing more emotionally and spiritually and physically painful. And likewise, we can remember that. 

We do not need our comfort to be full of faith and confidence in God’s power and love for us. It’s just there.

Tim Keller in Counterfeit Gods:

“There is legitimate guilt that is removed through repentance and restitution, and then there is irremediable guilt. When people say, “I know God forgives me, but I can’t forgive myself,” they mean that they have failed an idol whose approval is more important to them than God’s.”

It comes across somewhat harsh. But I believe Keller is right. Many people, including myself at times, have no intellectual problem accepting God’s grace and forgiveness. But on an emotional level, we remain weighed down with guilt.

If we honestly believe that God’s approval is what matters and that, although we have failed him, he has truly and fully forgiven us, then part of accepting that forgiveness must be forgiving ourselves. If we refuse to forgive ourselves, we must not fully believe that God has forgiven us.

If we continue to wallow in guilt and despair, it must be that there is some other deity in our heart that we believe we need forgiveness from—an idol. But an idol can never forgive.

I see this illustration to be true in my own life. Ridding ourselves of idols doesn’t only mean that God gets all the glory he deserves from us, but it also means we get to live in the joy that comes from fully understanding and accepting what it means to be forgiven and accepted by God.

Tim Keller, in Counterfeit Gods says:

An idol is something we look to for things that only God can give. Idolatry functions widely inside religious communities when doctrinal truth is elevated to positions of a false god. This occurs when people rely on the rightness of their doctrines for their standing with God rather than on God himself and his grace. It is a subtle but deadly mistake. The sign that you have slipped into this form of self-justification is that you become what the book of Proverbs calls a “scoffer”. Scoffers always show contempt and disdain for the opponents rather than graciousness, This is a sign that they do no see themselves as sinners saved by grace. Instead, their trust in the rightness of their views makes them feel superior.

Does that sound personally familiar to you? It has to me. Perhaps not as severely right now, but in the past, definitely. Sometimes we may not even realize that we have placed some of our hope in something other than the Gospel.

Many churches look at the churches around them as competitors, rather than partners. Or theological diversity as a threat to their ministry. I doubt this is anything short of a sense of religious idolatry.

Even if our theology is right, and our church is healthy, our attitudes toward other people’s theological ideas and churches reveal a good deal about what our own thought and theology means to us. “Scoffing” and “disdain” for anyone is not a good thing. But it’s especially revealing when those things are directed at people who share the same salvation we do.