Christian Myth #6 - If I Obey God, He Will Love Me More

 

    It is very typical for us as Christians to think that God will love us more if we obey Him but that is simply not true. Yet, every week our counselors at Grace Life hear Christian after Christian share on some level how they believe God's love for them is in direct proportion to their obedience to Him. We understand how they feel because most of us were there at one time but it also breaks our hearts knowing the bondage this produces.

    It seems as if we are sometimes schizophrenic in how we view God's love for us. We tell those outside of Christ that God loves them no matter what they have done and He wants to have a relationship with them through faith in Jesus Christ. Once a person has come to Christ, we can infer or say outright that God will now love them only if they obey Him. Wait a minute! So God loves us unconditionally so we can come to faith in Christ but once we are saved, God loves us conditionally? To take a line from the movie, "O Brother Where Art Thou", "That don't make no sense!" It would seem as though our Father's love would be just as unconditional after we are saved. Right? So, for we who are in Christ unconditional means that there are no strings attached to our behavior whether good or bad.

    I love what John wrote in 1 John 1: "We love Him because He first loved us." Living with the constant awareness of God's love will lead us to obey Him. Imagine a child telling her parents she loves them but not obeying them.

    For some who believe in living by grace, if the topic of obedience to God comes up, they immediately call that legalism. As Forest Gump said, "I'm not a very smart man, Jenny, but I do know what love is." I'm not a very smart man either but I do know what God's love is. And I know that when we know God loves us, we want to obey Him because we love Him. That's not legalism at all. It's a love relationship. Paul wrote that the love of Christ compelled Him to obey God.

    If you are a recovering legalist, like me, and you have recently come out of legalism, I realize that because you obeyed God for all the wrong reasons, that word may conjure up very bad feelings. I remember when I had my grace awakening that I had no idea how to pray, even though I had been praying for two hours a day before that. I had to ask God to show me what prayer was all about because I had done it to impress God so He would love me more. We may need to ask the Holy Spirit to renew our minds about the difference in love based obedience versus legalistic based obedience to God.

    We need to ask ourselves where we are as we read this? Have we obeyed God so He would love us more? The good news is He loves us whether we obey Him or not. Let's all pray the Holy Spirit would deepen our understanding of this great gospel truth!

Live Free in Christ,


Mark Maulding, Founder & President




www.GraceLifeInternational.com

All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Christian Myth #5 - I'm Just a Sinner Saved by Grace

The common phrase, "I'm just a sinner saved by grace", sounds humble but it is far from the message of the gospel. I understand what people are attempting to communicate. All of us in Christ realize that before our salvation, we did not deserve our salvation. Then after our salvation, because we still sin, we do not deserve the blessings God gives to us. While this phrase may sound humble, it is not true and may actually cause us to sin more. Why?

We understand that the perception we have of ourselves will determine how we live our lives. The late Dr. Adrian Rogers said, "The me I see is the me I'll be." Take a moment and repeat that statement. If we are just a sinner saved by grace, why would we expect to do anything other than sin? In fact, if that is who we really are deep within our inner most being, it would be much more likely for us to sin. Right?

So who are we? The only perspective of us which really matters is God's. Believing any opinion we or anyone else has of us which is contrary to God's opinion causes much trouble. When we agree with God about who we are and the Holy Spirit makes this real to us, it transforms us. Our Abba says things like, "You are my son/daughter". "You are a saint." "You are righteous." You are beloved (lovable and loved)." Isn't that really fantastic news?

Unfortunately, it is tempting to do mental gymnastics to squirm around this truth by believing God just sees us that way but it won't really be true until heaven. The good news is that who God says we are is true now, regardless of our sins, obedience, feelings, etc. 1 John 3:1 says "What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it--we're called children of God! That's who we really are." (The Message) Notice that last phrase - "That is who we really are". God is not pretending or just seeing us as we will be in heaven one day.

I was the main speaker at a pastor and wife retreat when I met him. He was 21 and trying to decide whether to come and hear me speak or to go to the youth event. He asked me about my topic and I told him it was about who we are in Christ. He decided to stay and he heard me preach all three sessions. The last day after everyone departed, he approached me with his story.

"I am a Christian but until recently, I strayed far from my relationship with God. Because of the things I did, I did not feel worthy of God blessing me with a godly wife who loved Jesus like I now do. After hearing what God says about who I am in Christ, I realize that I can have a godly wife." About a year later, he married one of the sweetest young ladies who loved Jesus just as much as he did. He is now a student pastor.

What if we all said, "I was a sinner saved by grace. Now I am a child of God who sometimes sins." Our experience at Grace Life is that when people come to believe this in their hearts, they actually sin less and are much more aware of when they do sin. God cannot lie and He does not call you a sinner saved by grace but He calls us His child and much, much more. What will we call ourselves today?

Live Free in Christ,

Mark Maulding, Founder & President



 www.gracelifeinternational.com
Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Christian Myth #4 - God Punishes Us

  

The majority of Christians wrongly believe that God punishes them when they mess up. So, when bad things happen to them, they default to thinking, "I must have committed some sin because God is punishing me. Otherwise, this wouldn't have happened to me."

God does not punish us who are in Christ! He cannot! Why? Because all of His anger for our sins was placed on Jesus on His cross. 1 John 2:1 says, "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins..." Have we told the Lord lately that we are so glad for our propitiation? Probably not! We may have no idea what that word means. It is a great word and it literally means this. The anger of God towards us because of our sins was completely satisfied by the death of Jesus on the cross. If all of our Father's anger for our sins was dealt with on the cross, then He cannot and will not ever get angry with us or punish us again, because He punished Jesus who took all our sins for us.

In the movie, Double Jeopardy, a wife is convicted of murdering her husband and goes to prison. While in prison, she learns that her husband faked his death and framed her. Another inmate tells her that if she gets paroled, she could kill her ex-husband and would not be tried for murder because of the 5th Amendment. According to the double jeopardy clause, a person cannot be tried for the same crime twice.

We were tried for our crimes of sin and found guilty. Our sentence was death but Jesus took our place and died for us. As a result, we cannot be found guilty again by God for our sins because they are already paid for. God the Father will not ever be angry with us because of our sins, even the ones we have not yet committed.

Because He loves us, He does sometimes discipline us according to Hebrews 12, but that is not the same as punishment. Punishment is when we are required to pay for our sins. Discipline is when sin gets us off track and God is working things in a way to get us back on track. Back on track, in depending on Him and enjoying our union with Jesus Christ.

Then does God feel anything when we sin? Yes, it hurts Him like it would any parent. That is why we are told not to grieve the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 4:30.

If we believe God still punishes us, we don't really understand the gospel. That is why our slogan at Grace Life International is that we are all about "Sharing the Gospel with Christians." We were a mess and someone shared the transformative gospel of grace with us, which continues to free us from pain and religion. We are now passionate to walk with others in their journey of God's grace.

What peace, relief and rest we can experience when we understand and believe God does not punish us for our sins. Do we really believe in the whole gospel? If you have never attended one of our Grace Life Conferences where we spell this out using lots of Scripture, please visit our web site for more information and come join us for one of our monthly conferences.

Live Free in Christ,



Mark Maulding, Founder & President







 www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Christian Myth #3 - Christians Must Keep the 10 Commandments

Do we as Christians need to obey the 10 Commandments? No. Yet, when I hear Christians talk, I wonder if we are reading the same Bible. A man I was discipling one time got in trouble when he shared at his church that we are not obligated to keep the 10 Commandments. This belief is caused by a lack of understanding of the transformative gospel of grace.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-18, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from  the Law until everything is accomplished." (NIV) Jesus Himself did what no human has ever been able to do. He perfectly fulfilled the Law so that we don't have to.

Still not convinced? Look at Timothy 1:9 "Realizing the fact that the law is not made for a righteous person..." (NAS) There is only one way to be a righteous person - through faith in Jesus Christ alone, not through our obedience. So, the 10 Commandments are not for Christians.

Imagine waking up every day with a husband whose first words are, "I have a list of things you have to do today. I am going to follow you to make sure you do them perfectly. I will point out every mistake to you. And by the way, I will not lift a finger to help you. Have a good day!" Does anyone want to be in that marriage? That is what it is like to be married to Mr. Law.

But what if you have a husband whose first words every day are, "I love you so much! Let's go have some breakfast together. While we are talking together, enjoying each other, I will share with you some things I want you to do today but don't worry about them. I will not only go with you but I will actually do each one through you if you will trust me. And if you make a mistake, I will gently let you know but no matter what, don't forget that I love you." Who wants to be in this marriage? It's a no-brainer. This is what it is like being married to Mr.. Grace - Jesus! Romans 7:1-7 says we died to Mr. Law and are now in a holy union with Mr. Grace!

Some will argue that we only have to keep the law for our sanctification (spiritual growth) but not our justification (salvation). Galatians 3:24-25. says, "So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law." Can it be any clearer? Once we come to faith in Christ, we are not obligated to keep the 10 Commandments!

God has given us something so much better than trying to keep the 10 Commandments. He has actually written the Law on our hearts according to Hebrews 10:16. This is referring to our new creation identity in Christ which gives us the desire to obey Jesus in us. We have Jesus in us so we can love God, people and ourselves appropriately. And love always fulfills the law according to Romans 13:8-10. Ask Jesus to live His life through you in the power of the Holy Spirit by faith (not by feelings) and you will live out the 10 Commandments without even thinking about them! Let go of the 10 Commandments today and enjoy your union with Jesus!

Live Free In Christ,


Mark Maulding, President and Founder





www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Christian Myth #2 - Get Closer to God

Is it possible for a Christian to get closer to God? No. Yet, if you listen to a lot of Christians, you would never know that. Look at the titles of these articles I recently read. "12 Steps to Get Closer to God" and "10 Ways to Get Closer to God". If we add those together, we need to do 22 things to get closer to God! I'm tired already! How about you?

This kind of thinking is based on a faulty understanding of the gospel. The real good news is that we who believe in Jesus Christ are as close to God as we are ever going to get, both in this life and the one to come. Why? Because we are united to Christ. He lives in us and we live in Him. You cannot get any closer to God than that! For example, Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Also, the letter to the Ephesians mentions that we are in Christ over 30 times just to mention a few.

Some may wonder about James 4:8 which says, "Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." In the early church, some who believed in Jesus as their Savior, especially Jewish people, were taught that they also needed to commit themselves to believing in the law if they wanted to truly be saved. Salvation was Jesus plus the law. James appears to be addressing these who were in church but who were not appearing as genuine Christians because of the false gospel they believed. So, he calls them double-minded and sinners. His exhortation to come near to God is an invitation to become a Christian. The Bible never tells Christians to come near or to get closer to God.

We can certainly feel closer to God at times, but that is not an indication of whether we are close to God. During those times of feeling closer to God, we are actually experiencing our union with Jesus Christ in a more tangible way than we do on other days. You might ask, "Is there a way for us to experience more of our closeness to God?" Yes! It's much like our human relationships in that the more communication and time we spend with another person, it makes us feel closer to that person. However, if we don't have the foundation of understanding and believing that we are already as close to God as we will ever be through our union with Him, these ways tend to become legalistic.

These are often called the "spiritual disciplines". I don't like that designation because I can't imagine calling the times I spend and communicate with my wife the "marriage disciplines". Yet, there is no doubt we sometimes (not always) feel closer to God through prayer, reading, memorizing, meditating in the Bible, fasting, etc. When we desire to do these, it gives us the opportunity to gaze upon the Lover of our soul. I personally love reading my Bible and praying every day. I will also confess to you that every time I get ready to read my Bible, I am tempted to watch television or read a magazine. I've come to realize this is just a temptation to try and stop me from my times of intimacy with my God.

Believe that because you are united with Jesus Christ, you can never get closer to God. And to experience more of that closeness, be creative in how you spend time and communicate with Him. There is not a right time or right way to do this. It is as unique as God has designed us.Live Free In Christ, Mark Maulding, President and Founder www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Christian Myth #1 - Get More Committed to Jesus

   Often we are under the impression that we would live a less sinful life if we were more committed to Jesus.  Being more committed to Jesus means we will try harder to live for God instead of for sin.  If we have bought into this myth, we have realized it leads to failure upon failure.  Why?  Because being more committed to Jesus actually puts us in a position to live in our own religious strength instead of His divine strength.  Being more committed to Him causes us to act as though we are separate from Him. That would be like pushing our lawn mower over our yard without any gas in the engine in hopes that it would cut the grass.  No wonder many people give up on the Christian life completely.   

   God does not want us to get more committed to Him.  What may surprise us is that the words "commit" and "committed" are used 99% of the time in the Old and New Testaments in the context of committing sin.  They are never ever used to tell us to get more committed to God.  

   Then what does God want?  For we who believe, He wants us to daily surrender to Jesus in us.  This puts us in a place of dependence on Him and not ourselves.  Rather than living as though we are separated from God, we live from our union with Him. Take a quick look at a few scriptures describing our union with Christ.  1 Corinthians 6:17 "But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him."  Romans 7:4 "...you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God."  Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."  Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ..."

   Surrendering to Christ so we can live from our union with Him is saying, "I  am willing to do whatever You want me to do today and I am depending completely on You Who lives in me to do those things through me".  Do you see how different this is from being more committed to Him?

   I have had the privilege of mentoring all three of my sons.  One said to me, "I just can't live the Christian life!"  As we talked through it, what became obvious was that deep down he believed the myth that being committed to Jesus Christ would result in living a life which overcomes sin and he was failing over and over.  You see, he was so focused on his behavior that he was missing the wonderful relationship of our union with Christ.  I encouraged him to focus more on that and in time the behavior would follow.  

   The good news for us today is that we can stop trying to be more committed to Jesus and can surrender to Him, since we are united to Him - He is in us and we are in Him.  Are you willing to begin right now?  Go ahead and tell Him.  Even if we don't feel any different or see an immediate change in our behavior, let's not give up.  Over time, we will be transformed.

  

    

 
Live Free In Christ, 


Mark Maulding, President and Founder 



www.GraceLifeInternational.com 
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Freedom from Bitterness

 
   Hebrews 12:15 "See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."  Bitterness is our unawareness or unwillingness to deal with the offense inflicted on us by another person.  When we live in bitterness, we often fantasize about what we really would like to say or do to that person if we had a chance.  We think of how we would make them pay for what they did to us or to someone we love.  You see, it is OK to feel but it is not OK to get stuck in that hurt.  If we get stuck in the hurt, it turns into bitterness.  This bitterness eventually spills over into the relationships of those we love who haven't even hurt us. 

   On the trail where my wife and I run, there is a plant called Kudzu.  It was introduced to the USA from Japan in 1876 as a forage crop and believe it or not, as an ornamental plant.  Southeastern farmers were encouraged to grow it to prevent soil erosion.  What no one knew at the time is that the climate conditions in the southeastern United States are perfect for the super duper growth of this plant and it has no natural predator.  By 1953, the Department of Agriculture declared it a "pest weed".  In other words, it has grown out of control on millions of acres of land and there is no way to stop it! 

   Bitterness is just like that.  It was introduced by Satan to the human heart back in the Garden of Eden and there is no human way to stop it.  It will overrun your entire life!  But God has a way to kill it.  When Jesus died on the cross, we died with Him to bitterness (Romans 6:6-7)  and we were raised with Him as new creations who are "forgivers".  This is our identity. 

   God's remedy to bitterness is to live out of our identity.  This means we need to sit down with God and tell Him all the reasons we are bitter towards that person and how we feel about that person, even if we "hate" them.  We need to go on and tell God that we forgive that person though they don't deserve it, just like we did not deserve God's forgiveness in Christ.  Ephesians 4:31-32 says, "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." 

   I have learned that we need to also confess our sin of bitterness to God so we can experience the full freedom of our forgiveness in Christ.  Without this, we may not experience complete peace. 

   So what are we going to do today?  Are we going to let bitterness grow inside of us like Kudzu?  Or, are we going to live like who we are in Christ, agreeing with Him and forgive?  The choice is up to each of us.  When you choose to forgive, schedule a time on your calendar or you may keep putting it off! 

   If you need someone to walk with you through the forgiveness process, we can help.  Contact GLI at 704-522-9026.  Also, please pray about signing up for the Lay Aside Every Weight Conference scheduled for Sept 7-8 at the Steele Creek Church of Charlotte.  You can get more information and register by contacting our office.  

Live Free in Christ,

  

Mark Maulding, Founder and President

www.GraceLifeInternational.com 
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding