THE GOSPEL MEASURES US

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  (Hebrews 4:12 NIV)

Every now and then someone comes up with a phrase which leaves you thinking, "I wish I'd said it that way." Prof. G.L. Carter did it to me this week when he responded to one point in last Sunday's sermon by commenting, "It seemed to me that you were saying, 'Instead of asking whether the Gospel is relevant to us, we ought to be asking if we are relevant to the Gospel'." I felt that G.L. had summarized the matter perfectly; I wish I had done as well.

You see, this is the forgotten mood in much current theological chatter: not whether Christianity is relevant to us, but whether we are relevant to Christianity. We are not the measuring stick of the Gospel; the Gospel measures us. We do not set a standard for the faith; faith has set the standard, and the only really relevant question is this, do we meet the standard?

There is a certain inherent arrogance in all the talk about relevance. I suppose, in the end, that this is why I usually find the word not only trite but distasteful. We seem to think that we can treat the Gospel the way we treat the television screen, switching to another channel when the theme doesn't please us.

Without a doubt the church sometimes misshapes the Gospel until it ceases to be relevant. But I'm sure that sometimes modern man accuses the Gospel of being irrelevant when in truth it is only discomfiting. He needs then to remember that the Gospel judges him, and it is his own relevancy which is at stake. 

-- Ellsworth Kalas (1923-2015), originally published on December 15, 1966 in the newsletter of First Methodist Church of Madison, Wisconsin. Source https://ellsworthkalas.com/blog.

#6410

STRUGGLING TO DO GOOD - Part 1 of 2

Do you struggle to do good, even when you want to do what is right? God says that this struggle is normal… It takes more than willpower to change your nature. You don’t just snap your fingers and become a good person.

The apostle Paul found this to be true in his own life. Perhaps you can identify with him. I can. Paul wrote, “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do -- this I keep on doing.”  (Romans 7:18-19 NIV)

When we realize we are not perfect we tend to comfort ourselves with comparisons: “Well, I may not be what I ought to be, but I am better than so and so.” You have probably heard someone say that, or you may have even said it yourself. The only problem with this approach is that God does not grade on a curve. He does not judge us according to how we compare with other people. Jesus Christ is His standard of measurement, and He is perfect. That means that when we measure ourselves by Christ, we do not measure up. We all fall short (Romans 3:23)...

We must evaluate ourselves by God’s perfect standard of goodness, Jesus Christ. When we do that, we realize the truth that no one is perfectly good. 

-- Excerpts from “God’s Power to Change Your Life” by Rick Warren

#6054

MEASURING UP

I’ll never forget the day I handed Jesus my yardstick. I had been saved since childhood, but I was almost thirty before the message of grace finally made the trip from my head to my heart, setting me “free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). As the light of the good news finally penetrated the darkness of my self-condemning mind, the “perfect love” 1 John 4:18 speaks of finally drove out my insecurity, which had always been rooted in fear and punishment.

When I finally laid down my Pharisee pride and admitted that in myself I would never be -- could never be -- enough, I experienced a breakthrough that has radically changed my life. For as I surrendered my yardstick -- the tool of comparison that had caused so much mental torment and a sense of separation from God -- Jesus took it from my hands. Then, with a look of great love, He broke it over His knee and turned it into a cross, reminding me that He died so I wouldn’t have to.

That the punishment I so fully deserve has already been paid for.

That the way has been made for everyone who will believe in Jesus not only to come to Him but to come back home to the heart of God. 

-- Joanna Weaver in “Lazarus Awakening: Finding Your Place in the Heart of God” 

#4914

GOD’S ULTIMATE MEASURING INSTRUMENT

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it -- not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it -- they will be blessed in what they do.” (James 1:22–25 NIV)

James likened the Word of God to a mirror into which we can look and see ourselves as we actually are. It is impossible to overstate how important this is. Accurate diagnosis always precedes effective cure. You only know that the temperature of your body is too hot because you have a measuring instrument (called a thermometer). You only know that the board is too short because you can place it against a measuring instrument (called a tape measure).

The Bible is God’s ultimate measuring instrument. It is meant to function in each of our lives as a spiritual tape measure. We can place ourselves and our relationships next to it and see if we measure up to God’s standard. God’s Word is one of His sweetest gifts of grace, and open eyes to see it clearly and an open heart to receive it willingly are sure signs of God’s grace as well.

-- Adapted from Paul Tripp

#4770

A MEASURE OF LIFE

Death is often a measure of life.  In degrees it teaches about friendship, family and about love.  What it can also do is point out not how much is taken away but how much is left behind. 

-- Unknown


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