On the Verge

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience - among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind." -ephesians 2:1-3

Truths about our lives without Christ
1. We were dead
2. We walked in trespasses and sins
3. We followed the course of this world
4. We were obedient to the prince of the air (satan)
5. We lived in the passions of our flesh
6. We carried out whatever desires our mind and hormones directed us to
7. We stood under the wrath of God, with the rest of mankind.


"but God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." - ephesians 2:4-10

Truths about God found in this text
1. God is rich in mercy
2. God has loved us with a great love
3. God loved us even when we were dead in our sins
4. God makes us alive with Christ
5. God saved us by grace
6. God has raised us up with Jesus
7. God is going to show us the immeasurable riches of His grace
8. We were saved by the grace of God through faith
9. Faith is a gift of God
10. We are God's workmanship


We were dead. God saved us. We followed the desires of our flesh which lead to death and He made us alive with Christ through His grace, and now we are seated next to Christ in the Heavenly places.

but God...

the gospel is a beautiful thing.

Labels: Calvinism, ephesians, gospel, grace

Posted by k jamison at 1:55 PM | Permalink | Comments

I find it funny (read: sad) in life that the people who should be most acquainted with transformed lives are the least likely to believe that people can change.

If you look to a lot of the great heros of the Christian faith, many of them were rescued out of the darkest pit of sin and destruction when they were transformed by the power of the Gospel. Take Paul for example, when he writes, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost." Paul was a legalist, a persecutor, a blasphemer and a murderer before God reached down and saved him.

Or take Augustine of Hippo for example. Here was a man who was absolutely enslaved to sexual sin and who lived totally and completely for his own pleasure. In his sin, he once uttered a famous prayer, "God grant me chastity and continence (self-control), but not yet." Here was a man totally devoted to his own desires and pleasures who completely rejected any notion of morality or of the truth of the cross.

But then something happened. He encountered the transforming power of the Gospel and his life (and the history of the world) was tranformed forever. He abandoned his immoral relationships, he confessed his sins to the Lord and actually documented his confessions in one of the most influential books ever written. He developed as a leading theologian whose thoughts and work continue to challenge and influence even the greatest theologians of our day.

If you are a follower of Christ, then you have to believe that the Spirit that worked in the life of Paul and Augustine is still moving and working today. And indeed if you believe that, then you should strive to put your hope and trust completely in the transforming power of the Gospel. I think ultimately our unwillingness to believe that people can change comes from our lack of faith in the gospel and in the power of Christ. It shows the weakness of our own faith and the remnant of sin that is still rotting in our hearts.

Who in your life are you unwilling to let be transformed by the gospel?

Labels: augustine, gospel, grace, substitutionary atonement

Posted by k jamison at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments

"In Christian repentance we do not 'take our sins' to Mt. Sinai, but to Mt. Calvary. Sinai represents only the law of God, and makes us fear God will reject us. But Calvary represents both the law of God and his commitment to save us no matter what--even if his Son has to fulfill and pay our debt to the law. 'Going to Sinai' with our sins means we use the painful fear of rejection to motivate us to change. 'Going to Calvary' with our sins means we use gratitude for his love to motivate us to change. The free love of Christ means that in disobedience, you have not just broken the rules, but spurned the One who lost his Father rather than lose you." --Tim Keller

How much better would all of our lives be with a little keller every day?

Labels: gospel, humility, Jesus, keller, repentance

Posted by k jamison at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments

"thy mercy my God is the theme of my song,
the joy of my heart, and the boast of my tongue.
Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last,
Hath won my affection and bound my soul fast.

Without Thy sweet mercy, I could not live here.
Sin would reduce me to utter despair,
But through Thy free goodness, my spirit's revived
And He that first made me still keeps me alive.

Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart,
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart.
Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground
And weep for the praise of the mercy I've found.

Hallelujah

Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own
In the covenant love of Thy crucified Son.
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine.
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine."

- john stocker, 1776 (recorded by Caedmon's Call or check out the better version by Sandra McCraken)

I do not know if there is a better song that describes the state of my heart right now. I wish I had time to break the song down. For example, to explain the depths of the meaning behind the line-

"Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own, in the covenant love of Thy crucified Son."

Our great Father in His infinite wisdom has bestowed upon us grace after grace. He has granted to us a righteousness that we could never possess on our own, but through Jesus was can possess this righteousness eternally. Without this atonement (lit. at + one + ment) we would be reduced to utter despair - completely hopeless and helpless. Now we can rest and live in the fact that Jesus has sealed for us mercy and pardon (no more guilt or condemnation) and not only that, but He has declared us righteous.

This is the gospel - no more or no less.

Labels: derek webb, gospel, grace, old hymn, righteousness, substitutionary atonement

Posted by k jamison at 6:32 AM | Permalink | Comments