I used to do a lot of public speaking but when I was hit with a breakdown of sorts I eventually turned to putting my thoughts to the written word. It helps me to articulate my own thoughts, reasonings and feelings - and hopefully, along with the posting of some amazing and encouraging works of others, will help some folks who may read or watch what I have shared know that they are not alone ...
This a quick look at the Biblical distinction between our Position in Christ and our Practice as a Christian
It's interesting to note that the first 3 chapters of the Book Of Ephesians talks much about our Position in Christ, while the last 3 talks much about our daily practice as a Christian or follower of Christ.
Our Position in Christ is what and who we are in Christ. Our Practice is what we as a Christian do ( or should do) in our daily lives.
We must know that a proper understanding of the former is the key to helping us carry out the latter.
Position
in Christ:What and who you are
in Christ
Eph 2:1, 4-7 And you [He made alive], who were
dead in trespasses and sins…..
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved
us,
even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by
grace you have been saved),
and raised [us] up together, and made [us]
sit together in the heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus, that
in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in [His]
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Practice
as a Christian:What you
do as a Christian (or what you should do).
Eph 4:1-3 I,
therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling
with which you were called,with all
lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
One more excellent example could be the following....
Position:
Eph
2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; [it is] the gift of God,
Eph 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Practice:
Phl 2:12
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only,
but now much more in my absence, workoutyourown salvation with fear and trembling; Phl
2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for [His]
good pleasure.
Note that even in the "Position" passage, it implies that we are saved ( not because of , but) in order to perform good works.
And in the "Practice" passage it implies that although we need to work out our salvation ( show the fruit of it to the world) , it is God who has first worked in us.
2Cr 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
As the verse above so clearly states - our position is simply this:
That we ARE the Righteousness of Christ and that is how God sees us ( Thanks to Jesus Christ's atoning work on the cross)
Now, knowing that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:20) , let our Practice in daily life prove this - by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.
I love Casting Crowns song Who Am I which so wonderfully illustrates this principle of Position and Practice
So this Christmas
I received, as I’m sure many of you have, a few gift cards. Whether they are
big or small most people get some for the holidays – one I even received from a
customer of mine at Staples who was very pleased to discover that her back seat
actually folded down to make more room for the furniture she bought.
One of the cards
I received this year was from Sherry’s Grandma ( she’s become my Grandma too).
It was a Starbucks card and Sherry and I thoroughly enjoyed using it on our day
off together. I guess what I like about gift cards is that they are a means to
receive something for free. But when you think about it, its not really free –
someone had to pay for it. In this instance it was our Grandma but it made me
think of another instance.
I’ve known a few
people who just can’t wrap their mind around the Gospel – basically because its
something for free. Namely, redemption and eternal salvation of one’s soul. Salvation,
not just to live the way we do now but to live in peace and harmony with our
Creator, the one Who loves us…. To live an abundant, purposeful life both here
and in the hereafter.
“For by grace you have been saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest
anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.
But things that
are free often raise the suspicion of many. If its so good – why is it free?
Isn’t anything worth having worth working hard for? So whether it’s a lack of trust, pride or
just a lifetime of being used to having to work hard for everything little
thing you’ve received – many people struggle with this idea of a “free” gift of salvation.
However here is
where salvation is like a gift card. It may be free to you – but its not free. Freedom
itself is not free! Oh, God knows its not free folks – just like the gift card,
someone had to pay for it…. and did they ever pay for it. God’s Son, Jesus
Christ, was the Giver of this “gift card” so to speak. He paid a debt that we
could not pay no matter how much money we had or how hard we worked or how good
we were. He paid the debt of sin which paved the way for the “gift” of eternal
salvation.
So what’s our
part of the deal? Well similar to the gift card at Christmas, we first receive and accept it from the giver,
we also trust the person who gave it to us – that it has value, that it will actually pay for
the cup of coffee. ( it would take a pretty sick sense of humor to give a gift
card with no value – although it would be a good practical joke ;) . Finally,
we need to redeem it. Go to the store, cash it in – enjoy the gift.
So this Christmas,
I pray that we could all understand a bit better the “Unspeakable Gift” (2
Corinthians 9:15) of God. That we would receive it from Him by faith knowing
that it was paid by Someone. Someone did pay, Someone did work, Someone was
good enough – Jesus. Put all your trust in Him.
1. Alltheist A person who tries to claim ties to every religion out of fear of picking the "wrong" one. This in turn forms a paradox because some religions, such as Hinduism and Judiasm contradict each other as the former is polytheistic and the latter explicitly states that there is only one God.
A typical Alltheist may believe in Jesus, Hindu gods, and even the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Just over a year ago in Prince George, a state of emergency was declared after a huge fire broke out in the industrial site just south of the city. As a captain in the Prince George Fire Department, my uncle was in the heart of it all as the chaos lasted about 3 days straight. There were many heroes during those days, but a story involving my uncle stuck out to me.
While in one of the massive buildings on fire, my uncle and 2 other firefighters were assessing the situation. He climbed up onto a pile of wood to look down the length of the building and he saw something that immediately caused him to shout to the others to run out of the building. The other 2 firefighters just stood there for a while looking at the same thing but not noticing anything particularly dangerous about it. My uncle doesn’t get excited to easily but he was raising his voice more and more – eventually the first fighter listened and ran out of the building. The other one was still wondering why my uncle was so excited – finally after another bellow from my uncle the second firefighter realized he meant business and the 2 fled the structure. The message to evacuate was relayed to the chief who in turn called another group of men off the roof of the same building. Within seconds of their retreat, a massive burst of flame coursed through out the building destroying everything in its wake…. My uncle had literally just saved lives. So what did he see? And how did he know what it meant? Well what he saw doesn’t mean much to me – but he said the way the smoke was looking immediately brought to mind a similar situation 25 years earlier at a fire at the Prince George Jail. He knew that back then this forming of the smoke was a forewarning of a terrible blast of flame to come. Because of this experience He was able to save lives that night a year ago. He was later honoured for this effort. The lesson that I get out of this is the lesson of experience. I don’t mean the type of experience as in an “emotional event” but rather that type of experience that is earned through being weathered by the years of this life. Now I readily concede that wisdom does not necessarily come with experience or age but we would do well to at least hear what the voice of experience in our life is saying. Some young Christians ( and some older ones for that matter) are under the impression that they know everything there is to know about the Christian life. They have arrived. They have figured it all out . Wow I’m sounding so old right now. But how do I know this? I was one of these young Christians. Now “young” is relative therefore I am still young to many and I acknowledge that ( in fact I’m glad of that – 31 feels old enough) . I only speak from what I have learned up to this point. When I was in my early twenties I became very extreme in my behaviour and attitude about Christianity. Some times “extreme” can be good. You can be “extremely” in love with the Lord Jesus for example, however all too often the word “extreme” has been abused by those who have their own agenda. Being extreme in your late teens, early twenties is not uncommon. I have actually entitled it..
“Young Man’s Disease”
... not to take away anything from the ladies but they often tend to have more sense than us men. When do you know that your version of “extreme” has gone wrong? Well, for example, I used to believe the word “ balance” was an excuse for being weak and lazy. In the back of my mind, I thought of people who weren’t as “extreme” in their Christianity as me, simply were not as good of Christians . That is a dangerous thought folks. Be very aware of this attitude in your life as it can destroy you. While I may have even been right about some people needing to get their act together, that wasn’t the point. I learned 2 things from all of this: 1) To my great detriment ( and to the detriment of others I loved) I ignored very sound advice from people who had been down the road I was, at the time ,travelling ( just as the other 2 firefighters would have suffered detriment if they had not listed to the sound advice of my uncle) 2) Whether I was right or not about people was irrelevant in regards to my attitude towards people and God .God looks on the heart and the fact was, my heart was full of pride. In Psalm 138 David declares “Though the LORD is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar.” Verse 6. James reiterates in the New Testament that God “resists” the proud but gives grace to the humble ( James 4:6). Young people and all people, lets examine our hearts to see if they are full of pride disguised as zealousness. Even Plato noticed this principle when he said “You are young, my son, and, as the years go by, time will change and even reverse many of your present opinions. Refrain therefore awhile from setting yourself up as a judge of the highest matters.” Of course all this is said with the realization that the essential doctrines of Scipture do not change ( nor should we then change our opinions on these). There is also the fact, as I mentioned before, that wisdom does not necessarily come with age. If an older person is guiding you away from what the Bible **clearly** ( emphasis on the “clearly”) teaches then you must not take their advice but rather God’s.
Nor should we follow one person’s line of thinking alone (i.e. defining oneself as a "Calvinist rather than a Christian) for
“ Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” Proverbs 11:14
Please be wise enough to know the difference and humble enough to learn from the experience of others. And remember – it is not just about our knowledge – it is about our attitude. If we are not having unconditional love toward others ( whether you agree with them or not) then we need to work on that. Its often said that knowledge is much more helpful when combined with wisdom, for wisdom is the proper application of that knowledge. So if some older believers have been giving you some advice lately , don’t reject it – humbly and prayerfully consider it, realizing you don’t know it all. Not yet anyways… maybe when your 31 … ;)
Eph
2:9 not of works, lest
anyone should boast.
Eph 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. 