What God Wishes Christians Knew About Christianity/Part 3
By: Dr. John Ankerberg and Dr. Bill Gillham; ©2005 |
What is the āmother of all sinsā that Christians are guilty of? How should we deal with this sin?. |
What God Wishes Christians Knew About ChristianityāPart 3
Dr. John Ankerberg: Do you remember the day you placed your total trust in Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and come into your life? It was a wonderful moment. But whatās happened since? How is your day-by-day relationship with Jesus Christ? Is your relationship growing deeper, more intimate, more joyous? Or is it only an abstract idea that you talk about at church but not something you experience moment by moment in your everyday life? For many ChrisĀtians, that is the case. But I want you to understand that it is not the normal Christian life. If you settle for that, you will be missing out on a deep relationship with God and the joy and peace only He can give. Many of us have lived that way because we didnāt know any better. No one ever told us that God doesnāt want us to live that way. He has provided so much more for us in Christ. Well, how can we get it? How can we experience it? My guest, Dr. Bill Gillham, knows what it was like to live a flat, powerless, non-victorious Christian life. He talks about the probĀlems he had, and the wonderful solutions he discovered in Godās Word to empower him to live the Christian life. Listen:
Dr. Bill Gillham: Gang, weāve got to understand something, that when we come into the world, we come in thinking weāre supposed to be world-beaters, that weāre supposed to someĀhow get our little corner of the universe under control and run that thing. And actually, that brings you into conflict with God. You see, Godās job description is, He runs things. Thatās what He does when He goes to the office. He runs the universe. Now, thereās one true God and upwards of six billion āwanna-beās.ā See, we donāt want to handle the heavy stuff. Weāre willing to let God, you know, manage the sunrises and create birds and stuff like that. But we want to run our little segment of the universe. We want to be in control. We want to be able to prophesy the next five minutes of whatās going to come into our lives.
Now then, God gave Christ for you just so He can enjoy a one-on-one, intimate relationship with you. But He had to break through this barricade that weāve all built around ourselves of trying to run our own lives. He had to penetrate that. And He did that by sending Jesus Christ here. Now, God never intended for youāafter you became a ChristianāHe never intended for you to live the Christian life. Thereās only one Person who has ever lived the normal, overcomĀing Christian lifeāand thatās Jesus Christ.
Now, then, hereās the slick deal. I think this is wonderful. He put Christ āin youā to express this life āthrough youā because you and the Spirit of God together bonding there inside your earth suit are going to begin to develop this wonderful, intimate, love relationship. And this is what God wants from you. He wants to love on you and have you return His love voluntarily.
Now, Adam blew this whole scene. We all know that. But how did he blow it? Well, he didnāt break the Ten Commandments because they hadnāt been given yet. What this guy did was, he expressed the first personal ādeclaration of independence.ā In effect, when he ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he said, āIāll decide whatās good for Adam. Iāll decide whatās evil for Adam. I donāt need you looking over my shoulder giving me your opinion. Iāll do it my way.ā And he did it his way and he passed it on down to the rest of us and we showed up on planet Earth trying to do it our way. And thatās the way we got in trouble.
Ankerberg: Now, when Adam committed the first sin, what changed in his life? How did his relationship with God change? And what did Adam pass along to you and to me that has inĀfected us with the mother of all sins? Dr. Gillham explains:
Gillham: We were talking about how Adam blew it in the garden. And what this guy did was, he made the first personal declaration of independence from God. He decided that he would do it his way. He would decide what was good and what was bad for Adam. And God told him, āIf you do that, the very day that you do it, youāre going to die.ā So if he did it on Wednesday, he died by suppertime on Wednesday. Now, how did he die? Well, obviously, his body didnāt die because Eve wasnāt pregnant and none of us would have shown up. His soul, his personality, didnāt die or he would have become a robot that couldnāt think, feel, or choose and we would have all been born robots. Well, thatās not the case. By the process of elimination and looking at Scripture in the New Testament we see that he was spiritually dead. By Godās definition, he died spiritually.
Now, when you and I showed up on planet Earth, then, we showed up with this same spiritual identity as a result of being a product of Adam. So when you showed up, what you did was, you drew an imaginary circle around yourself and you homesteaded it. You declared yourself god with a little āgāāgod of this circle. Youāre going to run this circle. Your attitude is, āThis is my life. Iāve got my rights. I do things my way.ā So you can see now that this independence, this self-reliance, is the mother of all sin. All sin spins off of that attitude of living independently.
Now, then, I use Tolkienās phrase and so I call this person, the god of the circle, I call this person ālord of the ring.ā So all of us, then, have been lords of the ring. So here, then, is a picĀture of you. Iāve got you cut up like a slice of a three-layer cake. Youāve got a body and then youāve got this dead spirit. You were spiritually DOAāDead on Arrivalāwhen you showed up on planet Earth, with a ālord of the ringā soul, and a ālord of the ringā personality. So thereās a very uncomplimentary picture of you as a lost person. By living this way, then, you are an enemy of God.
Ankerberg: You know, itās so true what Dr. Gillham just said. We constantly turn away from God and parade around exerting our independence, believing we are self-reliant. We leave God out and constantly try to do things our own way. In brief, we run our own lives. But this indepenĀdence from God, this self-reliance, is the mother of all sins. Well, if independent living is the mother of all sins, does it continue to affect us even after we become Christians? Sure it does. Many of you who have placed your faith in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins are now atĀtempting to live the Christian life for God in your own strengthāand it doesnāt work. Dr. Gillham explains why. Listen:
Gillham: Okay, so when we show up on the planet, then, and we practice this ālord of the ringā stuff, we find that we need to be loved and we launch a search for love. We try to milk it out of people. But when we finally hear about God, we try to milk it out of Him using the same techniques that weāve used with people, i.e., trying to milk it out of Him by performance. So we try to perform well enough to merit His acceptance and, gang, thatās not according to plan. Remember now, Godās job description is that He runs things and when youāre God, you get to make the rules. And the rules say that all of our righteous performance is just like a filthy rag. Now, I think thereās a problem a lot of Christians donāt understand. This verse doesnāt only apply to a lost man trying to get God to save him, it also applies to a saved man trying to do righteous works on his own, independently. That wonāt fly, gang. God will not put His Good Housekeeping stamp of approval on your Christian performance. Youāve got to trust Christ in you and through you to produce approved work.
Now, Paul addresses this to the Galatians in Galatians chapter 3. He says, āHey, you guys, did you receive the Holy Spirit by keeping the law or by hearing about Jesusā sacrifice for you by faith?ā
And, of course, the guy said, āWell, you know, by faith.ā
āOkay,ā he said. āNow, then, are you so foolish, having begun by the Holy Spirit, are you going to take over now and try to merit Christian growth by trusting in yourself?ā
You see, we try to do this. We try to depend on our own talents, our own abilities, even our own spiritual gifts to live the Christian life. And gang, thatās not the plan. You were saved strictly by faith in Christ. Weāre to live exactly the same wayāstrictly by faith in Christ, that He is exĀpressing life through me by faith.
Now, how do I do that? I just act like it. Faith is acting like God tells the truth. Godās Word says Christ is my life. Okay, Iām just going to haul off and act like Christ is living through me. And as I act like Christ is living through me by faith, how will I treat the lady at the checkout stand? How will I act at the four-way stop when thereās a tie? How will I treat my kids? How will I treat my wife? All of those things are no-brainers, gang. People are going to like to be around meā not that Iām trying to milk acceptance out of themābut theyāre going to like to be around me because theyāll see something in me that they want, something that attracts them. And that something is Christ in me, the hope of glory.
Ankerberg: Now, Bill explains what needs to happen to fix the mess we have made of our lives.
Gillham: Well, brother, Iām going to shoot real straight with you. Youāre a mess and your familyās a mess and youāre responsible for it. You and your family. You all have been running your own lives. Youāve been doing it your way. You have been flying in the face of the God of the universe who loves you passionately, who gave His only boy, His best friend, the One who carries His good nameāHe gave that person for you. And you have been ignoring that all these years and now you have come to Christ. And thatās wonderful. I commend you. But youāre come to Christ and youāve got a lot of baggage. And you would admit that. Youād be the first to say, āYeah, Bill, Iāve got a lot of baggage!ā
Well, now the Bible has a term for that baggage. The Bible calls it āthe flesh.ā And the flesh is not just your body. The flesh is the mess that you guys have made of your lives. Those old ways that you have developed. Those old habit patterns for living on planet Earth. Living a life of survival. Living for self. And you have repented of that now, right? Youāve repented of that; youāve turned away from that. You really do want to start with a new sheet of paper and God has given you that privilege by saving you. Now then, itās going to be a whole different ball game. Whereas youāve been trying to solve your own problems or else just ignoring them with your family, youāre going to turn all those things over to God.
Now, this is not passivity. This is ācasting your burden on the Lord.ā Thatās a direct commandĀment to you. Thatās not an option. Thatās like a general saying to his driver, āSon, you scoot over. Iām going to drive the Jeep today.ā You just do it. You give it to God. And then you trust Him. Your prayer lifeānow, after you give it to Godāyour prayer lifeās going to change. Youāre not going to beg Him every day to take over, take over, take over. Youāre going to thank Him that He has taken over. And youāre not going to be passive; youāre not going to be āout of here.ā Youāre going to stay right there in the middle of it all and be Godās vessel through whom He can work to let them see the difference in you. Then Heāll use that as you pray and trust the Lord, and as other Christians pray with you, Heāll use that to begin to influence the rest of your family.
Ankerberg: Now, if youāre a Christian, what difference does it make whether or not you let Christ live His life through you? The answer is, a big difference. Bill explains:
Gillham: Now, gang, in emphasizing trusting Christās life through us to do Godās will, Iām certainly not talking about gaining salvation that way. Iām talking to the person who is already saved. That in order for him to produce holy work that God accepts, sanctified work that God accepts, thereās only one way he can do it and that is by trusting Christ to do it through him. Because God accepts only His own work.
Let me illustrate that with the life of Abraham, the father of faith, you know, that God gave Abraham a promise. He promised that He would give him a son. Well, apparently, Sarah and Abraham and Hagar got tired of the wait. You know, we all get a little bit antsy. I think it was about 25 years before the son finally came. And so about halfway through there they got antsy about the whole thing and so Sarah came up with this great idea of, āWhy donāt you go to bed with Hagar, Abraham, my maid Hagar, and thatās the way God intends to answer this promise, to deliver on the promise.ā Yeah, right!
And so, sure enough, Hagar gets pregnant and Ishmael shows up. Now then, much later, when Isaac, the child of promise, was around 20 or 25 years old as I understand it, God spoke to Abraham and He said, āTake Isaac, your son, your only son, and sacrifice him up on the mountain.ā
And I can hear Abraham, saying, āWait a minute! What do you mean only son? Iāve got two boys. Youāre forgetting Ishā.ā
And God was saying, āNo, no. Ishmael was your effort. That was your independent effort to try to help me out, help me bring about my promise. I will not acknowledge Ishmael as my gift to you. Iām a gracious God. Iām going to take care of Ish, but Ish is always going to be a thorn in the side of my promised son to you, Isaac.ā Today, look whatās going on in the Middle East. Itās still going on today.
So, this illustrates, then, that God acknowledges only His own work and we must understand this principle of living on planet Earth as Christians. We cannot work for God. God will do His work through us. And this isnāt just churchy kinds of stuff like teaching Sunday School, gang, or deacon, or whatever. Weāre talking about life. Iām talking about shaving yourself in the morning. Iām talking about selecting your wardrobe, mowing your lawn, hanging a ceiling fan for your wife. This is how you become intimately involved with God is bonding with Him through all of these activities. Thatās the normal Christian life, gang.
Ankerberg: Now, as we mentioned before, God is working in our lives as believers, but we must follow and obey His Word at the same time. We saw in 1 Corinthians 15:10 Paul could say, āBy the grace of God I am what I am,ā yet immediately added, āBut I labored even more than all of them,ā and conclude with, āYet not I, but the grace of God within me.ā He wasnāt content to sit around idly waiting for God to do something in him apart from his active participaĀtion, but he looked to Christ as his strength when he acted in obedience. Bill talks about this as the difference between Godās total acceptance and Godās approval. Every Christian needs to know that at salvation we were totally accepted by God, but in our Christian life we are to serve and obey the Lord in the power of Christ. Dr. Gillham explains.
Gillham: You know, as little kids we learn very quickly that if our performance doesnāt meaĀsure up to what the authority figures around us want, we get in trouble. So weāre talking mom, dad, teachers, and so forth. And so we try to clean up our act to get their acceptance. And so itās natural for us to think that same way about our relationship with God. But God doesnāt operate that way. He doesnāt get mad at Christians. He took out all of His mad on Jesus Christ for all who will come to Him through Jesus Christ. Admittedly, there will be Godās wrath that the lost man will suffer. But the saved man is not subject to Godās wrath. Now, He will discipline us, but thatās agape love. Itās like you with your own kid. Letās say youāve got a little boy and he insists on playing out in the street. He squats down by the yellow line and runs his little cars and says, āDad, if you really love me, youāll let me play out here because I really enjoy this. This is very fulfilling. All the other kids are doing it.ā
Youād say, āNo, now son, Iām not going to let you do that.ā
And if he keeps on doing that, youāre going to discipline him. And that is a godly act. Thatās an act of agape love.
Hereās a cornfield definition of agape: I will do the most constructive, redemptive thing for you that I can think of. And in the case of the little child right there, thatās disciplining him, even spanking him, to get him out of the street, to keep him from doing stuff like that.
Now, then, thereās a big difference, gang, between Godās acceptance and Godās approval. Godās acceptance is by faith alone in the finished work of Jesus Christ. And anyone who comes to God through Christ is a perfect ā10.ā He automatically is accepted by faith. Weāre not on a performance-based acceptance with God, troops. Weāre on a Jesus-based acceptance with God. Itās marvelous! Itās awesome what Christ has accomplished for us. But this is completely different from Godās approval. To hear God say, āWell done, Bill. Well done, good and faithful servant,ā thatās not an automatic call, gang. Iāve got to merit that by my obedient faith. Now, what does that mean? Trying to keep the Ten Commandments? Not necessarily. Itās trusting Christ through me to keep the Ten Commandments. But it goes way beyond that. Itās trusting Christ through me to mow the lawn, to load the dishwasher, to treat Annabelle right and so forth. Itās not my works for Christ, gang; itās Jesusā work through me. God acknowledges only His own work.
All right, to summarize now, thereās a difference between Godās acceptance and Godās apĀproval. Godās acceptance is an automatic call. When we come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, we are totally accepted people by our God. Godās approval, on the other hand, is not an automatic call and you would tend to think that you have to perform and try to keep the law and that would gain Godās approval. But, no. No, no. That would be an independent act. You must trust by faith that Christ through you is keeping Godās ways and keeping Godās laws. Then you ālife it outā by believing that itās Christ doing it through you and that is pleasing to God.