Would you rather be right, or would you rather be happy?

Now this is a hard question to answer sometimes. In fact, my answer used to be, “But I was right! He/she/they were wrong! It has nothing to do with being happy!” How wrong I was. And by clinging to my self righteous pride and ego, I fought a lot of people and a lot of things to maintain my right to be right.

And I paid a steep price for my stubbornness. Living in opposition to a lot of people, places and institutions takes a lot of energy and it constantly creates a lot of resentments. And resentments will kill me. In order to stay alive, I have to learn to forget about who’s right or wrong, and instead to focus on my part. Mine is the only part I can control, and if my side of the street is clean, then I become open to the only real solution to any situation: forgiveness, surrender and acceptance.

Today I know that while I rarely have the opportunity to be right, I always have the choice to be happy. By looking at my actions and ignoring my intentions each day, I am able to correct my part. I get to forget about who is right, and I get to choose to be happy and free instead.

And today I’d rather be happy than right.

As New Year’s approaches, I catch myself taking the opportunity to take a good long look at this past year, and all of the things that have taken place in my life. I’ve learned through the past several years in recovery, to faithfully work an efficient program, a daily inventory as described in step ten is a necessity. There’s a big difference however in looking at my day, and looking at the entire year-both of which serve a great purpose and both are invaluable.

As I was driving home, contemplating decisions and new changes in the making, I came across a radio program that got my attention. The speaker made a few key points that caught my attention. What are the pros and cons of making new years resolutions? I think the very idea of a resolution, if based on Gods purpose for our life, can be very beneficial. You see, in trying to decide and hearing arguments for and against the making of new years resolutions I found myself agreeing with both sides and coming up with a simple conclusion. What is the basis for the resolution? Does the resolution focus on are those things which God determines are important to our relationship with Him and others? Rather than listening to the so-called “self-improvement gurus” that are a “dime-a-dozen” in our society – what Peter calls “false teachers” – it’s essential that we listen to God’s Word for the guidance and direction we need in our lives.
I believe the idea of bringing about change in one’s life, if centered on Gods will, can be healthy. In other words, I do believe in resolutions.  It drives us to be better. Which I think is also okay as long as we are not doing it thinking that somehow if we are better we can gain Gods favor or approval… that line of thinking denies Christ’s righteousness. We need to keep in mind that although we are never good enough to earn Gods grace or mercy He has already given it to us through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.  It’s in our nature to strive to succeed, however like most things I’ve learned these past few years, it’s a heart matter-a matter of motives. Why are we making these changes? Is it to fulfill a carnal self centered need of ours or to bring about the best version of God’s intention for us? Are we losing weight solely to look better or to instill discipline in our fleshly desires and to take better care of the temple God has given us? We can and should always try to improve who we are in Christ, keeping in mind that it is through Him and with His help that we can accomplish great things. If that wasn’t the case then there is no reason for us to be here. We would have made all these miraculous changes in our lives and the proof would be in the pudding so to speak. But that’s simply not the case. We always accomplish more and on a deeper level when we rely on God. The revelation comes from the letting go and trusting He loves us and will help us. He is just waiting for us to give up control and ask for His help and guidance in our lives.

Here are three resolutions that can help us in all areas of our life…

1.) Declare Christ’s lordship in our lives every day. That is a daily surrender. We talk about this all the time in recovery. To surrender to God’s will for our lives, knowing that in our own right we can and often will fail, but by trusting in Christ we will have victory. And by declaring his lordship daily, we are also reminded that we our essentially Gods property. Not our own.

It’s kind of like taking your car into the shop to have it realigned. We are a lot like this. We need daily “realignment” in our thoughts and attitudes.

And when we don’t, even the slightest bump slips the tires ever so slightly out of place and before we know it, the car doesn’t drive in the correct direction at all. That we can ask for daily calibration so to speak. It also keeps us humble, knowing that we really do need His help every single day. I like to think of it like this: we need to keep in mind that we are God’s property-how can He use us to help Him this day…instead of, what can He do for us this day.

2.) Repent everyday. I recently took a look at true repentance in my life. What is the difference between repentance and true repentance? The bottom line for this subject is to keep the change repentance brings in my heart constant and fresh every single day. Its not focusing on the behaviors or characteristics themselves, but focuses on the growing distaste for the sin we commit overall. I think one can bring about the other…true repentance being the goal. I think of David the man after Gods heart. I think he must’ve gotten this concept.  We know to repent of something is to do an about face, or turn 180 degrees-in the opposite direction, of the thing we are repenting of-namely-sin (it can be a behavior, a defect, it doesn’t matter really)-if it brings about sin, Learn to hate it to be a man/woman after Gods heart so to speak. True repentance for this purpose is to not only turn away from my sin and make the decision to not make the same mistake again, but also something a bit larger…. to make the change in my heart, by daily repentance…practice, practice, practice brings about changes.  Not only to not want to commit whatever sin, or behavioral characteristic, or defect it is I’m struggling with, but to want to hate the sin itself. To eventually get to the point that my heart will not just hate the consequences, but hate the act itself. See what I’m getting at. That kind of change of heart can only be beneficial. If the heart is changed the behaviors will follow. So…one…declare Jesus Christ as lord of my life every day…reminds me who’s boss, who’s in charge since I always try to run the show. Two…repent. Every day. Learn to hate the act of sin, not just the bad consequences it brings about.

3.) Re-believe the gospels on a daily basis. Get on our knees and spend time in prayer. Look to God’s Word to see the design He has for our lives. See the concession He had made for us through the life and death of His Son Jesus Christ. God wants us to run the good race not alone, but with Him by our side… its all spelled out in the gospels of Matthew, Mark Luke and John. How to live. It even shows us what to do when we mess up. Repent…change. He teaches us most importantly to share His love with others…to pay it forward…to carry this message on to others and practice these principles in all our affairs.

“For this reason make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and brotherly kindness, love.” (II Pet.1:5-7)

Peter is warning us against such false teachings and ideas in our reading for today. He reminds us that our faith in Christ and our knowledge of Him needs to be continually growing. Only God’s Word and Spirit can accomplish that in us. No amount of personal discipline, determination, or virtuous striving after “perfection” is going to accomplish that end. It’s also important to acknowledge that we are in need of continual growth in faith and faithful living – we never truly “arrive” at that destination this side of eternal life… Peter lays out the “virtues” of faith in Jesus very plainly. Goodness, knowledge about God’s Word and the world around us, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love, all motivated and informed by God’s love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness for us in Christ. As we grow in faith, as we live in the power of Holy Spirit Baptism, and as we mature in our understanding of God’s Word, people will see Jesus in us and through us come to know Him as their Lord and Savior as well. If you want meaningful, God-pleasing “New Year’s Resolutions” you won’t find them anymore meaningful and purposeful than what God gives us in His Word.

The “Good News” of the Gospel is that it is solely based on His (Jesus’) performance not ours. I think this is sometimes a hard concept for us to understand. Our natural tendency is to want to do or earn something instead of just receiving something. Many people have heard the old adage “It is better to give than receive”, but not as many have heard “It is more humble to receive than to give”. Jesus addressed this very issue in Matthew 19, when a bunch of Pharisees (religious leaders) came to Him questioning Him and testing Him to see if they could trip Him up in His teaching. One of them asked him “What good things should I do to get everlasting life?”

Matthew 19:16-17 (NKJV)
¹⁶ Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
¹⁷ So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Look at Jesus’ response here from the Message Bible.

Matthew 19:17 (MSG)
¹⁷ Jesus said, “Why do you question me about what’s good? God is the One who is good. If you want to enter the life of God, just do what he tells you.”

This man wanted to do some good thing or some kindly deed so that he could have eternal life. In today’s vernacular, possible give money to a charity or religious organization like a church. Maybe build an orphanage. Or volunteer at the soup kitchen and help the homeless. All very good deeds! However no good deed will ever earn eternal life. Not to mention, Jesus just got done saying how you must be like a little child to enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 18:1 – 19:13)

Matthew 18:3-4 (MSG)
³ and said, “I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in.
⁴ Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom.

How is a little child like? Aren’t they totally dependant on their parents for everything? Don’t they implicitly trust their parents? Have you ever seen a dad tell his kid to jump off a bunk bed or some high thing and the kid jumps, trusting that his dad would catch him? That is not only faith, but its grace. That child did nothing to deserve the love their parent has for them other than being born. And as any parent will tell you, that’s enough. And as this verse asserts, little children are not assuming. They are humble and teachable.  They don’t know it all. They don’t have it all together.

Back to our story… Jesus tells the man “Why do you ask about doing good things. No one is good enough, only God. But if you desire to have a good life, continually do what God says. This is a problem that Paul the apostle addressed in his letter to the Galatians.

Galatians 1:6 (NCV)
⁶ God, by his grace through Christ, called you to become his people. So I am amazed that you are turning away so quickly and believing something different than the Good News.

Galatians 1:6 (TLB)
⁶ I am amazed that you are turning away so soon from God who, in his love and mercy, invited you to share the eternal life he gives through Christ; you are already following a different “way to heaven,” which really doesn’t go to heaven at all.

The “Good News” that the Bible speaks of is this. Our way to heaven is by grace. We cannot earn it or be worthy of it. We just have to believe it and receive it. Paul did say in Romans that we must believe and that salvation is by grace so that it could be by faith, to ALL and for ALL who will put their faith in Jesus. That really is good news. No we can’t be good enough or ever earn our way to heaven, but we don’t have to be. Jesus was good enough for us all.

In part one I wrote about the Gospel being “Too Good to Be True News”. And how that there is no way to be good enough to earn God’s love and approval. No matter how perfect we try to be. In part two I will look at that a bit more and also talk about the rest of Romans 1:16…specifically “the power of God to salvation.”

Romans 1:16-17 (NKJV)

^16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. ^17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

Notice the word “FOR”. Why is it there? Why did Paul begin his sentence this way? It is for a reason. The Greek word here indicates that this word is used in an argument or explanation; it is assigning a reason as to why. So I ask “Why is it there? What is Paul trying to explain or justify?” Verse 15 says “That he was ready to preach the gospel to them in Rome, for or because, he was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.” He uses this word FOR again to indicate why he is not ashamed to come and preach to them in Rome. There was a price on Paul’s head. He was warned not to come to Rome. He continues “I am not ashamed because the gospel is because it is the power of God to Salvation.” This was huge news to the Jews at the time who thought that their salvation came through or by keeping the laws that God had given them.

Paul said that he is not ashamed of this “gospel of Christ” for it is the power of God to salvation….

The Greek here for “Power of God to Salvation” reads it is God’s power concerning salvation. So if this is God’s Power concerning Salvation, I want to know what it is. I am saved and salvation is mine… So I ask myself, what “power” is and what “salvation” is?

The Greek word for power is dunamis. The Greek word for salvation is soteria.

Dunamis = specially, miraculous power (usually a miracle itself): ability, abundance, meaning, might, (worker of) miracles, power, strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work.

Soteria = Safety, preservation, healing, wholeness, soundness of mind and body, plus eternal life.

God’s dunamis “concerning”  soteria…

Paul continues and says…This is for EVERYONE who believers… I’m a believer… This is for me

And that in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed…from faith to faith… revealed means not covered or hidden but disclosed

He then says God’s righteousness is revealed FROM faith TO faith….

From faith denotes origin…while to faith indicates the point reached. When we start in faith we need to finish in faith. For we will reap in due season if we don’t give up Galatians 6:9

The just shall live by faith… or from faith…

Grace

What is Grace?

Ephesians 2:8 (GW)
God saved you through faith as an act of kindness. You had nothing to do with it. Being saved is a gift from God.

Ephesians 2:8 (MSG)
Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish!

The Greek word is Charis. It means favor, benefit and pleasure

I don’t know about you, but I have heard the word “grace” used hundreds even thousands of times, mostly in and around church. I can’t remember ever hearing this word outside of religious circles. Except when someone might ask someone to bless the food and they would say “Would you please say grace?”

I have heard that this word grace means “unmerited favor”. This definition primarily came from the Amplified translation of the Bible and seems to be in harmony with the Greek word Charis.

Ephesians 2:8 (AMP)
For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;

Ok so what does unmerited favor mean? It sounds religious too. I don’t like to define a religious word with another religious word?

Un is a prefix that means to do the opposite or reverse of;

To deprive, remove or release from

Merit means to be worthy or entitled to a reward; to earn, deserve

In summary, unmerited means: not able to earn, deserve or be worthy of; So I ask “unworthy and undeserving of what?”  Favor!

What is favor?

Favor means friendly regard shown toward another by a superior.

Special privilege or right granted; act of kindness; token of love

Now together, we have a working non religious definition for grace: unworthy and undeserving to receive special privileges or rights given as an act of kindness or token of love by a superior.

I cannot earn God’s favor nor do I deserve it. But He still gives it to me anyway. That I did not and do not deserve the “favor” that God has shown toward me, this is the message of grace!

Romans 5:6 (Phillips NT)
And we can see that it was while we were powerless to help ourselves that Christ died for sinful men.

It says here that we were powerless to help ourselves. We could not save ourselves. We needed a savior. We needed someone to save us. The burden was too great to for us to bear alone. The price for our sin debt was too great for us to pay. We did not possess what was necessary to redeem us back to God.

And to top it off He chose to give us this thing called grace while we were still enemies with Him.

Romans 5:10 (NKJV)
For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

He does not wait for us to be His friend before He offers us His grace.

Many have heard this verse “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Some have even memorized it and can give its address in the scriptures. (Romans 3:23)

But not as many have done the same with the verses before and after it? Let’s look at this portion of scripture in context.

Romans 3:21-26 (NKJV)
²¹ But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
²⁴ being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
²⁵ whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
²⁶ to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Justified…what does that mean?

I prefer to say it this way… just-as-if-ied because that is what it means “just as if I’d” never sinned.

God did this to demonstrate HIS righteousness. See our righteousness is as filthy rags,

Isaiah 64:6 (NKJV)
But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.

But thank God our righteousness is no longer based on ourselves but on Jesus. The sole requirement is faith in Jesus…To all and for all who believe. It’s not about what we do, but about what HE did.

Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German priest and professor of theology who initiated the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God’s punishment of sin could be purchased with money, he confronted indulgence salesman with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. His refusal to retract all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the emperor.

Luther taught that salvation could not be purchased, nor could it be earned by good deeds, but salvation is received as a free gift of God’s grace through faith in Jesus as redeemer from sin. His theology challenged the authority of the pope of the Roman Catholic Church by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge

And whether we like it or not, the influence of this same Catholic Church still has a residue of influence today in thinking of the protestant church as a whole. (To which all non Catholic Christians belong)

We say we are saved by grace through faith alone but in our thinking we still think we need to be good enough. We need to do something to earn God’s favor and love. We need to be HOLY.

We know we are going to heaven. But is that all there is to the “Gospel of Grace”? is it just a ticket to heaven? Does God’s grace stop when we get saved? Does our salvation end when we say a sinner’s prayer of repentance?

Let’s look again at Romans 5:10. I want to draw your attention to the “much more” part of this verse.

Romans 5:10 (NKJV)
For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

It seems that Paul is drawing a distinction between us being enemies and reconciled to God and us having a “saved” life after we have been reconciled. And this “saved” life is also by the same grace that reconciled us to God. Look at this verse from a few different translations.

Romans 5:10 (AMP)
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more [certain], now that we are reconciled, that we shall be saved (daily delivered from sin’s dominion) through His [resurrection] life.

Romans 5:10 (MSG)
If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we’re at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life!

Romans 5:10 (TLB)
And since, when we were his enemies, we were brought back to God by the death of his Son, what blessings he must have for us now that we are his friends and he is living within us!

Apparently God has so much more in store for us after we get saved than before. And the much more that He has for us is all by His grace too. It starts with this word reconciled. Here we have another one of those words that means one thing in our everyday thinking, but when we bring it into the church we somehow assign a different meaning to it.

What does reconciled mean?

The Greek word here means to be transformed or exchanged: to be mutually changed.

The tense here indicates that it is a statement of fact and the “we” are the recipients of the reconciliation and that it exists without reference to time past present or future.

Christ came and took our place. Of this is no dispute. However this word is weightier it implies an exchange. Not only did Christ take our place, but He also gave us His place. This is the gospel of grace.

Webster’s says to restore to relationship or harmony.

What type of restoration do we receive in Christ? It all goes back to Genesis. God restored us back to the type of relationship that Adam had in the garden before the fall; a relationship of acceptance, approval, love, trust and intimacy.