Acceptance Grace Or Man’s Approval?

We know that by the finished work of Jesus Christ, we are the righteousness of God in Christ, accepted in the Beloved. We know His acceptance is unconditional, never again based on our performance. However, if you are walking in the acceptance grace of God in a real way and not seeking acceptance from men, you may be the exception to the rule. In fact, if you are genuinely under the influence of God’s “acceptance grace”, you may be thought of by many as strange, even offensive. Because even if you are gracious and accepting of others, not being acceptable for others can put you at risk for their disapproval. Yet if you compromise for man’s acceptance, you can move into the very thing that negates you, along with the One in you. But an uncompromised witness of His unconditional acceptance might help others avoid a paralyzing fear of rejection or a nominal, ineffective Christianity. See, there is a deadly virus in the body of Christ, it is the leaven of this whole complimentary thing calling us to an acceptance-seeking bland neutrality.

Jesus said, “How is it possible for you to believe (or even care about the unconditional acceptance and honor of God ), who are content to seek and receive praise and honor and glory from one another….?” In other words, how can we see the relevance of the unconditional acceptance of God (in the now) when we seek acceptance and receive it from men? By doing so, acceptance grace can lose its cogent, present meaning. However, rejection from men has a way of turning our hearts back to the cross and the value of God’s unconditional love. Here, at the cross, we can again find assurance in God’s acceptance and remain unshaken by the rejection of others.

Yes, we all want man’s compliment; we want them to tell us that we are good, effective, non offensive, kind and that people wish all Christians were like us. But when you live under the “alreadiness” of God’s acceptance, it is to live free of this desperate need, it is to live under an absoluteness of HIS love. You come into an assurance that emancipates you from performance based acceptance and the fear of rejection; His perfect love casting out fear. Not that you are looking to be controversial. Look, I’m in my 60’s, I’m not looking to play sophomoric games where I need to be “different” or agitational. But there is a reality of deliverance from this awful fear of rejection, II Cor. 5:14 MSG says, “Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes. His love (not the approval of others) has the first and last word in everything we do”.

We will be free from the fear of men and our desire for their approval to the degree by which we are conscious of God’s love and His unconditional acceptance of us. There are times we may have to stand alone for extended periods. Maybe even suffer whithering blasts of reproach and criticism, especially for the message we bear. But if our strength is derived from the approval of men instead of the honor that comes from God, we will not stand. We’ll collapse because we have not (in a real way) been weaned from man’s approval by God’s Sprit bearing witness with our spirit that we are the unconditionally loved sons and daughters of God. Jesus said, “I receive not glory from men [I crave no human honor, I look for no mortal fame]…..For My food (nourishment, delight) is to do the will (pleasure) of Him Who sent Me and to accomplish and completely finish His work”. (John 5:41, 4:34).

 

 

 

 

 

Grace and Gideon

^“Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Gideon said to Him, “O my lord,  if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”  So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.” (Judges 6:11-16)

God declares Gideon to be a mighty man of valor, but Gideon who is focused on his circumstances replies with unbelief regarding the Lord’s faithfulness. This is an amazing picture of man’s resistance to believe and take the Lord at His Word! Here Gideon stands face to face with the angel of the Lord who is telling him truly who he is based on the grace of God and Gideon answers with an accusation against the Lord. Could it be that it is impossible to see who we truly are in Christ when we are questioning and doubting His faithfulness? When we are failing to see the absolute certainty of our righteousness in Him? God’s response to Gideon is even more amazing in lieu of this accusation. The Lord continues to affirm His declaration to Gideon that he will most assuredly do all that God has intended because the Lord is with him! Wow! And God doesn’t stop there and neither does Gideon! Gideon throws up one more feeble complaint about his lowly condition and the Lord just doesn’t want to hear it. He graciously continues to build Gideon up in the Truth of who he is and what he will accomplish by the hand of the Lord in his life. We are who we are by the grace of God, and Gideon was about to come into this undeniable reality. May we too experience for ourselves the undeniable reality of who we truly are by the grace of God!

Fellowship By Grace

There is a lot of talk about “relationship” in the body of Christ; that we should be in loving relationship with one another. I’m not disputing the idea of loving relationships, I just have a problem with the “should” part. See, a community is not divinely connected by law; that is, out of a guilt driven demand for relationship with one another, but as a result of something else…life. When relationship is the combined effect of our fellowship with the Lord, His life manifests. Look at the “order” of I John 1:3, “What we have seen and [ourselves] heard from Him, we are also telling you, so that you too may realize and enjoy fellowship as partners and partakers with us. And [this] fellowship that we have [which is a distinguishing mark of Christians] is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ”. Their fellowship was first with the Lord and their union wih Him resulted in communion with one another; with those who were also in union with Him. Out of that fellowship came relationship; by God’s grace, not by man’s guilt. 

 We hear about being “accountable” to one another as “Christian brothers and sisters”. But how does that happen? By being “visible” to certain people at certain times, making sure they know we are behaving properly? Being careful to attend all the meetings so no one thinks we are backsliding? That sounds like rehab, not Spirit -birthed relationship. Wouldn’t it be better if we eagerly desired and sought fellowship with others because of the life and energy we experienced as the Lord manifested His presence “in the midst of us”? Out of that kind of fellowship comes ongoing relationship, those that result in overflow onto others who might not be walking in union with God. See, this wasn’t to be about showing up at meetings and calling in your whereabouts; we’re not on parole we’re in Christ joined to one another by the Spirit. Ephesians 4:3 says there is a , “…harmony and oneness of and produced by the Spirit in the binding power of peace”. These are relationships that God has arranged; “But as it is, God has placed and arranged the limbs and organs in the body, each [particular one] of them, just as He wished and saw fit and with the best adaptation”. (I Corinthians 12:18).

 

 

Truly Amazing Grace

From Joseph Prince, “Destined to Reign”:

“Under law, the burden is on you to perform. Under grace, the burden is on what Christ has performed on the cross. That is why Jesus said, ‘Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest, for My yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ Jesus was not speaking to people who were tired and weary from their secular jobs. He was talking to people who were weary and heavy laden by the requirements of the law of Moses. The yoke of the law is hard and heavy. Jesus came to reveal grace, and the yoke of grace is easy and light because it involves none of you and all of Christ. He has borne the burden of sin on your behalf. Under grace, your part is to believe only on Jesus Christ, and when you believe, you are blessed and made righteous! Isn’t this amazing grace!”

“Even though the law is holy, just, and good, it has no power to make you holy, just, and good. You see, the law was designed to expose your weaknesses, your sins, and your inability to be holy, just, and good. It is like a mirror that exposes your flaws–your blemishes and pimples. But you cannot take the mirror and begin to rub your face with it to clean off your blemishes and pimples, because that is not the mirror’s purpose! You need to understand that no amount of keeping the law can make you holy. Only the blood of Jesus can do that.”

“God blesses you not because you are good, but because He is good. Grace is based on His faithfulness and goodness toward you. It is not contingent on your performance, but it is based on His undeserved favor. If it were contingent on how good you are, then it would no longer be based on grace and would instead be based on the system of the law. It would be deserved favor. This is the difference between the old covenant of law and the new covenant of grace. “

“Grace is not a topic–grace is the gospel. It is the good news! The word ‘gospel’ simply means ‘good news’. Grace is not theology. It is not a subject matter. It is not a doctrine. It is a Person, and His name is Jesus. That’s the reason the Lord wants you to receive the abundance of grace, for to have the abundance of grace is to have the abundance of Jesus! ‘For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.’ (John 1:17) Grace came as a Person and His name is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the personification of grace. Jesus is grace!”

“People are afraid that when you tell a believer that he is completely forgiven by grace and no longer has to earn his right standing before the Lord via the law of Moses, it would cause him to go out and live a life of sin and debauchery. However, the Bible is very clear that the ’strength of sin is the law’. (I Cor. 15:56) It is not grace that gives people the strength to sin. It is the law! The more you are under the law, the more sin is strengthened! Conversely, the more you are under grace, the more sin will be depleted of its strength. ‘For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.’ (Romans 6:14) This means that the more grace you receive, the more power you have to overcome sin. “

“You are either righteous or you are not. There is no such thing as first having ‘positional righteousness’ and then having to maintain that through ‘practical righteousness’. You are the righteousness of God in Christ, period!”

“Only the radical preaching of grace brings hope to believers. Only the finished work of Jesus can bring us wholeness, completeness, and shalom-peace. Some people say that the Christian life is very hard. My friend, it is not hard, it is impossible! The only One who can live it is Jesus Himself, and He wants to do it in us today. That is why it is not up to our own efforts to fulfill the law of Moses. It was fulfilled on our behalf and the price for our sins has been paid on the cross. Our part today is to believe in our Savior and receive from Him the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. The Christian life is a life of rest in Christ Jesus and His finished work. It is time to rest from your own efforts and to enjoy Jesus!” 000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000