Religious Repentance vs. Gospel Repentance
Last Sunday we looked at 3 different ways to live:
1. Religion makes law and moral obedience a means of salvation
2. Irreligion makes the individual a law to him or herself
3. Gospel takes the law of God so seriously that Jesus paid the penalty of disobedience, so we can be saved by sheer grace.
It's very easy to think you are living a gospel centered life all the while you are really living a life of religion or irreligion -- both of which are attempts at making yourself your own God.
The answer is repentance!!! But how do you know if you are even repenting properly? Maybe these will help.
Religious Repentance
Goal is to keep God happy
Gospel Repentance
Goal is to experience eternal joy in Christ
Religious Repentance
Sorry for sin b/c of consequences
Gospel Repentance
Sorry for sin b/c it breaks God’s heart
Religious Repentance
Way to pay the price for our own sin
Gospel Repentance
Jesus suffered and paid the price for our sin
Religious Repentance
Earn our forgiveness with our repentance
Gospel Repentance
Just receive it
Religious Repentance
Disappoints b/c your counting on your own morality
Gospel Repentance
Brings freedom b/c Christ always loves us
From Exodus 14
Exodus 14:13
This verse tells you to hold still and watch the salvation of the Lord. Take time right now to stop and look at the salvation of the Lord.
The context of this verse is that the people have been in slavery under Egypt and they were let go by the Pharaoh who was now chasing them to put them back into slavery. They were nervous and scared and said that it would have been better to be slaves than to die in the wilderness. In the midst of the the pressure of circumstances God tells them to stop and watch your salvation happen in front of your eyes.
He says, "You are about to witness me defeat your enemy." He says, "You will never see your enemy again."
Exodus 14:14
The lord is fighting for you. Stop looking at the enemy. That is direction for you. Stop looking at what you see as your enemy, be quiet and watch the Lord fight for you.
Exodus 14:15
Just go forward.
This verse tells you to hold still and watch the salvation of the Lord. Take time right now to stop and look at the salvation of the Lord.
The context of this verse is that the people have been in slavery under Egypt and they were let go by the Pharaoh who was now chasing them to put them back into slavery. They were nervous and scared and said that it would have been better to be slaves than to die in the wilderness. In the midst of the the pressure of circumstances God tells them to stop and watch your salvation happen in front of your eyes.
He says, "You are about to witness me defeat your enemy." He says, "You will never see your enemy again."
Exodus 14:14
The lord is fighting for you. Stop looking at the enemy. That is direction for you. Stop looking at what you see as your enemy, be quiet and watch the Lord fight for you.
Exodus 14:15
Just go forward.
Meditations on Psalm 37:11
11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.
Meek is a word that is totally misunderstood in our culture. Meekness has developed this connotation that there is weakness involved or some sort of willingness to be walked over.
Here in this context, it simply means full awareness of our need and inability. Other scriptures translate this as humble.
I think about Mia, my 5 year old, and how she wants nothing to do with a swimming pool unless I am with her or how she wants nothing to do with going to our basement unless her big brother goes with her. It is not so much about fear of the pool or the basement as much as it is about trust in her dad and big brother. She is completely at peace when we are there with her.
When we are aware of our own brokenness and need and aware of the protection and complete perfection of God and run to him in all circumstances we are meek. When we are meek we live in abundant peace.
Peace in this verse is welfare, contentment, completeness. We have these things in excess in Christ. We have more peace than we need, we have extravagant welfare in Christ.
Difficult circumstances are not be feared or cause us dismay, they serve us in that they push into the arms of the giver of abundant peace. When Mia and I are in the pool she clings to and learns to trust in her dad who would give his life to protect and provide for her.
Meek is a word that is totally misunderstood in our culture. Meekness has developed this connotation that there is weakness involved or some sort of willingness to be walked over.
Here in this context, it simply means full awareness of our need and inability. Other scriptures translate this as humble.
I think about Mia, my 5 year old, and how she wants nothing to do with a swimming pool unless I am with her or how she wants nothing to do with going to our basement unless her big brother goes with her. It is not so much about fear of the pool or the basement as much as it is about trust in her dad and big brother. She is completely at peace when we are there with her.
When we are aware of our own brokenness and need and aware of the protection and complete perfection of God and run to him in all circumstances we are meek. When we are meek we live in abundant peace.
Peace in this verse is welfare, contentment, completeness. We have these things in excess in Christ. We have more peace than we need, we have extravagant welfare in Christ.
Difficult circumstances are not be feared or cause us dismay, they serve us in that they push into the arms of the giver of abundant peace. When Mia and I are in the pool she clings to and learns to trust in her dad who would give his life to protect and provide for her.
The Gospel in Life
The tag line for our series "The Gospel in Life" is, "Grace changes everything". As we are the beginning of the series, let's look the word grace and how it affects us and in turn how that ought to affect how we affect the world.
From the NAS Greek Lexicon, the word Grace (Charis) is a noun defined as::
favor of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection.
The root of this Greek word is verb that simply means to be glad. So grace is that quality possessed by God and given without external provocation to you and I. It is delivered to us through the work of Christ and our surrender to it.
Grace changes everything.
I want to explain what I mean when I see without external provocation. Grace rests within God. God gives that favor (see above definition) without regard to anyone deserving it. When I look at my wife and see her eyes and I say to her, "you have beautiful eyes." The actual beauty of her eyes is an external factor that has stirred up affection in me and caused me to tell her that her eyes are beautiful. When one of my kids does something sweet or funny, I am stirred to action by telling them they are cute or smart or funny or a superstar. Those are external provocations.
God giving us his grace was unprovoked, unmerited, unearned in anyway. When we realize that we have been rescued from a broken world and been redeemed from our own brokenness and when we realize that we have been rescued purpose and deep interacting love; it must change everything.
Join us in this series (sermons, blog, community groups, vimeo) as we breathe in deeply how grace changes the way we look and and interact at work, in our cities, in our families and everything about us. We are broken, but through the grace of God, we have been redeemed. That should motivate us to live in a broken and bring redemption to it.
Praying for Gospel in Life
We are about to officially kick off our series "The Gospel in Life". It is an eight week series with a couple of breaks thrown in. The intent of the series is to look closely into the gospel and press it into the core of who we are in such a way that it takes root and begins to dictate how we interact with our world.
We will engage this series on Sunday mornings in service, in community groups and with a home study. All are invited to any and all of the settings.
As we prepare for the first sermon in the series this Sunday, I want to give us all something to pray through and ask God to prepare us.
Pray that God would lead you to his truth. Read and pray John 16:13. This verse says that the Holy Spirit will guide you to truth. Pray with vigor that you would lay hold of the truth of the gospel. Pray that he would bury his truth deep into your soul.
Pray that God would allow you to live this truth. Read and pray Eph 4:1. This verse urges us to live lives worthy of our calling. This word worthy means of equal weight. This calling is the gospel. So our prayer is that God would change us in such a way that the life we live would reflect the gospel that we have engaged.
I am praying these things for us all. I hope to see you Sunday. Thanks for reading!
