CHRIST EARNED YOUR INCLUSION IN GOD
28/02/24 14:50
Earning Jesus acceptance and presence is subtle form of legalism. In our efforts to come up with a transaction, we are motivated to either will pick and choose from the Ten Commandments seizing one that has particular status in our community or, observe a set of cultural imperatives that our community has made much of or try to live by ‘keeping close to Jesus’ the most subtle legalism of all. But the latter is no more possible than keeping the law – as Peter has emphasised when he said, ‘That neither we or our ancestors were able to bear.’
POST CROSS LEGALISM
The post cross legalist is tempted to make ‘law’ out of religion or to make a ‘messiah’ out of a piece of law or an item of Christian Behavior. Here the person who is not living in grace because, he has made his own grace OUT OF SOME ‘observance’ chooses something such as a ‘sabbath’ or church attendance or an annual mission trip, as a cover-all obedience.
ABUNDANT GRACE
But when Christ is our life we are graced with Christ’s life as our life, graced with His righteousness as our righteousness, graced with His relationship with Father and Holy Spirit as our relationship, possession and inheritance. Here ‘belonging’ is not words but a state of being – of our being sons in the son of God. Thomas Torrance put it like this.
NO COVERT SELF-HELP
“We are not thrown back upon ourselves to respond to God’s work of salvation, but that we rely wholly on Jesus Christ’s perfect response on our behalf. We are not left to fearfully wonder if we have had “enough” faith, if we have properly repented enough, if our worship is acceptable to God, if our prayers are said rightly, if we attend Church enough, if we read the Bible enough, or if we love God enough. The humanity of Jesus Christ is our perfect response, which has already been offered by Christ and accepted by God. We rely on His response and echo a response only within His obedient humanity.” (1)
This is the Christianity Jesus bequeathed us – not really a religion but a state of union with God in His person and His name. Christ in you is the hope of glory because Christ represents you and becomes you. Not a ‘you’ that is a clone of someone else but the ‘you’ that was seen before the foundation of the world.
(1) Morrison, Stephen D.. T. F. Torrance in Plain English (Plain English Series Book 2) (pp. 143-144). Beloved Publishing, LLC. Kindle Edition.
