2033
PROMISE KEEPERS [or a New Way]
Yesterday I spent the day in
‘historic’ Hackensack.
I put historic in quotes- because
as a kid growing up- all you remember are the bad days.
I used to think ‘Hackensack’ and
yeah- bad days.
But- to my surprise- when you
walk around- sober [or not high] yeah- the town is really a special place.
I visited an old friend- Frank.
I used to be good friends with
his brother Fred many years ago- and I became a Facebook friend with Frank last
year.
So- I made the promise that when
I came up- I would take him to a spot to eat- and talk about the old days
[Chicago- Old days- Oldies- good times I remember].
So- as I reach the 2 month mark
back in Jersey- I wanted to make sure I kept the ‘vow’.
The other promise I made- was to
see another old buddy in Newark.
I did that last week [I found the
spot- a halfway house- but it already closed down].
So- I really enjoyed the day in
Hackensack.
We went to a church service for homeless/street
guys.
It was held in the historic
church- that is known for George Washington attending.
We walked thru an old grave yard
in the back of the church- it had the names of famous generals from the
Revolutionary war era.
The church was started in 1662 [I
think- I picked up the pamphlet- but left it at the buffet!].
So- the church was a true
historic spot.
I walked all the spots where the
street guys would walk- and the area- though nice- is not ‘nice’ for street
guys.
Huh?
Yeah- the cops keep an eye on
you- and let you know.
The actual denomination of the church
[Church on the Green] is Reformed.
I have studied- and taught lots
about this church in the past.
They were indeed the original Protestants
that came out of the 16th century.
They are a good denomination- and
for Protestants- one of the most ‘intellectual’.
They focus much on the sovereignty
of God [God in charge].
And Grace [they are strong on the
doctrine of Predestination- that God chooses us- not us him].
Now- that’s actually what I
wanted to post about this week.
I wanted to share the New Testament
concept of Grace versus Works.
In a nutshell- Christianity
approaches the subject of Change [how to overcome things- whether drugs-
drinking-etc.]
From the standpoint of grace.
Don’t all recovery groups do
this?
Not really.
In the world of ‘recovery’ you do
have many good treatment concepts- often based on biblical principles.
Most of these try and implement
the idea that if you follow a program [some have different programs to follow]
that you can maintain sobriety.
Do these work?
Some of the times they do- but
that’s where Grace comes in.
In Christianity- the ultimate
authority for change comes from God.
Okay- don’t most programs believe
in God?
Yes.
But here’s the catch.
I have seen/experienced- that
without the concept of Grace- when someone fails- relapses- there is a legalistic
approach that many find very difficult to implement.
Grace teaches that freedom from
sin [addictions] comes as a free gift of God- based on the death and resurrection
of Christ.
In a nutshell- that means if a
person is clean for a number of years- if they fall- stumble- and ask God for forgiveness-
he forgives- and restores- as in if they never had the fall.
See?
This is not just a minor point.
In Christian theology- this is
the basis of the grace of God [and sovereignty- which means he does this
because HE chooses to].
The bible says when people who
struggle with sin [all of us- to different degrees] come to God- that God MUST
forgive- because he ‘made this promise to his Son’.
God covenanted [made a deal] with
Christ- that if He would die for the world- that God would be JUST to keep his
part of the promise- and forgive man because Jesus kept his part of the deal.
Do you now see?
In Christianity- like most
recovery programs- God does give us disciplines to keep [that means- there are
indeed acts we need to do- restitution- making things right- etc.]
But- if somewhere along the way-
we mess up- we don’t see our ‘hope’ as ‘now I need to work extra hard to get
back to where I was’.
No- that’s the Old Covenant idea
of Law [the legalistic way].
But in Grace- God is actually the
one enacting our ‘recovery’ [new birth] and his forgiveness- and the ability to
pick up again- all are a work of Grace.
I could quote lots of bible verses
on this- but this is indeed the main basis of God’s grace as revealed to us
thru the New Testament [this term itself- New Testament- is talking about this
NEW concept of CHANGE coming as a free gift of God- not as a result of us
working a program- or the Old Covenant of Law].
Ok- this short post can’t get into
all the deep theological issues [there are many].
But I wanted to lay the
groundwork this week- to share the primary idea that Grace means our recovery-
our NEW LIFE is simply the fruit of what Christ did for us when he himself kept
the Law [Gods first recovery program].
That the bible teaches that men-
in and of themselves- were never able to actually achieve change [recovery] by
keeping ANY PROGRAM.
That idea is based on law.
No- God does use various recovery
programs- but if a person’s recovery is not based on the actual reality of the
Grace of God- the New Covenant that I just explained.
Then in the end- we all
‘relapse’.
NOTE- I want to emphasize the
difference between Law and Grace.
To re-cap;
The giving of the 10 commandments
[called The Law] was a good thing- yet- in the New Testament [especially the
letters of Paul] we read that man had no ability in and of himself [in his own
power] to keep them.
So- few a couple of thousand
years [until the time of Christ] man’s attempt at trying to keep the law [which
you can apply to any well-meaning program- or modern ‘law’ system] was simply a
sort of probationary period- a test- that man kept failing- time after time.
Then why even give us the law?
That’s the main debate in the New
Testament- the Law was given to reveal to man that he was a sinner- an addict-
a person with problems.
Then- after trying to keep the
law- [the program] he kept on failing.
He comes to the end of his rope-
and sees the reality of the New Program [the New Covenant] and by a free act of
Grace- he is now forgiven- and also freed from his sin.
In this New Way [New Testament]
if he falls [relapses] he asks for forgiveness- and God doesn’t just forgive
him- and say ‘okay- now you start from day 1 all over again’ [which in itself
is a Law mentality].
But God says ‘ok- because my Son
kept the law- the program- perfectly- I not only let you ‘start over’ but it’s
like you never relapsed at all’.
See?
What I simply explained in this
post is the difference between trying to achieve change by your own power- and
receiving a New Life [New Birth] as a free gift from God.
Now- there are many verses I can
give you ‘for by grace are you saved- thru faith- and that not of yourselves-
it is the gift of God’.
But I want you to see the age old
dilemma- that no effort by man- no matter how good the program is- can change
man.
In Christianity- God does give us
principles to live by- tools of self-discipline.
Yes- that’s actually one of the
Fruits of the Spirit- self-control.
But the New Covenant- grace-
based on the fact that JESUS KEPT THE LAW perfectly- is a program where God
does not put the burden of change on us.
No- this program works because
Jesus fulfilled his end of the Covenant- died for us and rose again.
And we have eternal life [not
just a life that never ends- but a new quality of life] that comes as a free
gift from God.
Read the gospel of John chapter
3- focus on the verses that talk about this free gift- given to all that
believe.
Meditate on verses like ‘I am
crucified with Christ- never the less I live- yet not I- but Christ lives in
me. And the life that I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God- who
loved me and gave himself for me’.
Amen.
Note- Do me a favor, those who
read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read
them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [FaceBook] -
I have posted lots.
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