Steve's Letter: It's all about His grace!

I'm actually writing this during Easter week and I'm sitting here feeling guilty. Well, I feel guilty a lot but more so during Lent.

Let me explain.

A number of our staff people have been doing a liquid fast for the last 40 days. They haven't talked about it a lot or made a big deal out of it. They certainly aren't trying to make me feel guilty. It's just that one can't help but notice as they waste away.

(Not really. Frankly, they look quite well-fed and I suspect they've been cheating...but that's another subject.)

Erik, in particular, solicited pledges on his fast with people pledging so much for each day he makes it. He raised almost a thousand dollars for Haiti. That's wonderful and I'm glad. But it does make me feel even more guilty, to wit, not only am I watching Erik go hungry, I'm now thinking about the hungry people he's helping in Haiti...and that's not helping my guilt problem either.

Do you know the sacrifice I made for Lent? I sacrificed nothing and gave up nothing.

So here I sit-fat, happy and...uh...guilty.

So let's talk about guilt, the gift that keeps on giving.

Because of what I wrote above (and a whole lot more), one of my favorite texts is Romans 8:1-2: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."

If that is true (and it is), if the blood of Christ is sufficient for all my sins (and it is...all of them) and if the righteousness of Christ has been imputed to my account (and it has), then why do I feel guilty?

First, there is always the possibility that I feel guilty simply because I am.

Psychiatrist: Do you know why you have an inferiority complex?

Client: No.

Psychiatrist: Because you're inferior!

There is a kind of healthy guilt that recognizes sin. The guilt becomes the very thing that solicits God's grace and results in great joy. Paul said in Romans 5:20, "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more."In other words, grace is attracted to sin. To be honest (and don't quote me out of context), there are times when I am grateful for my sin because it is the very thing that drives me to Christ and in his presence, I am accepted, loved and forgiven.

One of our staff members (she will remain nameless but she did give me permission to share this with you) couldn't make it through the Lenten fast. After about two weeks, she went to dinner with some friends and couldn't help but reach for the food. Talk about guilt. Better, she said, to not make the promise than to make it and then break it.

Maybe that's true but probably not. In fact, she experienced more grace this Lent, was loved by the other staff members more, and understood grace even more profoundly than those who managed to stay away from the donuts.

One of the reasons I grieve for folks who insist on their own goodness is that they miss so much. It's not their sin that is sad; it's their stiffness. Once you start calling something right that God says is wrong-gluttony, homosexual or heterosexual sin, arrogance, bitterness, lack of compassion, self-righteousness, etc.-you burn the bridge that leads to a God who will "hug" you. I am not into throwing rocks here...just pointing out that if you have a Father who loves you without reservation, it's no problem to run to him when you failed to do what he said to do or did what he warned you against. He really isn't angry at his own.

But fasting at Lent isn't one of the Big Ten, okay? In fact, I can't find anything in the Bible that condemns me for not fasting at Lent. And just so you know, I sent money to Haiti too.So in this case, sins of omission and sins of commission are not a factor. I could, of course, give you a list of both but not in this case. So if that's true, I move the previous question: Why in the world do I feel so guilty?

I've got it!

I feel guilty because I've been trying to measure myself by looking at others instead of at Christ.Paul said something in Romans 14:3-4 so relevant to this subject: "Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?"

Wow! Now I have something to repent of, to wit, looking at other people and measuring myself by what they do or in this case, don't do (i.e. eating). Frankly, when I look at you guys, I'm better than a bunch of you and probably worse than most of you. Doesn't matter. Not only that, it's irrelevant. I don't know your story, your struggles or your pain. I don't know what temptations you face or how often you have stood against the temptation before you fell. And you don't know that about me. Very, very pure people may just be phonies faking their goodness. And very, very sinful people may be pleasing God more than the preacher. We just don't know.

And not only that, I'm not your mother and you're not mine.

I wish I could be as smart as R.C. Sproul, as happy as Joel Osteen and as faithful as John McArthur, and find as much enjoyment in God as John Piper. But then, I'm glad I'm not as debauched as some folks in Hollywood, as dishonest as some politicians and as greedy as some of the folks on Wall Street.

Do you know what God says?

Stop it! Just stop it!

I have and now you will love me.

Stop that too.

In 1521, Martin Luther wrote a letter to his colleague, Melanchthon. Melanchthon drove Luther nuts because he was so good. (I'll bet Melanchthon did liquid fasts at Lent too.) One time Luther told Melanchthon to just go out and sin so he would have something to repent of.

At any rate, this is what Luther wrote to him:

If you are a preacher of grace, then preach a true, not a fictitious grace; if grace is true, you must bear a true and not a fictitious sin. God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly. For he is victorious over sin, death, and the world. As long as we are here we have to sin. This life is not the dwelling place of righteousness but, as Peter says, we look for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells...Pray boldly. You too are a mighty sinner.

It's about him! It's about his grace. It's not about anybody else!

There. Now I feel better.

All kidding aside, I'm proud of those Key Life staff members who fasted. One of God's great gifts to me has been the beloved and gifted friends he has put around me. They bless me with their love for God.

But I was proud of them before they fasted.

Believe it or not, that's how God feels about me.

And about you too!

He asked me to remind you.

In His Grip,