How To Be Perfect: The Righteousness of Christ

"God's standard isn't progress. God's standard is perfection...We have broken every single commandment. Jesus has fulfilled each and every one on our behalf. Only when we are crushed by God's demand for perfection can we be cured by His grace. Jesus came to fulfill the law for you and me...When God looks at us, he doesn't see how we've failed - He sees how Jesus succeeded. That's salvation. That's the gospel. When God looks at us, He doesn't see our unrighteousness - He sees Christ's righteousness. Because of Jesus, we are perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. Before God, the righteousness of Christ is all we need. Before God, the righteousness of Christ is all we have." - Tullian Tchividjian

(cf. Leviticus 19:2; Matthew 5:17, 20; Philippians 3:9)


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Ten (Law Is King)

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. - Romans 3:19 ESV


If you had a projector
Connected to my head and my chest
It would showcase nothing but an independent festival of darkness
Bleak thoughts to match a black heart
Every matinee selling out to the sinful desires of my humanity
You know Kierkegaard was right;
You’d be shocked and amazed at what a sane man
Dreams about doing in the broad daylight

And if accountability of consequence
Lifts even for a second
The fantasy becomes reality…
What masters of debauchery we are
Nightmare walking…
Psychopath, stalkin’…
A Gorilla in the mist
Notorious for poppin’ off with my two lips…
With two fists up

Because I consider every punch I throw
To be therapeutic or medicinal
Because if there is no God
Then everything is permissible to us
It all boils down to dust
Knocking the rusty latch off of reason, then
Now it’s like someone opened up a floodgate
And in a blind fit of rage
Recklessly misplaced a wooden stake –

I’ve got 2x4’s disguised
As splinters stuck in my eyes
Violence begets a nihilist
And now the nihilist wants to get violent
Because he’s somebody’s child
The only problem is
That we were separated at birth
And I’ve been raised in the wild –
Exploiting my desertedness
Using it as ammunition to lash out at a “negligent parent”
Resolved even more now to respond
Solely to the vibrations of my own larynx

I’m a rebel whose primary cause
Is to be an embarrassment to my inheritance
I don’t want a share…I want it all
And now I’ve got it; A bunch of empty wallets
In a clenched fist of covetousness
So there’s a rumble coming from deep within the jungle
Because my Father’s given the order to give chase
“LEX REX” on my chest branded with ten phrases
Serve as a valuable reminder
Lay down my arms and wait for grace
Or just keep running, only to die tired


For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. - Galatians 3:10-14 ESV


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Taste

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

(Romans 7:24 ESV)

What happens when the taste

Becomes stronger than grace?

When I’m more about seeking the thrill

Than seeking your face?

The burnout is inevitable

But the rush is so incredible

You only live once

And I don’t want it to be regrettable

Half of me says, “One time never hurt anybody.”

The other half says I worry too much:

“You don’t even have to think about it.”

Eat, drink, and be merry

Never seems to be scary

Until you discover

That the meal’s being prepared

In an environment that’s unsanitary

An occasional lick of the spoon

Now turns into a toxic addiction

And my microscopic pursuit of joy

Has led to a life of telescopic affliction

Tried to divide my passions

Between redemption and lies

But when the latter won my affection

It left me with no way to climb…

Yet your mercy still abounds

Like a shot to the heart

While I was on the ground dying

(In this case, not a bad place to start)

Behaviors I used to savor

No longer renew my confusion

Now I’m infused with new life

To comprehend your mercy and beauty

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

(Romans 6:1-4 ESV)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

(1 John 1:9 ESV)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

(Hebrews 4:15-16 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Zeros & Ones: Gospel In Life [Week 7] - Justice (A people for others)

Many people get the Gospel wrong when they believe that their salvation is based on their repentance. Your repentance will never make up for your sins. In actuality, true repentance unto life is the acknowledgment of our utter guilt of sin and the justice that was served on Another in our stead...Repentance is the first fruit of good works.

(cf. Proverbs 28:5, 29:26; Isaiah 1:17; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Zeros & Ones: Gospel in Life [Week 2] - The Heart (3 Ways to Live)

As we continue on with our discussion on the Gospel in life, we look at the deep implications of our justification in Christ and how this changes our hearts; moving us from works of self-righteousness to understanding our imputed righteousness in the person and work in Jesus. Comprehending the truth about the method of grace in salvation that justifies should lead to repentance and sanctification...Also, we discuss the difference between religion and the gospel.

"Once again, please excuse the sleeveless look...it's very hot down here in Texas." - Shon W.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Like It Or Not...

Whether you like it or not

This life is not all about you
It doesn't matter how much money you’ve got
Or all the chicks that are on your jock, dude
And it doesn’t matter
If you’re “stackin’ that paper to the ceilin'”
Because when they put you in that pine box
That's the beginning of your end, see
Or better yet
Let's just call it the next verse
You’ll be crossed over like John Edward
When they put you in that hearse
And now they’re singin’ sad songs
Thought you'd be dead and gone
But you can’t ever die dead enough
Because eternity is just way too long

So whether you like it or not
I’ve gotta spit some of this truth to you:
You really don’t think those dollars gonna mean a thing
When it comes to your end, do you?

Like PRo said:
"This is court, but your money matters hardly;
You can ball, but never get a trophy, similar to Barkley."

Man, if you that’s a real hard way to speak
It‘s nothing compared to hard words
When the Lord is speaking from the Judgment Seat
Life after death was no “Biggie”
Until He opened the Book of Life and took a spiritual audit
Now you’re “Leo DiCaprio”; so say hello to the duly departed

Matthew 7:21-23, 16:26, 25:31-46; Luke 12:16-21; Philippians 3:8; Hebrews 9:27-28; Revelation 20:11-15

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Broken Bone Hymns by Paul David Tripp

It’s a bit of a strange word picture, the kind that causes you to wonder and to feel just a bit uncomfortable. But it says volumes about what you need and about what it is that God is doing. If you’re confused about what God’s agenda is in your life, or if it doesn’t always seem like his promises are being fulfilled, then this strange little prayer from Psalm 51 is helpful and clarifying. In his psalm of repentance after his sin against God, Bathsheba, and Uriah, David writes this provocative little prayer, “Let the bones that you have broken rejoice.” What in the world is he talking about and how in the world can it give perspective and hope to you and me?

Let me begin to answer with a personal confession. It’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but I have a low tolerance for difficulty. I confess that I am a project-oriented person. I tend to have a specific agenda for each day. I awake knowing exactly what I want to accomplish and what a successful day will look like. I don’t want to have to deal with interruptions or obstacles. I want the people, circumstances and locations to willingly submit to my sovereignty and participate in my plan. All of this means that it’s counterintuitive for me to view difficulty as something beneficial. I have little time or tolerance for “broken bones.”

But I have a problem. My Redeemer is the redeemer of broken bones. Now, maybe you're thinking, “Paul, what in the world are you talking about?” Well, here it is. “Broken bones” is a physical word picture for the pain of redemption.

In case you failed to notice, God’s work of delivering you and me from our addiction to self and sin and transforming us into his image isn’t always a comfortable process. There are times, in order to make our crooked and fickle hearts straight and loyal, God has to break some bones. I will again confess, I don’t like broken bones!

Now, you have to ask, “Why would a God of love ever bring pain into the lives of the people he says he loves?” The difficult things that you experience as God’s child that may seem like the result of God’s unfaithfulness and inattention or anger are actually acts of redemptive love. You see, in bringing these things into our lives God is actually fulfilling his covenantal commitment to satisfy the deepest needs of his people. And what is it that we need the most? The answer is simple and clear throughout all of Scripture: more than anything else we need him.

Yet this is exactly where the rub comes in. Although our greatest personal need is to live in a life-shaping relationship with the Lord, as sinners we have hearts that have a propensity to wander. We very quickly forget God and begin to put ourselves or some aspect of the creation in his place. We soon forget that he’s to be the center of everything we think, desire, say and do. We easily lose sight of the fact that our hearts were designed for him and that the deep sense of well-being which all of us seek can only be found in him.

We very rapidly forget or ignore the powerfully addicting dangers of sin and think we can step over God’s boundaries without personal and moral cost. We think we are stronger than we really are and wiser than we actually prove to be. We assess that we have character, discipline and strength that we don’t really have. So God, in the beauty of his redeeming love, will “break our bones.” He will bring us through difficulty, suffering, want, sadness, loss and grief in order to ensure that we are living in pursuit of the one thing that each of us desperately needs—him.

It’s time for each of us to embrace, teach, and encourage others with the broken-bone theology of uncomfortable grace. Because as long as each of us still has sin living in us, producing a propensity to forget and wander, God’s grace will come to us in uncomfortable forms. Perhaps you’ve been wondering where the grace of God is in your life at the very moment when you have been getting it. But it has not been the grace of comfortable relief or release; no, you have been receiving the uncomfortable grace of rescue, restoration, transformation and refinement.

So, if you are God’s child, if you’ve ever prayed that God would be near you and would do what he has promised in and for you, then resist the temptation to doubt his goodness in the middle of your moment of stress. It’s time for you and me to stop thinking that we are going through difficulty because Satan is winning or God is punishing us. If you are God’s child and you humbly recognize and admit that the battle with sin still rages in your heart, then tell yourself that those difficulties are the sure sign of his rescuing and redemptive love.

God hasn’t forgotten you. He hasn’t turned his back on you. He isn’t punishing you in anger. He surely isn’t withholding the grace that he has promised from you. No, you’re receiving grace, but it’s grace that is willing to break bones in order to capture and transform your heart. This grace is unrelenting. This grace has no intention of giving up. This grace will not be satisfied with the status quo. This grace does not get discouraged. It will never compromise. It will never become bitter or cynical. This is loving, patient, perseverant, powerful grace.

In those moments when you are tempted to wonder if God has forgotten you, may you preach to yourself of this relentless, transforming grace. May you remind yourself that you are being loved with real love and showered with real grace. And as you limp to his throne once more to thank him for his unyielding grace, may the bones that he has lovingly broken sing a hymn of praise to this One who alone blesses you with his amazing grace.

via desiringgod.org

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)