Life by the Spirit

¹⁶So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

Galatians 5:16-17 (NIV)

My handy dandy random Bible verse generator came up with this one. I like it - it's pretty straightforward - don't do bad stuff. I'm listening to Superchic[k], a band suggested to me by Maggie Christ. It took me like a year, but I finally bought one of their albums and it came today. :) The song I'm listening to now is called "One and Lonely". It started by talking about reality TV and not living the way the rest of the world lives. That's what this verse is about.

Being justified by grace doesn't mean we have a free license to sin. That's cheap grace. Instead we have to do something - we have to make an effort. Specifically live by the Spirit. We have to do the things we know we should, even when we don't want to. We have to steer away from the temptations that are in our lives. Sounds hard, right? It is. we have a sinful nature - we're drawn to sin. Every day is a new battle, but also a new day to succeed where we may have failed the day before.

Being a Christian isn't making a decision and putting Jesus in our pocket. It's a way of life. God gives his grace freely, but there is a response, and that's where they idea of costly grace comes in. God gives us grace and then takes up a free love offering. What are you going to put in the plate today?

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

Saved by What?

²⁰You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

James 2:20-24 (NIV)

Today's verse was inspired by a convergence of things. I read a conversation on Amazon about "Are Catholics saved?" It brought me to the verse James 2:24. Then I read a notes post by Pastor Kim Triplett about cheap grace and food that fills us up.

So what is James saying here? Is he conflicting with other passages like Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV).

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast.

The answer is no, he's not in conflict. If you take that verse in context (and I encourage you to read the rest of the passage) then what James is telling us is that we should have an active faith. God's grace brings with it not only salvation, but an interest in sharing our faith with others. He encourages us to do good deeds so that through our actions we can show our faith to those around us.

So then are we justified through God's grace or not? In Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book, The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer writes,

The only man who has the right to say he is justified by grace alone is the man who has left all to follow Christ. Such a man knows that the call to discipleship is a gift of grace, and that call is inseparable from the grace. But those who try to use this grace as a dispensation [(special permission from God)] from following Christ are simply deceiving themselves.

Cheap grace is defined by Bonhoeffer as saying, "I'm saved through God's grace and I don't have to do anything for it." Costly grace is defined as, "I am saved through God's grace and I can do nothing for it. But His gift is so great I will give everything I have in return."

So what's your flavor? Cheap grace is the grace that causes you to not change anything in your life. Costly grace challenges you to change everything in your life. What's your pricetag?

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com