Bring MyRedeemer to Your Group

If you have read through the topics on this site and wished to have a deeper and more personal understanding, there is a way for that to happen. I would be privileged to speak with you and your group about some of the most critical concepts with which we Christian should be intimately familiar. As important as these concepts are, they don’t receive nearly the emphasis they deserve –leaving us to either figure it out on our own or worse –to rely on secular teaching. They are essential to Christian growth and can make an eternal change within you and allow you to have a real and godly affect on everyone you relate with.

Your Identity in Christ

A man typically defines himself by what he does –a woman, by her relationships. Both use their physical attributes, heritage, possessions, backgrounds and aspirations to describe themselves. Over time, these become an identity. For example, a man might identify himself as a plumber who has owned his own business in Los Angeles for twenty years and has plans on retiring to Colorado in five more years. Similarly, a woman might identify herself as a mother of three (a toddler and two teens), who also cares for her disabled mother and is looking forward to when the children are grown so she can be an “empty nester” with less demanding responsibilities.

That identity –the way we perceive ourselves– is what shapes our core beliefs. Those core beliefs in turn, drive what we think, say and do. In the examples above, the plumber will not hesitate to tell even a stranger the “best way” to solve a plumbing problem –based on his knowledge and experience. And the woman will share her experiences of what works and doesn’t work with child raising –based on what she has learned over the years.

Everyone has a worldly identity and also a spiritual identity. In 1 John 3:10, we’re told that everyone is either a child of God or a child of the Devil. We Christians know that we are children of God, but there is much more to our identity. Each of us has been made into a new creation by God Himself –hence the term “born again." That new creation –with its new identity– comes with a description of who we are. Once and for all, we have been forgiven, declared innocent (justified) of all wrong doing, made holy (sanctified), become Jesus’ brothers and joint heirs of God’s kingdom, given the righteousness of God, translated out of darkness into His light, changed from being God’s enemy to being His friend, joined with Christ eternally as His bride, and so, so much more.

The old identity –what men do and whom women relate with– is part of our flesh and it stays with us as long as our physical bodies walk this earth. However, the new God-given identity is spiritual. It began when we put our trust in Jesus and will continue on eternally. Our flesh and our spirit –with their respective identities– are in conflict with each other –battling it out in our minds –justifying their own existence –rationalizing their behavior. And all the while, the ways of the spirit cannot gratify the flesh and the ways of the flesh cannot please the spirit.

Our single most valuable –yet least understood– treasure is our identity in Christ. Until it becomes prominent in our thinking, we remain stuck in the impossible struggle to make our flesh behave. And since it won’t behave, others see us as hypocrites trying to act out the role of the Christians –failing to do what we say.

I cannot urge you enough to learn about your Identity in Christ. Understanding who “you have become” will make a monumental change in every part of your life. It will eliminate trying to perform the Christian balancing act of budgeting time and effort for God, church, family, work, prayer, and the like. It will enable your words and your actions to become one. More importantly, you can be at peace with God as well as with your circumstances and the people in your life.

Are You Living a Life of Legalism or Grace?

Making choices founded on a set of rules or standards –no matter what their source– is by definition, living under legalism. Whereas, listening to and following the Holy Spirit is living by grace. The two can not be mixed. The metaphor demonstrating this is the unleavened bread eaten at the Passover. The Israelites were told to eat only unleavened bread on their Exodus; in preparation, they were to get all of the leaven (yeast) out of their houses. Bread is either puffed up from leaven or completely flat (unleavened); it’s never partially leavened because leaven reproduces and works its way through the whole loaf. Jesus used the Passover tradition to explain how even a little bit of legalism totally contaminates the whole of grace.

There are very few Christians who believe that they live a legalistic life. Rather, they believe that they are usually led by the Holy Spirit. The fact of the matter is that every one of us inherited a legalistic nature from mans’ fall in the garden of Eden. Legalism is natural –it’s the normal way of life that everyone was born into.

Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She believed that fruit would be good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom. Simply put, it would satisfy the cravings of her body, her soul and her spirit –her entire being. The problem is not that she ate the fruit. Instead, it’s that she chose to become the judge of what was good and what was evil. By that one choice, she displaced God as the judge and replaced His law –which defined good and evil– with her own law. From that point in time, her decisions became the law that she lived by –what was acceptable and unacceptable, proper and improper, right and wrong– according to what she believed was best at the time.

It’s that situation in which every person finds himself in today. Using our own knowledge and experiences, we follow Eve’s example and choose what is good and bad for ourselves –and also for everyone else. That’s why we say things like “That’s not what I would do” and “I’m not that bad.” In our flesh, we are all unbridled legalists –judges of good and evil. Even in our attempts to “do the right thing” we decide what is “right” based on a standard –maybe derived from the Ten Commandments, what our conscience says, what mom or dad or Pastor John taught us when we were young. Nonetheless, it’s living by legalism –not grace.

Most of us have attended church for years and made life’s choices based on standards such as these –never realizing that it was contrary to God’s grace. It’s how we were taught to live –yet not as a spiritual being but in the flesh. The law is only intended to deal with the flesh. In Romans 7:4, Paul reveals a startling fact, “You must die to the Law to bear fruit to God.” That involves dying to the entire principle of acting upon a standard of good and evil –right and wrong– in order to have a fruitful, spiritual life.

Let’s pause for a moment here. Does the law have a purpose? Of course it does! It’s to show all mankind that we are unbelieving creatures who are dead in our sins and desperately in need of new life. However, if we Christians continue to choose to live –making daily choices– based on the law, we are living under a curse. This is explained in Galatians chapter 3. “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Everything!

The implication is that a person under the law needs to obey the law strictly –consistently. The intended result is for him to clearly see the evil within him. But that’s only the first part of the Law –it has a second, equally important and often ignored second part. The Law demands a punishment that also needs to be obeyed. It’s a sentence of eternal death. The law never rewards or commends us –and it certainly never brings eternal life. That should be good news to a Christian. The law showed us that only through Jesus’ death and resurrection that we accept His death for us and receive His new life in us.

For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! (Galatians 2:19-21)

It’s after recognizing the legalism in our lives that we clearly understand the guiding of the Holy Spirit and bear the fruit of the Spirit to the God we desire so much to serve.

Building and Restoring Relationships

There’s not a one of us who doesn’t struggle with relationships. And it’s all because of our expectations. We expect friends and spouses to –not betray our confidence –not gossip about us –be there when we need them –even like us when we’re not likable. We expect our children to –be respectful  –not embarrass us –follow our example –do what we say. In every case we will –given enough time– be disappointed. It’s this disappointment –their not meeting our expectations– that destroys relationships.

Jesus told us to love one another as He loves us. His love is not selfish, never ending, always accepting, never remembering wrongs. What an impossible request! Why? –Because we have those expectations. If I were to ask you, “How can He can love us unconditionally?” You would probably answer, “He’s God –He can do anything.” Although that’s true, the deeper reason is because He doesn’t have any expectations of us that would result in His being disappointed.

When we became Christians, God separated our flesh from our human spirit –that’s what circumcision is a picture of –separating our selfish, sinful thoughts and attitudes from our God loving spirit. He is never disappointed by our fleshly actions –He knows that our flesh is corrupt and it will die in this aging body of ours. Instead God views us as clothed in the righteousness of His Son –He sees the change that is going on within us. His Spirit is at work –transforming us by the renewing of our minds about what is important in life (Romans 12:2) –conforming us into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).

So how can we love others as He loves us? By doing the same thing that Jesus does –realizing that everything that comes from a person’s flesh will be total disaster –and by discounting those fleshly responses and actions that would otherwise wound us. (That’s just another way of saying “not keeping records of those offensive wrongs.”) Oppositely, by recognizing and remembering only those instances of His Spirit at work within a person  –no matter how infrequent they are– we will find fewer disappointments and greater joy in our own lives.

Back to those expectations. . . They are laws –whether or not they are based on Bible principles. And we use them to establish standards (laws) of acceptable fleshly behavior. This is where relationships fall apart. The flesh is incapable of willfully following even the most elementary standard of good behavior. First Corinthians 15:56 explains that the “power of sin is the law.” The standards we establish –and expect others to live by– empowers rebellion against that very standard. Let me reword that: Whatever rule that is imposed will cause the flesh to rear its ugly head in furious rebellion. It’s a result of mans’ fall. In Romans 6, Paul explained how it affected his own life.

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. (Romans 7:18-19)

If this doesn’t immediately seem true to you, what is your response to a sign saying “Wet Paint  –Do Not Touch”? This rebellion shows up most plainly in children. What happens when you tell a child to not do something? Of course, he will fidget (have a war within himself) until he actually does it. Although you might find exceptions here and there, I hope you see the principle of law and rebellion (sin) at work.

We grace-loving Christians rejoice in the knowledge that Jesus brought an end to the law –taking away the punishment of death for all who believe in Him. God eliminated the rules for acceptable behavior of our flesh when His Son died on the cross. That rebellious flesh, along with the sin that dwell within it, was condemned to death. The only thing God requires of mankind is to accept His Son’s death as payment for our sin and also accept eternal life for our spirit.

Yet we continue with our own set of expectations for others to live up to –ones that we ourselves achieve –not if we are truly honest. And by upholding these standards, we unwittingly set ourselves higher than God. Hmm, doesn’t that sound just like Eve all over again? It should. The consequences of mans’ fall has affected each and every one of us in this way.

To get out of this pattern –of setting standards and enduring the resulting disappointment– takes getting a firm understanding of the separation between our flesh and our spirit and understanding the difference between legalism and grace. Making decisions based on that understanding then enables you to experience life without disappointment, frustration and anger.

Let’s Visit

We have all experienced these same troubles. I would be pleased to visit with your group. I never preach down to anyone. Rather, I’ve found that interactive discussion is the most beneficial method of communicating God’s message of love and grace. No, I’m not a professionally trained speaker –just a simple man. What I teach comes directly from my own life experiences. Having “been there and done that” so many times in various ways, I can relate to and with anyone who is seeking to grow in their knowledge of and closeness to God. My home is in Dallas so North Texas is the primary (most convenient) area for commuting. But we can talk about scheduling a time if your location outside of this area.

If you are interested, please contact me by email.

Doug Olsen
doug@MyRedeemer.org (include “MR Website” in the subject)