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"Reconciling Grace" - JR Everhart

I’m a big fan of Brennan Manning’s book The Ragamuffin Gospel.  It’s basically the blueprint of the modern grace movement.  That being said, most have taken it way further than I believe Mr. Manning ever intended.  The notion of hyper-extended grace is a real issue in the modern church.  This is the notion of teaching that Jesus did all the heavylifting, hence, we need not take any personal responsibility therein.  This is a false gospel, and it stands in direct conflict with the principles of holiness.  As Christ-followers, we are all called to holiness, therefore grace can only be taught correctly when taught in parallel with God's commands to obedience.  It’s both in tandem… not either or… 

Having said all that, it's important that I disclose that I was brought up in a church culture that taught “turn or burn” theology (your personal responsibility towards obedience).  I can remember, as a child, hearing my pastor talk about - this person or that person - going to hell because they smoked cigarettes or drank alcohol!  I can't count the number of times I heard the phrase “Beer Joint” talked about within my family’s church circles.  All the while, these parishioners being some of the most corrupt church people I've ever run across in my life.  They lied, cheated people in dirty business deals, and cheated on their wives.  All the while standing in critical judgement of everyone around them.  As a result, I ended up an atheist by my late teens. 

 

1)No wonder the Scriptures say, “The Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of you.” Romans 2:24 | NLT

I must admit to experiencing "God moments" during my childhood.  I was saved as a boy, and thereby filled with the Holy Spirit - with the evidence of speaking in tongues - by age 12.  But by my late teens, atheism became a safe place to escape from the aforementioned church nonsense.

After a number of rebellious years, I finally hit rock bottom at the age of 22.  From there, I surrendered wholeheartedly to Jesus, and that began the 28-year rollercoaster of JR's Christian journey.  It’s been a long rough road, but I’m still here, wanting very much to be a man that God's glory can shine through. 

There has to be balance in all this, and simultaneously, how can we reconcile God's law with God's grace?  I grew up hearing scripture being used to preach all manner of people into hell every week.  How can we stand and proclaim freedom in Christ's work on the cross - for all our sins - without going to hell for the habitual sin we all struggle with?  The Bible clearly says we ALL struggle with sin even after becoming believers. 

"8)If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.  9)But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.  10)If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that His word has no place in our hearts." 1 John 1:8-10 | NLT

The key to this is verse 9.  Repentance is what separates us from the unbelieving world.  Every time the Bible states that - this sin or that sin - is going to condemn us to permanent separation from God, we should remind ourselves that such judgement is reserved for the prideful and unrepentant.  When we focus our hearts on true repentance and our motives on living out as much holiness as we can, anything that we fall short on will be covered by God's grace.  But this is not a license to sin freely!  Paul said God forbids such a mindset.  We are called to denial ourselves, dig in our heels, take up our cross of daily crucifixion, and follow Jesus.  There's nothing easy about that.  But at the end of the day, if there’s failure laying on the battlefield of the human experience, God has nothing but grace and mercy for us.  For we're instructed to boldly come before his throne of grace and humbly relinquish all that failure to him.  This is the true good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

1) So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2) And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 

Romans 8:1-2 | NLT

When we walk in the power of God's grace, grace that we receive through Jesus Christ, our sin-natured wills will no longer lead to death.  This is foundational to the testimony that Jesus will take what was meant for evil and use it for good.  As such, our failures become a growth opportunity, and God reveals through the ramifications (fallout) of our sin, almost as a gauge or compass relative to obedience's call.  More & more, the sin in our lives works to wake-us-up to change when it’s framed around repentance.  All the while, sin has lost its sting, and death is no longer a pendulum-like threat to our lives.  

And this is where things get sticky.  As Christ-followers, the enemy is constantly enticing us to step over the line.  In my life, I usually just barrel right through my boundaries and into the land of selfish indulgence without so much as a second thought.  I despise this approach, but it’s the truth.  That being said, there’s never a time that I don’t respond with heartfelt repentance, finding myself having to take a spiritual bath afterwards.  It’s a very uncomfortable process and for good reason.  But, if I had no sin (& the ramifications of said sin) within my life, it would likely only lead to - high horse Christianity and therein a tedious judgement of the struggles of others around me.  Sin (& the ramifications therein) keeps me humble and compassionate towards others' struggles.  Sinful behavior, as a "category", will never feel normal to a true believer.  This is because it’s not part of our transformed nature.  But it is very much part of the fallen human experience here on earth.  I just keep reminding myself that earth is not my home.  As such, I try hard to live in the culture of my true home (heaven), and not within the culture of this temporary home.  A home run by none other than our enemy, Satan.  

The next time those accusatory thoughts of condemnation come into your mind, ask yourself this simple question:  ”Is this the culture of heaven, or the culture of hell?”  The culture of heaven is repentance and restoration.  The culture of hell is guilt and shame.  Shame leading to a dark pit of self-hatred that only ends in death.  A repentant heart is the key to all this.  Without a heart that desires holiness, we are no different than the unbelieving world.  A world driven by selfish pride and fleshly desires that openly murder to get its way. 

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Honoring The Mother Ship's (First Baptist Church Jackson) Cherished '70s / '80s' Pastor - Dr. Frank Pollard - 10/08/78 transcript

"Dinner With Jesus" - JR Everhart

“Look! I stand at the door and knock.  If you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends."  Revelation 3:20 | NLT

This scripture blows my mind and breaks me every time I read it.  It always reminds me of this Old Testament scripture: 

“Come now, and let us reason together,”says the Lord,“though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Isaiah 1:18 | NKJV

God wants to be my friend.  He likes me; he sees my internal struggles with sin and only asks that we sit down and reason these things out.  No matter how lost I am and rejected by everyone around me, Jesus is still saying - I will sit with you and break bread.  That is the opposite of how we typically treat each other, and it reveals how distorted our view of God's character is.  Jesus walked the Earth like one of us, but he was never one of us.  He never responded to this world's temptation as we do, nor to its horror as we do.  He had compassion for the hurting, and patience with the disciples when they would bicker and argue amongst themselves.  His life left such an impression on his followers that countless people have given their lives for the cause of Christ.  Yet, he knocks at the door of my heart everyday - just wanting to come in and have dinner with me.  To sit and converse with me about my life. 

So many times, we invite Jesus into our lives but not into the dark corners of our secrets and hardest struggles. I know personally that I’ll ask for forgiveness for the sin I allow into my life regularly, but rarely do I talk to him about the blueprints of my choosing sin over and over.  Some days it’s anger and malice, other days it’s things I’m so ashamed of I wouldn’t dare speak about it.  But in the dark alleys of my poor choices, Jesus stands and says “come to me, I see your pain and I know why you do these things.  I was there weeping with you during your abuse and abandonment.  Come let’s break bread and sit for awhile, I want to hear about your pain…” This scripture explains why… 

"But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.  He was beaten so we could be whole.  He was whipped so we could be healed." Isaiah 53:5 | NLT

I believe that when Jesus was hanging on the cross at Calvary, he could see our rebellion and weight of sin for all of mankind and asked the Father, “ Forgive them for they know not what they do…” Luke 23:34.  Jesus felt the pain of my child abuse; the King James translation of Isaiah 53:5 says “The chastisement of our peace was upon him…” which means anytime our peace has been attacked or abused Jesus felt that at Calvary.  He took all of our suffering upon himself so that we could stand strong and proud of his redemptive work and march forward.  Yes, I know we still suffer many things in this world.  The human experience is full of suffering.  But when we suffer, we can find peace in the fact that Jesus gave us freedom over this world's suffering.  So, we don’t have to allow that suffering to control our lives or trigger toxic behavior.  We are overcomers!  A dear friend of mine once told me that “we can’t be overcomers without something to overcome…”  Jesus settled it this way…

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me.  Here on Earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 | NLT

And yet again he knocks… inside our sin and shame - he knocks.  He sees all from a heavenly vantage point. And the culture of heaven is of healing and restoration.  Even in the face of our cycles of failure.  He knocks and still wants to have dinner with us.  Will you open the door and welcome him into your pain and sorrow?  Until we get comfortable with exposing our darkness to his light, we will remain lost in the forest of our sorrow.  With a handful of tickets already paid for, there’s nowhere to spend these dreams on the midway.  We just stand there alone and afraid that this will be the rest of our lives.  Lost in empty suffering, abandoned without hope of rescue.  For some of us, this has been our lives for far too long. Answer the door… 

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The Isolating Distortion That's Ushered In Via Paranoia

 

Paranoid people have a propensity to twist almost everything you do for them.  They'll do the same with whatever you say to or about them (even if it's obviously said in harmless fun).  Like the definition states above:  "They take nothing at face value".  

Besides my father, I encountered my first paranoid adult in the form of my first boss (back in 1995).  That relationship was short-lived (I was laid off after +/-1 year).  Boss #3 (real job #3) served to reanimate that exact same experience.  

Initially, I didn't see this bossman's paranoia (it had been some time since I'd experienced this relationally within a vocational setting), but eventually, I recognized it clearly for what it was (along with my vocational colleagues).  Due to the fact that this was a state government position, my boss' paranoia was somewhat easier to stomach overall - day in and day out.  That being said, over time, it did become overbearing.

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What can be done whilst forced to engage with paranoid individuals (parental / vocational / volunteer)?

[& please know this is assuming the paranoid person isn't aware / willing to take ownership of said paranoia.]

Separate yourself.  And not necessarily physically but emotionally.  And the reason I recommend this is to be best prepared to guard your own heart from their accusations (which can be exceedingly hurtful / confusing).  

When paranoid people feel threatened, their rational mind runs screaming from the building.  And this is when everything goes ape shit (for both you and them if they're in any position of authority over you).

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What is a root cause of paranoia?

I believe in many cases it's self-loathing.  Self-loathing that refuses to permit the paranoid individual from trusting by default.  

So, who do these individuals trust?  Anyone?

Based on my observations, I believe they trust, much more easily, individuals who're publicized as trustworthy.  For example, television / radio personalities / authors / pastors and certain entertainers.  Obviously, these are all professional trust-sellers who've garnered fame by popularizing trust in they themselves, their philosophy, story, etc.  

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Enjoy walking on eggshells and subsequently being exhausted?  Hang out with the paranoid.    

Even better, go marry or work for one.  

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Honoring The Mother Ship's (First Baptist Church Jackson) Cherished '70s / '80s' Pastor - Dr. Frank Pollard - 10/01/78 transcript

 

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