The Three Cs

Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded. If you are a regular Bible reader, I am sure you must have looked quizzically at the title of this post and my Bible reference. The title is James 1:22. So, what's with the Proverbs reference, you ask? Yesterday, I had lunch with a Christian friend of mine who has been struggling with his faith, struggles that have him occasionally wondering if he is really saved. Maybe I am doing too much, he says. Maybe I am not doing enough. Maybe I don't really believe. Maybe my faith is dead. Passages like those in James have a way of doing that to every Christian. Do not merely listen to the Word, James writes, do as it says (James 1:22 NIV). Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? (James 2:20 ESV) For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10 NIV). Am I really goo...

Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” It would be easy to get stuck in the big picture of this story in Matthew. A rich man comes to Jesus and asks what some might think is a rather simple question. So Jesus spells it out. If you are seeking eternal life, obey the Word: Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie or gossip. ... And if you think you have those bases covered, then make sure you also sell everything you own, take up your cross and follow Jesus. That man, just like me, was crushed. I haven't killed anyone. But obeying the Law ... well, everyone fails. To be clear, EVERYONE fails, everyone except Jesus, that is. Jesus (Matt. 19:26), and Paul (Rom. 3:20) make that perfectly clear in the New Testament. And the Old Testament writers did, too, most notably David in Psalm 14. Maybe you missed it, but that was the point of the story: "There is only One who is good" ...

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Jesus died for you. Did you catch that, Christian? You are ungodly. Just like me. No one is righteous in God's sight (Psalm 14:3); that makes us ungodly. You are a sinner. I am a sinner (1 John 1:8). That makes us ungodly. It's a difficult truth to face. I have to tell you, it's even more difficult when you have a 4-year-old daughter like we do. Nora is so sweet. She talks with God. She started saying the Lord's prayer during church when she was 2. She remembers her friends in some of the most amazing ways, and then prays for them. Last Wednesday, during a midweek Bible study our church calls Oasis, Nora's class had an interactive lesson in which the teacher presented the children a problem, and they would respond with a solution. On the last one, one of the children was given a beach ball, and the teacher says, "I don't have any friends." Nora quietly looks...