“The Christian life isn’t about progress… “
“Church isn’t a place for people to get better… “
“Following Jesus is more about realizing my own weakness and insufficiency and finding them in Jesus than it is about growing… “
I keep hearing statements like these and I must confess they leave me baffled. I’m baffled because I know they are meant to be good news—but for the life of me I can’t find the good news in them.
I understand the good news of realizing that my identity is totally and absolutely found in Christ. It is tremendous news that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus and this is based not on my performance but upon the already accomplished work of Jesus Christ.
That is really great news.
But I’m convinced the above statements cut the legs out of grace and end up not being all that good of news. Grace makes a person actually want to follow Jesus. It makes me want to “progress”, “grow”, “get better”. Saying the Christian life isn’t about progressing in holiness is only good news to those wanting to still treasure sin.
In an effort to highlight the sufficiency of grace in covering our sin we must be careful not to teach that progress in Christ-likeness is somehow not a goal, not possible, or not even something to be commended.
Consider Paul’s argument in Romans 6. In response to the outlandish statement that we should continue in sin so that grace abounds, Paul says “How can we who have died to sin still live in it”?
He then spends 11 verses defending his statement that believers are dead to the enslaving power of sin. That old man—Adam—has been crucified through our union with Christ. Under the law believers were still enslaved to the power of sin and so all the law could do was condemn us. But, as Paul notes in 6:14, we are not under law but under grace. As such sin will not have dominion over us because we have been crucified and made alive with Christ.
I agree with Tom Schreiner’s comment on this:
This means that the normal pattern of life for Christians should be progressive growth in sanctification, resulting in ever great maturity and conformity to God’s moral law in thought and action.
If Paul had wanted to say something like “the Christian life isn’t about progressing in holiness” here was the place to do it. The question in verse 1 is charging Paul’s gospel (saying things like Paul did in 5:20-21) with being untrue because such a statement is incompatible with growth in holiness. Notice that Paul doesn’t challenge that assertion. If Christianity doesn’t lead to actual holiness then what of the promises of Ezekiel and Jeremiah that people would actually obey with new hearts?
This is why the gospel is such good news. We are free from guilt and condemnation. God does not relate to you based on your performance but the performance of Christ.
AND believers will actually grow in godliness. That is great news for Christians because we abhor sin. We want to give up every darling lust. This is why the gospel is such good news—it declares that in Christ our old self has been crucified and we actually can grow in Christ-likeness.
So you can keep any “grace” that doesn’t make you more like Jesus. I’ll take the one that has slain the old man and causes me to—yes painfully at times—become more like Christ.
Totally tracking with you on this. “You shall call His name Jesus for He will save His people from their sins.” In what aspect? Just from the penalty and condemnation of our sin? No. This gospel promises a full and final redemption. It is a salvation from the penalty, power, and ultimately (in glory) the presence of sin. I think John Murray’s book, “Redemption Accomplished and Applied” needs a fresh reading, because in it he clearly argues that the salvation that was purchased by Jesus is applied to us by the Spirit, and that what He bought with His death was a full salvation that is being put in effect even now as the Spirit transforms us into the image of Christ from one stage of glory to another. I think many reduce the role of the Spirit down to conviction of sin and gifting. He does convict of sin, but His work involves so much more. His work certainly involves conforming us to the image of Christ, which the end for which God predestined us. The dumbing down of the fulness of the redemption promised in the Gospel (and the dumbing down of the ongoing role and ministry of the Spirit in the life of the Christian) is alarming. Sorry for the lengthy comment. Thanks for the post!
Agreed, Jimmy. And glad to hear from you, brother! I hope you are well.
I read Murray’s book awhile back. I think a fresh reading might be in order, thanks for suggesting it!
Hey Brother. Hope all is well. Has been awhile since HLG days! I just recently read Murray’s book. It was really helpful. I just preached a sermon on this very issue titled “Redemption Applied.” I found this article on role of the Spirit uniting us to Christ to be really helpful in thinking through these things: http://mereorthodoxy.com/calvin-no-salvation-without-sanctification/ Not sure who the author was but found the content very helpful.
What is ‘progress’? How does one measure it? I think to ‘measure’ it would imply a comparison. So if we compare our life to the life of perfection – the life of Christ – we all fall woefully short. So if the perfect life of Christ is on one end of a continuum, all of us are on the complete opposite end of the continuum. If the continuum were a mile long, and Christ in perfection is on the far right, all of us are on the far left, some may be an inch further along than others in the totality of their being, but we are all on the other end. So if the idea that the Christian life is truly about growing in a greater awareness of the depths of my sinfulness (flesh, remaining sin etc.) while also growing in a greater awareness of the holiness of God (note: ‘awareness’, not that God is becoming more holy or we are becoming more sinful) so that the Cross of Christ looms larger in my eyes and my appreciation and love for Christ (and all that He implies) grows. If we are new creatures in Christ and have a new nature in Christ, then when we live according to who we are in Christ, we are walking by the Spirit or living by the Spirit or keeping in step with the Spirit. So if the Christian life truly is a life of repentance then we should always be turning from our flesh (remaining sin) and to Christ and His indwelling Spirit. We aren’t changing the ‘flesh’ or growing the ‘flesh’ or old man. No the only remedy is death – to be crucified with Christ – so that it is no longer ‘I’ that lives.