If you’da been thinkin’, you wouldn’t ‘a thought that!
These are the immortal words of Michael “Squints” Palledorous. He meant to chastise “Smalls,” a newfound friend innocently attempting to retrieve a lost baseball from a ginormous English Mastiff nicknamed “the Beast.” Clearly, Smalls needed some further initiation.
The need for insider information seems reasonable — we can’t expect neophites to know the most vital details. Yet, in God’s economy, this very notion derails almost every believer at some point in his or her Christian journey. Our Adversary robs our joy by hinting, then insisting, that we receive some sort of further initiation.
Yet, Satan’s tricks are hardly innovative. Within months of accepting God’s free grace, Satan bewitched the Galatian Christians by insisting that they add to their faith by doing the Law. A mere century after the church’s inception, the heresy of Gnosticism deceived many believers into thinking that some sort of secret knowledge was needed for genuine faith.
We must refuse the temptation, great as it may be, to seek higher plains of Christian commitment. That may strike you as odd, but Jesus tells the Ephesian church to return to the “first things” of God’s good grace (Rev. 2:1-5). Paul tells the Corinthians that he knew nothing but Christ-crucified in their presence (1 Cor. 2:2); that the gospel message is of “first importance” (1 Cor. 15:3). In fact, God’s gracious gospel will be our heavenly anthem (Rev. 5:12).
The Devil often encourages us to think of our Christian faith like the stock-market. Some days are high, others low. But so long as the graph trends upward, we’re doing great. The New Testament, however, tells a different story. When we believe, we become heirs immediately through our full union with Christ. The rest of the Christian life is spiritually working out the ramifications of our full salvation in Christ-crucified. Paul, the man who did more for the Christian faith than, perhaps, any other, says that the great goal of life is to know Christ and him crucified (Phil. 3:8-10).
So, here’s the crux — the battle is waged in the mind. If we aren’t reveling in, rehearsing, and reciting God’s gracious gospel every day, we’re prone to the Devil’s devices. Satan will gladly allow us to substitute right doing for right thinking because, before long, he’ll jerk those actions right out from under us. In fact, he’ll use those very same right deeds to condemn us. And if we haven’t been meditating on our new position in Christ, we’ll stay down for a long, long time.
So, I’m going to tweak Squint’s aphorism. If you would have been thinking right about God’s grace, you wouldn’t have thought that.
Now, the question remains: How do we work out these gospel thoughts? Let’s play a little spiritual Red Light Green Light.
Stop Wallowing in Self-Condemnation; Start Reveling in Forgiveness
I join Paul in saying “Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost” (1 Tim. 1:15). Christ died for sins – your sins and mine. And as our good friend Martyn-Lloyd Jones has said, Christ died “even for that one sin.” And we all have a that one sin. It’s the one that reveals the bottomless pit of our depravity. I might suggest we tweak Jones’s statement to say “Christ died especially for that one sin.” If Jesus didn’t die especially for that one sin, then he’s incapable of saving us to the uttermost.
Do we think that our self-condemnation will add any points to our ledger? Can we condemn our actions more profoundly than God already has? No, the best we can do is agree with God’s assessment and accept His propitiatory pardon (1 John 4:10). Our condemnation was settled in Adam and our justification was sealed in Christ (Rom. 5:18-21). Simply revel every day in God’s forgiveness full and free. “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:50).
Stop Laboring for Gold Stars; Start Rehearsing God’s Love in the Cross
The ongoing, present tense demonstration of God’s love for you is the sacrifice His Son (Rom. 5:8). Very quickly, however, the question arises: If I stop thinking about good behavior, I’ll start sinning. No, if you truly grasp the gospel, grace will abound in your heart and overwhelm the sin that tries to overtake you. This is why Romans 6 follows Romans 5. Rehearsing your newfound position in Christ makes sin nearly preposterous. “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:2).
Of course I’m not saying that you’ll be immune to temptation. But the antidote to sinful behavior is not self-determination, manning-up [total side note: why we don’t say woman up?], becoming so busy in church affairs that you lack time for sin, or any other such nonsense. The only way to truly fight temptation is to take up the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit. It’s to remember that Christ hung on the cross to pay for that very sin under consideration. Fight temptation with a flood of gospel-centered thinking.
Stop Equating Your Salvation with Circumstances; Start Remembering that God is for You.
God works every trial, every illness, every difficult conversation, and every life-event for your good and His glory (Rom. 8:28-29). At conversion, you went from an enemy of God to a friend. God’s Spirit began to argue for you with groaning too deep for words (Rom. 8:26). And if that was somehow insufficient, Jesus Himself makes unrelenting intercession on your behalf (Heb. 7:25). I suggest that you read through Paul’s epistles making a list of all the things God now calls you: saints, conquerors, ambassadors, saved, adopted, children, friends, redeemed, ransomed, and the list goes on and on.
Even God’s discipline demonstrates fatherly love (Heb. 12:6). That’s why Romans 5:1-5 is so powerful. Because of our peace with God, trials take a whole new significance: they induce praise. That trial means we get to experience more of God’s grace as He pours his Spirit into our hearts.
When we think right about the gospel, fear fades, sin loses its grip, and we confidently approach God’s throne only ever to find grace and mercy to help in time of need (Heb. 4:16).
Perhaps these concepts seem theoretical rather than personal, maybe even foreign to you. You might be saying to yourself, “So, I’m supposed to repeat the Romans Road every day?” If that’s the case, I understand completely. Please consider two things.
First, the gospel is so much bigger than the Romans Road. Study, for example, the first three chapters of Ephesians and ask the Lord to take your breath away with the gospel’s expanse.
Second, life has a way of bringing us back to the first things of the gospel. So when life strikes, cut a quick path to Romans 5, Romans 8, or Colossians 1. Remind yourself continually that God has done exceedingly above all that we could ask or think as Christ dwells in our hearts (Eph. 4:13-21).
