The hyper/radical-grace message in a word - Jesus.

The song Your Grace Still Amazes Me by Phillip, Craig & Dean comes to mind when I think about this new found sweetness that has taken over my body, soul and spirit. This part especially rings true;

It's deeper, it's wider
It's stronger, it's higher
Than anything my eyes can see
Your Grace...

When I read articles of people warning about this radical or hyper-grace thing being preached and taught, it saddens me because when you have tasted the sweet liberation that comes with grasping the beauty of God’s grace, you just want everyone to know it like you know it.

So I feel compelled to say this out loud; simply because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not real. This very evening, my wife and I decided to order pizza; I had just put my daughter down for the night and my wife was working on some online classes, so needless to say, we didn’t feel led to cooking. In any case, it was approaching 9pm, so there were plenty of reasons not to cook. Apparently, my wife had found quite the pizza deal a few weeks back in an online coupon; one large pizza with all the toppings you want for $8.99. Now, if you don’t live in the US, trust me when I say this is a really awesome deal. We’ve been ordering online and the last two times we’ve done so, we’ve found this same coupon. It’s not exactly hard to find but it’s buried with so many other coupons and very easy to miss. In fact, we had ordered from that site many times before but never saw it before. It wasn’t being advertised so we never thought to look for it. Usually, in my part of the country, large pizzas with all the toppings you could have cost upwards of $20 when delivered, so when I would find one for 15 bucks, I considered that a steal and often ordered that. Based on the regular cost, I never thought to look for anything cheaper, certainly not one for $8.99. That’s how easy it is to miss out on the radical grace of God. I missed it for 20 years though it was right there under my nose; a deal too good to be true, but I couldn’t see it.

My metaphor is anything but deep or profound, it’s actually kind of cheesy, but I hope that it at least makes sense to you. Back to the warning against hyper-grace articles: What these writers or preachers don’t seem to understand, through no fault of theirs, is that when you finally see it, when Grace finally hits you square in the face, it changes everything. Everything! When you find this treasure and your eyes are opened, you cannot get enough of His sweetness; you want to talk about Jesus all the time, you want to read the Word every spare moment you have, you want to do a tap dance in the most inappropriate places and times, you want to find and connect with other people who have found this nectar and just hug them, you want to babble on and on about Him and it seldom occurs to you that you might be irritating some folk, you feel like you’re on a bit of a high…it’s like a buzz that never really fades. You see, I said the sinner’s prayer 20 plus years ago but it wasn’t until last week that I saw Him and everything He did for me really crystallized. This is not to say that I was not really saved before, no. Grace was at work even while I was blind. I knew Jesus loved me but I never experienced what that really translated to in my everyday life. I saw and knew Him as Protector, Friend, Counselor and Lord but He often felt unreachable, mysterious, distant and sometimes even spooky. I cannot say I ever had a personal encounter the way other saved people described it. What kept me going was an understanding that feelings had nothing to do with His love. That much I knew, but boy, I wanted more. That said, I learnt to very effectively suppress those feelings and enjoy what I had, which wasn’t much, but sufficient nonetheless. What I did not know then that I know now is that I had been living under the law mixed with grace, and that the law is only good when you don’t break it. This is how I see it; the law says don’t speed in a school zone or you’ll get a ticket. Everyone can agree that speeding in a school zone is not good and getting a ticket stinks. What is the reward for keeping this law? Well, you get to keep your hard-earned money. That’s it. The law does not give you a reward for keeping it, it does not give you the inner ability to obey it and it certainly does not have the power to make you good. Notice however that the law does sort of reward you by not demanding a fee or penalty if you are careful to keep it. This, I argue, is a sort of fruit of the law. Some may even go as far as calling this a blessing. Is it? I say this to illustrate why someone can be saved for many years and not give up on his or her salvation. If all they ever hear through sermons and teachings is how to live a holy life, how to avoid sin, how long their skirt hems should be, how far to go on a date, how many days they should fast, how often they should witness or how much they should give, they can hang on to their salvation. Besides, they’re working out their salvation with fear and trembling, right?

I’ve jumped around and touched on a few different things without expounding so please pardon me. I started off grieved at the idea that someone could hear about this message of grace-on-steroids and warn people against it and this is what I hope you come away with; God loves you as you are, not as you should be or if you act right. Look to Jesus, listen to Grace. I’ve also read that they warn that hyper-grace or radical-grace theology/teaching will lead you straight to a life of sin unhindered, where you won’t care what you do because Jesus is obligated to love you anyway, and He paid a permanent price for all your sins and you can basically indulge in your fleshly desires worry-free. Nothing could be further from the truth. NOTHING! If indeed there are people who have done this, then I can safely say Grace did not find them. They may have been looking for a license to live a consequence free life and abused the message of Grace, I really don’t know nor care, but they did not see the Truth. Without saying much about this, we can all agree that people abuse good things, right? Does that make the good thing bad? Like I said earlier, when Grace finds you and you see the Truth, it changes everything; it completely consumes you and you can’t get enough of it. I make it sounds like an addiction or something similar but I don’t know how else to describe it. Another hyper-grace warning I’ve heard of is that some who are listening to this message are ending up in clubs, drinking and so forth. Well, I don’t know much about clubing, but if someone who has truly seen Grace ends up in a club somehow, I imagine them taking over the DJ booth, grabbing the mic and preaching about Grace, then mixing up a grace groove! Yap, it’s that crazy! I’ve only been drinking from this well a few days but I can tell you with certainty that God’s way of dealing with sin is replacing your appetites for sin with a new ravenous appetite for Himself; a process that has NOTHING to do with you or your efforts at being good and holy. Imagine being thirsty and never being quenched – in a good way. I’m not talking about a scenario where your thirst drives you to find unfulfilling things to fill it; I’m talking about water so sweet you can’t get enough of it. When you’re busy gazing at Love, talking to Him and about Him, your mind and heart get consumed by Him and leaves room for little else. In other words, His Grace is all-consuming. My wife and I use that word, all-consuming, to describe how we sometimes feel when dealing with our little girl. She is 13 months old but taking care of her is sometimes all-consuming. If you’re a parent, especially a new one, you feel me. Taking care of my daughter does not leave much room for other pursuits; she consumes our time and energy with such efficiency, it sometimes leaves us dumbfounded. However, and this is key, it’s worth it. She is worth it. That analogy does not even begin to describe the Grace of God through Christ. Here’s an example; I really enjoy listening to public radio on my drive to and from work, and when I get home, I watch two news shows as I unwind. I’ve done this for a long time and I’ve guarded these few moments well because I enjoy relaxing. Lately though, these moments have been over-thrown by this rabid thirst for all things Grace: As soon as I get into my car, I set up my stereo so that I can listen to scripture on my drive, I spend my lunch hour at the park reading about Grace and I spend my evenings writing about this high I’m on that won’t fade. You may argue that I feel as I do because it’s a new revelation for me and there’s merit to that. But I have a reference point – I’ve been married almost 9 years and I’m still deeply in love with my wife. My love for her has grown over the years and I’ve experienced different shades of it and it’s all beautiful. I like what Paul Ellis says on one of his blog entries (paraphrased); when you first see the marvel that is Grace, it’s like looking up at the sky and gazing at the stars. You imagine how wide, expansive and endless the universe is but your eyes can see a small part of it. Is it Apostle Paul who prays that we would come to know how wide, long, high and deep the love of Christ is? Yes, it’s like that.

In the last few days, I have had at least one major distraction (some would say an attack) that really got me off this high momentarily. After I gained back my focus, I understood what Paul really meant when he said to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. This was not an instruction to assert or apply oneself in some form or fashion; this was an instruction to stay firmly in Grace and not allow anything to get you to look away. When Jesus, in Matthew 13, talked about seeds scattered on the ground and being snatched up by the cares of the world and the pursuit of riches, this is what He wanted us to be on the watch out for. For me at least, this is the where most preachers and teachers miss the mark. Salvation has everything to do with gazing into the eyes of Jesus like a lunatic and nothing to do with focusing on being a good Christian. You may argue that focusing on what Jesus has done and doing things for Him is one and the same thing but it is not. Our obsession will have its effects on us whether we want to or not, the fruit will pop effortlessly. It’s this obsession, this addiction for Grace that causes people to witness to strangers on a bus. As a leader, if you want your congregation to spend more of their free time witnessing, is it more effective to talk to them about witnessing techniques and goals or to tell them about the divine exchange that took place when Jesus switched spots with us so that we might become His righteousness? If you go with the first option, you will certainly see fruit. The Law has its benefits and it definitely produces results, but not lasting fruit.

As I wrap this up, let me borrow an analogy from my wife to illustrate one of the ways the church, in my opinion, seems to have missed another mark with the questions (or conundrum) of sin; if I say to you, “don’t think of a pink elephant with purple socks.” What is immediately planted in your mind? A pink elephant with purple sox. Similarly, if I tell you not to sin in this way or another, I am doing two things – giving you the knowledge of what that sin is in detail, and I am planting condemnation in your heart if you even fall short by a hair. This is why Christians live a yo-yo life; sometimes we win against sin but most times we lose, and when we lose, we feel like…wait for it…losers. Do you want to know the secret to winning against sin every time? Here it is; accept that you are powerless, unholy and you will never please God of your own ability or strength. Never. This is not only true when we initially get saved but also as we live out our salvation. But don’t despair. Look up and notice Jesus is right there with arms open wide. He beat sin before it even had a clue there was a fight. He paid the price for all your sins, short-comings, weaknesses, waywardness and every nasty little thing you ever did or will ever do. Accept His victory and receive the trophy you never earned. This is Grace. He died for you so you could live free from guilt, condemnation and the power of sin over you. If this realization causes you to sin even more, you have not encountered Jesus. No way! Imagine a kid at the play-ground being bullied, and how quickly and easily they flinch when the bully attacks. But as soon as their big Brother shows up, their chests inflate and they look twice as tall. They feel invincible and untouchable because they know that if the bully were to even think of coming after them, they would be pounced on in a fraction of a second and smashed. This is what happens when you let Grace take over; you’re no longer focused on the bully but on enjoying the playground because it’s safe to play without a . When radical grace teachers talk about not worrying about sin, this is what they mean. For me at least, this is how I see it; this is not a casual approach to sin, it’s a shift of focus away from sin and resting in the presence of you big Brother. The bully is still there but his power over you, especially fear, has been taken away.  In contrast, how weird would it be for the little kid, while His big brother is present, to take on and fight the bully? For one, his big Brother would be a little offended and it’s possible that the small kid could even win the fight. But with time, if the bully (sin) notices that this small boy is not letting the big Brother fight for him, the bully will start winning more often than not since he’s bigger, stronger. All this time, the bully knows that the big Brother is a formidable fighter and would not even dare fight Him but since he is not fighting the big Brother, he is having his way with the kid in a fight that does not even need to take place. In the same way, when we mix Grace with the law, this is what it looks like and it’s ridiculous. We’re engaged in a needless fight against sinful behavior when all we have to do is accept that there is Another one who stands on our behalf and He is a mighty warrior. Sin does not bother with Jesus because that fight was settled long ago on a little hill somewhere in present day Israel. This, my dear friend, is salvation the way God intended. Grace does not need your help. The work was finished. 

The hyper-radical-grace message in a word - Jesus.