Grace is Greater

Last Friday night I went to the first part of Paul Tripp's seminar at Covenant Fellowship Church called Your Walk with God is a Community Project. He exhorted us to dive into intentionally intrusive, Christ-centered, grace driven relationships. These relationships are the God ordained means for us to keep our identity in Christ in focus (Hebrews 10:19-31). These points also stood out to me:

There is a significant difference between being amazed at something and putting your faith in something. It's not enough to be amazed by the gospel; you must live the gospel through faith.

Second Peter 1:3 should astound you and draw remarkable faith in you. "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence." (emphasis added)

And on Monday I listened to the sermon preached at King of Grace Church when some of my family was there on an E-team July 11th.

Are you more aware of God and his goodness than your challenges, or are you more aware of your challenges than God, who is bigger than any challenge you may face? - Paul Buckley

Am I more aware of my sin than the grace of God? Do I underestimate his Spirit's power to work in me to conform me into the likeness of the Son? Then let me gaze at the Cross, where my sin indeed is real and ugly and miserable, but where my sin was taken from me and placed on the shoulders of Christ. My identity is no longer in my sin. My identity is found in Christ and His glory. Because I am in Christ, God is my Father. And in His goodness, my Father sent me His Spirit. My ugly deplorable sin still is actively working in me, each day battling for my desires. But I am no longer a slave to sin - the Holy Spirit is at work in me. God has granted me all things that pertain to life and godliness. Seeing my sin should not lead me to despair or hopelessness, but to amazement of the glorious finished work of the gospel and faith for seeing the glorious gospel continuing to work in me each moment of the day.
Though I may see the pervasiveness of my sin in even the minute details of my heart, God's grace penetrates deeper still.

photo: Charlotte, NC 2009