to reiterate.

"The Christian faith is not about the "things we do""

-Daniel Neiditch

So Daniel comes in with a bang.

It is actually ironic that he write on that topic, because it has been something that I've been meditating on alot lately. There is so much scriptural content to choose from that I don't know where to begin. So, I guess I'll start where Jesus started (which is something I posted on before):

Matthew 5:3

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Not, "Blessed are the righteous", but "poor". Poverty in spirit is coming to God with empty hands - spiritual bankruptcy.

Psalm 15:16-17

"You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise."

It's not the sacrifice that brings God pleasure.

Check out what Paul said about his obedience:

Philippians 3:7

"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith"

Growing up, I had such a limited view of grace. I saw it simply as the gift of atonement if I wanted to accept it. But now, I am overwhelmed to vastness of grace. Not only does grace provide a subsitute punishment, but the grace which comes from the cross is sent forward to the future to each step that I take in my Christian walk. Each obedient step ISN'T a gift from ME TO GOD. Each obedient step that I take is a gift from GOD TO ME. Each step is grace... The grace of sanctification. This in not our own doing. We are NOT paying God back for Christ's work on the cross. IN FACT we are earning up MORE DEBT for each step!

So when Christians view their obedience as either a payback or even a gift to God. Their are actually mistaken, because we have nothing to offer God. And this goes back to what Daniel was saying. Christianity is not about "do, do, do".

John Piper says it this way (in his book, The Pleasures Of God) "to please God is to come to him to get and not to give... He is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in him."

and

"My hope as a desperate sinner, who lives in a Death Valley desert of unrighteousness, hangs on this biblical truth: that God is the kind of God who will be pleased with the one thing that I have to offer - my thirst."

It's not our grace given to God. It's His grace given to us.

So don't focus on the "do". Focus on the one who "did" for us. HOW? Study the character of God in scripture. Become satisfied with God, by getting to know who He is and how he works. HOW? read/study/meditate on the doctrine of scripture, and not just the application passages.