Charisa Stories

Tag: redeemed

  • Legalism Takes You Down A Lonely And Dead End Highway

    The start of my faith journey was mired in legalism. Starting down that rugged highway led me to years of sadness, tiredness, and performance bondage.

    I think that is why the song “Redeemed” recorded by Big Daddy Weave remains one of my favorite descriptions of what it means to understand the redemptive gift from Jesus. Lead singer Mike Weaver wrote Redeemed while feeling broken and inadequate despite recognizing God’s presence in his life. He said, “For as long as I can remember I have always never felt like I was enough.”

    I can so relate to the opening stanza of Redeemed.


    Seems like all I could see was the struggle
    Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past
    Bound up in shackles of all my failures
    Wondering how long is this gonna last…

    I remembered day after day of agonizing self-loathing because I kept failing. I did not understand the mercy of Jesus nor did I believe I could fall on His grace. I was taught that such an attitude showed a lack of obedience and a dependence on “cheap grace”. Somehow I missed that obvious scriptural message from Jesus to his followers because I was influenced by the preaching of shame. Mike Weaver wrote how Jesus responds when we surrender and finally listen to His message of grace.

    Then You look at this prisoner and say to me “son…Stop fighting a fight that’s already been won”

    I was released from that doctrinal prison after spending too many years not understanding the fight had already been won.

    Legalism takes the sweet Gospel of Jesus Christ and mixes in some “churchified” version of the law. Church by-laws can occupy equal footing with God’s Word. Righteousness is no longer about Christ but about right behavior as only they can define it. Legalism cherry picks verses that support behavioral control while conveniently ignoring dozens of verses about grace, forgiveness, kindness, love, gentleness and forbearance.

    Focusing on right behavior can make you moral and perhaps a good person. It does not make you righteous. Such focus is not much different (if at all) from an agnostic or sporadic church-goer who really tries hard to do right and moral things. Tim Keller wrote this provocative thought about legalism in his wonderful book “The Reason for God”.

    “The devil, if anything, prefers Pharisees—men and women who try to save themselves. They are more unhappy than either mature Christians or irreligious people, and they do a lot more spiritual damage.”

    I spent many long and frustrating years trying to do all the right things to be righteous. I got tired. I became discouraged. I reached the point of brokenness that allowed me turn over the keys to Christ. I reached the point where I no longer had to be right. I had reached the point where I didn’t want to wear a phony mask of holiness. I had reached the point where I was willing to trust God completely with everything about me. I had reached the point where I was ready for grace.

    The chorus from Redeemed lifts my heart in worship!

    I am redeemed, You set me free
    So I’ll shake off these heavy chains
    Wipe away every stain, now I’m not who I used to be
    I am redeemed, I’m redeemed

    If you are tired enough, discouraged enough, wounded enough, and ready to give up then I have a very odd statement to make.

    You are in a wonderful place.

    You are ready for grace.

    Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. (Romans 6, NLT)

    You are ready for change from the inside out. God is waiting for you to experience His grace. Legalism is a dead end street to misery. There is a better way to live.

    In freedom.

    In Christ.

    You are redeemed!

  • I Must Remember I Have A New Identity

    I love the message Paul wrote to the Ephesian church. Paul had spent over two years teaching and discipling the new believers in Ephesus. Not long after leaving he received reports that those new hearts had reverted to old habits. Things were a bit of a mess and the word came back that the old behaviors of rage, immorality, lying, stealing and gossip were resurfacing. Paul wrote a letter to address this sad turn of events. The amazing thing to me is that the first three chapters never address those sins. Paul even greets them as saints for crying out loud!

    “From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints [in Ephesus], the faithful in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NET‬‬)

    If I was writing that letter it would have had an entirely different tone. Something more along these lines. “What are you thinking? I am so disappointed in you. What is wrong with you? Do you know how much I sacrificed for you?” But Paul doesn’t do that. Rather, in the first three chapters, he talks about identity. He reminds them who they are.

    Saint. Redeemed by Christ. Adopted child of God. Sealed in the Holy Spirit.

    This reminder to the church at Ephesus impacted my heart. For years I had a really difficult time trusting my identity and your actions tend to reflect who you believe you are. Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth talks about how our identity has changed.

    “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
    (2 Corinthians 5:17)

    It took me a while to believe that because of Christ I have a new identity. That I am righteous because of Him and not because of trying to do more right “stuff.” I am a saint and there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. It is a liberating and joyous message. But there is a problem. Satan hates that message of hope and change. And so he aggressively goes about trying to “steal’ my identity in Christ.

    We find it difficult to believe that we are changed because many times when we fail the old tapes instantly cue up and start playing loudly:

    You will never change.
    You always do that.
    I can’t believe you did that again.
    What is wrong with you?

    All of those accusations that Satan (and others who are quite happy to help) hurls your way are no longer true about you. All of the guilt and shame and sin that used to define you are no longer true. That old life is gone. You are a new creation. New life has begun.

    Even though the Ephesians had messed up royally in how they were living out their faith Paul did not condemn them as he began his letter. He had to be heartbroken. But he showed his love by not lecturing but by reminding them who they were….adopted, redeemed, and sealed. Saints. He NEVER wrote a word about changing their behavior until chapter four!

    I have spent too many years being an Ephesians 4 to 6 Christian. I looked at behavior and judged that…often sinfully. I am becoming an Ephesians 1 to 3 Christian. Remembering and reminding myself and others who we are. Out of those truths behavior changes.

    Adopted. Redeemed. Sealed. Loved. A saint. Righteous. Accepted. Forgiven. A new creation. A child of God.

    No matter what difficulty or trial you might encounter this week I pray that you will take a moment and remember who you are. A saint. Adopted. Redeemed. Sealed.

    Live out of those amazing truths.

  • Stop Fighting a Fight that’s Already Won

    A song by Big Daddy Weave cycled up on the playlist this weeend. “Redeemed” summed up my struggle over many years and encouraged me to know (again) that I am not alone in this battle.

    Seems like all I can see was the struggle
    Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past

    Bound up in shackles of all my failures
    Wondering how long is this gonna last

    Then You look at this prisoner and say to me “Son, stop fighting a fight that’s already been won”

    That is the truth I have to remind myself just about every day. The fight has already been won. Yet I too often live as if my self-effort is required to make up for past struggles and efforts. That I need to earn the grace that is already mine. I need to remind myself everyday what the lyricist proclaims next.

    I am redeemed, You set me free
    So I’ll shake off theses heavy chains
    Wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
    I am redeemed

    I am redeemed. Paul spent a little over two years teaching and discipling the new believers in Ephesus. Not long after he left Paul received reports that those new hearts had reverted to old habits. Things were a bit of a mess and the word came back that the old behaviors of rage, immorality, lying, stealing, and gossip were resurfacing. Paul wrote a letter to address this sad turn of events. Yet the amazing thing to me is that the first three chapters never address their sin. Paul even calls them Saints for crying out loud! If I was writing that letter it would have had an entirely different tone. Something more along these lines. “What are you thinking? I am so disappointed in you. What is wrong with you? Do you know how much I sacrificed for you?” But Paul doesn’t do that. All he does is remind them who they are.

    Adopted
    Redeemed
    Sealed

    He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

    In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1, ESV)

    Makes me feel a little better that folks who were mentored by Paul needed a refresher course in who they were. It makes me feel a lot better that Paul understood that the first thing on the list was to remind them of who they were and only then address their wrong behavior. We tend to reverse that order. One more line from this wonderful song by Big Daddy Weave…

    I remember oh God, You’re not done with me yet.

    Praise God for that! And praise God for His amazing grace and patience with this very slow learner.

  • What Does a Real Christian Look Like?

    Recently I passed a highway billboard with this message.

    Real Christians Obey Jesus.

    I get the intent of the message. Too many folks leave their Sunday Lesson in the parking lot as they drive to lunch. But exactly what does it mean to be a “real Christian”? We subtly (or in my own experience, not so subtly) program Christians to believe that growth is about doing more right things. That righteousness somehow involves my extraordinary efforts for Jesus. We imply that change can only happen when you are trying hard and being disciplined to obey Jesus.

    The truth is that a dramatic change has already happened when you make that faith commitment to follow Jesus. I think one of the biggest problems in the church is that we don’t teach clearly and repetitively what happens at the very moment we put our faith in the finished work of Christ.

    Let’s just hit the highlights. Scripture tells you that at that moment you have a new identity. You are literally a new creation. God sees you as righteous because of your relationship with Jesus. That’s it. Nothing you have done or ever will do earns that righteousness. It is a gift of grace. You are a saint. Redeemed. Adopted as His beloved child. Right then. Before you do a single thing you are changed completely when you trust Christ. 

    The trick is living out of that truth. Instead of exhausting effort to try and change I now see Jesus putting His arm around me and explaining that I have been already been changed. I see Him telling me that my sins are completely forgiven. I see Him explaining to me that all of those things that used to be true about me are no longer true. That no matter what the Accuser might say those things are dead and buried at the Cross. I don’t have to grit my teeth and try harder to win favor and please Him. That sin does not have power over me anymore.  That if I trust Him and let God love me I will please Him. My faith and trust is what pleases Him according to God’s Word.

    All I need to do to be a “real” Christian is to believe and trust that. I have been a follower of Jesus for five decades. During stretches of that journey you would have been hard pressed to see that my faith was real. What potential judges would not have seen was that Jesus was slowly and patiently working in my life to make me more in His image. I am a very different person today than I was in my early walk. It was never helpful to have someone point out that “if I was a real Christian” I would be doing this or that. What did help was having grace filled believers come along side me, believe in me, and help me find the gift of grace that Jesus offers. Those are the people you remember with gratitude and joy.

    Jesus talks about how we limit our ability to have peace when we don’t allow Him to provide us with strength. He didn’t mention a harness of legalism and works. He talked instead about a yoke, and that His yoke is “easy.”

    Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”  (Matthew 11:28-30, NLT)

    Jesus wants you to don His yoke. Trust Him. Have faith. He has done the heavy lifting already. Rest in Him.  Learn how to be humble and gentle in spirit. Quit trying so dadgum hard (that may not be in the Greek) and serve out of grateful love. Jesus tells us when we believe those truths, our burdens are light. The walk with Him is easy and natural.

    Being a “real” Christian means beginning each day with a profound sense of gratitude that Jesus offered me this gift of grace. A “real” Christian would never, never, never take advantage of a God who loves you so much that such a sacrifice was made.

    I do believe a “real” Christian obeys Jesus but it is so critical to clarify why and how. I obey out of gratitude for His grace. I love Him because He loved me first. Jesus loved me when I was unlovable. Forgave me when I was unforgivable. How hard is it to follow and obey someone who loves you like that? Not hard at all. And that is real.

    Excerpts from Waking Up Slowly

  • Monday Musing: Redeemed. Believe it.

    Monday Musing: Redeemed. Believe it.

    One of my phone apps offers new music that I can redeem from the app. Recently I went to download a song and this message came up.

    Already redeemed.

    I had already acquired the song. There was no need for further redemption. It was mine. How I wish I could trust that for my relationship with God.

    A song by Big Daddy Weave called “Redeemed” sums up my struggle and encourages me to know that I am not alone in this battle.

    Seems like all I can see was the struggle
    Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past

    Bound up in shackles of all my failures
    Wondering how long is this gonna last

    Then You look at this prisoner and say to me “son
    stop fighting a fight that’s already been won”

    That is the truth I have to remind myself just about every day. The fight has already been won. Yet I too often live as if my self-effort is required to make up for past struggles and efforts. That I need to earn the grace that is already mine. I need to remind myself everyday what the lyricist proclaims next.

    I am redeemed, You set me free
    So I’ll shake off theses heavy chains
    Wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
    I am redeemed

    I am redeemed. Paul had to remind the Ephesians in the first chapter that they already could count on these three facts being true. They already were:

    • Adopted
    • Redeemed
    • Sealed

    Makes me feel a little better that folks who were mentored by Paul needed a refresher course in who they were. It makes me feel a lot better that Paul understood that the first thing on the list was to remind them of who they were and then address their wrong behavior. We too often reverse that order. One more line from this wonderful song by Big Daddy Weave…

    I remember oh God, You’re not done with me yet.

    Praise God for that! And praise God for His amazing grace and amazing patience.