Jonathan is my hero!
(picture of him studying at Panera)
He just finished his the 1st half of the Pastor's College. I am so proud of him. I have watched God give him strength, endurance, perseverance and a greater understanding of how awesome our God is. And I never heard him complain about how much he had to study. I have been amazed watching him from front row seats. I just got a hold of one of his essays that he had to turn in for his professor, Jerry Bridges. I was really impacted by it.
Thoughts on the Righteousness of Christ~ Jonathan Putnam
I was deeply impacted by the principle: “Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need for God’s grace” (Disciplines of Grace, 18). As I reflect on my journey as a believer, I recognize that I have lived many days in the two extremes of self-righteousness and despair: self-righteous when I thought I was doing well in the Christian life, and despair when I was reminded of my sinfulness.
For many years, my battle with one particular sin would determine my position on this spectrum. If I gave into temptation I would quickly find myself weighed down with despair believing that I was despicable to God. How could I approach him and ask for forgiveness—again? I would respond in various ways, all of which revealed that I believed my standing with God was completely dependent upon myself. Sometimes I would throw myself into the spiritual disciplines with renewed zeal believing that I must not be working hard enough. Sometimes I would become angry at God for commanding what I seemed incapable of obtaining. In anger I would either plunge myself into sin once again or numbly withdrawal from intimacy with the Lord by purposely avoiding time with him. On the other extreme, if I had successfully avoided this all-important sin for a lengthy period of time, I would become convinced that all was well between God and myself and self-righteously assume that I was now in a position to help others.
Both extremes, though different, share a common reliance on my own performance—either good or bad. Both extremes avoid depending fully on Christ’s righteousness for my standing before God rendering his righteousness experientially inconsequential. It is here that an understanding the imputed righteousness of Christ makes all the difference. If Christ is my righteousness then my standing before God is not dependent upon my performance. When I sin, his grace is strong enough to cover all of my sin. When I resist sin, it is his grace that has enabled me to do so, yet I remain a sinner who is still equally dependent upon him to cover my “socially acceptable” sins, many of which I may not even be aware of.
How do I go about applying this truth to my life? Reminding myself of this is essentially what it means to “preach the gospel to myself every day.” It is growing in the humility that rejects all my performance-- good and bad-- and chooses instead to stand upon the performance of Christ. On a “bad day” I must not discredit the grace of God by arrogantly believing my sins are too great to be forgiven. It is not glorifying to God to magnify my sin above his grace. On a “bad day” I must gaze at the holiness of God and be reminded once again how far I fall short. But instead of despairing at my revealed sin, I can run, once again, to the cross and be reminded that though my sins are far worse than I even realize, my standing with God is not based upon myself, but upon the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Every day was a “good day” for Christ and he lived for me.
