Reading Classics: How Good is Good Enough?

Author's Note: My apologies with not getting this posted Thursday.  There are some events going on in my life that have been becoming quite significant, and these past two days have been very critical and draining.  I over-estimated my ability to get this done despite everything, and as a result this is being posted two days late.  Anyway, without further ado, onto the summary of my notes from reading chapter one of The Discipline of Grace.

Chapter one begins with the above question and Mark 10:18.  Mr. Bridges then starts to break down this thought into the basic components.

It's important to give credit where it's due, and spiritual transformation is primarily the work of the Holy Spirit.  When an individual receives a 'healed' mind upon becoming saved in Christ, the Holy Spirit then works through our thoughts and feelings to transform us.

Sanctification is defined as the Holy Spirit's work in transforming us into the likeness of Christ.  This can also be called the pursuit of holiness, which requires our involvement and cooperation through a constant and vigorous effort because it needs to take the highest priority in our lives as Christians. (Heb. 12:14)
Pursue is defined as to strive to gain or accomplish.  The Greek word for it in Heb. 12:14 means 'make every effort.'  In Phil. 3:12-14 the Greek word for it means to 'press on.'  Another common New Testament translation for that word is 'persecute,' which means to track down in order to harm or destroy.  We need that mind set in pursuing holiness to destroy our sinful and depraved 'selves.'

This whole process must be anchored in the grace of God or it will fail.  The pursuit of holiness can easily turn into legalism and man-made rules.  While on the other hand, God's free grace can be taken advantage of with an attitude of irresponsible, sinful behavior.  However, it's important to keep in mind that God's blessing doesn't depend on our performance.  The common misconception is that earning or losing God's blessings in our everyday life depends on our performance. 

If it doesn't depend on performance, what about 'bad days' where we feel that we are sadly lacking in our performance?  These are the scriptures used: 1Pet. 2:24 and Heb. 9:14.  It's also incredibly important to pray to God and repent, Luke 18:13.  On 'good days' where we feel we can do no wrong try to avoid the attitude of the Pharisees, Matt. 22:36-39, Matt. 5:48, James 2:10.

We grieve and please God, Eph. 4:30, Col. 1:10.  He will discipline us if we refuse to repent of our sin.  Because of Christ, it is now only out of love and for our good.

"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 of God's grace."

Everyday we can relate to God based on grace, Rom. 5:2.  There is no more Mosaic law, Gal. 3:24.

As believers, there are now two major periods of our life: believer and unbeliever.  During the period as an unbeliever the gospel is the Bible message most needed to hear as an unbeliever.  It is the power of God for salvation.  Rom. 1:16.

"We need to hear that Jesus died for sinners and that if we come to Him in faith, we will receive the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of eternal life."

Discipleship is the Bible message we need most to hear as believers.  Matt. 28:19.  It's primary focus is: spiritual disciplines, holiness or obedience to God's moral will set forth in the Bible, and service or ministry for the Kingdom of God.  It's important that we continue to hear the gospel every day of our Christian lives because it reminds us of God's grace through Christ, which in turn prevents discipleship from becoming drudgery, Rom. 4:8.

The gospel is for sinners (Luke 5:32).  We need to acknowledge we are still sinners, and can fall into an external performance focus like the Pharisees.  We then start looking down our noses at others, or we feel constantly guilty over our failures, and stay away from God due to feeling undeserving.  That's where the reminder of God's grace comes in.  Grace is defined as God's unmerited favor to those who deserve only His wrath.  It's very easy to move away from the gospel of God's grace and try to relate to God directly on the basis of our performance.

"It is only the blood of Jesus that will cleanse us from a guilty conscience and give us the confidence to enter into the presence of God." (Heb. 10:19-21).

Because of God's grace there is no need to rationalize and excuse sins.  We can call it like it is.  Of course, God's grace can still be abused.  Rom. 6:1, Gal. 5:13, Jude 4.  To prevent this, there needs to be a desire to lead a disciplined, godly life:

"It is the joy of knowing that our sins are forgiven, that no matter how much we've stumbled and fallen today, God does not count our sins against us." (Rom 4:8.)

That's where the focus needs to be not on living for ourselves, but for Christ, 2 Cor. 5:15.  That is our motivation.  "For Christ's love compels us." 2 Cor. 5:14.  Compel is defined as to press in upon so as to impel, to urge or drive forward by the exertion of a strong moral pressure.  What compels us is the constant heartfelt awareness of Christ's love for us.  This then becomes commitment based on the gospel, not on duty or guilt.

Christ's love is our lifetime motivation.  Duty or guilt can only be a temporary motivation because they're fleeting compared to Christ's love for us.  The Holy Spirit pours His love in our hearts (Rom. 5:5) through the gospel message.  Phil. 3:10 describes the level of yearning we need to have, and Phil. 3: 1-9 is what stimulates that desire as it can only come from love.  We need to take the time to preach gospel to ourselves every day.

"The good news that our sins are forgiven because of Christ's death fills our hearts with joy, gives us courage to face the day, and offers us hope that God's favor will rest upon us, not because we are good, but because we are in Christ."

Basking in God's mercy and grace is our highest moment.  Gal. 6:14.