Articles and thoughts by Steve Green.
The Great Divide
July 4th, 2008At first glance it may not seem like much of a chasm, but rather something easily traversed by just a small step. Yet like many glacial crevices, the depth of separation is indeed significant. I’m referring to the difference between a Christ-centered spirituality and one that puts confidence in human effort.
The later either leads to despair, with its emphasis on a never-ending self-scrutiny, or it fuels pride, with its impressive dedication to discipline. As Spurgeon reminds us, it is the Holy Spirit’s work to always turn our eyes away from self to Jesus. The enemy insinuates, “Your sins are too great to pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you do not have the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus.” Spurgeon goes on to say that all “these are thoughts about self, and we will never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self. He tells us that we are nothing, but that Christ is all in all. Remember, therefore, it is not your hold of Christ that saves you - it is Christ; is is not your joy in Christ that saves you - it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument - it is Christ’s blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to your hand with which you are grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to your hope, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We will never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doing, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul.”
(Quote is from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening)
15 Comments »
Thank you Steve. I needed to hear that. May the Lord forever be exalted!
Comment by Kim — July 5, 2008 @ 9:44 pm
Steve,
I totally agree with Spurgeon ,but if only we as Christian would learn to walk more on our knees and less with our mouth the battles that we face in life can easily be won.More of you Lord and none of me!
Comment by Bernard George — July 7, 2008 @ 4:10 am
Thanks, I need to focus on Christ more, and me less. Your songs have been a blessing over the years.
Comment by Sarah — July 7, 2008 @ 6:14 pm
This resonates with a crisis of ministry that I have been wrestling with recently. I have ministered in my area in a number of venues according to gifts and abilities God has given me. It has always been my consideration that if my heart is not focused properly on Christ, then I should not minister where I’m leading others to focus on him. It’s one thing to assent to the truth of this, desire to be focused on Christ and believe that I am focused on Christ; it’s another thing when I recognize that I can focus on this to the point where I doubt that I actually am. God has given me gifts to use and the desire to use them to his glory. However, He has closed the door to ministering much (the particulars are irrelevant) to the extent that I am frustrated and my frustration seems rather ill-focused on myself. Should I not desire to serve? And yet, I know I cannot serve Him without Him.
You particularly and correctly observe that grace in justification rather than works is what saves us. You then apply this observation generally to sanctification through the continuing guidance of the Holy Spirit as the key to focusing on God each moment. This is not incorrect as a principle, but the application to particular circumstances are the crux of my dilemma.
I had hoped that the course of clarifying my thoughts in this comment would help me to answer my own question, but it didn’t happen. Nevertheless, I know God is faithful when I am not and will provide opportunity to serve as He sees fit - frustration of not.
God bless you, and thank you for the thought-provoking article.
-Jim
Comment by Jim — July 8, 2008 @ 3:06 pm
It was once explained to me that the acronym for JOY would be Jesus before others before myself (or yourself).
Likewise, we as Christians lose our joy when we look at ourselves and not Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. We find ourselves in service to Him by trying to meet the needs of others in pointing them to Christ.
In the process, Christ is completing His promise to make us what He wants us to be…His glorious church.
Thanks, Steve, for the gentle reminder.
Comment by Natalie — July 9, 2008 @ 8:59 am
Jim,
Thanks for your thoughtful comment. Without knowing your particular circumstance I can only venture to respond out of my own experience. Is there really ever a time when our hearts are completely free of self-interests or so wholly available that we are qualified to stand before others? I think not. In Schaeffer’s “True Spirituality” he suggests that because of our fractured lives, we cannot really even know our own hearts. Maybe like an iceberg, we see the 10% above the water, but the vast majority lies beneath the surface, unknown to us. That surely applies to the knowledge of our own sinfulness, but also to understanding our motives and level of sincere trust.
There is a portion of the church that emphasizes complete surrender before usefulness. So we scrape away at our insides trying to find the one elusive area of willfulness. That is what I was referring to in the journal entry. The flip side is then placing confidence in personal disciplines as if that gives us the confidence boost of being truly a godly person. In my early years I memorized whole books of the Bible. At the time I was convinced my motives were pure. Yet from this perspective I see that there was much mixture in it. Exemplary disciplines do get you places in the church. People are ‘wowed’ by those who rise above the average in their spirituality. All I was wanting to communicate was that both the inward scraping and the outward pursuit of impressive achievements can still be a preoccupation with self. The freedom of the gospel is the call to look to Jesus and hopefully avoid either danger.
I don’t know if any of this is helpful or if I completely missed the point! I can do that at time.
Blessings,
Steve Green
Comment by steve — July 11, 2008 @ 6:34 pm
We have come out from a church and started a new ministry. Our new pastor is trying to get us to change our thought process from what we’ve been so accustomed to all our lives. That is this, I must do this and this in order to be spiritual.
I have to come to the place where I realize “all my righteousness is as filthy rags” and I can never “do” enough to impress God.
As a child of God the only thing that He sees when he looks at me is His Son’s Righteousness. ptl!
I need to stop trying so hard to live a life that’s impossible in and of my own self…and rest in Him…”not I but Christ, liveth in me.”
The more I draw close to God, the more I realize my own inadequacies…the more I need Him to live through me.
Thank you,Steve.
Marie
Comment by Marie — July 17, 2008 @ 2:58 pm
Dear Steve,
I always enjoy Spurgeon-Morning and Evening especially.Also the Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith.I have been walking some really difficult roads lately.I first of all have to always remember before I step out that it is not I,but Christ.If it was not for Calvary’s love we would all be sentenced to eternal separation from God and His Holiness.However,because of so great a love for us,He sent all that He had and loved to pay for our own sinfulness and vileness.
As Marie said when God looks upon me the only thing that He sees is His Son’s righteousness.Truly amazing,we could never ever do anything that could merit good because there is no good in us apart from Christ,that was what the fall took away from us when our first parents sinned in the garden.When sinned entered the world everything that God had created as good was now contaminated by sin.
It is only through God and God alone that anything that we do could be referred to as good.There are many people who are not believers in Christ and they do good,but that will not stand the test when they stand before God,it is only when we place our faith and trust in God that anything good comes out of our lives.
I have really been strengthened by the Lord recently through your older songs.I have had to walk a very stressful walk these last four weeks.
May God continue to richly bless you & Marijean.Please keep my mom in prayer today July 18th,seeing that today would have been my parents 27th wedding anniversary.My father went to be with the Lord just over 3 years ago.
In Christ Alone,
Ruth
Comment by Ruth — July 18, 2008 @ 7:17 am
“Much more of the self is the acknowledgement of the Most”.
Upon reading your article, it struck me that all my impressive dreams were still caused by self- glorification and not by the thought that the focus of my plans is to gorify God.
It is a blessing that God had led me to browse on your website.
Thank you for being God’s instrument.
Comment by esther — July 21, 2008 @ 2:37 am
hi steve,
i just wanted to say thank you for sharing the above by spurgeon. i stopped by here to get the lyric for “the refiner’s fire” to share with someone who is going through the valley of the shadow of death to self and i just was blessed to read this. blessings, kathryn
Comment by kathryn long — July 23, 2008 @ 1:10 pm
It never ceases to amaze me how I have a thought to come to the site to see what’s new and end up being encouraged and strengthened in Jesus.
I have grown up in a religious culture of outward appearances. Salvation by faith but if you sin then you are evicted from the “country club”. It has been years since I’ve seen the light of day spiritually, but slowing I am finding out what Grace really is. I’m finding that He knew every step I would take before I was even born and that all the sin I have or will commit doesn’t take Him by surprise and has already been blotted out by the blood of my Savior through faith.
I love your songs Let the Walls Come Down and I Am The Vine. It is hard to live where people say we all have sinned, and yet shoot their wounded. Thank the Lord that out of ashes there is still hope and one day so soon we will be in heaven for ever and ever.
Thank you for your ministry, your songs, the words, your honesty and faithfulness. My favorite quote is by an unkown author
“A man’s greatest glory doesn’t consist in never falling, but in rising everytime he falls.”
At HIS Feet,
jason
Comment by Jason — July 23, 2008 @ 4:20 pm
I enjoyed your concert held in Jamaica July 26. Your music has really blessed my heart. Keep up the good work.
Comment by Simon Ormsby — July 28, 2008 @ 6:46 pm
I’ve been richly blessed by these journal responses. Thanks Steve for prompting the discussion of such a wonderful topic — GOD’S GRACE! As I was reading the various journal entries I was reminded of lyrics to the song entitled “Grace and Nothing More”. I strongly encourage everyone to examine the message within that song. I’ve shared it with many audiences in the past but the words always seems to hit closest to home. Especially, since I’m probably going to join the Canadian Armed Forces (Navy Reserve) as a musician (saxophone). Actually, there are a lot of references to sailing and stormy water in the song but more importantly God’s grace and guiding hand through the trials of life. It’s my prayer that Jesus will continue to be the “lighthouse” amidst the storms of this world.
Anchored in Christ,
Mark La Flamme (Eph. 2:8,9)
Comment by Mark La Flamme — July 29, 2008 @ 9:50 am
This topic can be so multi-dimensional. Self-reliance not only causes individual bitterness, separation from God, and frankly OCD tendencies–but also the behavior seems to be easily transfered from parent to child. In my family, this is a strong generational sin that has caused much pain. I absolutely grieve for my entire family–the what could have been if we had been surrendered to and known God–not ourselves. The damage this behavior has caused–has led to suicides, suicide attempts, alcoholism, alternate lifestyles etc.
This discussion reminds me again of God teaching me the value of breaking the stronghold of self-reliance.
Comment by Amy — July 30, 2008 @ 8:40 pm
Happy Birthday Steve!!!! Hope it’s a good one today!
Comment by Melissa — August 1, 2008 @ 9:33 am