HOME / PROCLAMATION! MAGAZINE / 2014 / SUMMER / THE LIFE AFTER WITH CHRIS LEE

Chris Lee lives in Lincoln, Nebraska with his wife, Carmen, and daughters, Ashlyn and Alyssa. They attend the Lincoln Berean Church. Chris is a self-described "theology junkie" whose mission is to proclaim the unfathomable grace of Christ in a clear, understandable, and Biblical way. Chris is the editor of the Proclamation! Blog at ProclamationMagazine.com. You may contact Chris by email at ambulater@gmail.com.

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The life AFTER with Chris Lee

Just when I think I’ve exorcised all the theological baggage of the past, something hits me, confirming that the renewing of my mind isn’t a complete work. It happens to me all the time. I’ll have some deeply engrained belief that I assume to be biblical, but upon scrutiny, it turns out not to be. That’s when it suddenly strikes me that I’m really not over all the misperceptions I picked up along the way. Sometimes that revelation is quite startling.

Bryan Clark, the senior pastor of Lincoln Berean Church, has recently been preaching through Galatians, available on the web at sermons.lincolnberean.org. I’ve been enjoying the series immensely, but I wasn’t really expecting to glean anything brand new. After all, Galatians is one of my favorite books. I’ve read it dozens of times, own a couple of commentaries on the book, have been through some study guides, and had already heard Pastor Clark teach Galatians several years ago. What new gem could possibly be unearthed in a path so well trod?

I like to think I get the grace thing. I get that there is nothing I can ever do to make myself more acceptable to God. I get that I am saved completely apart from anything that I do or don’t do. I get that I am eternally secure because it’s all about grace from start to finish. However, I think I’ve never realized just how scandalous grace really is. The “scandalous” nature of grace is a theme Clark has emphasized throughout his exposition of Galatians and the immediately preceding series on the book of Romans. Maybe it’s hearing these two books taught back to back that has helped me see a blind spot in my understanding of grace.

Here’s the thing; I mess up, a lot. I make all kinds of bad choices and decisions on a daily basis. I know my actions are offensive to God. Sometimes I even realize this fact going in, but I choose to sin anyway. I hate this about myself. I spend a good deal of time beating myself up about wrong choices. My failures make me miserable and depressed. I can’t understand how I can want to be godly so badly and yet keep messing up so horribly. I feel wretched and wonder what’s wrong with me. It’s in these times that I pull away from God the most. Sure, I pray for forgiveness, sometimes desperately, but I’ve always had this sense that there must be some penance required. I must go through a time of solitary suffering in order to prove my grief. As Clark puts it, I go into “the dark room” and I stay there until I feel I’ve somehow atoned for my sin.

Withdrawing to the dark room isn’t consistent with a message of grace. Yes, I should experience godly sorrow for my sin and yes, I should confess my sin. However, I should never forget that on my worst day, in Christ, I still stand perfectly righteous before God. On my worst day, rather than retreating to the dark room, I should be running into the light, into the arms of Jesus. On my worst day I am invited into the light room to dance with Jesus! That’s scandalous grace. In human terms, it takes time and effort to rebuild a relationship after a betrayal, if it’s even salvageable. Grace runs counter to everything we know. Grace means I am loved just the same even when I am unfaithful. God’s acceptance isn’t contingent on my actions; it’s all about who I am in Christ. The relationship I have with God is a perfect finished work in Christ. That means when I sin, the dark room isn’t the answer; dancing even closer with Jesus is. Scandalous. †