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I received this question in my email box today and thought many others might care about my answer:

What I would like to know from your perspective, is there a clear and growing warp in the teaching on grace that is, overtly or covertly, connotatively or emotively, saying that behavior does not matter? I realize that has been a Gnostic teaching of our history, but I am wondering if it is back in the form of this “free grace” teaching. I believe that if our experience of God’s grace is the real McCoy, our heart, mind, emotional makeup, and behavior will begin a rest-of-our-life change to conform to what we can see in the Man, Jesus. What degree of that progress is by grabbing our own bootstraps and getting going on… that I truly do not know.

My Response: I do not ascribe to any view of grace that suggests our behavior doesn’t matter. As I read Titus 2 a real engagement with grace will “teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” Those who think grace washes out the impact of our failures on ourselves and others have a very shallow relationship with God and no real concept of sin and how it damages humanity and human relationships.

But, yes, I do know some people who claim to embrace grace, even teach it, and live unapologetically in selfishness and duplicity without a concern as to what their actions do to other people. They claim it does not matter since it is all covered by grace and God will ultimately accomplish his will in the world anyway. So, yes, that seems to be a growing conclusion some people are grasping for in their reaction to religious performance and obligation. But no one growing to know God as Father would ever use grace as an excuse to hurt others, tell lies, or pursue the indulgence of their flesh.

The problem stems from people only seeing grace as a theological concept. They try to parse out their beliefs about grace, sin, and repentance, but it all leads to nonsense outside of a growing relationship with Jesus himself. Grace is the portal to engaging him without guilt or shame. But engaging him brings transformation to our lives. Those who teach a theology of grace that does not embrace a relationship become quite destructive in the world. Finding out God is not holding their sin against them seems to negate the only motivation they had for holiness. How sad is that?

My contention is that if they grow to live loved by the Father, they will begin to learn how to love others around them and that will begin to transform their existence in the world. That’s why I do not talk of “unconditional love”, but of “transformational love”. Living loved will transform you. Embracing a theology of grace without a relationship of love will only mess you up. That transformation, however, does not come by human effort (the ol’ bootstraps) seeking to make itself conform to God’s ways. It actually begins when we lose confidence in our own ability to change ourselves and seek his help. And it is a process that comes over time out of a growing relationship with God that first learns to rest in his love, and then to grow in trust for him and the way he works in the world.

No, I don’t know any way to measure that, but I don’t think it takes a long time in being with someone to sort out whether their passion derives from a theology they only espouse, or whether they are truly getting to know the Father of our Lord Jesus. If the latter, then I give them a wide berth. I know transformation takes time and if I push them to conform to some external principle that isn’t rising out of their relationship I am pointing them down the wrong road.

In my view, our bigger problem today is not those who abuse grace, but those who are captive to shame and condemnation, who are trying to do in their own strength what only God can do. That’s why Paul talked about the righteousness that faith (or trust) produces, and the passion he had for that. And in the same breath he is admitting that he has zero confidence in his own flesh to promote that transformation.

I don’t know how to describe that outside of a relationship with Jesus. In him these things make sense and we find a pathway of growing trust that transforms us in his love. Outside of that we are in the ever-constant search for the illusive balance between legalism and licentiousness and I don’t think we’re good enough to define that on our own terms. Those who truly know God as Father will want to be like him and will find themselves in honest dialog with God as that transformation unfolds.

Yes, there are many who teach a grace doctrine that is only an excuse for their unrepentant living. I see that as much a problem as the legalists who think they can engage God through their performance.

We are adding to the Lifestream blog a new podcast component that will allow us to add audio here and for people to subscribe to it through iTunes or other podcast aggregators if they so desire. I’m going to begin by putting up the Transition series so that people can access it from their iPods and other mp3 devices more easily. Then I’m going to begin to load up The Jesus Lens audio recordings we recently did in Indianapolis about reading Scriptures relationally instead of religiously.

You can use the link above to see the web pages we’ll be using for that and download the notes that will accompany that series. Most of the links are not active on those pages yet because we’ll be turning them on as we get the audio and video finished and uploaded. Some will not be active for some time. We appreciate your patience as we roll this out incrementally. As part of that we will also take questions from people who listen to it early on and then do a Q&A podcast to further the dialog especially on the parts of this series that people have not been exposed to before.

After that we will continue to use the podcast component to add other audio from speaking engagements where appropriate and we will also do occasional original occasional podcasts whenever we can to help encourage people on the journey of living loved.

You can continue to monitor new posting here, but you can also subscribe to any new audio postings via iTunes. You’ll notice some podcasts already there from past links to some of my .mp3 files. Some way want to give those a listen, others may not. But we’ll begin to post Transitions and then Jesus Lens as podcasts.

I hope this is all helpful.

Staff and students at the Living Loved Children’s Centre in Eldoret, Kenya

I’m sorry I’ve not written in awhile. Life has been pretty complicated over the past few weeks as we’re hard at work on the Jesus Lens and a few other projects. We are trying to pace ourselves here, but at times it seems a bit overwhelming. We do appreciate the support and encouragement so many people send our way. We should have some new announcements about the recent recordings in the next few days. But we’re going to enjoy a long holiday weekend and find some rest before we get too deeply into that process

Before we do, I wanted to update you of the ongoing need in Kenya. I’ve been blown away, as have the folks in Kenya at the generosity of so many who have helped get this new facility purchased, built, and staffed. A look at the picture above shows such joy and promise as these children are at a school assembly and are beginning to learn in their new environment. Unfortunately the government requirements of setting up this facility and purchasing curriculum and school supplies for the students has used up most of the money they needed to feed the children and support the staff. My commitment to them was that we would find them two years worth of staff support and food, while they looked for ways to support the children beyond that time-frame.

We need about $2,000.00 per month for the next 22 months to help make that happen. And that isn’t a hard figure. Costs for food have risen significantly just in the past few months and by what I can tell they are not at all being feed extravagantly. So, I thought I’d mention it again for those who want to support this project with us. We send them additional funds today beyond what we have received from others as our way to help them through a tough spot. If you can join us, please let us know.

For more information on our project here, you can read this earlier blog. If you would like to be part of this to support these brothers and sisters and see the Gospel grow in this part of Africa, please see our Sharing With the World page at Lifestream. You can either donate with a credit card there, or you can mail a check to Lifestream Ministries • 1560-1 Newbury Rd #313 • Newbury Park, CA 91320. Or if you prefer, we can take your donation over the phone at (805) 498-7774.

I had lunch today with some of the people who came from out of state to be part of our recording in the Indianapolis area. We had a great time. I enjoy conversations so much more than lectures…

Anyway, during lunch one of those present wanted to thank me for my involvement in helping bring Bo’s Café into print. Here’s what he said:

What The Shack did for my relationship with God, Bo’s Café did to help me find freedom from my anger.

He went on to tell us the story of how God unplugged a deep-seated anger in his life after reading the book three times. He’d been looking for this freedom all his life. What a great story and a great comment about the book.

That’s why I was excited about Bo’s when I read it. Here was a man trying to control everyone else out of his own fears, and then he comes to face to face with grace. It changes him in a wonderful way. If you haven’t read it, you might want to check it out.

Thanks to all of you praying for us during my time In Indianapolis recording The Jesus Lens. It wasn’t flawless, to be sure, but that was not my expectation. I’m pleased with what we were able to record and really blessed by the audience who gathered with us. They were incredibly engaged with the material and provided some wonderful interaction about it as well. Keep praying. We’re up for Round 2 this evening and Round 3 on Saturday morning. I suspect I’ll be pretty tired when we get this all done, but I am excited to have this much time to help people read Scripture with greater meaning and joy!

Sara and I will both be out of the office until May 18 and will not be able to fill orders for books or audio during that time. We apologize in advance for the inconvenience and delay and appreciate your patience. Orders sent in this week will be filled on May 18.

I don’t often use these pages to ask for personal prayer, but for those of you so inclined, I have a special request. This week will culminate more than 40 years of Biblical study and spiritual pursuit in a series called “The Jesus Lens: Reading Scripture in Light of the Revelation of Jesus.” I’m going to be recording it later this week in Indianapolis with some 30-40 people who are coming to be part of the audience. After we process the audio and video, we will make it available through this website like we do Transitions—free of charge. We want people to be touched by this series to engage the Scriptures with passion and joy.

Unfortunately many people who go on a relational journey with Jesus soon discover that part of the religion they’ve been sold is a misinterpretation of Scripture that is often distorted by the needs of religion either to promote fear or conformity. Turned off by the academic quibbling of many scholars and the arrogance that doctrinal discussions often foment they dismiss the value of Scripture thinking it either old-fashioned or irrelevant to their walk. They come away from reading it too often condemned and confused by the religious voices that still play in their heads. After all in his last words to his disciples in the upper room, Jesus didn’t tell us he would leave us a book to interpret and obey, but his Spirit to guide and empower us.

Others, seem to worship the Bible as a replacement for their own relationship to Jesus. They seem to worship the Scriptures and their interpretation of it, rather than let it guide them to the only one who has life for us. They have gotten lost following the dictates of a book rather than knowing him and being transformed by his power and wisdom.

I used to teach a 33 hour class helping people find the keys to unlock the incredible wisdom and power of Scripture. I don’t have that much time with people any more, but I have restructured that material into an 8-hour teaching series that I hope will accomplish much of the same objectives. I’m going to do 24 20-minute segments so that small groups can play it and discuss it togeteher. In addition I will be including over 50 pages of notes and diagrams to help people in their personal engagement with God in the Scriptures.

I am more excited about this than anything I’ve done in a long time. The wealth of Scripture’s pages has informed my journey throughout my life and underscore everything that I look to share with others. However, I’m also aware that doing this in a studio with the necessary time constraints so it can be video recorded is not the most conducive venue for the conversation I’d love to have. In addition, there is much going on around me that seeks to compete for the attention and passion I want to give to this. And I don’t think any of that is not without the participation of the enemy that would love to disrupt this.

So, if you have some extra time and energy in your prayers this week, especially on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday when we’ll be taping, please ask Jesus to make himself known in this project and fill it with his light and wisdom. Some of this content I’ll be teaching for the first time, but it has guided my own engagement with Scripture for the past two decades. I have come to some conclusions about this book that may be controversial in some quarters (surprise, surprise!), but in the end I want to do honor the Lord’s truth in it all. Your prayers will be greatly appreciated and I am certain they will make a difference.

And when we get back, please be patient. It is going to take a while to get the video edited and the audio culled off for a new Lifestream Podcast page where we’ll be able to put recordings like this so people can easily download them for listening on their mp3 players.

It’s back to California tomorrow. I’ve had an great time hanging out with a community of young people near Chicago and now in southern Wisconsin with brothers and sisters who are on this journey. It has been a lot of fun.

A few weeks ago as I flew out of New England, the movie on the plane was the new Narnia movie, The Voyage of The Dawn Treader. I enjoyed keeping an eye and ear on it while I was reading some other things. I already referred to one of the lines in that movie that touched me in a previous posting.

I noticed another one this time around. It was advice given to the voyagers by one of their counselors on their journey.

“To defeat the darkness out there you must first defeat the darkness inside yourself.”

Why is it almost always true that when God shows us something about ourselves our mind first focuses on all the other people around us who should know this too? It is almost as if we use up our passion for what God says by trying to make others see it, before it has borne fruit in our own hearts. Is this why we are always seeking to remove the sawdust from someone else’s eye instead of taking note of the log that is in our own? Any time you’re trying to force your will on someone or convince them to embrace your insight, you might consider that you are taking on darkness in the wrong place.

When the light of God shines into your heart, embrace it. As long as I’m battered by doubts, driven by fears, and tormented by a false need to perform in my own righteousness, my freedom to help others will be limited. And that will mostly happen not by confronting the darkness in me, but embracing the light that is in him. The more preoccupied with who he is, the freer I become from the twisted places in my own heart. This is the joy of learning to live loved.

He first wants to take shape in us before we try to help encourage others. And what I’m finding is that the more he takes shape in me the less need I have to shape others. If we can’t let him defeat darkness in us, we’ll be of no use helping conquer darkness in others.

Well, I’m off again to the upper Midwest. I’ll be in the Chicago area and then into Wisconsin over the next few days meeting with two communities of believers I’ve never met before. I always look forward to seeing what God might be doing in such locales. There’s an anticipation in my heart about what might be ahead this weekend.

I am also reading through George W. Bush’s Decision Points these days. As many of you know the Bush presidency was one of the greatest disappointments in political affairs. He came into office talking about being a uniter and not a divider, and then had one of the most divisive administrations of my lifetime, just like the president before him. But I always want to hear a man’s story from his side of things, and not just as he was filtered through the media. The book had been interesting, though I am sad at many of the decisions he ended up making.

I did like this quote when talking about his growing up in the love of his parents:

“When you know you have unconditional love, there is no point in rebellion and no need to fear failure.”

While I don’t use the term “unconditional love” myself (because I don’t think there is any such thing as conditional love), I understand what people mean by it. To be truly loved just for who we are is the place where transformation begins. Real love disarms the need for rebellion, because it doesn’t seek to control. And real love is not based on performance so you don’t need to fear failure.

Imagine if all God’s people knew that reality about his love! There’s no need to seek your own way, when you realize how loved you are. And you don’t have to be afraid of making decisions because he is going to love you through your failures. And there is no mistake you can make that is so big that Jesus can’t be in it with you to redeem it for his purpose.

I honestly believe this is the kind of freedom Galatians 5 is talking about. It isn’t the freedom to indulge my flesh, but the joy of living in the reality of his love and that alone will disarm all the lies and appetites of the flesh…

Tomorrow I get to fly back home to enjoy a day with the friends that help us pray and listen to Jesus for what we do through Lifestream and The God Journey, and to have a day with our whole family. Looking forward to it.

Last week I found this email that so resonated with me as well:

It’s funny how when Christian folks find out we don’t attend a church, we kind of become their project to get us into their church. I’m sure I was exactly the same, not too long ago. A couple guys that I have become friends with are very intellectual in their pursuit of God. One attends a Catholic church, the other a Baptist church. Every so often, they will buy me a book to read or CD’s to listen to. I’m reading a book about a protestant who turned catholic and a book about Calvinism. I may have to start turning down their requests to read these books because I feel like I’m all cluttered up, if that makes sense.

Both are very passionate about doctrine. Their argument is that if you don’t have correct doctrine/theology, you can’t really get to know God. I appreciate their passion to know God better, I’m just not so sure of the route. God always amazes me and seems to reveal Himself to us, even when we aren’t “doing it right”, so I believe He will honor the desire of their hearts to know Him. I don’t really know if I’m a Calvinist or an Armenian or somewhere in the middle. I’m not really sure I care what camp I fall into. My focus and prayer for months has been:

• “Father, I want to know you more intimately, the way you want me to know you.”
• “Father, open my eyes and help me to see how much you love me and those around me, and teach me to respond to that love.”
• “Father, when I read the Bible, reveal yourself to me. Help me to see what you want me to see about you.”

Then I get around these real intellectual guys and I think, “is my approach too simple?”. But when I start studying all the heady stuff, I get all clogged up. When I go back to just my simple focus, I mentioned above, there is a rest and peace. I guess that answers my question, huh?

Yes, I think he did!

I know for me when my spiritual journey was more of a head trip than learning to live loved, I was much more enamored with doctrinal positions. While I still believe in the importance of sound doctrine and growing in the truthof who God is, I don’t think he is nearly so complicated as some scholars would have us believe. Learning to live in his love and love those around me, including those who cross my path each day, is far more joyful and far more intellectually challenging than all the other things that use to fascinate me. And his truth emerges in the loving.

I guess that’s what Paul meant when he said “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” Living loved leads to correct doctrine, but rarely does correct doctrine lead to living loved.