“They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Matt.15:8
“As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and grace then ignore it.” 2 Cor.6:1
Jesus, we know it’s easy to be self-righteous, condescending, and critical of others like the Pharisees you rebuked—and the elder brother in Luke 15. We can certainly beat people up with the Law. But help us see how we can also be arrogant with a theology of grace, “Sonship,” and the riches of the Gospel.
Forgive us Jesus, for loving to expose false Gospels more than we love spending time with you in prayer and fellowship.
Forgive us when talk more about “getting the Gospel” than we’ve been “gotten” by the Gospel.
Forgive us for being just as arrogant about grace theology as we were obnoxious about legalistic theology.
Forgive us for now smirking at words like “obedience” and “repentance,” rather than giving you the obedience of love and repenting on a daily basis.
Forgive us when we don’t use our freedom to serve one another in love but rather use it to put our consciences to sleep.
Forgive us when our love for the Gospel does not translate into a love for holiness, world evangelism, our neighbors, and caring for widows and orphans.
Forgive us for having a PhD in the declarations of the Gospel yet failing miserably when it comes to living the implications of the Gospel.
Forgive us when we love “the Gospel” more than we actually love you, Jesus. Not just with our lips, but with our whole being, we want to love, honor, and serve you. Humble and gladden us afresh. So Very Amen.