This Sunday, we stepped back into our “Overheard” series by listening in on one of the most intense conversations Jesus ever had.

Matthew 23:13: “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”

That’s not gentle language. It’s direct. It’s sobering. And it forces us to wrestle with a serious question.

How do we live holy lives without becoming hypocritical?

Jesus was not attacking devotion. He was confronting distortion. These were men who fasted, prayed, tithed, and knew Scripture. Yet He says, “Woe to you.” Why? Because somewhere along the way, holiness had been replaced with performance, and access to God had been surrounded by man made barriers.

First, we have to guard against gated grace.

Jesus accused them of shutting the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. They weren’t ignorant of truth. They were obstructing it. They added extra requirements, traditions, and interpretations until ordinary people felt like they had to pass a religious exam just to get close to God.

And here’s the danger. That kind of religion often starts sincere. People want to protect truth. They want to honor holiness. They start to build a "fence" around the law. The idea is that if we don't want to fall in to the pit of sin, we should create something to keep us away from the edge. But over time, the fence becomes the focus. The ritual becomes the standard. And grace starts feeling complicated.

Peter warned about this in the early church.

Acts 15:10: “Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”

Salvation isn’t earned by mastering a system. It’s received by faith.

Ephesians 2:8–9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith… not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

When we make people feel like they must clean themselves up before coming to Christ, we’ve reversed the gospel. Jesus is the One who cleanses. He opens the way. We don’t stand in the doorway.

Second, we must reject polished piety.

In Matthew 23:25–28, Jesus speaks of cups that are clean outside but filthy inside, and tombs that appear beautiful outwardly but are full of death within. He isn’t dismissing order or modesty. He’s exposing surface level religion.

It’s far easier to adjust appearance than to surrender pride. It’s easier to follow visible standards than to confess hidden sin. But God sees deeper.

1 Samuel 16:7: “For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

We talked about how movements throughout history have sometimes drifted in this direction. Even well intentioned reform efforts can shift from heart transformation to behavior enforcement. And when external compliance replaces inward regeneration, something vital is lost.

Jesus warned of that very thing.

Matthew 15:8: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.”

Holiness is not a costume. It’s a condition of the heart. The hypocrite defends sin and protects image. The holy person confesses sin and keeps walking toward God.
Finally, we embrace a transformed testimony.
Paul says we are ambassadors.

2 Corinthians 5:20: “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us…”

An ambassador represents a kingdom. Our goal isn’t to win arguments or defend tradition for tradition’s sake. Our goal is to represent Christ faithfully and help people be reconciled to God.
That changes our tone. It deepens our humility. It keeps us honest.
Jesus said:

Matthew 5:16: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

People may not be persuaded by our words, but they will notice a changed life. They’ll see consistency. They’ll see repentance. They’ll see fruit.

Galatians 5:22–23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…”

Fruit takes time. Fruit grows. Fruit proves life.

We closed by returning to the image of the temple veil. For generations it hung thick and heavy, reminding people that access was limited. But when Jesus died, that veil was torn from top to bottom. God tore it. The barrier was removed.

So here’s the answer to our question.

How do we live holy lives without becoming hypocritical?

We refuse to rebuild barriers Christ tore down. We refuse to polish the surface while neglecting the heart. We pursue inward transformation that produces outward fruit.

The world doesn’t need new gatekeepers. It needs to see that the way to God has already been opened through Jesus Christ.
​
– Pastor Charley Munro
Living Grace Church, Tyler, Texas

This Sunday, we finished our walk through the Beatitudes by coming to the final outcome of everything Jesus has been shaping in us.

Matthew 5:10–12 (NKJV): “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Throughout Matthew 5, Jesus has been forming kingdom character. He’s shown us humility, repentance, meekness, a hunger for righteousness, mercy, purity, and peacemaking. But He doesn’t end with comfort. He ends by preparing us for a reality many believers don’t expect. A life shaped by Christ will eventually face resistance.

That raises an important question.

How should we respond when righteousness brings opposition?

First, we remember we’re called by Christ. Jesus isn’t talking about general hardship. He’s talking about persecution that comes from obedience. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” Our identity isn’t determined by the world’s reaction but by belonging to God’s kingdom. Scripture reminds us that those who desire to live godly lives will face resistance, yet even in that moment, Jesus calls us blessed.

Second, we understand we may be criticized for Christ. Jesus says, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.” Following Him may bring misunderstanding, insults, or even false accusations. But criticism doesn’t define us. Christ does. When our motives are questioned or our faithfulness is misread, we stand steady, remembering that God’s approval matters more than public opinion.

Third, we live as people crowned with Christ. Jesus commands us to “rejoice and be exceedingly glad,” not because suffering is easy, but because eternity is real and our reward is secure. Trials are not wasted. God uses them to refine His people and deepen their faith. The early church understood this truth. Their courage didn’t come from avoiding pressure but from walking with Christ through it.

We ended by remembering Polycarp, an aged bishop who refused to deny Christ even when threatened with death. The early church didn’t see his suffering as defeat. They saw it as faithfulness. Most of us will never stand in a Roman arena, but every believer will face moments when obedience costs something.

The Beatitudes begin with humility, but they end with courage. They don’t form a comfortable Christianity. They form a faithful one.

Matthew 5:12 (NKJV): “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.”

That promise still stands.

– Pastor Charley Munro
Living Grace Church, Tyler, Texas

This Sunday, we continued our walk through the Beatitudes by focusing on one of Jesus’ most searching words for the Christian life.

Matthew 5:8 (ESV): “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

At first, purity sounds like moral cleanliness. Most people hear “pure” and immediately think of outward behavior, private habits, clean speech, clean living. Those things matter, but Jesus is aiming deeper than behavior modification. He’s not describing the outside of a religious person. He’s describing the inner condition of someone who belongs to the kingdom of God.

As we’ve seen throughout this series, the Beatitudes are not a checklist for earning God’s favor. They describe the heart of those who have already been touched by grace. Jesus isn’t telling us how to become Christians. He is showing us what Christians look like once God has claimed them.

Biblically speaking, purity of heart is about allegiance and ownership. It’s not flawless performance. It’s being set apart for God. In Scripture, something holy is not called holy because it’s impressive. It’s called holy because it no longer belongs to common use. It has been devoted to one purpose. In the same way, a pure heart is a heart that belongs to God, undivided in its loyalty.

That’s why purity begins where most people don’t start. It begins with a new heart. God doesn’t offer to clean up the old heart and hope for the best. He promises to replace it.

Ezekiel 36:26 (ESV): “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

This matters because our natural condition isn’t just imperfect. It’s spiritually dead. Paul says we were dead in trespasses and sins, living under the influence of the world and the enemy. That’s why we can’t simply try harder and become pure. You can’t polish a heart of stone into a heart of flesh. Only God can do that.

And here’s where the gospel becomes the center of everything. The solution isn’t self-improvement. The solution is Christ. A pure heart is received, not achieved. We are made clean because Jesus is clean, and because His blood cleanses fully, not temporarily.

That truth also clears up a major misunderstanding. Jesus is not saying, “If you’re good enough, maybe someday you’ll see God.” He is saying that those who belong to Him have been made fit for His presence. Justification comes first. We are made right with God by grace through faith, and that changes everything.

But a new heart doesn’t stay untouched. Once we’re justified, God begins to sanctify. This is where holiness becomes visible. Sanctification is not earning a place in the kingdom. It’s becoming what God has already declared us to be. Over time, old desires lose their grip, not always instantly, not always without struggle, but genuinely. What once entertained us can start to grieve us. What once seemed boring, prayer, Scripture, worship, begins to feel like life.

We used the picture of gold refining to describe this. Gold doesn’t start out shiny and pure. It’s buried and mixed with other elements. The refiner uses heat to bring impurities to the surface so they can be removed. The gold isn’t destroyed by the fire. It’s revealed by it. That is a picture of sanctification. God applies heat, not to harm us, but to purify us. He brings to the surface what doesn’t belong and, over time, He makes the heart reflect the Refiner.

This is where we have to keep the order straight. Holiness does not save. Faith saves. But saving faith produces change. James reminds us that even demons believe the facts about God, but they remain unchanged. True faith trusts Christ enough to surrender, obey, and be transformed. Holiness isn’t the price of admission. It’s the mark of citizenship.

Then we came to Jesus’ promise. “They shall see God.” That promise is both future and present. One day, believers will see God face to face in glory. But even now, those who belong to Christ begin to experience His presence. We learn to walk with Him. We see His hand at work. We live as citizens of another kingdom even while our feet still touch this earth.

This changes how we carry ourselves in the world. We don’t ignore earthly responsibilities, but we don’t let the world consume us either. We are ambassadors for Christ. Our identity isn’t rooted here. Our citizenship is in heaven. And that future certainty reshapes how we live right now.

We ended by returning to the guiding question: What does it mean to be pure in heart?

It means you’ve stopped trying to fix the old heart and you’ve come to Jesus to be made new. It means you belong to Him. It means your life is being refined from the inside out. And it means the promise still stands. The pure in heart will see God, not because they were good enough, but because they were made clean by grace and claimed by Christ.

Matthew 5:8 (ESV): “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

That promise still stands.

– Pastor Charley Munro
Living Grace Church, Tyler, Texas

Last Sunday was an unusual day because the winter storm forced us to pause our normal in person worship services. Instead, we gathered from our individual homes, hopefully staying warm, and we were able to watch the sermon together on our YouTube page.

Even though we weren’t all in the same room, the Word still met us right where we were. We continued our series through the Beatitudes by looking at the hinge point of Jesus’ teaching, the moment where the focus shifts from what has been exposed in us to what we now long for.

Matthew 5:6 (ESV): “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

Jesus is not talking about a casual religious interest. He is talking about a hunger that feels like survival. A craving as real as food and water. That’s why the sermon opened with a picture from the age of sail, shipwrecked men surrounded by water, yet dying of thirst. Some even drank seawater because it looked like relief, but it only made the thirst worse. The real question was never, “Am I thirsty?” The real question was, “What am I going to drink?”
That image carried straight into our guiding question for the day.

What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness?

First, we asked who hungers and why. Jesus is speaking to His disciples, not the crowds. That matters because spiritual hunger doesn’t come from a dead heart. It comes from a heart God has already made alive. Left to ourselves, we don’t seek God. But when God gives a new heart, He also gives new desires. What used to satisfy starts to taste empty, and what used to seem unnecessary, now becomes essential.

Second, we asked what kind of hunger Jesus is describing. This isn’t about moral performance or trying harder to be a good person. Biblical righteousness begins with standing, being made right with God. That righteousness can’t be achieved by effort. It must be received through faith in Jesus Christ. But it also doesn’t stop there. The same grace that justifies also sanctifies. The believer who has been declared right before God begins to long to live right before God. This hunger isn’t perfectionism, it’s direction. You may stumble, but you can’t make peace with sin. You may struggle, but you can’t stop wanting holiness.

Finally, we asked what God promises to those who hunger. Jesus doesn’t offer a possibility. He makes a guarantee. “They shall be satisfied.” Not necessarily with comfort or ease, but with the only true satisfaction, peace with God now, real growth in holiness over time, and a final fullness in eternity when hunger and thirst will be no more.

We ended by coming back to the shipwreck illustration. Everyone is thirsty for something. That’s not the question. The question is what you’re drinking. Sin promises relief but never satisfies. Self righteousness promises control but leaves you empty. Religion without Christ looks safe but can’t give life. Jesus doesn’t offer saltwater. He offers Himself.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
That promise still stands.

– Pastor Charley Munro
Living Grace Church, Tyler, Texas

​This Sunday, we continued our journey through Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount by looking at one of the most misunderstood beatitudes.

Matthew 5:5 (ESV): “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

At first glance, meekness sounds like weakness. In our culture, strength is usually associated with assertiveness, dominance, and taking control. Meekness, on the other hand, is often dismissed as passivity or a lack of confidence. But that is not how Jesus uses the word.

As we’ve been seeing throughout this series, the Beatitudes are not commands telling us how to try harder. They are descriptions of what life looks like for those who belong to the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is not saying, “Work at becoming meek.” He is saying, “This is what my people look like.”

Meekness, biblically speaking, is not the absence of strength. It is strength that is governed. It is power under control. In fact, the same word Jesus uses for “meek” is used elsewhere to describe controlled power. It even describes a trained war horse, which is strong and capable, but responsive to its master.

We looked at Moses as a powerful example. Scripture calls him the meekest man on the face of the earth, yet he confronted Pharaoh, led a stubborn nation for forty years in the wilderness, and interceded boldly before God. His meekness was not weakness. It was strength submitted to God’s authority.

Jesus Himself embodies this kind of meekness. At the cross, He was not powerless. He restrained His power in obedience to the Father. That restraint was not failure. It was faithfulness.

This led us to an important realization. Meekness always flows from trust. It is not about mastering yourself through sheer willpower. It is about submitting yourself to God’s rule. When you trust that God is sovereign, you do not have to panic, react impulsively, or defend yourself at every turn. You can afford to be steady because you know who is in control.

That's why Scripture connects meekness with self control, humility, and patience. Meek people are not calm because life is easy. They are calm because they know who reigns.

Jesus also attaches a promise to meekness. “They shall inherit the earth.” This is not language of conquest. It is language of inheritance. An inheritance is not taken by force. It is received from a father by those who can be trusted.

Pride grasps. Meekness receives. Pride rushes. Meekness waits. And history consistently shows that unrestrained power collapses, while restrained strength endures.

So we came back to the guiding question for the message.

What does Jesus mean by meekness, and why does it matter?

Simply put, meekness means strength under control. It matters because God entrusts His kingdom, both now and in the age to come, to people who can live under His rule. The meek inherit what pride never can, peace now, and participation in Christ’s reign later.

For many of us, this message was a reminder that we have been carrying more than we were meant to carry. Trying to control outcomes, manage everything ourselves, and reacting out of fear or frustration will wear us down. Jesus offers a better way.

Submission to Christ is not loss. It is freedom. When He governs your life, you do not have to force results. You can live with strength and restraint at the same time.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

That promise still stands.

​– Pastor Charley Munro
Living Grace Church, Tyler, Texas

​This Sunday, we continued our new sermon series through The Beatitudes, and we stayed right where Jesus keeps pressing, into the heart.

Matthew 5:4 (ESV):

⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

At first, that sounds backwards. Most people don’t connect mourning with blessing. We tend to think of mourning as something we endure, not something Jesus calls good. And to be clear, Scripture does speak to grief over death and loss. God doesn’t ignore that kind of sorrow.

But in this beatitude, Jesus is mainly dealing with something deeper. He’s talking about the kind of mourning that happens when a person finally sees sin the way God sees it. Not excusing it. Not minimizing it. Not managing it. But grieving it, and turning from it.

Early in the message, we paused to ask the guiding question:

What does it mean to mourn in the way that Jesus calls blessed?

Not all sorrow is Godly sorrow. Not all mourning leads to life. Some grief is worldly, it’s heavy, but it never turns us around. It stays stuck in regret, shame, and spiritual numbness. But the mourning Jesus describes is different. It’s meant to wake the heart up, and move a person toward repentance and a restored fellowship with God.

That’s why we began with:

The Practice Of Righteous Remorse.

Righteous remorse is not shame, and it’s not self pity. Shame says, “I’m worthless.” Righteous remorse says, “I’ve offended a holy God.” Shame pushes you into hiding. Righteous remorse pulls you into the light. Shame tells you to run from God. But, righteous remorse tells you to run to God.

Paul makes that distinction plain.

2 Corinthians 7:10 (ESV):

¹⁰ For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

Godly grief has a purpose. It produces repentance. It changes your direction. It takes you from sin back to God. It doesn’t just make you sad. It makes you honest, and then it makes you turn.

We saw a clear picture of this in David.

Psalm 51:3–4 (ESV):

³ For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. ⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.

This was his confession to and inappropriate and sinful relationship he had. David wasn’t sorry he got caught. He was broken inside because he realized who he had sinned against. That’s what righteous remorse does. It makes sin personal before God. It moves you from appearances, to reality.

But we also talked about what happens when mourning over sin is absent:

The Problem Of Hardened Hearts.

A hardened heart doesn’t form overnight. It develops slowly, when conviction is felt but ignored. Over time the conscience starts to dull. What used to grieve us stops bothering us. Repentance gets delayed. Comfort becomes false, and false comfort always fails.

Romans 2:4–5 (ESV):

⁴ Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? ⁵ But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance, not make us comfortable in our sin. And one of the clearest signs of danger is when sin no longer troubles us at all.

Then we turned to:

The Promise Of Healing Hope

This is where Jesus’ words become pure mercy.

Matthew 5:4 (ESV):

⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

That word "shall" matters. This isn’t a vague possibility. It’s a promise. God doesn’t meet mourning with rejection. He meets it with comfort, forgiveness, restoration, and real hope.

Psalm 34:18 (ESV):

¹⁸ The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

God draws near to the broken, not the self defensive. He’s near to the one who stops pretending, and starts telling the truth.

And we ended with the picture Jesus Himself gave us, the prodigal son. When the son came home broken and confessing, the father didn’t fold his arms and demand payment. He ran. He embraced. He restored. That is what God does when sinners return.

So here’s the question we’re left with:

Have we learned to mourn over sin, or have we learned to live with it?

Jesus isn’t calling us into shame. He’s calling us into repentance, because repentance is where comfort is found. And the comfort He gives isn’t shallow. It’s the comfort of forgiveness. The peace of a clean conscience. The joy that comes after confession. The restoration that only mercy can bring.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

– Pastor Charley Munro
Living Grace Church, Tyler, Texas

This Sunday, we began a new sermon series called The Beatitudes, and we started where Jesus starts.

Matthew 5:3 (ESV):

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

It’s a familiar verse, but it’s often misunderstood. When most people hear the word poor, they immediately think of money, hardship, or unfortunate circumstances. But Jesus isn’t talking about finances or difficulty. He’s talking about the condition of the heart.

Jesus opens the Sermon on the Mount this way because everything else flows from here. Before He speaks about obedience, righteousness, mercy, or endurance, He speaks about humility. The kingdom of God doesn’t begin with what we do. It begins with who we are before God.

Partway through the message, we paused to ask the guiding question:

What does it mean to be poor in spirit, and why does it matter?

To be poor in spirit means recognizing our true condition before God. It’s not low self-esteem and it’s not pretending to be worse than you are. It’s honesty. It’s seeing yourself clearly in light of who God is. In the language Jesus used, “poor” describes someone who is completely dependent. Like a beggar, they have nothing to offer and no leverage to negotiate. They come with empty hands and hope for mercy.

That posture is the one God honors.

Scripture makes this clear.

Psalm 138:6 (ESV):

⁶ For though the Lord is high, He regards the lowly, but the haughty He knows from afar.

Pride creates distance between us and God. Humility draws Him near. That’s why Jesus places this beatitude first. Without humility there is no repentance. Without repentance there is no grace. And without grace there is no kingdom.

This truth runs through the whole Bible.

Psalm 51:17 (ESV):

¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

This is why the gospel can feel offensive. It tells us we aren’t as capable or righteous as we’d like to believe. But it’s also why the gospel is hopeful, because God doesn’t wait for us to fix ourselves before He receives us.

That lead directly to the second truth Jesus teaches. The kingdom of God is not earned. It’s received.

Jesus doesn’t say, “Theirs will be the kingdom if they try hard enough.” He says, “Theirs is the kingdom.” Right now. Present tense. The kingdom is not a reward for performance. It’s a gift of grace.

Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV):

⁸ For by grace you have been saved by faith. And this is not of your own doing, it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Only those who know they can’t earn it are ready to receive it. That’s why Scripture draws such a sharp contrast.

James 4:6 (ESV):

⁶ God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Grace humbles us, but it also frees us. It frees us from pride when we think we’re doing well, and from despair when we know we’re not.

But poverty of spirit isn’t just how we enter the Christian life. It’s how we live it.

We don’t graduate from grace. We grow deeper into dependence. Living poor in spirit means waking up each day knowing we still need Christ just as much as we did at the beginning. It shapes how we pray, how we handle sin, and how we treat other people.

Jesus captures this posture simply.

Matthew 6:11 (ESV):

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.

Daily bread assumes daily dependence. And when we stumble, poverty of spirit doesn’t lead us to hide. It leads us to run toward mercy.

1 John 1:8–9 (ESV):

​⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The Christian life is steady, not flashy. It’s marked by humility, gratitude, and continual reliance on Christ.

So here’s the question we’re left with:

Are we still coming to God that way?

Or have we quietly begun trusting our own efforts, knowledge, or performance?

The good news is this. Jesus is still calling people to come, not after they’ve fixed themselves, but while they’re still broken. And those who come with empty hands will never be turned away.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”

– Pastor Charley Munro
Living Grace Church, Tyler, Texas

There’s a question I want you to carry with you this week:

Is Christ still at the center of my life?

Every year around this time, the world starts talking about New Year’s resolutions. People resolve to eat better, exercise more, save more money, break a bad habit, and become a “better version” of themselves. Some of those goals can be fine. Discipline isn’t condemned in Scripture. Self control is a good thing.

But the deeper issue in every human heart isn’t effort. It’s worship. It’s what we love most, and who governs the center of our lives. That’s why the Christian response to a new year can’t start with a list. It has to start with the Lord. Not just resolution, but renewal.

Paul gives the church a command that’s both sobering and merciful:

2 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV): ⁵ Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you fail to meet the test?

That word “examine” isn’t meant to crush sincere believers. It’s meant to rescue drifting hearts. It’s meant to shine light where we’ve grown comfortable. It’s meant to bring us back to what matters most.

Here’s the guiding question again:

Is Christ still at the center of my life?

That’s not a question about being perfect. It’s a question about who rules your heart.

John Wesley And A Missing Center

In May of 1738, John Wesley was already a priest in the Church of England. He was educated, morally serious, disciplined, and devout. And yet, by his own admission, something was missing. He knew about Christ, but he didn’t have assurance. He had religion, but he didn’t have rest.

One evening, he went reluctantly to a meeting on Aldersgate Street in London. A writing from Martin Luther was being read, describing salvation by faith in Christ. Later that night, he wrote that his heart was “strangely warmed.” He said he trusted in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and that an assurance was given him that Christ had taken away his sins.

That moment didn’t make Wesley perfect. But it did change his center of gravity. His life took a new direction, not because he made better resolutions, but because Christ was finally at the center.

That story matters because it reminds us of something that’s easy to miss. A person can be serious, respectable, and religious, and still not have Christ at the center.

I. Renewal over resolution

Resolutions usually focus on behavior. They assume the main problem is a lack of effort.

“If I just try harder, I’ll change.”

“If I just commit more deeply, I’ll fix what’s broken.”

“If I just stick to the plan, I’ll become better.”

But for Christians, effort can’t be the starting point, because effort isn’t the root issue. The root issue is always the heart.

Renewal is different. Renewal is about relationship. Renewal is about returning. Renewal is about Christ being central again.

That’s why Scripture doesn’t simply tell us to “try harder.” It calls us to come back.

Isaiah 55:6–7 (ESV): ⁶ Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; ⁷ let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Notice the words: seek, call, return. That’s renewal language.

And Paul echoes it when he calls believers to spiritual transformation:

Romans 12:1–2 (ESV): ¹ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Paul doesn’t begin with a command to do better. He begins with mercy. Renewal is always a response to what God has already done, not an attempt to earn his favor. That’s why so many resolutions fail. They’re built on willpower, emotion, and a short burst of motivation. When the motivation fades, the change fades with it.

Renewal goes deeper than motivation. Renewal says, “Lord, I don’t just want to act different. I want to love different. I want you back at the center of my life.”

That kind of renewal requires honest self examination, not the kind that produces shame, but the kind that produces clarity.

Psalm 139:23–24 (ESV): ²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts. ²⁴ And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Spiritual drift rarely happens all at once. It happens quietly over time. We get busy. We pray less. We neglect the Word. We make decisions without seeking God’s wisdom. And the dangerous part is that we can still look fine on the outside while Christ slowly moves from the center to the margins.

But renewal is possible because God is faithful.

Lamentations 3:22–23 (ESV): ²² The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; ²³ they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

II. Salvation Leads To Sanctification

If we talk about renewal without grounding it in the gospel, we end up with moralism. We tell people to try harder instead of calling them to trust deeper. Before we talk about a holy life, we have to talk about a saving Lord.

The gospel begins with a truth that humbles every one of us.

Romans 3:23 (ESV): ²³ For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

We weren’t "mostly good people who needed improvement." We were sinners who needed a Savior. And God did for us what we could never do for ourselves. Jesus lived a sinless life, obeyed in every way we failed, and went to the cross as a substitute for sinners.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV): ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Salvation is received, not earned. Grace is a gift. But the gospel doesn’t end with forgiveness. Forgiveness is the doorway into a new life. Grace saves, and grace trains.

Titus 2:11–12 (ESV): ¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.

That training is sanctification. God sets his people apart and shapes them into the likeness of Christ. This doesn’t mean sinless perfection in this life, but it does mean we can’t make peace with sin. We can’t live comfortably in what Christ died to free us from.

Many people want Jesus as Savior but resist Jesus as Lord. They want forgiveness without surrender, rescue without obedience. But Christ isn’t divided. Real salvation produces real change over time.

III. Conviction Leads To Change

If the gospel saves and transforms, then there’s a question we can’t avoid. Is that transformation actually taking place in my life?

That’s why Paul says, “Examine yourselves.” Not to create panic, but to produce honesty. True assurance is strengthened by the light, not threatened by it.

Jesus spoke some of his strongest warnings to religious people who were confident they were fine.

Matthew 7:21–23 (ESV): ²¹ Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” ²³ And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

The issue there wasn’t occasional failure. It was relationship. And that’s why self examination matters. We’re not asking whether we’ve ever stumbled. We’re asking whether we’ve ever been transformed.

Jesus also warned a church that had grown comfortable.

Revelation 3:15–16 (ESV): ¹⁵ I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot. ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

And he warned another church that had not abandoned truth, but had abandoned love.

Revelation 2:4–5 (ESV): ⁴ But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. ⁵ Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.

Conviction is not cruelty. Conviction is kindness. It’s God refusing to let us settle for a false peace. But conviction is never the end goal. Change is. Conviction received with humility leads to renewal. Conviction ignored leads to hardness.

So here’s the question one last time:

Is Christ still at the center of my life?

If He is, let this strengthen your joy and steady your walk. Keep growing. Keep submitting every area of life to him. And if you know he’s been pushed to the side, hear this clearly. This isn’t a call to despair. It’s a call to return.

The same Christ who warns is the same Christ who invites. The same Christ who convicts is the same Christ who receives.

Don’t settle for a few better habits without a better heart. Don’t settle for looking Christian without living submitted to Christ. Make this more than a resolution. Make it a renewed surrender.

The mercy is real. The invitation is open. And the time is now.

– Pastor Charley Munro
 Living Grace Church, Tyler, Texas