According to Him!

I heard a song on the radio that really spoke to me. Click here (ctrl+click to open in new window) and let it play it while reading the note.

According to you
I'm stupid,
I'm useless,
I can't do anything right.
According to you
I'm difficult,
hard to please,
forever changing my mind.
I'm a mess in a dress,
can't show up on time,
even if it would save my life.
According to you. According to you.

But according to him
I'm beautiful,
incredible,
he can't get me out of his head.
According to him
I'm funny,
irresistible,
everything he ever wanted.
Everything is opposite,
I don't feel like stopping it,
so baby tell me what I got to lose.
He's into me for everything I'm not,
according to you.

-Lyrics to “According to You” by Orianthi

I don't think Orianthi intended this, but she sets up a perfect analogy of Law and Grace. In Romans 7:1-4, Apostle Paul talks about being married to Mr. Law and Mr. Grace.

When we were born into this world, we were born married to Mr. Law. Mr. Law is mean. He will point out your faults, condemn you, tell you you have to be a better Christian. He'll tell you
you’re stupid,
useless,
and can’t do anything right. That you’re difficult, hard to please, a mess in a dress and can’t show up on time! And no matter how much you clean the house, it's never clean enough!

Today, we are no longer married to Mr. Law. Jesus has come to fulfill the Law on our behalf, and once it is fulfilled – it is obsolete. When I fulfill my contractual obligations to the bank, I am no longer making payments. Jesus did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it – and because He fulfilled it, it’s gone! Done! The Law has no place in the life of a believer. Romans 10:3 says when you come to Christ, you come to the end of the Law. Romans 7:6 says “we have been delivered from the Law.”

Now as believers, we are married to Mr. Grace. His name is Jesus. And Jesus will never point out your faults. He will never condemn you. He is always gracious, always a gentleman, totally into you, helpful, always there for you, doesn’t hold your sin against you and always believes the best of you.

And according to Him,

you’re beautiful,
incredible,
He can’t get you out of His head.
You’re funny,
irresistible, and
everything He ever wanted.

Who would've thought that a bitter breakup song could be such an encouragement to me? :)

What does it mean to be a "slave of righteousness"? (Romans 6)

Someone wanted to know on Facebook, I thought I'd copy and paste what I wrote here:

To be a "slave of righteousness" means that even when you sin you're a slave man, you're still righteous, no matter what bad things you do! I know that scares people, but don't worry about the effect it'll have on people if they believe this, because right believing will always lead to right living.

When you were a sinner did you do righteous acts? Yes, but it didn't change your standing with God. You were still a sinner! You were still in the prison of sin even though you did good things. No matter what righteous things you did, you were a "slave of sin."

Now look at the flip side. As a righteous person, you are now a "slave of righteousness." A prisoner of righteousness! Even when you sin, you are still RIGHTEOUS! You're a SLAVE of righteousness now! Sorry slave! hehehe.

When a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, its nature changes. Even if the butterfly falls into the dirt like a worm, it doesn't "un-butterfly" and become a worm again. Eventually, the butterfly will want to fly out of the dirt anyway because it's not his nature to be in the dirt. I think you see where I'm going with that analogy. "

Adam put us in the prison of sin. The Last Adam, Jesus Christ, put us in the prison of righteousness! Too good news!