It is easy to pursue a religion of the mind; it is another thing to surrender your heart, and therefore every aspect of your life, to God….We cannot settle for expanding knowledge and enhanced understanding. We cannot because God will not. God demands all of us. He will not settle for a portion of who we are.

I started re-reading Lost in the Middle by Paul Tripp. Quite a few things are up in the air in my life right now, so I thought this book would be good medicine. I read the above quote and was struck by how much I tend to (wrongly) think mere study will change me. I don’t want to overlook the fact that God works through His Word to change us as we study. After all, we’re commanded to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). But that’s not what Dr. Tripp is getting at.

I think he has in mind what Herman Bavinck called the distinction between a theology of words and a theology of facts. A theology of words is the mere collection of ideas amassed in someone’s head like a stamp collection. There is no connection in the person’s life between the words—”justification,” “Trinity,” or “propitiation,” for example—and how they actually live. It doesn’t seem to make a difference to such a person whether or not his theology is actually true to the way the world is or not.

A theology of facts, on the other hand, holds on to the firm conviction that our theology points to real things and that those real things matter. A real God, Jesus’ real redeeming work, and our real sin should all impact how we think, speak, feel, and act. They should affect our relationships. They should affect how we pray. They should affect how we react to our circumstances. God has little time for people who want to make Him their hobby. He is concerned to make us men and women who are affected by who He is in all areas of our lives.

Tags: book, Sanctification

Here’s the long-awaited message on Christian discipleship by Phil Sasser. This message was given on April 11, 2009. It’s roughly 26.5 MB.

Tags: discipleship, Phil Sasser, Sanctification, sermon

Our singles event this month is on Saturday, February 28. We have the opportunity to participate again in a ministry called Bread of Life. Its main goals are to feed the poor and to share the gospel of Jesus with homeless people. You can find more information at the Bread of Life page.

Here are some reasons why it’s important for us to participate in this ministry:

• God is concerned with the poor. He gave commandments to make sure the poor had enough food (see Leviticus 19:9-10).
• Caring for the poor demonstrates our love for God (1 John 3:17; this verse primarily refers to the poor in the Church, I think, but we can also apply it to other poor people).
• Jesus became poor for us, so that we might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). Paul uses this as a motivation for the Corinthian church to give money to those in need. Giving to others is an ethical extension and illustration of the gospel.
• Jesus spent much of his time ministering to the poor. We follow in our Lord’s steps when we do the same.

I did a quick search for Bible verses on the poor, and found this page on the Bible and the poor. I never realized that the Bible talked so much about the poor and caring for the poor. Please look it over when you get a chance.

My heart here is for three things:

1. We glorify God when we care for the poor
2. The homeless people we’ll be feeding will benefit
3. This is a great opportunity to grow

The subtle love of comfort will often silently choke our spiritual growth. When we put this love to death by going to uncomfortable places, God often stretches us and grows our faith in ways that cannot happen through other means. I know that this is probably a scary outreach for many of you. Take heart, though–God’s promises to bless efforts like this are trustworthy! (Deuteronomy 15:10; Psalm 41:1) We serve a God who humbled Himself and became poor. He can help us in our anxiety and weakness and discomfort.

Tags: ethics, God, gospel, growth, homeless, outreach, poor, Sanctification, Scripture

We’ve talked so far about seeing God’s glory as a means to change. We first need to state that no one here on earth can see God directly and live (see Exodus 33:18-23). God dwells in unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16). Only Jesus has seen the Father directly (John 6:46).

But we may still see a measure of God’s glory in this life. Before we look any more at the specific ways we can behold God’s glory, we first need to ask, “Does the Bible teach that beholding the glory of God produces personal change?” Let’s see what Scripture says.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared: but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.

1 John 3:2

Beholding God is a means of becoming like God. But is this the only place Scripture teaches this? What does God say through Paul?

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18

We also see this in the gospels when Jesus changed water into wine. Jesus’ disciples saw what he did. What effect did it have on them?

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

John 2:11

Jesus’ disciples believed in Him when they saw his glory. We know that miracles do not coerce faith. Someone can see a miracle and harden his or her heart. Nevertheless, seeing God’s glory in a miracle like the disciples did when Jesus turned water into wine can be a powerful means of growing in faith.

And who can forget Isaiah’s commission from the Lord?

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train[a] of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people…”

Isaiah 6:1-9

We see this kind of encounter with Jacob, Job, Peter, and many others. It was often a pivotal moment in their lives. Seeing God’s glory is a powerful way to become like Christ. It undergirds all other means of personal change. Let us pray and strive to behold God’s glory!

For personal reflection:

• How are you currently seeking to behold the glory of God?
• What practices can you take up to see His glory more clearly?
• Is there anything in your life that obscures your view of God’s glory? Any sin you are unwilling to give up? See Isaiah 59:1-2

Tags: faith, glory, God, gospels, Isaiah, John, means of grace, Paul, personal change, Sanctification, seeing, spiritual disciplines