Doctrinal Boot Camp

It is greatly encouraging to read something that echoes the word that God has being putting on my heart and in my reading and writing so often of late. This is Chuck Colson from Christianity Today:

"The psychology of boot camp is instructive. The first six weeks are spent—figuratively speaking, mostly—beating out of recruits every habit, attitude, and preconceived notion about life and the world. You are told you are worthless and are 'not a special snowflake,' as Campbell says. You are now part of the Marine Corps and will do what the drill instructor says. Period.

"After the drill instructors get rid of the old man—there's a good analogy—the instruction changes dramatically. They now tell you that you're a marine and can achieve anything if you live by the rules. Though it was half a century ago, I vividly remember what it meant to be a marine. I found confidence in myself that I'd never had before. But I also learned that the man next to me had my back. And I had his. We could trust each other with our lives. There was camaraderie, indeed a fellowship, unlike anything I've known since.

"This is what becoming a Christian means. We put off the old man, get rid of the old habits, and embrace a new set of beliefs and standards defined in Scripture and lived out over 2,000 years. Just like the Marine Corps, the church has learned what works and what doesn't, what is right and what is wrong. And the goal of Christian discipleship is to conform to the truths of the Christian faith, just as a marine has to conform to the truths of the corps.

"Come to think of it, isn't the church today in a far more serious battle than any the Marines have fought? Aren't we called to make disciples who will advance the kingdom of God in an extremely hostile world? Haven't we inherited 2,000 years of very hard-earned lessons? The more I've thought about the parallels, the more I am convinced that we have failed younger evangelicals and new believers generally. We have told them or at least implied that they can live happily ever after, that Christianity is all about what's good for them—not necessarily about what is true. Things just go better with Jesus.

"If we want to see revival in the church, we need to be at least as serious as the Marines are about preparing men and women for battle. Perhaps we ought to rethink Sunday school, dust off the catechisms, and start teaching the Bible and theology to our young people again. If the theologically attuned young Reformed crowd is any indication, they can handle it. But it's not just for Calvinists. Every successful Christian movement has embraced ways to effectively pass on the faith entrusted to the saints once for all."

"The church is looking for a few good men and women. Is anyone ready to enlist?"

This is going to become especially relevant in our generation. In large part, because some will de-emphasize its importance, or redefine its content. Some will avoid the parts of the Bible and the parts of Christian doctrine that seem to offend people. And while they think by doing this they are shielding believers, they will actually be crippling them. While they think they are wooing unbelievers, they actually will be robbing them of the most glorious message in the world. Tim Keller said, "Neglecting the unpleasant doctrines of the historic faith will bring about counter intuitive consequences. There is an ecological balance to scriptural truth that must not be disturbed."

More to come. Stay alert.

Immortal Until Your Work is Done

J.C. Ryle said the following of George Whitefield, the great preacher and church planter during the Great Awakening in the 18th Century, in reference to his unmatched and rigorous ministry schedule: "He was immortal till his work was done." Whitefield was thought to have preached 18,000 sermons in his lifetime, and for much of his life that equated to 13 per week. If you have ever prepared and then preached a sermon, this reality is either ridiculous and foolish to you, or impressive and humbling beyond measure. No doubt, these sermons were either really bad, or really good. Read even one of them and you will quickly know which is more accurate. On the effectiveness of Whitefield's preaching, Ryle says, "I believe that the direct good which he did to immortal souls was enormous. I will go further - I believe it is incalculable. Credible witnesses in England, Scotland, and America have placed on record their conviction that he was the means of converting thousands of people."

Much of this preaching was in the open air, which exposed him to ridicule and in some cases physical persecution. The church at that time was not ready for Whitefield, "too asleep to understand him", and so they shunned him, and in turn "lost the use of his services". Ryle's description of him as immortal may have been an understatement. "That any human frame could so long endure the labors that Whitefield went through does indeed seem wonderful. That his life was not cut short by violence, to which he was frequently exposed, is no less wonderful." He lived through what many would have outright avoided because of its physical and emotional cost. He had pieces of dead cats thrown at him. No joke. Ryle's words represent to us a powerful and convicting challenge for the Christian life.

DO YOU THINK OF YOURSELF AS IMMORTAL?

Do you? Our days are known by God, and we will not go home early or late. Therefore, we can be sure that while we have breath, we have work to do. That "work", a.k.a. our normal life surrendered to Christ, which consists of, among other things, family, vocation, and participation and service in a Christian community and in our spheres of influence, does not promise to be easy. In fact, many times, this work, or normal life, is accompanied with great risk and suffering. But it will not separate us from the love of God and it will not take our life prematurely. The Sovereign God of the Universe counts our days and gives us breath enough to finish our work, which is ultimately for His glory and our joy.

So, if that is true, we should feel a lot less anxious in the midst of risky, sacrificial service to God (which includes sacrificially loving your family and your neighbors, and persevering at your job as if it were Christ you were serving, even when its hard or boring), then we feel in the comfortable corner of minimal sacrifice and risk, cleverly disguised as the American dream. In other words, if you feel like you have little left to accomplish, and prefer to avoid risk and seek comfort and self-preservation, your days are likely numbered.

Isaiah 54:17 says, "No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgement. That is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD." Is that your heritage? Are you a servant?

The Apostle Paul says in Philippians, "If I am to go on living in the body, it will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith." These thoughts alone make me tremble and rejoice simultaneously.

WHAT IF JAMES BOND WAS A CHRISTIAN?

All this has been marinating in my mind for awhile in the form of a definition of what it looks like to live the Christian equivalent of the U.S. Army Special Forces lifestyle. Hang with me here. Allow me to offer a definition of spiritual discipline from the words of a retired Delta Force Commander: "We trained our bodies and our minds to a level that gave us supreme confidence in our capability to be successful in any situation, anywhere in the world."

What if we trained ourselves to that level spiritually, so that we could have that confidence as we face spiritual warfare, ridicule, maybe physical persecution, emotional pain, loss, depression, mental fatigue, boredom, spiritual apathy, stress, doubt, discouragement, or temptation? What if we became so familiar with God from his Word, and so close to Him through prayer, that we really believed that He is always for us and working in all situations and struggles for our good? And so much so that we would not necessarily be prepared for every situation, as if there is a blueprint or manual for everything we face, but that we would be adaptable, and able to apply biblical truth and the presence of God to every situation, anywhere. That would be awesome, and I think what God is calling the Christian to be. Anything less may simply be laziness and disobedience.

Just imagine, if disciples of Christ were like covert warriors, completely fearless, trained in body and mind, not intimidated at all by people smarter or richer than them, with impeccable judgment, adaptable and unshaken by unpredictable circumstances, confident that their Lord himself was praying for them (John 17), and focused without wavering on the mission. Worst case scenario, our mortal bodies expire, and we go to be with Jesus as the immortals we are. At that time, there will be, for us, no work left to be done. And says our Lord, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

CHRISTIAN BOOT CAMP

How am I ever going to be qualified for this? you ask. How am I ever going to be disciplined like this? Maybe your vision is poor. Special Forces soldiers don't wear contacts, just in case you were wondering. Maybe you have asthma or sinus issues. These aren't normally conditions that elite soldiers deal with. Maybe you are not a people person or very articulate in even your first language. CIA spies don't usually get nervous talking to people, even in second or third languages (Ever heard of Moses?). Maybe you don't have a very good short-term memory. Covert operatives don't usually forget detailed instructions when their life depends on it. Maybe you can't run a mile without stopping to walk. Maybe you are not a quick thinker. Maybe your navigational skills are embarrassing. Maybe the most "adapting" you have done in the last week is switching lines in the grocery store.

Can I tell you something? There is no boot camp for Christians. There is no elite selection process. You don't have to be a perfect specimen. The Bible says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. It says that God has granted to us everything we need for life and godliness. It says that we were created to do good works, prepared in advance for us. Bearing fruit is not probable for the Christian; it is assured. Why aren't we doing it? My only answer is that we are not disciplined. We do not yield to the Spirit, receive the Word, and understand grace. These things are hard, and risky. Harder than learning multiple languages. Riskier than hiking a mountain range in pursuit with limited nutrition. We have to live the disciplines of grace. Not the disciplines of physical fitness or defensive driving or complex reasoning or hostage negotiation. The disciplines of grace.

BE YE THEREFORE PERFECT?

I have talked before about the dangers of assuming you can, or thinking you have to, become perfect in the Christian life. I'll save that this time other than to say, no! The only thing worse than thinking you can or have to become perfect is thinking you shouldn't strive for it. Confused? Consider George Whitefield. He was just a man. Immortal only in the sense that he had eternal life in Jesus Christ and the God of the Universe had control over the timing of his entrance into the heavenly kingdom. As He has over us all as well. But Whitefield was still a sinner, and it is worth taking note of his imperfect qualities. The Mars Hill Church blog said the following:

"George Whitefield lived in a religious culture where celibacy was the highest calling and marriage was allowed only within carefully prescribed emotional and sexual limits. Sex existed primarily for procreation. Therefore, he had no children with his wife, Elizabeth. The Methodist code shaped and influenced Whitefield, who was convinced that no passion or emotional commitment could be stronger than the 'spiritual marriage' to Christ and his church. This meant for Whitefield, impassioned feelings between the sexes had to be suppressed to prevent the possibility of idolatry. His wife miscarried several times and became ill but Whitefield traveled for months by himself. Moreover, Elizabeth largely remained in silence, which was reflective of the role of women and marriage at the time, and she did not receive much attention even by later biographers of Whitefield. Whitefield’s priority list would have been Jesus, ministry, and marriage last, whereas marriage should have been a higher priority than ministry in a biblical man’s life."

This sense of priorities is not commendable. However, does it cancel out his passion and ministry? Maybe you can relate more with not prioritizing ministry at all and perhaps idolizing you spouse or family to the neglect of God's kingdom. Does that cancel out your love for them? Maybe you can relate more with idolizing work to the neglect of your family, and then also your ministry. Does that cancel out your dedication at work? Do any of these unbalanced examples give us reason to be so dominated by our sin and guilt or confused priorities that we mope and pout all the time, and ignore the call of God on our lives in family and vocation first, then ministry? God forbid! If you idolize your family over God, His reshaping of your priorities will not necessarily include an abandonment of family. If you idolize your job over your family and ministry, His reshaping of your priorities will not necessarily include altogether neglect at work. Does that make sense? God has given you everything you need. We just need help applying that the right way sometimes. And that likely means focusing more passion in certain areas, not less in others. God is not calling you to love your family or your job less. He is calling you, probably, to love Him and his ministry for you more.

SPIRITUAL HEROISM

This last week the news has been dominated by yet another tragedy resulting from a crazy and evil-intended young person with access to a weapon and some confused priorities. It is no less tragic than shootings that have dominated the news before, maybe more. Six people were killed and 14 wounded, among them Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Gifford. It was not a crazy shooting spree only. It was an assassination attempt. Yet, emerging from the story are ordinary heroes who made a big difference. Take 61 year old white-haired Patricia Maisch.

CBS News correspondent John Blackstone reports we may never know why the shooting started, but it ended because Bill Badger, Joe Zamudio and Patricia Maisch saw a chance and took it. With the gun aimed at his head, Badger, a 74-year-old retired army colonel, made a lucky move. Badger indicates the back of his head, saying, "I turned my head and the bullet went right though, right above my ears right above here." He points across the back of his head. The gunman turned to Patricia Maisch. "I was really expecting to be shot," she says. "And just then the gunfire stopped and two men jumped on him." One of those men was Badger, wounded and bleeding. "I got him by the throat," he says. "The other guy has him on his knee right on the back of his neck." The gunman was down but trying to reload his 9mm handgun. "So I grabbed the magazine before he could and held onto it," says Maisch.

A 61-year-old woman wrestled an ammunition clip from the Arizona gunman as he tried to reload his weapon. That is amazing. She was not a former Special Forces soldier. She was not professional law enforcement personnel. She was disciplined enough to trust what she did have, and use it for good.

God has equipped us with everything we need for life and godliness. What acts of spiritual heroism has God designed you for? What disciplines do you need to master? You're immortal until your work is done, so get to it, trusting the constant grace of a Sovereign and loving God to protect and provide for you along the way. You don't have to be a perfect specimen. Or a perfect person. All you need is perfect grace. You will receive it in Jesus Christ.

10,000 New Year's Resolutions

Let's go big or go home in Twenty-Eleven. I didn't have much time, but I wanted to keep up my monthly blogging schedule. So I ran across a very timely article on this last day of 2010, which I thought I would share:

Trading One Dramatic Resolution for 10,000 Little Ones

Paul Tripp, at his best. Here are the highlights. It is basically a summary, articulated far better than I ever could, of the purpose and heart behind this blog. God is in the details.

"Well, it's that season once again. It's the fodder for blogs, newspaper articles, TV magazine shows and way too many Twitter posts. It is the time for the annual ritual of dramatic New Year's resolutions fueled by the hope of immediate and significant personal life change.

"But the reality is that few smokers actually quit because of a single moment of resolve, few obese people have become slim and healthy because of one dramatic moment of commitment, few people who were deeply in debt have changed their financial lifestyle because they resolved to do so as the old year gave way to the new, and few marriages have been changed by the means of one dramatic resolution.

"Is change important? Yes, it is for all of us in some way. Is commitment essential? Of course! There is a way in which all of our lives are shaped by the commitments we make. But biblical Christianity—which has the gospel of Jesus Christ at its heart—simply doesn't rest its hope in big, dramatic moments of change.

"The fact of the matter is that the transforming work of grace is more of a mundane process than it is a series of a few dramatic events. Personal heart and life change is always a process. And where does that process take place? It takes place where you and I live everyday. And where do we live? Well, we all have the same address. Our lives don't careen from big moment to big moment. No, we all live in the utterly mundane.

"Most of us won't be written up in history books. Most of us only make three or four momentous decisions in our lives, and several decades after we die, the people we leave behind will struggle to remember the event of our lives. You and I live in little moments, and if God doesn't rule our little moments and doesn't work to recreate us in the middle of them, then there is no hope for us, because that is where you and I live.

"The little moments of life are profoundly important precisely because they are the little moments that we live in and that form us. This is where I think "Big Drama Christianity" gets us into trouble. It can cause us to devalue the significance of the little moments of life and the "small-change" grace that meets us there. And because we devalue the little moments where we live, we don't tend to notice the sin that gets exposed there. We fail to seek the grace that is offered to us.

"In these small moments he is delivering every redemptive promise he has made to you. In these unremarkable moments, he is working to rescue you from you and transform you into his likeness. By sovereign grace he places you in daily little moments that are designed to take you beyond your character, wisdom and grace so that you will seek the help and hope that can only be found in him. In a lifelong process of change, he is undoing you and rebuilding you again—exactly what each one of us needs!"

So, make the little moments count this year. And look for grace in them. That is not a cliche. That is the way that the amazing grace of a Eternal God transforms human beings for their joy and His glory, all the time, when we deserve much different. Happy New Year!

The Daily News

This picture was chosen bascially at random. I searched for old newspaper pictures on Yahoo, and this is one I found. It works well though, I think, for two reasons. First, I shared in my last post about a story that I felt had lasting impact. Here it is again:

"A man stood up in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada four years after the sinking of the Titanic in a testimony meeting and this is what he said. He said, 'I am a survivor of the Titanic. When I was drifting alone on a spar that awful night, the tide brought a man toward me in the sea and his name was John Harper. He was hanging to a piece of wreckage. And as he neared me, he said, Man, are you saved? No, I'm not, I replied. He said, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved! And the waves took him away. But strange to say, they brought him back a little later and he said, Are you saved yet? And I said, No. And he said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved! And I watched him go down. And there, alone in the night, with two miles of water under me, I believed and I was saved. And I was John Harper's last convert."

Are you saved? Second, the message of salvation in Jesus is daily good news. The reason I included a picture of a newspaper is that I want to inquire as to what is the news you are daily exposing yourself to. There is a lot to choose from. If you're George Constanza, the New York Daily News is the reason you get up in the morning. You may be a local news guy, and have plenty to say about the need to build a new school in your district. You may be a national news guy, and always know the political situation currently facing the country and know exactly what the President did that day. You might be an Internet news guy, and have some favorites you scan each morning to give you the basics. You might use Twitter (I do!) to summarize what's going on in the world in 140 characters. You might read magazines (I do!) but are likely months behind the breaking news stories (I am!).

But through it all, I want to urge you to discipline yourself every day to take in the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ. Do it. Even if you originally responded to this news some time ago. You need it now more than ever. Same thing tomorrow. And the next day. Here are some resources to help you start:

Growth by Remembering

"Christian growth, in other words, does not happen first by behaving better, but believing better–believing in bigger, deeper, brighter ways what Christ has already secured for sinners."

The Gospel Everyday

"Since Jesus secured my pardon and absorbed the Father’s wrath on my behalf so that 'there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,' how does that impact my longing for approval, my tendency to be controlling, and my fear of the unknown?"

The Ongoing Need for the Gospel

"Richard Lovelace says that most people’s problems are just a failure to be oriented to the gospel–a failure to grasp and believe it through and through. Luther says, 'The truth of the Gospel is the principle article of all Christian doctrine….Most necessary is it that we know this article well, teach it to others, and beat it into their heads continually.' Paul says that the gospel only does its renewing work in us as we understand it in all its truth. All of us, to some degree live around the truth of the gospel but do not 'get' it. So the key to continual and deeper spiritual renewal and revival is the continual re-discovery of the gospel. A stage of renewal is always the discovery of a new implication or application of the gospel–seeing more of its truth. This is true for either an individual or a church."

The Gospel is for Christians

"One of the most important discoveries of my life has been that the Gospel is not just for non-Christians; it’s for Christians too. I used to think the Gospel was simply what non-Christians must believe in to be saved, while afterward we advance to deeper theological waters. But what I’ve come to understand is that once God saves us he doesn’t then move us beyond the Gospel. Rather he moves us deeper into the Gospel. The Gospel, in other words, is every bit as important for growing as a Christian as it is for becoming a Christian in the first place. The Gospel is the fuel that makes Christians go."

GOSPEL LIKE OXYGEN

Let me take it further. I need the Gospel of grace in Jesus Christ like I need oxygen. That means multiple times a day. It means constantly. Do you feel the same? Oh, that you would! I breathe out of my mouth, mostly, so oxygen is a coveted commodity. It doesn't come to me as easily as it comes to others. Haha. But seriously. It takes some effort. And so it is the same for me with the Gospel. I have to remind myself of it. After I react poorly when interrupted at work (God forgives). Or in the middle of a trial that seems to have no light at the end (God never forsakes). Or on a mundane day that feels like nothing special (God ordained that day for you). Or in the middle of a situation where you feel like the world is against you (God will judge, and there is no condemnation for those in Christ). Jesus died and rose again to make all this real for us.

See He remembers the first day that He made you
Molded your lungs for the breath that He gave you
Not to mention the day He saved you
Or when He opened your eyes by the spirit Christ was raised through
Did I mention that He forgave you?
And had his flesh ripped off for the sin you were enslaved to
Now it seems you're too far gone
You want to turn back, but you're unsure if you'll be welcome home
So you figure you'll just leave it alone
But you're addicted to yourself, we both know you can't see it alone
This is an intervention, Jesus intervened
He intercedes on behalf of a sinner's deeds
This is an intervention because the Lord hurts
Before it gets worse, start making a reverse....

But I love you even when your light's off in your dark shame
When you lay down and profane me
Or when your bloodstream contains the things that would defame me
When nobody knows that you claim me
Or when you mess your life up, get mad, and wanna blame me
I still want you back
I won't punish you
I took that on the cross, because I wanted you
I might discipline and chastise
But if you got what you deserve you'd be in hell with other bad guys

-Lecrae, New Reality

There are a lot of things that people think they need like oxygen. In fact, everyone has something, or some group of somethings, that they seek as if those things were as important to them as oxygen. Spiritually, these things would be referred to as idols. Our hearts are idol factories, Calvin said. Some examples, as highlighted by Tim Keller, are: money, romance, children, family, truth, gifts, morality, reason, science, technology. Any of these strike a chord? By saying there are "idols" in our life is not necessarily saying that such things are bad things. If they become ultimate things, then they become destructive. You can tell how ultimate you have made something from your reaction when it is taken from you. If you lose oxygen you will die. Likewise, if you lose the Gospel, you will die. That is what I want to prevent! Everything else, while maybe good, is not ultimate. Physically you need oxygen every moment. Spiritually you need the Gospel every moment. God, by his grace, intends for you to have both. Don't close your mouth! Don't stop breathing! Don't close your Bible! Don't ignore the daily news of grace!

Walk it Out

This image is NOT the mental picture I want you to have of walking by the Spirit (or certainly of dancing at all), which is what I am focusing on in this post. And, I am perhaps foolishly referencing and modeling this rap song and cultural dance phenomenon with a naive understanding of what it actually means. No, I can't completely explain what is going on with my arms, and no, I have no specific reason why my pants are rolled up like that. But, no doubt, it got your attention. Mission accomplished. Besides, I've heard this song at godly, Christ-centered weddings, so it must be ok. And sometimes, we have to look like a fool in the Christian life as we humbly trust God, walk by faith, and rely on grace, in order to communicate and relate hope to lost people. That is ok (but takes discernment!). The Gospel is foolishness, so embracing that can be a godly thing.

Usually, I labor over a blog post for a long time. As you can see, I haven't posted since the beginning of September, and my goal is to do one per month. Since I'm not going to make that goal, and since the next post idea I have (continuation from the two previous) is going to take a lot of reading that I haven't yet been able to do, I decided that I would post some simple, though hopefully profound and helpful, thoughts.

MAN, ARE YOU SAVED?

So let me set the stage. First, are you a Christian? I mean seriously, are you saved by grace, through faith, in Christ? That is an important question. One you should consider, if you haven't already. If you have, maybe (hopefully) you have gotten to the same place as the Philippian jailer in Acts 16, who, after failing at the only thing precious to him (keeping prisoners in check behind bars), was brought to the brink of suicide before being interrupted and encouraged. Left with no answers to the miracle he witnessed, or to his remaining plight, he asks, "What must I do to be saved?" Have you asked that? Perhaps what is most precious to you (money? job? relationship? children? status? house? pet?) has not yet been torn away, or perhaps you are not yet suicidal. But still, have you asked that? Has someone interrupted or encouraged you in your brokenness, or in your perceived stability? If not, this is my attempt. Are you saved?!

Listen to this story shared in a sermon by John MacArthur in 1973:

"A man stood up in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada four years after the sinking of the Titanic in a testimony meeting and this is what he said. He said, 'I am a survivor of the Titanic. When I was drifting alone on a spar that awful night, the tide brought a man toward me in the sea and his name was John Harper. He was hanging to a piece of wreckage. And as he neared me, he said, Man, are you saved? No, I'm not, I replied. He said, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved! And the waves took him away. But strange to say, they brought him back a little later and he said, Are you saved yet? And I said, No. And he said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved! And I watched him go down. And there, alone in the night, with two miles of water under me, I believed and I was saved. And I was John Harper's last convert."

Do you grasp the power of a story like this? God is real. In 1912, through a horrible event that killed 1500 people and is probably as well know as any disaster in our history, God saved a sinking man through the boldness of another sinking man. Not "saved" like from the water (though He did), but "saved" eternally, from the wrath of a holy God, and into the presence of the most precious being in the universe: Jesus Christ. And then 4 years later, in 1916, this man told this story to perhaps hundreds of people. There is no telling how much that story passed on to and inspired others, God willing, to the point of salvation themselves. We do know that this story was told again, in 1973, through a sermon delivered to another hundred or so people, who in the context of the Word of God applied it to their minds, hearts, and actions, and, God willing, shared it with countless others who received salvation. Now, it has come to me, and through the blessings of the World Wide Web, I am sharing with an unlimited number of people, hopefully to the point of, or confirmation of, salvation to all reading.

God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, came to Earth as fully man and fully God some 2000 years ago, lived a perfect life, went to the cross and experienced excruciating (do you know where this word comes from?) pain and actual separation from His eternal Father, and died, taking the punishment that we deserve, and washed us clean from our sins through His blood. He then rose from the dead confirming our salvation and giving us hope, and is going to come back to judge the living and the dead, and will set things right for all time. The God of the Universe applied this eternal message and reality in the middle of freezing water in 1912 to a sinking man, who then shared his story in 1916, which was then related to a congregation in 1973, which has now, in 2010, been passed to you. That is unbelievable.

The message is clear. You are sinking, whether you realize it or not. You might feel quite comfortable and happy in your little box, and do not find God necessary or interesting, thank you very much. You might not understand how a good God could allow suffering, or why there are so many religions, or how to reconcile the evil that has been done in the name of Christianity, or how hell could exist, or why you have to surrender everything to Him, instead of just your time on Sunday. But your box is crumbling around you, because it is temporary, and all those questions are secondary. The primary one remains: Are you saved?!

What must I do to be saved? you ask. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. That is it. For real. Just believe. Believe what? you ask. Believe in Jesus. Believe that He is who He claimed to be (God in the flesh) and that He did what He claimed to do (suffered and died for your sins, rose from the dead to give you hope). John 20:31, "These are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you might have life through His Name." Romans 10:9 and 10: "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

NOW WHAT?

If you are a Christian (hopefully that is all reading at this point! If not, re-read above), the question becomes, now what? I'm believing, so now what? I'm saved, right? You said so. God promised so in His word. So, how do I remain saved? What all must I do to keep that salvation secure? Is there a list? What if I keep sinning? What is the "full armor of God"? How do I answer seemingly unanswerable questions from my unbelieving neighbors? How do I cope with suffering? How do I forgive those who have wronged me? How do I keep this good news relevant? What is God's will for my life? What about the poor?

I am going to offer 3 simple ways to deal with these things in the Christian life. They are simple, not easy. These are 3 things that I labor every day to keep hold of. It is a battle. But it is a battle to believe, not to perform. Misunderstand that, and the Christian life will be a mess. Understand it, and God's grace will transform you more into His likeness every single moment of every single day, and use you for His glory in the way for which you were created. The 3 things are:

1) Yield to the Spirit
2) Receive the Word
3) Understand Grace

Let me start with this passage from Galatians:

1For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

2Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

7You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

13For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 15But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Is that clear as mud? Maybe not. Some things Paul says are hard to understand. But that doesn't mean God doesn't want us to figure them out! Because as we do, we will experience the grace of Jesus Christ. God's Word is grace to people, on the spot. That is worth whatever effort it takes to understand it and live it. My imperfect experience has led me to three practical ways to bring the truth of this passage (and any passage) to bear in the Christian life. It is only by grace I can even discern these and offer them to you as a helpful resource.

YIELD TO THE SPIRIT

What does this mean? It means exactly what it says. You have to yield to the Spirit. You have to make a conscious effort to submit control to the Holy Spirit, which if you have saving faith, lives inside you. How do you do this? Prayer. What conscious effort might look like for you is verbally saying it in an out-loud prayer as soon as you get up in the morning. I don't know. But somehow, you have to yield to the power of the Holy Spirit, to convict you of sin, to comfort you in pain, to guide you in uncertainty, and to confirm to you truth and the promises of God in the Bible. The Holy Spirit is available to do all of that in your life. If you aren't consciously allowing Him to do this, just by simply asking and yielding, the Christian life is going to be way more difficult than it was intended to be. Yielding to the Spirit does not mean doing nothing. It does not mean sitting on a couch staring into nothingness and waiting for the Spirit to direct you. It means going about your day with a sensitive and discerning mind, open heart, and selfless hand, and trusting that God is on your side. This may not seem practical. That is ok. Just try it. Right now, yield, and then live. See what happens.

John MacArthur helps clarify:

"It's one thing to have the Spirit resident; it's something else to have the Spirit dominant. Let me give you an illustration of it. The word 'filled' is used in the gospels to speak of total control, for example, in John 16:6 it says 'Sorrow hath filled your heart.' In Luke 6:11 it says, 'They were filled with madness.' In Luke 4:28 'They were filled with wrath.' In Luke 5:26, 'They were filled with fear.'

"You see, mostly in our lives we can balance those things off. Like, for example sorrow; we have a little sorrow and a little joy. A little sorrow tipped this way and a little joy tipped this way and we try to balance it, so if something real bad happens we try to think happy thoughts and everybody tries to boost us up. When something horrible happens, total disaster, a terrible injury, a death or whatever - voom goes the sorrow side, and we're filled with sorrow. And in our lives, basically, the Spirit of God is there and there's a little for the Spirit and a little for us, and we kind of balance things off with the flesh, but there comes a time when we yield all to the Spirit and we're filled with the Spirit and the scale topples on His side. According to Romans 6 it's a question of yielding yourself in obedience to the Spirit of God. We are to be yielded to the Spirit of God in order that He may fill us."

RECEIVE THE WORD

What does this mean? It means exactly what it says. You have to receive the Word of God. You have to read the Bible, and while reading you have to understand what you are reading. How do you start? Prayer. You are not reading merely the words of man. You are not reading only a history book. You are not reading hocus pocus. You are not reading just about the grace of God in Jesus. You are reading the Word of God, which is coming to you as the grace of God in Jesus, on the spot. You have to receive it.

This, I know, is easier said than done. If you have tried to read the Bible with little success, or you read it religiously but feel little effect, I (or actually John Piper) would say this: Have a place, have a time, and have a plan. Stick to it, and trust God to speak. He will. If you still are struggling, remind yourself that the Bible you are holding in your hands is the breath of God (2 Timothy 3:16). Remind yourself that the entire Bible is ultimately about one person: Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is Jesus Christ concealed, the New Testament is Jesus Christ revealed. Look for Jesus in every passage. He is waiting there. Remind yourself that reading the Bible as if its about you will be absolutely confusing, but reading it as if its about Jesus will change your life every time. Seek biblical preaching that unpacks and expounds the Word in ways you might not have time or the proper gifting to do on your own. Let your plan follow this preaching, if possible. Pray constantly. And then see what happens.

Colossians 3:16 says to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Richly, it says. That is more than a daily verse via email. MacArthur says, "As the word about Christ dwells in you richly, His presence becomes manifest in your conscious mind, and as His presence dominates your mind the Spirit of God controls you."

UNDERSTAND GRACE

What does this mean? It means exactly what it says. You have to understand grace. You have to understand that grace is a gift that you don't deserve. You have to understand that God's grace saves you, and it keeps you saved. How do you do this? Prayer. Pray for deeper understanding. Paul Tripp paints an amazing picture of the implications and the nature of grace, daily, through the wonder that is Twitter. Here are just a few examples:

"Grace invades your strength and proves you are weak, then meets you in weakness and makes you strong..... Perhaps the things that you're going through don't look like they come from a God of grace because you don't have a biblical view of grace..... Everyday you give empirical evidence that even though the power of sin is broken, the presence of sin remains and for that you need grace..... God will call you to face the unthinkable in order to form in you what is unachievable apart from his grace..... Rest in the reality that there is never a moment when you don't need transforming grace and never a moment where grace isn't operating..... The grace of the cross assures that the difficulties God brings my way aren't punitive. They're always lovingly and personally restorative..... God's grace hasn't been given to remove all you troubles, but to employ those troubles to progressively transform your heart..... It's impossible for you to live as Christ lived, impossible to pay what he paid, impossible to defeat he what defeated. Your hope? Grace!"

GRACE!

We have to understand grace. In my experience, all the rules and man-made accountability structures in the world, while absolutely necessary in most cases, will not make the difference in discerning the will of God. What is the will of God? Our sanctification. In other words, going to church, reading the Bible, living in community, serving other people, practicing communion, avoiding temptation through various means, being held accountable by trusted friends, all by themselves will not make the difference in living a godly life in Christ Jesus. They are necessary! But they will not make the difference in sanctification, just like they won't make the difference in salvation. Walking by the Spirit includes more (and less!). Colossians 2 says,

20If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21"Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" 22referring to things that all perish as they are used—according to human precepts and teachings? 23These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

What, then, will make the difference? What, then, will have value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh? What, then, will help discern the will of God?

1If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

What is above? The God of the Universe, your Father, and His Son, your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And from Him is flowing the grace that saved you, and saves you. The grace that you don't deserve and you are completely dependent on, all the time. The grace that weakens you so you can be strong. The grace that humbles you so you can boast, not in your works, but in His. The grace that will make everything else in your life possible, including the instructions in the rest of Colossians 3. The grace that allows you to approach your earthly life with an eternal perspective. The grace that gives us hope. Do you understand it?

"The answer isn’t to try harder in the Christian life but to comprehend more fully and clearly Christ’s finished work for sinners and then to live in more vital awareness of that grace day by day. The main problem in the Christian life, in other words, is not that we don’t try hard enough to be good. It’s that we haven’t accepted the deep implications of the gospel and applied its powerful reality to all parts of our life." - Tullian Tchividjian

"No need to fear what's coming. The God who orders your life provides the grace necessary to face what he has ordained." - Paul Tripp

So walk it out! Walk by the Spirit!