If those two words don’t seem to go together, consider this excellent excerpt of a post by Dane Ortlund, a senior editor at Crossway Books:
You wrote that we live “in a restraint-free culture dominated by Eat, Pray, Love spirituality and Joel Osteen-grade theology.” I am as averse to such things as you are. But there are two ways to seek to redress this.
One way is to balance gospel grace with exhortations to holiness, as if both need equal air time lest we fall into legalism on one side (neglecting grace) or antinomianism on the other (neglecting holiness).
The other way, which I believe is the right and biblical way, is so to startle this restraint-free culture with the gospel of free justification that the functional justifications of human approval, moral performance, sexual indulgence, or big bank accounts begin to lose their vice-like grip on human hearts and their emptiness is exposed in all its fraudulence. It sounds backward, but the path to holiness is through (not beyond) the grace of the gospel, because only undeserved grace can truly melt and transform the heart. The solution to restraint-free immorality is not morality. The solution to immorality is the free grace of God—grace so free that it will be (mis)heard by some as a license to sin with impunity. The route by which the New Testament exhorts radical obedience is not by tempering grace but by driving it home all the more deeply.
Let’s pursue holiness. (Without it we won’t see God: Matt 5:8; Heb 12:14.) And let’s pursue it centrally through enjoying the gospel, the same gospel that got us in and the same gospel that liberates us afresh each day (1 Cor 15:1–2; Gal 2:14; Col 1:23; 2:6). As G. C. Berkouwer wisely remarked, “The heart of sanctification is the life which feeds on justification.”
C.S. Lewis conveys truth in such memorable ways. Here’s a thoughtful quote from Mere Christianity(Book III, Chapter 11) on Faith:
The main thing we learn from a serious attempt to practise the Christian virtues is that we fail. If there was any idea that God had set us a sort of exam and that we might get good marks by deserving them, that has to be wiped out. If there was any idea of a sort of bargain—any idea that we could perform our side of the contract and thus put God in our debt so that it was up to Him, in mere justice, to perform His side—that has to be wiped out.
I think every one who has some vague belief in God, until he becomes a Christian, has the idea of an exam, or of a bargain in his mind. The first result of real Christianity is to blow that idea into bits.
Great image, isn’t it… blow that idea to bits (not too get too strident with rhetoric)! And I might, perhaps, suppose that even after we become Christians, we can try and re-construct the bits and slip back into this thinking.
May we see that by the work of Christ alone we have been transferred to His kingdom… and our entire trust, or entire faith, is in the One who has truly saved our souls.
I love church. Not as much as I love Jesus, but I’m constantly thankful for how our Lord uses the body to sharpen me and grow me. This week, a brief discussion about guilt and its relationship to the Christian life has made me think and pray much.
Guilt is, per one online dictionary, “an awareness of having done wrong, usually accompanied by feelings of shame and regret.” For the Christian, at the point of salvation, it’s commonly agreed that our guilt – and the sin that caused it – is removed. God’s forgiveness in Christ (as well as aspects of salvation like justification) pretty clearly remove guilt (i.e., see Romans 4:5-8 or 1 John 1:9). D.A. Carson, in For the Fame of God, writes that “for the gospel to be effective it must clear us of our guilt.”
Yet we run into guilt all the time, in our Christian life, after conversion. I am constantly tempted to carry it around with me. Guilt over past offenses… guilt over what I have done (or haven’t)… guilt can guide behavior, prevent peace, and worm its way into many, many areas of our lives.
Don’t get me wrong. An active conscience is a good thing. By it the Holy Spirit helps me avoid sin, and to quickly confess sin. If guilt is because of ongoing sin… then maybe it shouldn’t be called guilt, but conviction. We need to confess the sin. That’s an easy theological answer.
The difficulty is that even after confession… the feeling remains. That shame over what has already been confessed. Is that ok? Should we soak in this feeling of “I’ve let God down… I’m unworthy and ashamed… I’ll never measure up”?
I’m coming more and more to think that our overwhelming need is an increasing awareness of our relationship with Christ. It is His forgiveness, His love, His work that clears my guilt forever. Even guilt after conversion. One of my greatest continuing problems is that I let guilt drive me from Christ. I think this probably means that I have too high a view of myself – instead of trusting totally in the work of the Savior, I trust in my own work. I don’t want to “impose” on Jesus again… as if there is any way that I could ever not need His righteousness instead of my own. So, in this sense, guilt becomes a marker for pride.
Elyse Fitzpatrick, in Counsel from the Cross, writes:
“We can’t overemphasize the importance of knowing that all our sins are forgiven, once for all time, when we strive to become more like him. Love is the only motive that can impel true heart transformation, and love will be present only when we see, demonstrated before our eyes, how we’ve been loved. Guilt over former sins never propels obedience; it only breeds doubt, fear, and bitterness.”
I like this because I do strive to be like my Savior, I have a motivation to follow and obey what he says. But this is because of love – his love for me, which births in my heart new desires and motivations. Continuing to carry guilt after my sin is forgiven seems to be a rejection of the love of Christ. If I am motivated primarily by guilt I am not actually understanding the work of Jesus Christ, nor am I understanding the grounds of my acceptance and righteousness.
It seems a bit paradoxical (as many biblical concepts) but true – that crucifying of ungodly behaviors requires a realization that we have absolutely died to it in Jesus. We don’t get ‘superpower’ to overcome sin (though we progressively become more like our Savior)… what we primarily get is a relationship which lets us lean upon the risen Savior, to see ourselves with entirely different lenses… by which our guilt… and with it sin’s power… has truly been broken.
William Romaine, an evangelical pastor in England in the 1700’s, puts it this way (in his Treaties Upon the Life, Walk, and Triumph of Faith):
“No sin can be crucified either in heart or life unless it first be pardoned in conscience, because there will be want of faith to receive the strength of Jesus, by whom alone it can be crucified. If it be not mortified in its guilt, it cannot be subdued in its power. If the believer does not see his perfect deadness to sin in Jesus, he will open a wide door to unbelief, and if he be no persuaded of his completeness in Christ, he gives room for the attacks of self-righteousness and legal tempers… The more clearly and steadfastly he believes this, as the apostle did – ‘I am crucified with Christ,’ in proportion will he cleave to Christ, and receive from him greater power to crucify sin. This believing view of his absolute mortification in Christ is the true gospel method of mortifying sin in our own persons.”
How incredible it is that we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are… yet without sin. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16).
Hasta la vista, prideful guilt. Hello, wonderful Savior.
Happy Thanksgiving! It seems somewhat of a cliché, but we have so much to be thankful for. Safe travels. Hot food. A day of rest and family. My mind goes right away to my wife and two wonderful children… but even as I do that, I realize these are blessings… and really, my greatest thanks is for the One who has blessed me with more than I can imagine.
One example, this day: how I am thankful that I please God. Amazing. Here’s a fine quote by Martin Luther on this (from Bondage of the Will):
“Furthermore, I have the comfortable certainty that I please God, not by reason of the merit of my works, but by reason of His merciful favour promised to me; so that, if I work too little, or badly, He does not impute it to me, but with fatherly compassion pardons me and makes me better. This is the glorying of all the saints in their God.”
How grateful I am that I am spared from self-righteousness and given the righteousness of a perfect, all-sufficient Savior! Luther again:
“Whatever work [toward salvation] I had done, there would still be a nagging doubt as to whether it pleased God, or whether he required something more. The experience of all who seek righteousness by works proves that; and I learned it well enough myself over a period of many years, to my own great hurt”
This thankfulness extends to a depth of gratitude that our God sets us apart, that he grows in us (from the grounds of his work, not ours) a desire for following in his ways and bearing fruit. For a convicting post on this, see Kevin DeYoung’s article. He notes:
I believe God would have us be much more careful with our eyes, our ears, and our mouth. It’s not pietism, legalism, or fundamentalism to take holiness seriously. It’s the way of all those who have been called to a holy calling by a holy God.
How thankful I am for a holy calling! And in the depth of that… that our Savior, Jesus Christ, has done it. And so I have God-given (thank you!) grounds for pursuing an ever-deepening knowledge of our Lord and his ways. This thought is summed up by an unknown commenter:
We must not put our trust in trying to be Holy. We cannot separate the justification of God from the sanctification of God. He came to seek and to save the lost. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is faithful to complete the work HE started in us!
Thank you, Lord! I am so grateful for your love, your mercy, your sacrifice, your peace, your kindness, your holiness that is the grounds and motivation for mine.
And I have to confess… these two little kids you’ve given care of to my wife and I… we’re really thankful for them too.
Well… it is actually not rainy, right now. But it has been… it is Bellingham, after all!
Two people today pointed me to this wonderful message from Tullian Tchividjian at the 2010 Desiring God National Conference. He clearly and with depth hits at an issue that resonates through my life… in being sold out to the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). He has some words for those (‘those’ can include me) who try to “balance” grace. So often people try to add some ‘law’ to grace… and so this is very refreshing:
…In my opinion it is a huge mistake to frame the issue as two ditches, one on each side. There aren’t two ways to fall off the Christian life. It’s one way, with two forms. The biggest lie about grace is that it is dangerous and therefore needs to be kept in check. The devil does not want us to believe in the radical nature of grace. The biggest lie he wants us to believe is that grace is dangerous, unruly, and that we need to balance it out with a healthy dose of law.
Believing this violates gospel advancement. This “Yes grace, but…” is the kind of disposition that keeps moralism swirling around in our hearts.
Wonderful truth.
And if you’re still wanting more, here’s an article adapted from his book, Surprised by Grace.
Ok… and I’m giving in… and just embedding the video, for your watching pleasure… rejoice in such a wondrous gospel!
Update (2016): This content has been removed from Desiring God, which saddens me. For the moment, it is still available here.
In light of my previous post, and especially as we go through a critical portion of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel of John, I’m struck by a complaint I occasionally hear from others, and occasionally find in myself. It’s basically that our main issue as Christians is laziness.
This view concedes that (perhaps) you’ve put your faith in Jesus, but your main problem is that you aren’t as committed as you should be… you aren’t doing enough… so you should doubt whether or not you are a believer. Exhortations in the faith become exhortations to work harder, do more, and simply work.
What are you examining?
‘Examine yourself,’ the statement goes, ‘are you doing all you can?’ The implied answer is that if you aren’t, you might not be saved. And really, if you’re honest, the fear is that the answer is always no – that you’re never doing all you could, and should always be doing more. Welcome to the Christian treadmill…
Examine yourself. Not good enough. Try harder. Repeat.
I think this line of reasoning has some twists in it that aren’t healthy. I’d like to explain why in two ways.
The first unhealthy twist is that this particular exhortation usually gets the context wrong.
Mostly people who exhort constant self-examination are thinking of 2 Corinthians 13:5. It says “Examine yourselves… test yourselves.”
But note the ellipsis. What did I leave out? Let’s look again at the whole verse.
“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?”
Interesting, isn’t it? That the purpose of the test isn’t how much you’ve done, but whether you are in the faith. Whether Jesus Christ is in you. So the examining I’m told to do is actually primarily an examination of my heart’s faith in Jesus Christ. Not a scorecard (i.e., 7 out of 10, let’s try for 8 out of 10!) but a thumbs up or down.
The verb (to examine) is used in 1 Corinthians 3:13 about testing what kind of work we’re doing; in 1 Corinthians 11:28, 2 Corinthians 8:22, and Galatians 6:4 of testing motives, and even in 1 Thessalonians 2:4 of God examining hearts. In fact, 1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells us to examine “everything” to see if it is good or bad.
So my self-examination really should not based on quantity. It is not based on “am I doing all I can.” It isn’t primarily a question of laziness. It is a question of kind.
And thus the second way in which this can be an unhealthy twist (related to the first). The exhortation, as stated, is being used to examine production rather than connection.
The Bible’s strong statement is that connection leads invariably to production. Not that production can force connection. The Bible is all about true connection to Christ alone. This is what we’ve seen in John 15. Are you a branch that is alive, or dead? Is there any fruit on that tree, or not? The single determining factor of whether there is or is not fruit is whether you have or have not been united to Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. Whether you abide in him.
If I have faith in Christ, I’m connected to the vine. If so, I will bear fruit. And that fruit is great assurance… because without him, I can do nothing. Fruit is a sign of connection. And that vital life that produces fruit in me is not my own… it is Christ’s (John 15:1-5).
But it isn’t the amount of fruit. Fruit is only a sign of something that is actually present. To think of this through the context of Jesus’ statements in John… Jesus is my life… even after I sin, letting my own personal frustration offend my spouse. He’s the source of living water, even if I oversleep my own prayer time. He’s really the only reason to be at church, singing. And even as I bear fruit (because of the vital connection I have with Jesus), the one who makes me bear more isn’t me (what ability do I have?), but rather the Father (John 15:2, Ephesians 2:10).
So it is important to self-examine… but in the right context. Our examination is – is it true that I believe’? Do I really trust in Jesus’ righteousness? Do I really humble myself before him? If the answer to this self-examination is a ‘yes!’, then that should lead to joy… and not a treadmill. The ‘yes!’ means fruit will follow, not ‘ok… that’s great that you trust in Jesus… but prove it’.
We are our own fruit-inspectors… and if we see any… any… then we are thrilled that a true connection is there. Life from the source. That’s Jesus. Often true faith is to continue to believe that I am in union with Jesus Christ in spite of my failings and my sin which I see more and more as I grow.
Perhaps another way to get to the same place is to see what Jesus said in a familiar passage in Matthew 7:
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of min and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” (vv.24-26).
Do you see? Both the wise and foolish man built. There isn’t really a statement of how hard they worked; they both may have sweated much. They may both have had a Protestant work ethic. It didn’t matter. What mattered was what they built on.
The one who builds on Jesus’ message – the Gospel, the good news of faith alone by grace alone in Christ alone, an alien righteousness imputed to us, a Holy Spirit living in us – is the one who stands… not the one who builds (even zealously/thankfully/wonderfully) in their own righteousness.
What matters is what we build on. And we’re all building.
So if you are examining, today… go ahead, examine why you’re motivated to play guitar… to watch a movie… to come to church… to enjoy a walk. In things called work. In things called leisure. And in things in between. Your whole life is being used by Christ, pruned by the Father, to bear fruit. As you see selfishness and pride, repent. But may you more and more see the fruit of joy, of peace, of patience, of kindness… as you live each and every day in trust of Jesus Christ, thereby building on the rock that is the only chance we will ever have of eternal life with the incredible God who calls us friends.
By God’s grace, I’ve been a Christian for a long time. That time is getting longer every day. So when I look at what God continues to teach me through His Word, I can only shake my head at my thick-headedness and my pride… and whatever else it is that keeps me from learning the centrality of the gospel.That’s what’s been hammered home over the past months as the Gospel of John has been a constant companion. The centrality of the gospel… which is to say, the centrality of Jesus Christ.
Bowing to myself? Or worshiping Jesus?
It isn’t only that he miraculously fed thousands, or healed incredibly recalcitrant diseases, or stopped storms. It isn’t even that he said he was the bread of life, or the resurrection and the life, or the source of living water.
It’s that he really is those things. On an ongoing basis.
Religion, as helpful as it can be, often gets in my way. What I mean by that is that religion can be twisted (by me) to be a sinful practice, not an edifying one. I can run self-metrics, rather than joyful worship: how much prayer have I been investing in; whether I’ve fasted recently; how many people have I “touched,” “checked in” with, or otherwise “ministered” to; whether I’ve avoided a particular sin I’d like to have ‘victory’ over. I start having pride, not in my repentant response to sin, but in my superficial, external cleanliness. In my diligence and efficiency. And so I functionally put my hope in my performance of “good” things… not realizing that they have no goodness in themselves. They have goodness (and are fruit) only if they are truly worship of a worthy object.
Eventually… when my eyes are opened… I look again at my own heart, eager for self-exaltation, and again have to come to the cross… repenting…asking forgiveness… and putting my trust, my only hope… in my Savior.
Jesus is my bread of life (John 6:35). He is what I take in, forever.
Jesus is my light (John 8:12). He’s the only way I see… ever.
Jesus is my shepherd (John 10:11). He leads and cares and finds me.
Jesus is my resurrection (John 11:25). He’s the only reason I’ll live forever.
Jesus is my life (John 11:25). He is, right now. I only act like my life is about me.
Or, to put the above into the negative statements they infer:
On my own I starve.
On my own I’m blind.
On my own I’m lost.
On my own I’ll die, or perhaps I’m dead already.
On my own I have no life now.
Why do I think I could ever do anything on my own?
This is why I was so struck by Mary this week, in John 12. Heartfelt worship… not posed, not calculated, not even fully understood… but entirely appropriate because of the object of the worship.
Jesus Christ.
May our hearts be filled with grateful joy at the life our Savior gives. May we find joy in prayer because it is with him… may we excitedly follow where he leads… May we find all we are in His finished work on our behalf… and our certain future in union with Him.
Ok… I’m posting today, because it has been a long time… but I’m also quite ill today… so if this seems like a ramble, or doesn’t make sense… blame me. And my illness.
As I live under the incredible reality that grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17), and as I grow in the grace and knowledge of my Savior (2 Peter 3:18), I continue to be overwhelmed with the centrality for my life of the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Not in a Sunday-School-the-answer-is-always-Jesus kind of way, but how I wish that my words were clearer, that my life was more reflective, of the reality of Christ. He isn’t a substantial part of my salvation – He is my salvation. He’s my righteousness, my redemption, my sanctification, my justification… and the big words don’t even begin to capture, really, the essence of the grace and truth that Jesus Christ brings.
So often it seems like “church” becomes a following of a subset of Christ’s teachings, plus a variety of other traditions and cultural norms that a community chooses for itself. While this may be comfortable, it is limiting and narrow and so often isn’t overwhelmed with the true heart of the church… Jesus.
John MacArthur, in a question-and-answer session at the 2007 Shepherd’s Conference, gives this helpful answer to a pastor wanting to confront this type of “legalism” – not in the sense of works salvation, but in the sense of the narrow behavioral norms and needless (i.e. not biblically mandated) restrictions that so many churches hold to:
“I would suggest that the first way to do that is to move people off the rules they live by on to the person of Jesus Christ, and just preach the glories of Christ. Get in a Gospel and stay there until those people have been liberated from rules to love for Christ, until they have been literally swept away in awe and wonder over their affections for Jesus Christ. Rather than try to instruct them on the biblical disciplines, which again is just another set of rules, let them be lost in wonder, love, and praise over the person of Christ, and you watch those things begin to disappear.”
Can we get to a place of being liberated from restrictive rules? Not being against morality or obedience in any way – but centering that morality and obedience in a passion and love and awe and wonder and praise at our Savior?
I think that one main hindrance is pride. Pride pushes me towards never conceding that someone else might see truth better… that I have no self-righteousness to hold onto… that Christ really is my everything. Pride leads me to hedge the truth and steal from grace… and ultimately the wonder of our Savior is not served by my words.
I hope that you (whomever might read this) and I can get away from ourselves enough to actually dive into the real truth that Scripture brings – the gospel, the good news of our Savior.
“We are all proud. Because I’m proud I get hurt when people disagree with me strongly. Because I’m proud I feel the need to give thirteen qualifications before I make an argument, not usually because I’m a swell guy but because I love for people to love me and loathe for them to dislike or misunderstand me. Because I’m proud I hedge my criticisms so that I won’t have to publicly repent and recant when I go too far and get something wrong. Because we’re proud, protectors of self more than lovers of truth, we often don’t discuss things with candor or with verve.”
This convicts me. My hedging can be more a result of fear of man and pride than a result of concern for the truth. And I look back at my very first sentence above… and get convicted. Why do we shy away from truth?
“And from him [God] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord'” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).
May we clearly proclaim (and really believe) what is already true: that Jesus Christ, our glorious Savior, is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption… and may all our boasting be only in Him.
I’ve not been posting much… but partly that’s because I’ve been reading a lot. I’m always tempted to just post a few quotes. I’m resisting, today. But here’s some of what’s on my plate right now, reading-wise:
The Gospel-Driven Life, by Michael Horton. Almost a must-read book, absolutely fantastic. Our men’s group at church is reading this, and the discussion has been insightful and helpful to my Christian walk.
Rescuing Ambition, by Dave Harvey. So far my favorite quote is “God’s glorious ambition for our lives begins with who we are.” Close behind: “We need to be saved by works – not ours, but Jesus Christ’s!” I’m only partway in… he’s doing a great job of not forgetting the gospel as he urges us to have the right kind of ambition.
The Evangelical Universalist. The author wants to at least raise the possibility biblically that there is room in orthodoxy for universal restoration. Not my position. So it is interesting to understand how someone can come to a very different conclusion than my understanding of the Bible.
Worship Matters. Bob Kauflin really has a marvelous tone and heart for truly worshiping God – not only in song, but certainly in what we are singing.
“Redrawing the Line Between Hermeneutics and Application,” by Brian Shealy, in Bob Thomas’ Evangelical Hermeneutics.
This last one is what I really want to share on today. I doubt any of my friends will read Shealy’s essay; it is a bit dry, and in a fairly technical book. But what he’s saying is deep, good, and true.
We live in a day when large theological words – words like ‘exegesis,’ ‘homiletics,’ ‘hermeneutics,’ ‘interpretation,’ ‘expository’ – are sometimes used but often not clearly understood. What so many well-meaning people say is that they want to ‘obey the Bible.’ And what that excellent phrase ends up meaning is a confusion of application and interpretation. Perhaps more accurately, well-meaning Christians can skip interpretation for the more ‘practical’ application piece. Finding an application becomes the interpretation.
This seems good but can quickly become deadly.
One can go to Leviticus 11:6-11 and find wonderful application (a Christian shouldn’t eat rabbits, pigs, or shellfish) that absolutely ignores the context and purpose of “clean” and “unclean.” That’s jumping right to application, without finding out what the text means.
Another example is Psalm 15. “O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right”… and the psalm goes on to describe four main areas: not slandering, despising the wicked, keeping vows, and not lending money at interest. An application-based jump goes right to “this is how you keep holy and right before God – do these four things.” Proper interpretation, in contrast, would actually lead to an examination of context to understand the basis of the Psalms, of messianic influences, and also in cross-reference to understand that Jesus Christ alone is blameless. From a right interpretation (read: understanding), application can then be made.
The difficulty of the Bible for the church is a primarily interpretive difficulty. The Bible is a message of truth from God. Understanding that truth is the basis for all else. If you do not get the truth, then you end up applying untruth. You end up saying things are from God when they are not. You end up with a thoroughly human message given in human power.
This skipping of interpretation is deadly because the actual original message of the Bible is what is powerful. The truth of the Bible is described as the “sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17). This word is living and active and piercing (Hebrews 4:12). And what we can do, if we are not careful, is substitute in our human message, our “application,” instead of the truth, the interpretation, that the Holy Spirit actually uses to pierce souls.
Shealy puts it this way: Preachers “cannot allow human self-centeredness or even enthusiasm for obedience to influence their use of hermeneutical principles. They must study God’s Word objectively to determine the original message that God intended.”
I’m convinced this emphasis is critical is because the original message is the Gospel. From Genesis to Revelation, the message is about Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Beginning and the End, about righteousness and sanctification and adoption and union and justification… all in and by and through Him.
In a rush to application there can be an abandonment of the actual truth of God’s message as stated in the passage the application is taken from. If there is a daily struggle for me as a pastor, it is here. Shealy rightly states that “only this goal [true interpretation] will exalt God’s Word to its proper place.”
Bernard Ramm, in Protestant Bible Interpretation, states this issue similarly in a rule: “What is not a matter of revelation cannot be made a matter of creed or faith.”
I suppose that some might disagree, but to my mind and heart the desperate need of our churches is in this area of interpretation. For those who are born of the Spirit, who know Jesus Christ, the desire for application rightly follows salvation. And then many are run into misguided activities based on poor interpretation of the powerful Word of God. My prayer and my hope is that our activity will be enlightened by and based on the truth that is from God, in the revelation He has given us in Jesus Christ.
May we treasure, and make effort to understand, the incredible riches given to us in the Word of God.
