Links

I wanted to share some blog posts that I've read in the past week, but haven't really had the time to say much about them.  So here are some links with a brief quote from the post (along with a video):

When Hospitality and Hell-Fire Kiss

"Sarah and Lindsay both work in midtown Manhattan. Sarah is a Christian; Lindsay isn't. After several attempts to share Christ with Lindsay, Sarah simply invites Lindsay over to dinner, where she has many folks from her local church coming over for a meal and fellowship. Lindsay meets a handful of singles and a few married couples with kids. 

"She spends the evening eating and talking about life, which naturally leads to faith, since that's what everyone else shares in common. She witnesses thankfulness and hears about the providence of God in their lives. She sees how Christians interact with their friends, spouses, and kids. One single girl invites her to coffee, and another family invites her over for dinner, where a few other church members join her."

What Does Eating, Sleeping, and Exercise Have To Do with Sanctification? (HT: Vitamin Z)

(email/RSS subscribers may need to click through to view video)

How to Witness to Mormons

"There are basically two ways Christians witness to Mormons. One is to demolish Mormonism in an apologetic way, the other is to expose Mormonism in a theological way. The former deals with Mormon history, false prophecies, archaeology, DNA, etc. The latter deals with sin, repentance, atonement, the gospel, etc. 

"Most people take the first approach, but we, the Oasis ministry in Utah, take the second. The first may make many ex-Mormons, but it doesn't necessarily make believers. Actually, it can be counter-productive."

Join or Die?: Addressing the Question of Church Membership

"Church membership is a gift and a duty. It’s sort of like making your children eat their desert. Christ saves and sanctifies sinners in the church. Where else would we want to be?"

What Letter Would You Write to a Gay Son?

"I will not bring up your sin and the Gospel every time we meet, but I do want you to know where I stand right up front, and also that I’m willing to speak with you about the Gospel of Christ anytime you wish. 

"I hope you will not call this message hate. This is how love sounds."

Short & Sweet

In this video Jared Wilson shares the main difference between Christianity and other religions, and how that relates to our sanctification:

(email subscribers may need to click through to view the video)

For more from Wilson on the Gospel and sanctification, read this article, or check out his book, Gospel Wakefulness.

(HT: Desiring God)

Piper on Sanctification

Blogger Tim Challies recently interviewed John Piper about sanctification.  I thought this Q&A was particularly good:

How can you know if you are making progress in your sanctification and how can you know how much progress you are making? Is sanctification something that can be measured?


Paul believed that sanctification has degrees. You can grow. He prays that “your love may abound more and more” (Phil. 1:9). He says the Thessalonians are pleasing God and tells them to “do so more and more” (1 Thess. 4:1). He tells the Corinthians that God will “increase the harvest of your righteousness” (2 Cor. 9:10). And prays, “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all” (1 Thess. 3:12).


But the New Testament does not quantify these degrees. “More and more” and “increasing” are discernible but not measurable. That is, while length is quantified in inches and feet. Holiness does not have similar measuring units.


So how do you know you are making progress? There is a paradox here. On the one hand, greater holiness is greater victory over sins. But on the other hand, greater holiness is greater sensitivity to and hatred for sin. So it does not follow that becoming more holy will mean becoming more happy with oneself. You may be a better person tomorrow and feel worse about the smaller corruption that remains.


But there are ways to discern growth. One is that those around you will see it and confirm it. Another is that you will see some of it. You will feel the weakening of some temptations as love for Christ pushes the desirability of sin far away. You will feel drawn to holy acts that once were burdens. And you will have holy sorrow when you omit them, not just guilt over a duty neglected. You will see the preferences in your life change. What was once supremely desirable is trumped by a superior desire for Christ and his word and his way. And you will confirm your heart change in action. Action that becomes less burdensome as love grows. “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).


We can and should make progress in sanctification. And we can and should be aware that it is happening. This will encourage us that God is at work in our lives. And it will humble us because progress will mean we can see more clearly how far we have to go and how small are our advances. And how much we will always need a great Savior.

For more from Piper on sanctification, go read the full interview, or check out Piper's free new ebook, Sanctification in the Everyday.

Overcoming Temptation

I thought this video with D.A. Carson was really good, full of gospel-saturated practical help for fighting temptation.

Key To Obedience

On my good mornings, I try to take a few minutes before leaving for work and read a daily excerpt from Elyse Fitzpatrick's outstanding book Comforts from the Cross - Celebrating the Gospel One Day at a Time. I cannot recommend this book strongly enough.



I want to share a few highlights from a passage I read a few weeks ago. The book is made up of thirty-one 2-3 page writings that focus on the centrality of the gospel. The notes from the chapter I am going to highlight discuss John 14:15 - "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." Fitzpatrick attempts to explain the key to a life lived in obedience to Christ. I will share a hodgepodge of her comments.

If love for God isn't present in our heart, then Godward obedience will be absent in our life.

Jesus is lovingly stating a fact (John 14:15), but he's also making a precious promise: love will motivate behavior...... But he also knows this: as our love for him grows, our obedience will grow, too.


The key to a godly life is not more and more self-generated effort. Instead, Jesus is saying "Love me and your obedience will flow naturally from that love". The secret to obedience isn't formulaic steps found in a self-help book. It is a relentless pursuit of love for him. How then do I cultivate the sincerity of love that motivates obedience? By focusing more intently on his love for me than on my love for him, more on his obedience than mine, more on his faithfulness than mine, more on his strengths than mine.


"We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). The plain truth is that my love for God (and hence, my obedience) will grow as I cultivate my comprehension of his vast love for me. This is the wonderful promise of our Savior and the only sure method for true growth in godliness.


If we neglect this key by focusing too narrowly on ourselves, our success or failure, then we'll become mired down in guilt or pride, neither of which will stimulate loving obedience. If, on the other hand, we intently focus on how we've been loved, irrevocably, eternally, freely, and without merit, if we contemplate how our obedience (or lack of it) doesn't faze his love one whit, then we'll find within our hearts a growing desire to obey. Why? Because love like that changes people. It draws us toward him; it makes us want to be like him; it makes obedience attractive. Resting in the awareness of our perfect acceptance before him and in his intense desire to have us for his own will cause us to want to please him. It will make us love him, and love for him will always eventuate in godliness.


His love is fervent, eternal, uncompromising. Rest there, drink there, luxuriate in the warm sunshine of his smile; grow strong in his everlasting embrace. Confront your own sinfulness, yes, but only after you've remembered his love for you. Then love him and obey.

It Is Finished

I read part of an interview with Tullian Tchividjian tonight, and it made me think of our discussion of faith & works in James this morning:

So how did Christians become legalists about the whole idea of sanctification, where did we get it wrong do you think?


Tullian: I think since Genesis 3, we have all been prone towards works righteousness. Our heart is bent to do it on our own and that doesn’t go away after we become Christians. We still drift into what Jerry Bridges calls the “performance treadmill.”


For instance, none of us has a problem saying that our good works don’t get us in. We know our good works don’t get us in. Any good works are as filthy rags because we’re justified by grace alone through faith alone and the finished work of Christ alone. We acknowledge that.


But once God saves us it gets weird because we start thinking, OK, my good works do keep God’s favor. My good works may have not earned God’s favor, but it’s up to me to keep God’s favor. As a result, we become the hero of the story. We become the centerpiece of our own narrative, and Jesus is sitting on the sidelines and we’re on the field and he’s like, “Put me in, coach,” and we’re like, “No. We got it. Thanks for getting us on the field, but we’ll take it from here.” And we add all sorts of things.


...


The good news of the gospel is that my standing with God is not dependent on my obedience but Christ’s obedience for me. People will say, “Well, you can’t say that because then what impetus will you have to get people to do what they need to do?” and I simply go back and give them an illustration and say, “Listen: if I know that my wife loves me unconditionally—whether I’m being nice or whether I’m being a jerk—does that make me want to be more of a jerk?” [Laughing] It actually makes me want to be nicer. The thing that makes me want to love my wife more is when she loves me when I’m not being nice.


That’s the kindness of the Lord that Paul says leads to repentance. It’s the amazing grace of God, the unconditional favor of God given to us because of what Christ has done that transforms the human heart and turns us into the kind of people the Bible describes.

This was from part 3 of the interview.  You can also check out part 1 and part 2.

Wrecked by Grace

One of my latest favorite guys on the planet is Tullian Tchividjian, grandson of Billy Graham and Senior Pastor at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He challenges me to think about the grace of God and the gospel like few people do. He has taught me much about the radical nature of God's love and the centrality of the gospel in the Christian's day to day life, particularly regarding sanctification and holiness. I highly recommend anything by him.


Here is a great example of his writing. Enjoy!