Are We There Yet?

From J.I. Packer’s Rediscovering Holiness (p.160):

“…there is far more to spiritual growth than repentance, just as there is far more to physical growth than regular bowel movements.”

You think about that.

Yesterday at HLPC we considered this diagram in relation to Romans 8:1-17 as we looked at a “life of repentance.” [Check out the Martin Luther quote below]  If you found this a bit confusing, let me elaborate a bit more. This perspective on the Christian life is in contrast to the view that sees the gospel as the first step- and little else. I’ll call this the “ticket gospel”. It sees the gospel as your “ticket to heaven.” Once you have claimed by faith God’s forgiveness through Christ and His free gift of eternal life, you need to move on. You need to get busy as a committed Christian, busy earning God’s pleasure and living the “abundant Christian life.” The ticket gospel sees the gospel as only that which non-Christians need.

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Food for thought for this Lord’s Day at Houston Lake Pres:

“When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Matt. 4:17), He willed that the whole life of believers should be one of repentance.”

-The first of Martin Luther’s ninety-five theses nailed to the Wittenberg church door in 1517.

I was in 2 Corinthians 10 this morning and read: 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, (ESV)

Then I read from Spurgeon’s Morning by Morning these words that give insight into how this works:

There is no motive for holiness so great as that which streams from the veins of Jesus. And “precious,” unspeakably precious, is this blood, because it has an overcoming power. It is written, “They overcame through the blood of the Lamb.” How could they do otherwise? He who fights with the precious blood of Jesus, fights with a weapon which cannot know defeat. The blood of Jesus! sin dies at its presence, death ceases to be death: heaven’s gates are opened. The blood of Jesus! we shall march on, conquering and to conquer, so long as we can trust its power!

“Growing in grace is not so much a matter of you doing things for God as it is learning to appreciate what God has done for you.”

-Richard Lovelace

The Intelligent Design (ID) movement takes a look at God’s fingerprints in His creation. Intelligent Design is not so much an argument for the Genesis account of creation as it is an argument against Darwinian evolution. Much good work is being done to display the difficulty of understanding the existence of the universe as a result of time plus chance.

On April 18th, a new film by Ben Stein entitled “Expelled” is being released that looks at the great bias in academia against ID. I plan to go see it (it is supposed to open at the Galleria in Warner Robins on 4/18).

On Thursday, I attended a Pastor’s luncheon hosted by Bonaire First Baptist to promote a conference on ID they are sponsoring. It looks very interesting and will be held May 9-11. You can get more info by going to www.bonairefbc.org/id

The ID movement can strengthen the faith of believers further demonstrating that our faith in the Creator is not superstitious myth. Of course, our utmost confidence comes from God’s revelation of Himself in His Word. We know that no amount of evidence can change the heart and mind of man apart from God’s spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. ESV) People are born with spiritual blinders that make them incapable of being truly objective.

Nevertheless, we should be encouraged by the ID evidences. God’s general revelation of Himself in His creation may be the tool He uses to work in some of our friends, neighbors, and co-workers.