Ugly Rhetoric Reflects U.S. Need for Core Change

I can identify with the anger and loose tongues so prevalent in today's political culture. I too have been guilty of letting it fly, though not so much these days. And today, with the internet just a fingertip away, it's easier to

How not to write a blog post or run for president

vent anger through writing than with the spoken word. Many articles and blogs have a comments section, which I sometimes find more interesting than the articles themselves. I've been known to write critical comments after reading a particularly disagreeable article or blog post. My, um, goal is to give constructive criticism, which is a good and needful thing.

On many Christian websites, some comments by Christians go beyond thoughtful criticisms to blatant insults. An insult tends to draw other fiery comments, perhaps by non-Christians with opposing views. The Christian will then counter punch, and soon we have an embarrassing fight where the unbeliever ends up more convinced than ever that most Christians are obnoxious hypocrites.

Christianity Today Magazine recently began a campaign called Beautiful Orthodoxy. Over the years, they noticed how the truths of the Christian faith are sometimes presented in ugly ways, especially on the internet. Part of this ugliness was evident in their comments sections below the main online articles. It got so bad that CT decided to stop/limit comments, though readers can still blather on the CT fcebk page. Anyway, CT started Beautiful Orthodoxy to promote the idea that truth can be expressed in an appealing way. This movement sounds good, as long as orthodoxy isn't compromised in an attempt to make it palatable. But that's another issue.

Prior to writing online comments or (ahem) blog posts, we should think through a few guidelines that force us to take a look at our motives. First, is God being glorified by my writing? Second, are the readers being edified? Am I being loving toward others, especially toward those I'm criticizing? In general, do my comments reflect the fruit of the Spirit? Before I respond to someone's disagreeable comment, I should take a deep breath and pray, "Lord, what can I write that will bless this person?"

At this point, I'm afraid to look back at the stuff I've written. Without a doubt I've posted things with the intent to win, dominate or even hurt. There's a difference between winning an argument and winning someone's heart. It's okay to respectfully persuade someone to embrace my position (assuming my position is valid). It's not okay to defeat them for the sake of boosting my ego.

1 Peter 3:15 is typically used as a reminder for Christians to always be prepared to share their faith. Indeed, it's a great verse for that purpose. However, the entire verse says a few things about our heart and method: "...but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect..." Whether in evangelism or on the internet, our purpose is to honor God and love people.

Colossians 4:6 is similar: "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." Gracious means being kind and pleasant in manner, as well as reflecting God's unmerited favor and mercy. The notes in the ESV Study Bible say that seasoned with salt suggests "speaking in an interesting, stimulating, and a wise way."

Then there's the ugly, unwise political rhetoric of our current presidential election. In a democracy, our leaders are typically a reflection of those who elect them. New York Times columnist David Brooks recently wrote of the presidential campaign, "We are now in a society in which serial insults to basic decency aren't automatically disqualifying. Clearly, we have a giant task of moral repair ahead of us."

Brooks is on the right track and offers a variety of practical solutions for our country's post-election future; and certainly we should do all we can, through policy, to deal with our country's problems, not to mention the current large-scale populist discontent. But moral repair won't happen with political band aids.

True moral repair happens through a transformed heart. Jesus said, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." (Matthew 12:34). Our national tongue won't be tamed until our country's heart changes. Revival is the answer for the United States and our speech habits. 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon described revival as: "...to live again, to receive again a life which has almost expired; to rekindle into a flame the vital spark which was nearly extinguished."

The rekindling begins with the Christian church, those who already have the spark of spiritual life inside. When that spark is revived, the ugly rhetoric within the church will be replaced by gentle, respectful and gracious truth, seasoned with salt. Then the revival will spread to unbelievers, who will be wooed by the Holy Spirit into the loving arms of our Heavenly Father. This is the core change that will transform individuals, communities, regions and entire nations. I believe in miracles.

Historically, revival happens when Christians pray for it. I must confess, I have not been praying for our nation's revival. However, now is a good time to start. Will you join me? God bless America and the whole world.

Horrible President? The U.S. Will Survive and Perhaps Thrive

Though the Devil him/herself may be our next president, I'm confident that our country will survive and perhaps thrive. Why? Because the founders of our nation created a brilliant document called the U.S. Constitution -- the blueprint by which our federal government operates. Within the Constitution is a check-and-balance system that prevents any one branch of government from asserting too much power.

Could a dimwitted Devil be our next president?

Of course, with the election just around the corner, the fate of the executive branch concerns us most these days. What if an incompetent tyrant becomes President? First of all, the U.S. Constitution was created to foil a bad president's devilish schemes. The founders understood the fallibility of the human heart. Contrary to 21st century post-modern philosophy that takes a high view of the human soul, the founders realized the intrinsic evil within all of us. They knew that if any one person is given too much power, that power would likely be abused. To prevent this, the U.S.Constitution mandates something called the separation of powers.

To see how this works, let's quickly review the three branches of our federal government. They are the Executive ( the president and his appointees), the Legislative (the Senate and House of Representatives), and the Judicial (the Supreme Court and lower courts). Each branch has the authority to overrule the other branches. Most presidential decisions must receive congressional approval before becoming law. Likewise, congressional legislation typically needs a presidential signature to become law. The Supreme Court can invalidate a proposed congressional law by declaring it unconstitutional. The Supreme Court can also declare an executive (presidential) order unconstitutional, thus invalidating it.

So, when we elect a dimwitted Tasmanian devil as our next president, he/she will be thwarted by the Legislative and Judicial branches of our wonderful federal government. Though the next president will likely cause some injury to our nation and the world, the Constitution helps prevent extensive damage. Also, if the president blatantly abuses power and breaks laws, he or she can be impeached and removed from office.

In my opinion, a bad president can only inflict a limited amount of harm to our country. We will survive and perhaps thrive. Granted, the system is not perfect. If it were flawless, we would never elect a lousy president to begin with. Mistakes do happen, but thank God for our great founders, who created a Constitution with solid checks and balances.

Our country is experiencing a short-term discontent within the electorate, both liberal and conservative, that has resulted in a broad-base desire for radical change. Socialist Bernie Sanders nearly defeated establishment candidate Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Promising big change, Donald Trump won his party's nomination by defeating a large field of establishment Republicans. I see all this as a short-term, fluky phenomenon caused in part by the polarization between the Obama administration and the conservative congress. The public, both left and right, became sick and tired of nothing getting done. As chaotic as this current situation is, I think it will resolve itself.

However, there is a long-term malaise that is slowly spreading through the soul of our country. This malaise has been caused by the gradual transformation of the American world view over decades. These societal changes slowly affect change within all three branches government. The malaise affects both Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, zealous and apathetic. The will of American society, if persistent through the years, will cause significant change in leadership.

Our world view has become much less vertical, and much more horizontal. See my blog post The Rise of the Nones, which discusses the 2012 Pew research data showing a steady decline of religious affiliation by Americans. In a nutshell, we are slowly becoming a country that ignores God. This is a long-term sickness of the American soul that isn't directly related to politics. However, it certainly reflects the type of political leaders we elect.

I think it's fine and necessary to criticize our political leaders, as long as the criticism is valid. But there's a big difference between valid criticisms and tasteless insults. All the derogatory language we see among the candidates simply reflects our cultural decline.

The Bible tells us to pray for our leaders. And yes, Scripture says we are to obey them (even those we voted against), though we should not obey those laws that violate God's laws. The New Testament was written during the rule of an evil Roman government that persecuted Christians.

This has been by far the most chaotic and distasteful presidential campaign of my (nearly) 57 years. I'm a bit of an eye-rolling cynic, so my response to this circus has been mostly mocking snickers, rather than anger. In a way, we're getting what we deserve by voting these people in. Though democracy strikes out occasionally, it usually hits the ball pretty good. And thank God for those checks and balances.

So that's my political philosophy contained in a single blog post. The Tasmanian devil made me do it.

Inside Out or Outside In?

You've probably heard the Christian truism: "Real, positive change in a person happens from the inside out." This means that if someone exhibits negative external behavior, then the true problem lies beneath the surface, within their dark soul. So, as their soul is transformed by the Holy Spirit, their visible behavior will

Branches bear good fruit when attached to the main Vine

eventually change for the better. I would say this is true...in part.

But another Christian truism says, "Lead with the body to open your heart to the Spirit." This is also true, but may seem contradictory to the first saying. "Leading with the body" implies that we begin with works in order to produce change in the heart.

In his Spiritual Formation lecture series, Dr. John Coe mentions an interesting difference between Baby Boomers and their parents, who were children of the Great Depression. The parents stressed external change, leading with the body and facing negative behaviors head on. The Boomers, however, focused on the heart (or soul), looking deep within themselves for meaning and answers to life's problems. One was external, the other internal. Both are true, I think. But both can go too far and get out of balance. One can lead with the body without giving proper attention to the heart. The other can focus so much on the heart that common-sense actions are neglected.

Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5 ESV). For a long time, this verse both comforted and disturbed me. Initially, I interpreted it two ways. First, that "abiding in Christ" was some sort of mystical union where I would get connected to God in a feel-good spiritual way, similar to what some think of as walking in the Spirit.

A second interpretation was that abiding meant rigorous love for God and others, as in dogged obedience and works. If I loved and obeyed really, really hard, then I'd bear much fruit. A problem occurred (rather frequently) during those times when I felt unspiritual, disconnected or disobedient  to Christ. This problem had to do with verse 6, "If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned." So, abiding in the Vine was no longer this peaceful, relational, pastoral idea of Christian spirituality. It was more like: you'd better maintain a continual, high level of obedience, along with a Spirit-filled life, or you will burn in hell.

This issue got resolved when I realized a third possible interpretation -- perhaps "abiding in Christ" referred to the Christian's one-time conversion by faith, not some up-and-down spiritual experience or high level of obedience. So, at the moment we convert and ask Christ to be our Lord and Savior, then we are solidly and forever abiding in the Vine. Even though we still sin and often don't feel connected, we are always connected by that one-time faith. So, if you are a Christian (whether strong or weak), you are abiding in the Vine. There's no need to strive for something more.

Of course, we need to define fruit. Later in John 15, Jesus indicates that those who abide and bear fruit will keep His commandments, abide in His love and love others. In Galatians 5:23, the fruit of the Spirit is listed as "...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; against such things there is no law." In Colossians 1:10, Paul prays that the believers at Colossae "...may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." So, it's safe to say that bearing fruit encompasses a lot, pretty much anything good that comes from the Christian's life. I don't think fruit refers specifically to winning souls to Christ. Not all are called to be evangelists, though all should "...be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have." (1 Peter 3:15). So, I think we are fruitful by being willing and prepared to share the Gospel. The results are up to God.

So why are some Christians not bearing fruit? Some would say that unfruitful Christians are actually not Christians. The Calvinistic P in TULIP asserts the perseverance of the saints, that a true regenerated Christian will follow and obey Christ throughout their lives. Their lives will bear fruit. I would say this may be true in some cases.

My position is that if someone claims to be a Christian, but their overall behavior, words, and beliefs don't line up with Biblical truth, then they might not be a Christian. I think it's okay to gently express this doubt to the supposed Christian. It's better to risk offending someone who shows no evidence of their claim to faith, than to give them a false hope that they are saved. However, I don't know for sure what's going on in their heart. Since my boyhood conversion, I've drifted (big time) from the faith three times. Each time, I eventually came back. I'm pretty sure I was saved during the big drifts, but there is some doubt.

Why are some genuine Christians bearing little fruit, while others are bearing much? I think, in part, it's because the unfruitful Christians are neglecting the little things God has called them to. Some of Christ's parables talk about how his followers need to be faithful with little, so they will be entrusted with much. If we don't make the effort to take baby steps, how will we learn to run?

Being "faithful with little" involves leading with the body, which opens our heart to the Spirit. This can refer to the spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, confession, fellowship with strong believers, serving others, Bible reading, etc..  If God wants me to read the Bible daily, then I need to lead with my body by turning on my Kindle Fire and reading my ESV. It sounds like works, but it's really faith in action. James explains how Abraham's faith was completed by his works: "Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness' -- and he was called a friend of God." (James 2:21-23 ESV).

Ah, but when I get too comfortable in leading with the body, there is a danger that it will become dead, faithless works. The purpose of a spiritual discipline isn't to pat myself on the back for doing it. Rather, it is to open myself to the Holy Spirit's work in my soul. That is why I'm to be faithful in the little things. When I do my part, God will do His part by transforming my heart and producing spiritual fruit in my life. As Paul said, "...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." I think salvation here refers not to the afterlife, but on how we navigate through the problems and circumstances of this life. I do my part and God does His part.

However, I've found that I can fall flat on my face even trying to do the little things. Sometimes the Lord reminds me that I need His strength in order to do anything. Paul said, "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ will rest upon me." (2 Corinthians 12:9). I've lost count of the times I've prayed, "Please help me Lord! Apart from you I can do nothing!"

Is it inside out or outside in? I'd say both, but only if we're first connected to the Vine at conversion, by faith. Then, we lead with the body, so the Holy Spirit can transform our souls and produce genuine fruit in our lives.

The Place of Spiritual Growth in the Christian Life (part eight)

Regeneration happens at conversion. It is also referred to as the new birth or being born again. Jesus said to the Pharisee, Nicodemus, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of

God." (John 3:3 ESV). Regeneration is not an option. It's essential for salvation and it's also essential for our continued spiritual growth.

Robert S. McGee gives this definition: "Regeneration is the renewing work of the Holy Spirit that literally makes each believer a new person at the moment trust is placed in Christ as Savior."

In the previous post I mentioned that Christians are the temple of the Holy Spirit. One aspect of regeneration involves the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (the third Person of the Trinity) in the physical body of the believer. Another aspect is the instant inner transformation of the human spirit by the Holy Spirit. The prophet Ezekiel foretold the new birth: "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." (Ezekiel 36:26-27 ESV).

So, at conversion, the Holy Spirit enters our body, removes our old, spiritually dead stony heart and replaces it with a heart of flesh. In this passage, I think the word flesh is used not as a description of the physical heart muscle, but as a metaphor for a new spiritual heart that is supple and alive to God. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here."

The new birth has wonderful implications for who we are now in Christ. First, as mentioned in the previous post, God the Holy Spirit lives inside of us. Because we are imputed with the very righteousness of Christ, sin no longer forms a barrier between us and God. He completely accepts us, forgives us and is pleased to dwell in our hearts. God isn't ashamed of us, therefore we shouldn't be ashamed of ourselves. He lives inside of each Christian, despite the fact our physical bodies and brains are tainted by sin. So, the new birth forms a direct link to our relationship with God. How much more direct can it be when He dwells inside you?

Another now implication involves our new heart. My true identity is the new creation, which is my transformed spirit (small s as distinguished from the large S Holy Spirit) inside me. My theological belief is that my transformed spirit (or heart) is perfect and complete in Christ. (Colossians 2:9-10). When I say this, I'm not referring to my mind and thoughts inside my physical brain. My physical mind is still unrenewed and tainted by sin. There is debate among Christian scholars about whether humans are bipartite (body and soul) or tripartite (body, soul and spirit). John Calvin sided with bipartite and Martin Luther with tripartite. I tend to lean towards the tripartite position, but I don't think it's an important debate.

So, as a tripartite advocate, I believe my soul is different from my spirit. I view the soul as being the mind, will, passions, emotions, psyche -- basically everything that goes on in our physical brain and nervous system. The soul is tainted by sin, even though the spirit is regenerated, perfect and complete. Now, it's not as if my body and soul are independent from my spirit. The three are meant to work together as a unit. Of course, this side of paradise, the unity ain't perfect. In fact, they are at war with each other. Read Romans 7. When we get to heaven and receive our spotless resurrected bodies and minds, then the three parts will work in perfect unity.

The good news for the Christian now is that the sinful flesh (soul) received a mortal wound at conversion. I heard one pastor describe it as a chicken with its head cut off. When you lop of the poor chicken's head, you've definitely killed it, but its body continues to run around for awhile. Likewise, our sinful flesh seems to be alive and kicking, but it's actually in death throes. This is why, in Romans, we are told to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. Unfortunately, the death throes of the sinful flesh will continue until our actual physical body kicks the bucket.

What about the process of spiritual growth? A significant aspect of growth pertains to the process of the soul (sinful flesh) conforming to the regenerated spirit. Here's a key verse: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2 ESV). So, one aspect of spiritual growth has to do with how our fallen mind and soul undergo renewal. This is done by the Holy Spirit, but we definitely have a part in the process. One obvious thing we need to do is read the Bible, so that the truth of God's Word will renew our minds and correct the false beliefs that exist in our brains. The Holy Spirit will take the Word and wash our souls with it. But we need to take the initiative and read or listen to Scripture.

I'll just throw in one final tip on growth that has definitely helped me. It's based on 2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV, "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."  I've overcome habitual sin, not based on blood-and-guts resisting -- but, rather, on confessing my weakness to God. In prayer, I confess to God that I'm unable to resist sin on my own power. Then, as a prayer, I quote 2 Corinthians 12:9, thanking Him that His power is made perfect in my weakness. By doing this, I have experienced specific victory over sin. It's God, not me, doing the work. But I needed to confess my weakness and ask Him for help. I continue to pray this when temptations cross my path. Of course, it's also wise to take another path, if possible, when you see a temptation ahead of you on your current path. That way you can simply avoid the temptation. Just a suggestion.

Over the course of these posts, I've briefly described propitiation, justification, reconciliation and regeneration. They are four key results of the Gospel that occur at conversion, and continue to form our identity in Christ throughout our lives. During my quiet times, I always thank God for these four truths in my life. When I'm grounded in these truths, it really helps me keep my focus on how much God loves me (propitiation), is pleased with me (justification), accepts me as I am (reconciliation) and can change me (regeneration). My brief summary is just a teaser. For a detailed study, read The Search for Significance, by Robert S. McGee. I've read a lot of Christian non-fiction and self-help books and that one tops my list.

I still haven't exhausted this topic of spiritual growth. I'm sure, like me, you're wanting lots of how to's on growth. Again, that's not precisely what these posts are concerned with. I'm trying to put spiritual growth in perspective within the grand scheme of the Christian faith.

This post will be the end of this series...perhaps. But really, spiritual growth is always part of the Christian life and thinking. So it will continue to show up in this blog.

If you really want the nitty gritty on the how to's of spiritual growth, I again recommend a great 10-hour audio series by Dr. John Coe called Spiritual Formation. It is free and you can find it in the Biblical Training website: www.biblicaltraining.org. I like John Coe because he first lays the foundation of our identity in Christ, then finishes with actual things things we can do that will allow the Holy Spirit to form Christ in us.

The Place of Spiritual Growth in the Christian Life (part seven)

Views Lofty and Low has become Now, Then and Not Yet. It's simply a title change. The new title pretty

much covers everything in life. You can interpret it anyway you want. The purpose of the blog remains the same. In the old title, the word "lofty" always bugged me because readers may have thought I was egotistically referring to myself as a lofty thinker with lofty views. In truth, lofty referred to the things of God, not me. The "low" referred to me and you. Although, there is a sense in which Christians are lofty in God's sight. Ah, this leads nicely into today's topic: reconciliation.

A few posts back, I began writing about four significant results of the Gospel in the life of the Christian: propitiation, justification, reconciliation, and regeneration. As mentioned earlier, these four truths are covered in greater detail in Robert S. McGee's book, The Search for Significance. Also, my ideas may not represent exactly what McGee has written, so don't blame him for my wacky musings.

We've briefly covered the first two results of the Gospel. In a sense, each causes the other. Propitiation (Christ bearing God's wrath as a substitute for us) caused justification (God imputing Christ's righteousness to us in exchange for our sin). And because we are justified, we are now reconciled to God. At some point we'll discuss regeneration, which some Calvinists believe occurs first in the sequence of conversion. But in essence, all four happen at the moment someone invites Christ into their heart.

Actually, Christ's death of propitiation happened 2000 years ago, but it doesn't affect someone's life until they believe the truth of the Gospel and are converted. Unbelievers are described as being under God's wrath: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth." (Romans 1:18). This is why it is crucial for unbelievers to believe in Jesus, who is the Truth, so God's wrath will be averted from their lives.

Reconciliation is relational at its core. Propitiation and justification are rigidly legal. We could not be brought back into a reconciled relationship with God unless Christ first died for our sins, thus imputing His righteousness to us. Because our sins have been completely atoned for, we can now enter into a beautiful relationship with God.

The old Jewish temple (which once stood in Jerusalem) offers a great illustration of reconciliation. The temple consisted of an outer room, where the sacrificial altar was. This led to a second room called the Holy Place, which led to a third room, the Most Holy Place, aka Holy of Holies. A tall, thick curtain separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Once a year, only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies (where God's presence dwelt).

In Jerusalem, on the day Christ died on the cross, something amazing happened inside the actual temple. "And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split." (Matthew 27:50-51)

The tearing of the curtain had great significance. For one thing, it marked the end of the old covenant, which was based on animal sacrifices. Also, it meant that there was no longer a barrier separating God from humanity. We all could now enter into the Holy of Holies because of Christ's sacrifice for us. All who place their faith in Him become priests who can enter the Most Holy Place, which is God's presence. Hebrews 10 sheds light on this: "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of  faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

Actually, the whole idea of the temple underwent a drastic change due to Christ's death and resurrection. The old temple in Jerusalem became obsolete and was actually destroyed in 70 AD and never rebuilt. The physical bodies of Christians are now the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and 6:19-20). God dwells within the body of the church as a whole, as well as within the body of each Christian.

This means that Christians are perfectly and wonderfully reconciled to God. He dwells in each of our hearts individually and among us corporately. As the above Hebrews verse states, "...let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

We are perfectly reconciled to God and totally accepted by Him. This is the foundation of the Christian's personal relationship with the Lord. It's not based on our performance or good deeds, but on Christ's finished work on the cross. Also, reconciliation is not based on a feeling of His presence. Rather, it's based on His actual presence inside our hearts. We walk by faith, not by feelings. But if you happen to feel Him in your heart, that's awesome.

Propitiation, justification and reconciliation were applied to each Christian at conversion. These  Gospel truths prove that God loves us, is pleased with us, and completely accepts us. They form the Christian's identity in Christ right now.

What does this have to do with spiritual growth? By knowing who we are now (our wonderful identity in Christ), we can more effectively undergo spiritual growth based on a healthy "now" relationship with God. First things first.

Next blog post: regeneration.

The Place of Spiritual Growth in the Christian Life (part six)

If spiritual growth is so slow, why should we even make the effort?

What happens when we no longer seek to grow spiritually?

In part one of this series I confessed that my own spiritual growth has been slow. Over the years, I've heard this same confession from a few pastors and Christian leaders. Often a young Christian will experience a spurt of growth just after conversion, along with an experiential sense of God's presence -- a spiritual high. Then things get back to normal. They have a new world view that has stuck, as well as a solid moral compass, but they perceive day-to-day life with the same five physical senses that unbelievers possess. They (Christians) don't really feel all that spiritual.

Inner growth, for the Christians, slows down as they age. However, there's often an acute awareness of their remaining flaws and sinfulness. Growth slows, but an awareness of sin continues. I would say this is a healthy place for Christians. It can become unhealthy when we allow the awareness of our sin to produce guilt feelings. After all, we are completely forgiven by Christ's atoning sacrifice.

Earlier I mentioned the illustration by Teresa of Avila about how God wants to love and nurture us even among the weeds of our garden (soul). Dr. John Coe takes it further by saying we shouldn't allow shame to cause us to close God off from those weeds. Tragically, like Adam and Eve after the fall, we want to hide from God -- just when we need Him the most. However, the weeds won't be destroyed unless we open these hidden parts of our heart to God. It's an important aspect of our love relationship with Him.

I don't hear a lot of sermons about the "how to's" of spiritual growth. Occasionally it's mentioned, but not with much detail. If spiritual growth is emphasized in a church, discouragement within the congregation will likely follow because the people don't see much maturity happening in their lives. It's kind of like the topic of spiritual gifts. Sometimes I think pastors avoid speaking about gifts because the congregants inevitably start whining about their lack of talent and ability and how they feel useless in the church. Pastors may opt not to open that can of worms. So a rare sermon on spiritual gifts usually just segs into how we should be content with simply being servants. After all, the spiritual gifts are given for the edification of the Church. If you serve, you edify. There is a danger, however, of stifling unique gifts in favor of good ol' worker bees, which are drones.

My cynical side may be coming out. Back to the original question: Why make the effort to grow spiritually if it's so slow? I'll offer a couple of answers. First, we should aspire for growth because it's God's will that we do so. Hebrews 5:12-6:1 reads, "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity...."  If God wants us to mature, then we should be faithful to do our part in the process.

Another reason we should push ourselves for growth goes something like this: If you're not moving forward, you're moving backward. Likewise: Use it or lose it. Or: Do or die. So, even though maturity is often slow, our current health as a Christian requires that we continue to seek God's face and practice the spiritual disciplines (prayer, reading the Word, fellowship with believers, confession, obedience, service, etc.). These disciplines help accomplish two things: spiritual growth (which is future oriented) and maintenance (now oriented) of my current faith. My perseverance in the faith might not result in fast growth -- but it will certainly prevent a spiritual disaster. If I don't do my part in cleansing the waters of my soul, then I will stagnate; and if I stagnate, my life will eventually become a lifeless, stinky cesspool.

I guess it's testimonial time. At about the age of 10 or 11 I became a Christian. After that conversion, there were about three times over the years when I entered periods of significant rebellion against God. During those times, I wanted nothing to do with God, the Bible, prayer or Christians. Of course these phases included a fair amount of fleshly sinning. My life became a stinking cesspool. At the end of each rebellious phase, a crisis or epiphany brought me to my senses and I turned my life back to the Lord.

When I think back, a period of rebellion didn't just instantly happen. It would occur gradually. I'd read the Bible less and less, pray less and less, focus less on God and more on the world. Then I'd commit some big fleshly sin and not confess it to God. Before I knew it, I was drowning in a cesspool of rebellion. Of course, God was always waiting with open arms. In His sovereignty, He'd find a way to draw me back.

So, the point is we should always be doing our part to cultivate our hearts for growth. The Holy Spirit is the chief Gardener of our souls, and He asks us to do some of the chores. Sometimes it seems like boring maintenance, with not much growth, but if we fail to do our assigned tasks, the garden will soon get weedier and more diseased.

The same spiritual disciplines that help facilitate growth (which is future oriented), also provide "now" maintenance, keeping our souls healthy in the present. This is an important reason why we should continue to persevere in the slow growth process.

Oops, I was supposed to write about reconciliation, which is the wonderful result of propitiation and justification. Perhaps next time.

The Place of Spiritual Growth in the Christian Life (part five)

Previously I mentioned four "now" aspects of the Gospel: propitiation, justification, reconciliation and regeneration. We briefly discussed propitiation -- how Christ became an atoning sacrifice for our sins,

I feel like this when I try to justify myself through works

bearing the judgement and wrath of God in our place. In this post I'll touch on justification, which is the wonderful result of propitiation.

But first, here's another tip for spiritual growth: The best growth flows out of a healthy relationship with God. We need to focus on our relationship with God in the present. I believe a solid understanding of the above four "now" aspects of the Gospel will help us understand the basis of our love relationship with God. Then, growth will be something that happens knowing that the loving, powerful Holy Spirit is with us every step of the way, helping us with every detail of growth. He is the chief gardener of our lives.

The following scripture sheds light on the meaning of justification. "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood." (Romans 3:21-25)

What's this saying? Let's break the passage down. Imputed righteousness is available from God for sinful humans. This righteousness is given to us as a gift, so we don't have to earn it by obeying God's many rules. The Old Testament (Law and Prophets) foretold it. We can receive this righteousness by faith, by believing in Jesus Christ. All of us are sinners who fall way short of God's perfection. Fortunately, though, because of His grace (unmerited favor), we are declared righteous (justified) because of Christ's atoning sacrifice (propitiation). But to receive this righteousness, we must put our faith in Christ's blood that was shed to atone for our sins.

Way back in the Reformation, perhaps earlier, a wise Christian came up with a nice little saying known as The Double Imputation, also known as The Great Exchange. It goes something like this: "All our sin was imputed to Christ; all His righteousness was imputed to us." These are beautiful words, and true. 2 Corinthians 5:21 states it like this: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

There are two types of righteousness: behavioral and positional. Behavioral righteousness is marked by the good things we do and the sins we avoid. In this sense, when we call someone righteous, we are essentially saying they are a person of exceptional moral character, who sins little and does many good deeds.

Positional righteousness is very different. It is like receiving an Olympic gold medal without actually winning the race or suffering through all the hard training. But it's not cheating. It's completely justified, because Christ Himself did the hard training and won the race -- then he mercifully gifted his gold medal to us. All who believe in Jesus are awarded the gold medal of righteousness.

This gold medal was given to all Christians when they first placed their faith in Christ. It's not something waiting for us in the future. We are 100% righteous right now.

Because God sees all Christians as completely righteous, we are fully pleasing in His sight. Despite our flaws and struggles with sin, God loves us and is pleased with us.

This beautiful relationship with God exists because of propitiation and justification. In the next post, I'll focus on reconciliation, the sweet result of the Gospel that focuses on our reconciled personal relationship with God.