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ā Not so long ago we were sure that such an amazing and beautiful reality must be way off in the ...
Format: Paperback
Eclectic Living?
How are you relating right now to Jesus? Did you see the āyouā and the āright now?ā Weāre all different and in different places in our lives, also in the ways we turn to Jesus and trust him. The gospel of Jesus is rich and varied, with so many facets meeting us in our so multiple needs.
We have been thinking about our āunion with Christ.ā Not so long ago we were sure that such an amazing and beautiful reality must be way off in the future, at the end of the chain of our āway of salvation,ā the ordo salutis. When we go to heaven without any remaining sin, then weāll see how all Jesus has done for us comes together, that was how we used to think. Then John Murray and others began to show us how union isnāt at the far end but at the very beginning of new life in Jesus. That means that our forgiveness/justification and our godly growth/sanctification belong together, both gifts from the Jesus to whom we belong.
For people who know our theological history that could be alarming though. Wasnāt that what the Reformation 500 years ago was all about? Before, people thought that the main thing was to do the best you can, and then it could be maybe that God would answer that with forgiveness and blessing. But how can you tell when youāre doing enough? The more spiritually alert you were, the less sure. Then came Martin Luther and that breakthrough insight: yes the Lord is holy and you arenāt, but Jesus is! Itās his righteousness that he gives you, and now you can be confident that God is on your side, that when things go wrong it isnāt because heās mad at you, but probably heās giving you some kind of āfatherly chastisement.ā
Isnāt that wonderful, that firm foundation of the Lordās unfailing love for you! Being totally sure that what we so desperately need right now is right there in the gospel. Isnāt that all weāll ever need? In some ways it is, but arenāt we still supposed to grow in our godliness? Weāre called to love the Lord with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselvesānow thatās not easy, is it? Luther gave us a real start, but we have to add that now we give our hearts to respond to our Lordās love with whole-hearted life-changing obedience, right? Lutherans tend to want to stick with #1, forgiveness, and we Reformed want the bigger package. But to do that means work, putting together the loving presence of your Jesus and doing those hard things in your life.
Thatās the history, but where are we right now? Way back when I became a believer, it was about āwhat if you were to die tonight?ā That is, in the next six hours how much change can you pull off? Not much, so dying tonight was totally about forgiveness. Back then there was also a lot of teaching about the end of the world and the suffering that would happen then. Most believed Jesus would take us out of that before it got too bad. Interesting, but what if we havenāt arrived yet at the end? So our combo of ātonightā and āsometime way off,ā wasnāt much for āwhat if I have to get up tomorrow morning,ā which so far is what life is about.
Sure, people became believers, and were decent afterwards. But did the Jesus gospel really have much to do with their lives? Even if they did their thing and read the Bible every day? Friend Rosemarie tells the world that I have āan eclectic fashion statement.ā I really like my bright pink shirt and also my Navaho green bolaāso I wear them together. If each is great, then together they have to be stunning, right? Well, they do leave people stunned, eclectically.
So hereās a remarkable Biblical doctrine, say justification, and hereās someone struggling with loneliness. Justification has to be the answer, right? Both are important, so donāt they have to fit? Bone up on justification and watch what happens: not much. Loneliness is a lot about not having a clue about relating to people, how does you forgiveness fit that? Eclectic?
John Leonardās Get Real helps. When youāre getting to know a not-yet-believer, what do you talk about? Hereās Johnās profound answer: it depends! It depends on whatās so hard for him, you learn that by Listening! Then you bring a piece of the gospel to him, one of the āmany facets of the gospel!ā That is, something out of your own hard life and how the Lord has been blessing you through it, from some part of what Jesus has done for you. I donāt believe John tells us how many facets there are, heās still collecting them.
John is mostly about not-yets. Now comes David Powlisonās How Does Sanctification Work? Heās about āyou, yourself and I.ā Whatās so hard for you right now? Where is that piece of the Bible that helps you understand and go on to live? Look hard for it, donāt be satisfied with eclectic. Thatās going to take prayer and trust in Jesus. Jack Miller taught us to have prayer answered right away: Lord, show me my sin. Now add a David one: show me where I am and how Jesus is there for me. Justification may not be it, donāt look for a cure-all, see how the Lord came in the Bible to people with different lives and gave them exactly what they needed. Talk to other believers too.
Iām glad that biblical counseling came along, people and Bible together, Jay! Iām glad that urban ministry also arrived, now we can learn how to think like a missionary by going only a few miles: see how people different from you are blessed through the gospel in ways you never knew; Harvie! Manny! (Underneath all that comes from seeing the culture under the Bible, how it meets people in that mindset or mess or foolishness. Thank you Meredith Kline, Ray Dillard, Dan McCartney and Doug Green).
Can we count on preachers to model that for us: they know where their people are, donāt they? They canāt preach to fit all those needs at once, but wouldnāt it work to show the basic How? We all can do better with giving them feedback, right? Those liberals just about invented Eclectic, they could see some need and make up a story about it, not bothering with the Bible. We have to watch that weāre not doing Eclectic the other way around though, doing the Bible right and mumbling about how it works. Thatās why the Lord has raised up those questioning millennials for us, making clear that what weāre doing so far isnāt much help.
As usual Iām better at spotting the problem than giving the answer. But at least I can give you the beginning: read Davidās book!
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Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2017
