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โ 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 โyouโ and the โright now?โ Weโre 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 โunion with Christ.โ 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 โway of salvation,โ the ordo salutis. When we go to heaven without any remaining sin, then weโll 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 isnโt 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. Wasnโt 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 youโre 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 arenโt, but Jesus is! Itโs his righteousness that he gives you, and now you can be confident that God is on your side, that when things go wrong it isnโt because heโs mad at you, but probably heโs giving you some kind of โfatherly chastisement.โ
Isnโt that wonderful, that firm foundation of the Lordโs unfailing love for you! Being totally sure that what we so desperately need right now is right there in the gospel. Isnโt that all weโll ever need? In some ways it is, but arenโt we still supposed to grow in our godliness? Weโre called to love the Lord with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselvesโnow thatโs 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 Lordโs 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.
Thatโs the history, but where are we right now? Way back when I became a believer, it was about โwhat if you were to die tonight?โ 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 havenโt arrived yet at the end? So our combo of โtonightโ and โsometime way off,โ wasnโt much for โwhat if I have to get up tomorrow morning,โ 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 โan eclectic fashion statement.โ I really like my bright pink shirt and also my Navaho green bolaโso I wear them together. If each is great, then together they have to be stunning, right? Well, they do leave people stunned, eclectically.
So hereโs a remarkable Biblical doctrine, say justification, and hereโs someone struggling with loneliness. Justification has to be the answer, right? Both are important, so donโt 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 Leonardโs Get Real helps. When youโre getting to know a not-yet-believer, what do you talk about? Hereโs Johnโs profound answer: it depends! It depends on whatโs so hard for him, you learn that by Listening! Then you bring a piece of the gospel to him, one of the โmany facets of the gospel!โ 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 donโt believe John tells us how many facets there are, heโs still collecting them.
John is mostly about not-yets. Now comes David Powlisonโs How Does Sanctification Work? Heโs about โyou, yourself and I.โ Whatโs 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, donโt be satisfied with eclectic. Thatโs 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, donโt 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.
Iโm glad that biblical counseling came along, people and Bible together, Jay! Iโm 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, donโt they? They canโt preach to fit all those needs at once, but wouldnโt 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 weโre not doing Eclectic the other way around though, doing the Bible right and mumbling about how it works. Thatโs why the Lord has raised up those questioning millennials for us, making clear that what weโre doing so far isnโt much help.
As usual Iโm better at spotting the problem than giving the answer. But at least I can give you the beginning: read Davidโs book!
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Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2017