The Giver is the Gift

Imagine a husband and wife. They have a very happy family. The husband regularly gives the wife gifts, surprising her with flowers, cards, and time away from the kids so she can read her favorite book at the local coffee shop. He takes time to play with his children and loves to make them laugh when they wrestle on the floor.

The husband earns a fair amount of money and can afford to provide for all the material needs of his family well beyond necessities. The kids have a huge yard to play in. The wife has a great car to drive. They go on nice vacations. The wife has beautiful jewelry and a closet full of complimentary clothes. All is well.

Then tragically the husband dies in a car crash while away on a business trip. The integrity of the family unravels in light of the loss. They can’t quite figure out how to move forward.

After his death, will his family focus on the fact that he won’t be around anymore to provide such great gifts?

How odd would it be if the family simply continued on business as usual. How odd would it be if one of their close friends asked them, “How are you getting along after your loss?” and they said, “We are doing just fine. We still have all the stuff he bought us. We don’t miss him at all!”

Sure, those gifts were nice, but a million times more than their desire for those gifts they'd just want him back. They would give up all the vacations, toys in the yard, and precious jewelry to have him back. Him and him alone. They want him. His gifts don’t matter in the least if they can’t have him.

This is how God wants us to yearn for Him. Him and Him alone. Not His gifts but the Giver. And the greatest news in the world is that if you want Him, you can have Him, and no car crash will ever take Him away from you.

What do you want most?

More than any other gift, God loves to give Himself. Would you care if God was taken away, but you still received all His blessings? God is most interested in giving you Himself.

That is what He wants to give.

Do you want it?

What if I recognize that my desires are not as they should be?

As we approach Easter, three responses are especially appropriate.

1. Repent of your lack of desire of God. Confess it to Him.

2. Pray that God will adjust your desires and make your heart seek Him as the ultimate priority. Plead with Him for the great mercy of seeing Jesus as supremely valuable over all else.

3. Continue to pursue God by faith even when you don’t “feel it,” knowing that oftentimes it is the process of continuing in obedience (Bible reading, praying, discipling, etc.) that actually adjusts our desires to the way they should be.

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Zach Nielsen is one of the pastors at The Vine Church in Madison, Wisconsin, where he serves in the areas of preaching, leadership development and music. He is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa and Covenant Theological Seminary and blogs at Take Your Vitamin Z.  Twitter at @znielsen.

Gospel Transformation vs. Moral Reformation

Kaleo Church has recently joined the historical and universal church by plunging into the great book of Acts. As we’ve looked week after week at the vast release of energy that empowered the early church I purposely chose a word, which to me, seems to best describe what we’re attempting here in San Diego. We’ve been using the word 'transformission' regularly over these last few weeks. I want to describe what we’re thinking.

1. Gospel transformation is different from moral reformation. It is absolutely possible, and even common, for newer and older Christians to assume that to believe the gospel means you’ve become a moral/pious person. I’m certainly not suggesting that moral piety does not result from gospel transformation, but moral piety doesn’t need gospel transformation to occur, nor does it ensure that a deep heart transformation has taken place.

I know quite a few ‘moral’ atheists, Mormons, Jews, and a others who outwardly make Christians appear immoral. Moral reformation is not ultimately the goal of the Christian. The goal of the Christian is a love for God, which can only come from a transformed heart by grace. When moral reformation is the fuel and goal, the heart will seize like an engine without oil. The human heart is made to run on grace not legalism.

Gospel transformation both creates and causes obedience from the heart. The gospel works from the inside-out. Moral reformation creates insecurity and hypocritical criticism of others in part because we're attempting to win God’s favor through performance. Moral reformation works from the outside-in.

Moral reformation says “believe in Christ, obey God’s law, have favor with God,” but gospel transformation says “believe in Christ, have favor with God, and obey out of gratitude.” Never the twain shall meet. These two are not simply different forms of the same religion, but different religions entirely. God’s infinite worth and favor are not easily bought by finite, self-righteous deeds. The only hope for a changed life is a changed heart - one that learns to beat in the rhythm of grace.

       Moral reformation brings death and decay whereas gospel transformation brings life and health.

2. Gospel transformation is not a cul-de-sac. There is a tendency for us to become morbidly introspective when we begin to look at the functional messiahs and idols of our heart. As we learn how to preach the gospel to ourselves and to one another, it becomes obvious that this deep introspection can immobilize us with analysis paralysis. We begin to question every deed we do, every word we say, every thought we think, and soon realize that we have very few pure motives and even fewer altruistic deeds. Without the gospel bringing us up the slope of faith (to see that our failures must lead us to faith in Christ who did not fail), we end up in deep repentance, which does not turn into renewed faith. Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin. To turn from sin means we’re now turning to something else in faith. It does not mean that you see the sin and repent of your motives or deeds only to stay stuck in inactivity for the sake of true repentance. True repentance is the turning of our hearts and minds away from what displeases God to what pleases Him, namely Christ our Lord.

Without the joy of looking to Christ in faith, we have not truly experienced the joy repentance brings.

My main concern is that gospel transformation - without leading us to joy in Christ and the desire for others to delight in Christ - is not true transformation. Why does God forgive us of our sins? - is it so we can stay isolated and alone? No, God forgives us so we can live as Kingdom citizens giving a preview to the world of what it looks like to be a child of the Father living with a new identity. We are freed from our sin to have communion with God - to be sent into the world. If communion with God does not cause our hearts to break for those He’s made, we are only using God as a currency to purchase things we want (peace, security, hope, joy, mended relationships, etc.). This is not what God has planned for our world. God sent His Son into this world on a mission to reclaim all things for Himself. He desires to redeem all marred, lost, and broken souls. We are, after all, created in His image, and we need to be about our Father’s business - not our own. This means we must seek after that which brings God pleasure and is aligned with His will. Every day God allows the clock to tick on in patience as He delays consummation for the purpose of bringing in the full number of His own. God’s loving patience gives us another day to seek after the lost on His behalf.

If gospel transformation does not cause us to be courageously freed on mission, we are missing something in the gospel. The gospel is “good news” not good advice, not good deeds shown by good people. Of course the gospel must be shown in deed, and of course the gospel informs our lives, but it is news to be spoken, taught, declared, and proclaimed. This can happen in a variety of ways, but it means that the good news must keep moving in and through us, empowering change in the lives of others.

Gospel transformation should really be called gospel “transformission” because it is the heart changed by grace and set loose into the world for the sake of the lost on behalf of our God. We must be the church in the world for the world. If not, the gospel has been relegated to a personal “get out of hell free” card as the rest of God’s creation groans under the burden and agony of sin. Gospel transformission shows us that the gospel is not finished with us but is moving. It is dynamic and not static. It is public and powerful. Not private and impotent.

So, when thinking through what it means to be changed by the gospel, it’s important that we have our eyes on God and the ways He's working through us to redeem the world. This will orient our thoughts, feels, and acts. Transformissional living keeps all three flowing in an interdependent way. Without a gospel that transforms our hearts to be loosed on mission, we are missing out on the joy of living God’s story, which is the only story we should seek.

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David Fairchild was the co-founder and preaching elder of Kaleo Church in San Diego and now serves as the Lead Pastor of Mars Hill West Seattle as well as a founding member of The GCM Collective. He currently lives in Seattle with his wife, Grace, and their two children, Michael and Madison.

Meditating on God's Word - Study

This article is part of the ongoing series Meditating on God's Word. Meditate on the Word by Studying It There is a distinction between reading and studying. Reading the Bible is generally more casual and prayerful, or as some would say, “devotional.” A reading plan allows us to gain understanding of the flow of redemptive history and helps us see important verses that apply to our lives. But a study plan allows us to dig deeply into what we are reading. Jerry Bridges says, “Reading gives us breadth, but study gives us depth.”[1]

Usually, the in-depth study of a passage occurs around a class or a sermon series. Of course, one may choose to study by oneself regarding a specific passage or theme. I passionately want to see Christians, particularly in my congregation, become “self-feeders,” that is people who respect teachers and learn from them, but know how to teach themselves and can then teach others.

Let me share with you some guiding principles for studying the Scriptures. To begin, always read the Bible in an attitude of prayer. Read, read, and re-read what you are studying and ask God to open your eyes to behold its wonderful truths (Ps. 119:18).

Next, always consider the context of the passage that you are studying. Context rules the interpretation of the passage. Context means, “that which goes with the text.” As you are studying a passage ask, “How does a particular verse function within its context?” The reason “every heretic has his verse” is because he or she doesn't consider the context.

In addition, remember that “a text can never mean what it never meant.” Look for the intended meaning of the original author before rushing to application. There is one meaning to the text with many applications. Since the Bible is a historical document, always ask, “What did the original author want the original readers to understand and do by this statement?” To answer this, again you will need to consider context and perhaps consult some study tools such as commentaries from trusted scholars.

Another important principle is to always consider the type of literature in which the verse is found. That includes the following: (1) Law, (2) OT Narratives, (3) Acts, (4) Prophets, (5) Psalms, (6) Wisdom (7) Gospels, (8) Parables, (9) Revelation. Remember some basic principles when reading various types of literature. I recommend that everyone purchase a book on “hermeneutics” which is the science and art of interpretation.

Further, remember that the whole Bible points to God’s redeeming work in Jesus. The Old Testament points to Christ, and the New Testament flows from Christ. Therefore, always ask, “What does this passage teach me about the nature of God and the greatness of Christ?” (Luke 24:27). Read with an eye for the ongoing flow of redemptive history. I recommend a simple book like The Drama of Scripture for understanding the storyline of the Bible.[2] It will help you get the big picture of redemptive history.

Next, remember to interpret Scripture with Scripture. Our high view of Scripture leads us to believe that God’s Word is not only coherent, but also consistent. The Scripture will be its best interpreter. Look at other passages when you see an interpretive knot. Interpret difficult passages with more clear passages, knowing that the Scriptures will never contradict themselves, though there may be many mysteries.

Finally, since the Bible is a unified book, always look for certain themes in the passage. Ask, “Where did this theme start?” “How is it developed?” “Where is this theme going to end?”

A Three-Step Method for Studying the Scriptures By answering the following three questions, you will soon discover the joy and benefits of studying Scripture. I suggest that you begin with a pen and paper, or with your computer and begin digging into your particular passage(s). You should consider consulting other reference material as you work through the questions on your own.

Step 1: Investigation – What Does the Passage Say? Begin by reading and re-reading your passage(s). Note the obvious observations and big ideas. Before looking for intricate details and probing the mysteries, notice the dominant truths. As you investigate the big ideas ask basic questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? You will be surprised how many things you identify by asking these basic questions. You will identify the background of the passage, the author, the occasion, and purpose. Also note the things that are unclear, and this will help you move to step two.

Step 2: Interpretation – What Does the Passage Mean? In this phase, you are going deeper. What seems to be some key words, phrases, or ideas in the passage that need further exploration? What’s the structure of the passage? Are there important linking words, clauses, or phrases? What did the author intend to communicate to the original hearers? It’s important in this phase not to rush to personal applications and/or the implications of the passage. Try to minimize subjectivity as much as possible to get to the meaning. If the meaning of a passage is still unclear, then do two things: (1) look at cross-references (let Scripture interpret Scripture), and (2) consult the commentaries. When looking at cross-references, consider the same book first, then the same author, and then the whole of Scripture.

Step 3: Implications – How Should I Apply this Passage Personally? Once you’ve come to understand the point of the passage, you are ready to apply the dominant truths. Remember that you don’t want to turn the Bible into a human-centered, self-help book. You are looking for timeless wisdom to apply, theological truths about God to worship, and the gospel to ponder. The following are a list of questions for you to consider as you apply the text:

• What does this text teach me about God? (e.g., His attributes and activity)
• What does this text teach me about Christ? (e.g., Does it speak directly of Christ? Does it show me my need for Christ? Does it predict Christ? Does it show a type of Christ?)
• What does this text teach me about myself? (e.g., My nature; my identity in Christ; my need for Christ)
• What does this text teach me about a particular doctrine?
• What immediate things should I go do now?
• Are there examples to follow in this text?
• Are there commands to keep in this text?
• Are there errors to avoid in this text?
• Are there sins to forsake in this text?
• Are there gospel promises to claim in this text?
• Are there new thoughts about God or doctrines to further explore in this text?
• Are there convictions to be lived by in this text?

Remember, when God’s Word is interpreted faithfully, then to disobey God’s Word is to disobey God himself. We always study for obeying the Word, not simply knowing it (James 1:22).

Meditate on the Word by Hearing it Hearing God’s Word attentively is essential for the Christian (Neh. 8:1-8; Luke 11:28; Rom. 10:17; 1 Thess. 2:13). The primary place for hearing God’s Word is in your local church from your pastor. Paul told Timothy:

Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. (1 Timothy 4:13)

There is no substitute for biblical preaching and teaching. You need to hear the Word of God in worship.

You may also hear the Word of God through other audio tools. My personal favorite is the iPod (actually the iPhone). Here I’m able to listen to terrific biblical teachers as I walk, drive, or do laundry (okay, I don’t do the last one much). I often tell our church that if you listen to talk radio all day, you’re killing brain cells rapidly! Fill your mind with the truth of God’s Word by hearing it.

[1] Jerry Bridges, The Practice of Godliness (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1977), 17. [2] Craig Bartholomew and Michael Goheen, The Drama of Scripture (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004).

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Tony Merida serves as the Lead Pastor of Imago Dei Church, Raleigh, NC and as the Associate Professor of Preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is married to Kimberly, with whom he has five children. Tony is the co-author of Orphanology and author of Faithful Preaching. He travels and speaks all over the world at various events, especially pastor’s conferences, orphan care events, and youth/college conferences.

Rethinking Baptism

I have always been a believer of credobaptism, or believer’s baptism, specifically that baptism is administered only to those who repent and profess faith in Jesus - His sinless life, His perfect death, and powerful resurrection. Still, this article will not discuss divisions between the paedo (child) and credo (belief) baptism crowds. Instead, we will consider the reasons why someone should be baptized and the importance of it. When growing up and seeking to understand Christianity, I was told many things about baptism and why we administer it within the church. Some of these reasons include:

• It’s a public proclamation of one’s faith.
• It’s an outer sign of an inner change.
• It was performed by Christ, and He commanded that we follow his example.
• It brings a believer into the Christian community.

In the following, we will question some of these concepts and then add something I believe has often been missing from our thoughts on baptism.

Baptism as Public Proclamation Many believe that all baptisms should be performed in public, but it's rarely the general public they desire. Rather, the baptism happens within the church walls where very few non-believers are likely to witness it. What we see more consistently in the Scriptures is not that baptism occurred in public but that it happened immediately after a new believer's repentance and profession of faith. We aren't sure if Scripture is referring to public places or the influence of witnesses (e.g., various believers in households, the eunuch by his chariot, Lydia by the river with other women). The evidence seems to point more to the immediacy of baptism, not the place or those present.   So, while baptism may be a proclamation (as are many other things we do), I’m not sure this expresses the full "why" of baptism.

Baptism as an Outer Sign of an Inner Change Although baptism may be an outer sign, or picture, of salvation, there isn’t a great deal of Scriptural support. We can try and connect some dots between the baptism in water and the baptism of the Spirit shown in Romans 6. But the evidence for an outer sign being the reason for water baptism seems to be lacking. I believe the outer and inner aspects of baptism are interconnected, but as we will see, they are connected in a way that shows baptism as more than a mere outer sign.

Because Jesus Baptized and Commanded Us  I don’t believe this is good enough. As we speak to a postmodern world, the people we seek to disciple won’t believe this is good enough either. Our parents may have conditioned us to do things because they said so, but this isn’t how God usually operates. Our God explains things to us instead of answering, “Because I said so.” There may be times when we do things God calls us to without fully knowing why. However, most of the time God operates as a Father who desires for His children to know the reason why He has a command, not merely, “Do what I say and deal with it.” Because of this, we should ask why Jesus baptized and why he commanded it.

To Bring Someone into the Christian Community I agree with this statement, but I believe baptism to be much fuller than this. If we believe that people should be baptized so they can be in a new community, we're avoiding the argument for why someone should desire this. If we are dealing with God and His ways, baptism has to be larger than a particular culture or time. In this day and age, many believers don’t feel they have to be baptized to be in a community. Most understand, within Protestant circles, that baptism is not an act of salvation. If this is the reason why we are baptized, few will be persuaded. Many may show you the Christian community that they are in without having been baptized. Although they might be kept from some membership rosters, few will care and many might actually be glad that they aren’t considered members - it gets them out of business meetings. Not only that, the eunuch in Acts 8 didn’t return with Philip. He continued in the life and occupation that God had given him. So, maybe this is deeper than a physical community

Why Get Baptized?  Let’s look to the source of Jesus’ command, found in Matthew 28:18-21:

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Jesus' grand commission involves these elements: seeking His power and presence; going (literally “as one goes along in life”); making disciples; baptizing and teaching.

When questioning baptism and why we are called to do it, we should look directly at this passage and also at Jesus’ baptism found in the gospels.

After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. (Matthew 3:16-4:1)

To those who say, “We get baptized because Jesus did it,” we must ask, “Why was Jesus baptized and how does it relate to our baptism?”

To Show Our New Identity Jesus, from what we gather in the Scriptures, was known as Joseph’s son or the carpenter’s son. Few knew Him to be the coming Messiah or God’s Son (see Matt. 13:55; Mk. 6:3; Lk. 2:25-34). When Jesus came out of the water, God spoke:

This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.

This speaks to a new, revealed identity. I am not saying Jesus wasn’t God’s Son prior to this event, but this is the moment when He is identified as such. This is the fulfillment of Scriptures that spoke of the coming Messiah.

I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. (Psalm 2:7)

Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1)

In a similar way, our baptism makes us new creatures with new identities. Instead of being sons and daughters of Adam, we have become sons and daughters of God. Instead of being servants of this world, we have become servants of the risen King. Instead of being filled with the power of our flesh, being sent to fulfill the kingdom of the world, we are filled with the Spirit and sent to work for the Kingdom of God.

We see this reality as Jesus gives us a new name in Matthew 28. We have a new Father. We have a new King, who is the Son of God. And we now have a new spirit - the Spirit of God whose power abides within us. We are now disciples of Jesus. We are now sons and daughters, servants and sent ones. Baptism reveals this new identity.

Commissioned to Make Disciples with a New Power Notice what else happens at Jesus’ baptism. The Spirit of God descends upon Him. We know that Jesus wasn’t “saved” at this point, nor was Jesus now officially deified (see Jn. 1). But why did the Spirit descend upon Jesus? We should note what happened immediately after this moment. The Spirit led Him to the wilderness. Jesus’ public ministry started. He was now commissioned to make disciples. It was important for Jesus to start by resisting temptation (although He had been doing this in all the years leading up to this point as well), because He wasn’t making disciples of others but of Himself. Part of His ministry was perfection for our sake. He is our perfect high priest. After being led into the wilderness, Luke says this of Christ:

And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.

And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. 

And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:14-21)

You could say He let the cat out of the bag. Luke starts this passage with, “in the power of the Spirit…” After Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit descended and His ministry of making disciples started.

This is what I believe we’ve been missing in our understanding of baptism. When we repent and believe and then are baptized, something miraculous happens. It is not that we are saved, because upon profession of belief we are sealed inwardly by the Spirit (Romans 6; Eph 1:13; 4:10). In baptism, the commission of making disciples under a new name and with a new power is established. Notice the two bookends of Jesus' commission to his disciples: 1) Jesus' authority (Matt. 28:18); 2) Jesus' presence (Matt. 28:20).

Some might ask, “But I know many who make disciples without their being baptized. What are the consequences?” I’m not sure that we’ll ever know the consequences of not understanding this commissioning aspect of baptism. Sometimes these questions cannot reveal the consequences. But it might be better understood if we ask what would happen if the command and deeper truth was realized in that person’s life. What would bring you greater satisfaction: looking at beautiful pictures of Hawaii or stepping foot on the beaches?

Simply put, I believe we should baptize new followers of Jesus because:

• We are commanded.
• Jesus did it.
• It is a proclamation of our new identity.

But I also believe there is a deep connection to the Spirit’s power (because of the authority of Christ) for baptism to commission us to make disciples for our King.

This speaks clearly to why we see every instance of baptism of new disciples happening so quickly after they repent and believe. Those who repent and believe, those who are now followers of Jesus, given a new name, should be baptized to receive the enormous gift given through baptism because in it we are given a new power and a new purpose.

So, yes, we are to be baptized because Jesus was, but if we miss why Jesus was baptized, we miss out on the fullness of following in the ways and purposes of our Redeemer.

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Seth McBee is the adopted son of God, husband of one wife and father of two boys. He’s a graduate of Seattle Pacific University with a finance degree. By trade Seth is an Investment Portfolio Manager, serving as president of McBee Advisors, Inc. Today, he’s a missional community leader, City Church leader and coach with Soma Communities in Renton, Washington. In his down time, he likes to watch football, cook BBQ, host pancake ebelskiver breakfasts at his home and many other neighborhood events in his hometown of Maple Valley, Washington.

The Gospel for Sinners

I'm a big fan of the gospel-centered movement sweeping America. We're reclaiming the gospel from the hands of legalism. We're denouncing the lie that obedience can earn you God's favor. But we must not accidentally make obedience the unofficial enemy of the gospel. I don't want us to find ourselves explaining away verses that tell us to flee unrighteousness on pain of death. I don't want to wave around the gospel like it's a trump card, offering a free pass from any eternal consequences of sin. The Bible speaks about our salvation as if it’s inextricably linked with our obedience.

I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:21)

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. (John 14:15)

Jesus talks about obedience as a condition of salvation, but don’t panic. Christianity is a worldview with tons of conditions, and God meets both sides of the conditions. I’m not talking about a works-based view of the gospel. I’m talking about a gospel-based view of works.

The Seriousness of Sin Don't think me a legalist. I have nothing to gain by elevating obedience. Honestly, I have a lot to lose. I’m probably the most disobedient, hypocritical Christian I know. I hang out in the pig pen most of the day. Jesus comes and picks me up, and as soon as I’m clean, I return to the pen.

But I believe the Word of God, even the parts that are inconvenient and don’t fit with my worldview, even the parts that seemingly condemn me. In the Bible it's clear that sin is a big deal to God. As we disciple one another, we must create a culture where sin is a big deal.

How does the seriousness of sin emphasize (rather than diminish) the grace of the gospel?

The Destructiveness of Sin In the last year, the part of Texas where I live has been ravaged by fires. As a result, our firefighters go nuts if there's even a hint of flames. A fire the size of my hand will be surrounded by 18 fire trucks dousing it with water. People in Texas right now understand that fire kills - whether it’s 3 feet or 3 miles wide.

If you want to create a gospel-centered culture of fighting sin through discipleship, then you have to accept that the potential destructiveness of sin is not determined by its size. Often we think the fight with sin is a fight to keep it under control. We think that as long as we keep our lustful thoughts to ourselves and don’t let them burst out into adultery, we're doing okay, but according to Jesus, lust in our minds is just as deadly as outward adultery. Both can kill just as easily.

We can’t fight the sin inside our hearts, and we certainly can’t help the person we're discipling if we don’t acknowledge that Jesus isn't kidding when he says that thoughts are as deadly as actions. The secret and acceptable sins are terrifyingly deadly. Like a gas leak, they can be killing us slowly and silently while we carry on with our days.

What would change if we believed that all sin was equally deadly? What would be different in our lives if we viewed a lustful thought in the same way as adultery? How would this impact our discipleship conversations?

The Success of Repentance There are days when I wake up and stretch and, for 15 glorious seconds, I forget about all the sin in my past. For 15 wonderful seconds, I forget that every inch of my being is covered with burns. Then I’ll feel the twinge of an old injury, or the sting of a fresh scar, and I’ll remember who I am. I am the worst of sinners.

In my moments of insecurity, that realization makes me afraid. But when I’m truly gospel-centered, it fills me with worship. God defines success and failure a little differently than we do.

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. (Luke 22:31-32)

Jesus prayed that Peter's faith would not fail. Then Peter walked out the door and denied him. What happened? Did Jesus’ prayer not work?

Both Judas and Peter turned their backs on Jesus at critical moments, but only one of them truly failed. Jesus prayed for Peter’s faith not to falter, and no matter what it looks like to us – Peter’s faith won the day. Repentance is the fruit of Jesus’s prayer for Peter. Repentance is success.

The failure we should fear most is not the failure of external sin, but the failure of an unrepentant heart. The thing we should fear most is not our sin, but our inability to repent for our sin. Our merciful God is willing to do what it takes to lead us to repentance so that our faith will not fail.

The Gospel for Sinners When I first started working for a church, I believed that I had finally 'arrived.' I never would have said it, but a part of me thought I was finally a 'good Christian,' and now I could lead all those other folks who were still struggling. In His great grace, God ordained that my first months in ministry be dedicated to showing me how tremendously sinful I am. I ran smack into sin that shocked me to my core, but God saved me through that sin.

I remember nights of literally lying on the floor face down. I had no strength to stand. There was nothing left in me to give me any hope. I had trashed my righteous resume. In those moments, the gospel came alive. I realized just how desperately I needed Christ's resume. I needed the good news of the gospel.  Not the kind of good news that makes us smile. The kind of good news that enables us to breathe and sob and dance and dream and live. The kind of good news that leads us to true repentance.

God saved me through my sin. In John Owen’s book, Overcoming Sin and Temptation he says this: "Here is one, if he could be rid of this lust I should never hear of him more; let him wrestle with this, or he is lost."

God ordains that we walk through sin in our lives because He's not willing to let our faith fail. He lets our sin lead us to true success: repentance.

Why is it hard for us to believe that sin might be a means of perseverance? If you believed that success was repentance, what would change in the way you worked through sin with yourself and those you disciple?

Disciples Need a Savior Our sin goes deeper than we can imagine. Maturity in a believer isn’t having less sin; it’s seeing our sin more clearly. The more we mature in Christ, the more we can see our sin, and the more we can understand our need for a Savior. The gospel was made for sinners. The blood of Christ is made to heal the scars of our failures - not just past injuries but also the present.

The people who love the blood of Jesus are those disciples who know how desperately they need it. Jesus is our only hope. When we judge the sins of others, it's because we don't have eyes to recognize the target demographic for the gospel. Jesus came for the sick.

We cover our self-righteousness with proclamations of gratitude. We praise God that He hasn’t made us screw-ups all the while missing the glaringly obvious fact that we are worse than screw-ups.

Jesus told this story: two men went to church. One thanked God that he wasn't an adulterer or a thief like those 'big' sinners. The other couldn't even lift up his head to heaven. He just said to God, 'be merciful to me, a sinner.' Only one of the two was justified by the blood of Jesus.

May God in His great grace reveal our own sin to us that we may better see the power of the gospel.

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Fabienne Harford lives in Austin, Texas, where she serves on staff at The Austin Stone Community Church. You can find more thoughts from Fabs at fabsharford.com

Video: Justin Taylor interviews Jonathan Dodson about his New Book

In this video Justin Taylor interviews Jonathan Dodson about his new book Gospel-Centered Discipleship. Jonathan responds to questions such as: What is discipleship? What is gospel-centered? Where have you failed in disciple-making? Justin Taylor is vice president of book publishing and an associate publisher at Crossway. He has edited and contributed to several books, including A God-Entranced Vision of All Things and blogs at "Between Two Worlds," hosted by the Gospel Coalition.

Jonathan Dodson is the lead pastor of Austin City Life church and provides directional leadership in several organizations including PlantR, The GCM Collective, Gospel Centered Discipleship.com. He recently published Gospel-Centered Discipleship with Crossway.

Questions Asked During the Interview 0:10 – What do you want GCD to accomplish?

2:31 – What does it mean to be a disciple?

5:08 – So many people are using the term “gospel-centered” that it can seem like a buzz word or a fad. Why did you choose to use this phrase in the title of your book?

7:44 – Looking back at the last ten years of discipling others, how has your disciple-making changed? Where did you drop the ball?

11:35 – How are “Fight Clubs” different from the typical accountability partner or accountability group?

14:50 – Justin Taylor: “I had a hard time putting the book down, and I hope other people not only pick it up but read it and then apply it.”

Preview Gospel-Centered Discipleship

• Download free Holy Spirit chapter
• GCD Book Discussion Guide
• Also available at Crossway & Christian Book.com

Discipling the Disillusioned

They are lingering around the margins of our ministries. Some of them have been shoved from the pews to the periphery, but most of them have withdrawn on their own. Cynics.

Disillusioned with the people of God and often with God himself, these jaded souls are licking their ecclesial wounds while lobbing criticisms from a safe distance. Haunting the fringes and taunting those in the center, their audacity in asking the hard questions threatens to spread skepticism. It would be easier if the cynics would just step back into line and slip back into the pew. It would be easier if they would just repent of the gloomy naysaying and try some cheery optimism. Maybe it would be even easier if they just fled the fringes and left the church altogether.

But we need them. Desperately.

The church is in dire need of the disillusioned. Pop-theology and idealistic slogans are rife among God’s people today. But as a society committed to truth, the church can harbor no illusory notions about God or itself. Dis-illusionment is the dispersal of illusions. Those whose rose-colored glasses have been crushed under the foot of grim realities are powerful resources in an age of spin and empty promises. Cynics have powerful insights the church needs.

What we do not need, of course, is their cynicism.

So how do we embrace the cynics and not their disposition? How do we disciple the disillusioned? Reports abound that disenfranchised young people are leaving the church en masse. The future of the church hinges on whether or not we can engage and minister to the cynics hovering dangerously close to the edges of the church. Here are some suggestions.

Show Compassion The dispersal of illusions is often painful. Truth hurts. The caricature of cynics above may capture our perspective toward them, but it fails to comprehend that a great deal of jarring pain may have landed cynics on the church fringes in the first place. Legions of us are harboring deep wounds from severe disappointments in regard to our faith. The pastor had an affair. The church split. The small group leaked our confession. Even more painful are the wounds that seem to be inflicted by God himself. The miracle never came. He refused to heal our loved one. He seemed content to permit tragedy. He hid himself in our grief. Some cynics delight in being ornery irritants in the church. But so many of them—so many of us—have had our hopes brutally dashed and we are simply wounded souls. When the spiritual wounds begin to fester, the brokenness turns to bitterness.

For healing to come, cynics need compassion more than they need ostracism that reinforces their assumptions about church-folk.  Not the drippy sort of compassion that looks more like self-righteous pity—cynics can smell this from a long way off. The sort of compassion required is a sincere concern seeped in the sobering awareness of another’s pain.

Debunk Idealism The reason many of us are disillusioned is because we espouse happy ideals about our faith which are simply incompatible with ex-Eden reality. We make all sorts of promises and platitudes that are not only unsustainable in a fallen world but contrary to the worldview found in Scripture. Powerful hopes are certainly found in those holy pages, astonishing hopes that seem too good to be true. But there is an eschatological sensibility to the bold promises of the Bible. God is certainly working wonders in the here and now. He rips open seas for the deliverance of his people. He heals and restores to life. But the prophets, Evangelists and apostles encourage us to orient our hopes toward the future. That future has been displaced a bit, parts of it taking place in the present through the work of Christ (see below), but the grim realities of a sin-wrecked realm still abound. To ignore those realities is to promote a faith on sand which will eventually shift and sink.

Lament Worship befitting a holy people amidst a sinful world includes lament. Injured souls cannot sing in a major key. So when we ask with a big smile that the congregation stand to sing some cheerful tune, we instantly marginalize the hurting among us. When the worship selections are upbeat and full of merry optimism, the inadvertent messages are that the church cannot accommodate pain, that the church is the last place you turn if you have problems. Even worse—when worship is always happy, the messages are that God himself wants nothing to do with our suffering, that God is the last person we turn to in distress.

Lament poetry makes up roughly a third of the Psalter. Right in the middle of our Bibles are the gut-wrenching pleas, the bellowing cries, and the haunting groans of the disillusioned. These laments make up the largest genre of psalms in the worship book of Israel.

Weeping can be worship.

The lament songs give voice to the jaded and disenchanted, conveying that God is indeed the one to whom we turn when our souls are shredded to pieces. The wounds of a cynic cannot heal on the margins. But the cynic will not march back into the pews to a soundtrack of perky praise music. When we recover the worship of lament, we will offer downcast souls biblically sanctioned language suitable for addressing God in their frustration and misery.

Preach a God of Biblical Proportions “God will never give you more than you can handle.” This theological sentiment has almost become sloganized. But say it to Job while you pat him on the back and see what he says in response. Tell it to Paul and his companions while they endured that mysterious affliction in Asia and felt “so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself” (2 Cor 1:8).

Cynics have been failed by shallow, sentimentalized pop-theology. When God does not live up to our expectations, we feel betrayed. But maybe the betrayal is sourced in the church’s proclamation of false expectations.

An idealized God is an idolized god.

But when we are presented with the mystifying God of Scripture, all the theological categories are rocked. The theological boxes are exploded. In a theology of biblical proportions we encounter a God dense enough and high enough to mystify and astound, but also to comfort and console. Such a theology presents a King both lowly and exalted, a Deity both tender and terrifying, a cosmic Lord in whom nails were found. No other vision of God will do for those who have faced harsh realities for which their limited theology failed to suffice.

Proclaim Resurrection  Rather than idealism or cynicism, our call is to “hopeful realism.” This is a perspective that acknowledges and grieves ex-Eden miseries while recognizing and awaiting Eden’s restoration. As we have noted, God will make all things new and restore paradise (Rev 21-22). But the Resurrection of Jesus signifies that new creation has already begun. When Jesus climbed out of his tomb, a cosmic interruption took place. New life from the Age to Come leapt into the present sphere. And that Resurrection power infuses our own existence (Rom 6:4). The empty tomb of Jesus is a hole in the system, the system of Death, the system of all that makes us cynical. Hopeful realism groans in the suffering of this present age, but rejoices in the inevitable collapse of sin’s power. Resurrection makes cynicism obsolete.

Truth hurts…but it also heals. Disillusionment is actually a gift that leads to new life. Can our churches and ministries accommodate the dispersal of illusions and the resulting new life? Can we welcome redeemed cynics into our midst and gladly heed their insights? The future of the church in the Western world may indeed depend on whether or not we can answer such questions in the affirmative. An exodus is underway, and it is leading in the wrong direction…

This article is adapted from Andrew Byers's book, Faith Without Illusions: Following Jesus as a Cynic-Saint.

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After a decade of pastoral ministry, Andrew Byers is working on a PhD in New Testament at Durham University (England).  He is the author of Faith Without Illusions: Following Jesus as a Cynic-Saint (IVP) and his blog is Hopeful Realism. 

Meditating on God's Word - Reading and Prayer

This article is part of the ongoing series Meditating on God's Word. How should you fill your mind with God’s Word? What are the ways in which we should “let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly?” If you are going to become a student and lover of God’s Word and the God of the Word, then you need to plan to answer some specific questions. What are you going to read and pray through in the Word? What book or passage are you going to study in detail? What biblical sermons or talks will you listen to? What do you want to memorize? When and where will you read, study, listen and memorize?

The exercise of meditating on Scripture is like the other disciplines. If you think they will come without any planning and intentionality, you’re wrong.

If you don’t have a plan, chances are, you will meditate on Scripture sporadically. You will look back on your year and realize you’ve consumed very little Scripture, as opposed to a lot of other stuff from the culture.

Meditate on the Word by Reading It Obviously, the first place to start for meditating on the Word is by reading it. Sadly, few Christians actually seek God for daily spiritual bread. A recent survey reported that more people remember the ingredients on America's favorite burger than remember the Ten Commandments. Kelton Research conducted a poll of 1,000 people to determine basic knowledge of the Ten Commandments. Eighty percent of those polled knew that a Big Mac had two all-beef patties and sixty-two percent knew that it had pickles! But less than fifty percent could remember even seven of the Ten Commandments. Other statistics show depressing reports about how Christians neglect God’s Word. But surely these would do better if they were in a Bible-teaching church, right? Not necessarily. One incredible Bible-preacher surveyed his congregation about their daily Bible reading practice and he said it was one of the most discouraging discoveries of his ministry. He wanted to quit.

Meanwhile, there are others who are literally dying for the Bible. When I went to Nigeria for the first time, we gave away reading glasses and Bibles. It was amazing to see these dear people so overjoyed with their own copy of the Bible. Their church services were long and filled with many readings of Scripture. In other parts of the world, the same hunger is happening. A friend of mine was asked to teach a group of pastors in a house church. After going through Nehemiah, they said, “That’s great. Can you teach the whole Old Testament?” To which he said, “That will take some time.” They said, “Ok.” For the next week he proceeded to teach for six hours a day to pastors who walked, rode their bikes significant distances. They were eager to know God’s Word. It is a privilege to have a copy of God’s Word.

Augustine said, “Where Scripture speaks, God speaks.” If we believed this, then maybe we wouldn’t mind sitting under God’s Word for six hours either through hearing or reading.

There are many ways to read through the Bible and I’m not trying to create a legalistic form for you. Many people can’t read at all. Fortunately, there are other ways to fill your mind with the Word (and the essential thing is just that, filling your mind with God’s Word). I’m concerned with people meditating on the Word, not with a prescribed method for doing it. But I’ll share a few ideas.

I’m currently reading through a chronological Bible reading plan. It consists of two or three chapters per day. I usually begin my morning here. Other plans that I’ve used include reading five Psalms a day and one Proverb per day. This takes you through the Psalms and Proverbs once per month. You may then consider also reading a portion of the Old and New Testaments with your Psalms and Proverbs reading. Some prefer to pick a book and read it each day for a month. There are a variety of ways to read the Bible, but just make sure you’re filling your mind with the Bible. You might consider one of the plans mentioned here. All of God’s Word is important.

“You can never have a Christian mind without reading the Scriptures because you cannot be profoundly influenced by that which you do not know.”[1]

Meditate on the Word by Praying It Jesus makes a relationship between abiding in his Word and prayer. He says:

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (John 15:7)

When we read the Word, we hear from the Savior. When we pray, we communicate back to him. Praying back the Word of Christ should be natural.

Why is it good to pray the Scriptures? Praying the Scriptures will help you pray in God’s will. As the Word abides in you, then you can ask whatever you wish – and whatever you wish should be in close alignment with God’s purposes if his Word is truly abiding in you. When you read the Scriptures about particular virtues and values, pray them for your children, family and church. When you read verses about God’s global mission, pray for God to use you and your church among the peoples for Christ’s namesake.

Praying the Word will also keep your prayer life from being routine. Have you ever heard the guy that prays the exact same way before every single meal or before taking up the offering? Do you ever feel like you are just repeating the same things yourself? Does prayer feel cold and lifeless? I suggest that you take your daily reading plan and pray it. I love praying the Proverbs for my kids. Here, I come across many things that I probably would not have thought to pray otherwise.

Praying the Word will also keep your Bible reading from becoming routine, as well. People sometimes ask, “How do you spend an hour with God?” You would be surprised how quickly an hour goes by when you are reading and praying. Your reading time will be energized as you pray as you read.

Pray for God to open your eyes to behold his truth and then pray these truths for yourself and others that God may write them on your heart.

[1] R. Kent Hughes, Disciplines of a Godly Man, rev. ed. (Wheaton: Crossway, 2001), 77.

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Tony Merida serves as the Lead Pastor of Imago Dei Church, Raleigh, NC and as the Associate Professor of Preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is married to Kimberly, with whom he has five children. Tony is the co-author of Orphanology and author of Faithful Preaching. He travels and speaks all over the world at various events, especially pastor’s conferences, orphan care events, and youth/college conferences.

7 Reasons People Don't Meditate on God's Word

This article is part of the ongoing series Meditating on God's Word. 1. Pride will keep you from God's Word Many arrogantly go through a given day without thought of reading God’s Word. They act as though they have no need for the Bible and are sufficient in and of themselves. However, the person for whom God is looking is one with a humble dependency on his Word. Consider Isaiah’s words:

But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. (Isaiah 66:2b)

God looks favorably to the one who places himself or herself under God’s Word daily.

Even the simple act of opening the Bible in the morning, before you leave for your daily labor, is a humble expression that you need God.

2. A misguided fear will keep you from God’s Word I’ve met some who are intimidated by God’s Word, thinking only the clergy and professional ministers can get it. Let me encourage you with the doctrine of “The Clarity of Scripture.” This is the belief that God gave his Word to be understood by all God’s people. Interpretive principles are important. Scholarship has a place. But make no mistake, Scripture claims that it is written for the “simple” everyday Christian (See Ps. 19:7; 119:130). Have you ever considered that Paul wrote a letter like Romans to “laypeople,” not seminarians? He expected farmers, blacksmiths, tentmakers, shopkeepers, mothers, and other Christians to understand his letter. God’s people can understand God’s Word if they approach it with a heart of humility, seeking to obey it. Theologian, Wayne Grudem says, “No believer should think himself or herself too foolish to read Scripture and understand it sufficiently to be made wise by it.”[1]

3. A lack of understanding as to how you should study the Bible will keep you from God’s Word At the end of this series, I want to help resolve this problem, giving you some practical steps in meditating and studying the Scriptures.

4. A belief that the Bible is boring will keep you from God’s Word Perhaps you’ve used this excuse, or heard this excuse. Maybe it has grown out of experiences with boring worship services or boring preachers. But still, the fault is not with the Bible. The reason I had no desire for Scripture prior to conversion was my heart was hardened. The problem was never with the Bible. The problem was with me.

Sometimes people come up to me and say things like, “You really know how to make the Bible come alive in your teaching?” I know what they mean. They are trying to encourage me, usually. But one day I want to say, “Alive? I didn’t know the Bible was dead! In fact, I didn’t even know it was sick!”[2] God’s Word is living and active (Heb. 4:12).

If you think the Bible is boring, let me encourage you to do the following:

1. Test yourself to see if you are truly born again (1 Peter 2:1-3).
2. Test your lifestyle to see if you are addicted to entertainment to the point that you can’t slow down enough to read quietly and meditatively. If so, unplug for a season and read.
3. Consider selecting a fresh reading plan and study plan. Ask a pastor or a mature Christian for some good study resources to recommend.
4. Pray hard for the Spirit to illuminate God’s Word so that it burns in your heart (Luke 24:32).

5. Busyness will keep you from God’s Word Of course, this is not a good excuse, but it’s all too common. Part of the exercise of meditating on Scripture is making time. One must plan to spend unhurried and unhindered time with God.

No one oozes into Christ-likeness. You don’t accidentally become a student of Scripture. Prioritize sitting at the feet of Jesus like Mary, who chose what was best (Luke 10:38-42).

Whenever someone presents this problem of busyness to me, or if I feel myself trying to use this excuse, I’m reminded of a particular cartoon. An overweight man is looking at the doctor who is obviously hearing from the patient that “he’s too busy to exercise.” To which the doctor responds, “What fits your busy schedule, exercising one hour a day or being dead twenty-four hours a day!?” We will prioritize things that matter.

6. Laziness will keep you from God’s Word R.C. Sproul says, “We fail in our duty to study God’s Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy.”[3] Like the “sluggard” in Proverbs who refused to go outside because “there’s a lion in the road” (Prov. 26:3), we often make bogus excuses as a cover for our indolence.

7. Unbelief in the value of Scripture will keep you from God’s Word Indeed, a fundamental problem is that many don’t value Scripture and believe its own claims about its potency. What would happen if we really believed that the Bible was “more valuable than gold” (Ps. 19:10)? What if someone would give you one hundred dollars for every verse you memorized? Would that motivate you? And yet, the Scripture itself is more valuable than any earthly treasure.

Consider the powerful benefits of Scripture:

• The Psalmist declared that God’s Word brings revival, wisdom, joy, understanding, warning, reward, cleansing, purity, and guidance (Ps. 19; 119:9-11, Ps. 119:105).
• Jeremiah claimed that God’s Word brings joy and assurance (Jer. 15:16), along with brokenness and humility (Jer. 23:29).
• Jesus explained to the disciples on the Road to Emmaus that God’s Word points to Him, and their hearts burned as he taught them (Luke 24:27).
• Jesus prayed that his followers would be sanctified by God’s Word, which is truth (John 17:17).
• Paul affirmed that faith comes by hearing from God’s Word (Rom 10:17).
• Paul told Timothy that the Scriptures were sufficient enough to produce wisdom for salvation; content for instruction and reproof, and the necessary equipment for ministry (2 Tim 3:14-17).
• The author of Hebrews stated the Scripture searches the soul and examines the heart (Heb 4:12).
• The Apostles declare that the Word creates spiritual life, that is new birth (Jas. 1:21; 1 Pet 1:22-25)
• Peter added that Scripture produces spiritual maturity (1 Pet 2:1-2).

[1] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 116. [2] This response is mentioned in R.C. Sproul’s Knowing Scripture, 14-15. [3] Ibid., 17.

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Tony Merida serves as the Lead Pastor of Imago Dei Church, Raleigh, NC and as the Associate Professor of Preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is married to Kimberly, with whom he has five children. Tony is the co-author of Orphanology and author of Faithful Preaching. He travels and speaks all over the world at various events, especially pastor’s conferences, orphan care events, and youth/college conferences.

Confession is the New Innocence

Men have died, countries have gone to war, and marriages have been destroyed because of the human aversion to admitting our own error and sin. The act of confessing is humiliating. It threatens self, exposing it to the one who hears the confession, and makes agreement with the “enemy” that the unfavorable ideas about us are actually true. This tears at the very walls of self, threatening to shake it to the foundation. How many times have you seen a politician avoid confession for fear of losing a position, or a parent resist confession for fear of looking weak in a child’s eyes? The resistance to confession promises to protect us, to keep up the charade, to help us maintain our power and our image.

Confession is a dangerous thing to a life built on the goodness, rightness, and excellence of self. Without confession of guilt there is no innocence for the sinner. That means confession is a requirement for us all.

Confession Precedes Forgiveness First John 1:9 clearly states that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The two things go together. Confession precedes forgiveness, just as our first confession precedes our salvation. As it says in Romans 10:10, “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” So our confession leads to our salvation. Confession is of ultimate importance in the life of faith. In fact, without it there is no faith. Only those who fail to confess their sin miss out on the grace and forgiveness of God.

Our resistance to confession does two things: it keeps us from the forgiveness our sins need, and it also calls God a liar because to fail to confess is to say “I have not sinned.” And “if we say we have not sinned, we make him [God] a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:10). He says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

If this is the case, then how is confession not a daily part of our lives, from sunup to sundown? Surely if our sin requires confession, then each day must have its own time of confession.

But confession isn’t much talked about in the modern church, meaning the body of believers, beyond the confession of salvation and confession of crimes prosecutable in a court of law. Why do you suppose that is? What is our fear in the area of confession? Could it be all that it requires of man? Of the confessor it requires certain humility, embarrassment, and shame, especially when sin is confessed to or in the presence of another human being. The pain of failure and shame can be overwhelming. Just getting the words out can feel like death. So is it any wonder that we all avoid the act of confession as much as we do?

The Anatomy of Confession What is confession, exactly? Is it simply saying, “I’m sorry”? Confession of the biblical sort is the act of verbalizing not only error and remorse but also truth. When we confess our sin we admit that we were wrong and that God was right. We admit our weakness and his strength, and we admit that we agree with God.

Confession isn’t a general statement like, “I’m sorry I was a jerk,” or “I’m sorry if I hurt you.” Confession gets specific. Thomas Watson puts this idea more poetically when he says, “A child of God will confess sin in particular; an unsound Christian will confess sin by wholesale—he will acknowledge that he is a sinner in general.” So proper confession calls out the sins we committed and not just the pain we inflicted. When we are honest and specific about sin, then we make agreement with God and confession is made.

Confession is best done instantly. Why wouldn’t it be? The sooner you can confess, the sooner you find your innocence.

As Thomas à Kempis didst say, “Spit out the poison with all speed, hasten to take the remedy, and thou shalt feel thyself better than if thou didst long defer it.”

Confession, like submission, is best done immediately.

In the life of the Christian there are two kinds of confession. There is the confession that we make to God regarding our guilt and need for his forgiveness. This is the saving kind of confession, the kind that saves us from our guilt and makes us innocent. And then there is the confession that we make to man regarding our guilt and our need for healing. In James 5:16 this kind of confession is explained: “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” So confession both provides for our forgiveness and our healing.

Confess to God First, let’s look at the confession we make to God for the forgiveness of our sins. The Bible is filled with God’s words about confession and forgiveness. In fact, the entire book exists for this purpose, to provide the sinner the forgiveness through Christ that is needed for eternal life. It’s no wonder that confession is talked about so much throughout the Bible.

And certainly our confession, when heard by man, reveals not only a fellow sinner who understands our own struggles, but God’s redeeming power in the life of that sinner. Your confession, when made and then redeemed by the forgiving power of the blood of Jesus, allows onlookers to see God at work and to get firsthand proof that he does heal our diseases and take away our sins (Ps. 103:3).

Another beauty of confession is the power that gets behind it. 1 John 2:1–2 reveals that when you confess, you don’t do it alone, but Christ confesses with you as an advocate for you and your forgiveness. We are promised that “if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” So our confession is not done alone or in our own strength, but with the power of Christ himself.

Confession leads to peace. There is nothing more nagging than our feelings of guilt. Guilt can haunt. But unconfessed guilt can also lead to turmoil of a more physical kind. Family problems, enemies, interpersonal relationships are greatly strained by the presence of unconfessed sin.

God wants your confession; he wants you to acknowledge your guilt and in the words of Hosea 5:15 to earnestly seek his face. Confession breeds earnestness. It reminds us not only of our rejection of God, but also of our need for him and his amazing grace.

God’s grace takes away the guilt of man in exchange for the innocence of Christ. It’s his exchanging his death for our life, and our willingness to offer up our death for the life that he lives in us. Those who die young confess this truth eagerly, “I am nothing and you are everything.” This confession repeats the words of Ephesians 2:8–9 and allows us to breathe a sigh of relief. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” In this kind of economy of faith, confession is the new innocence because of the grace that rewards it.

Confess to Man Now let’s look at the confession we make to man that leads to healing. Isn’t it interesting that God provides confession not only as an avenue for the protection of our humility, but also as an avenue for healing? And this healing isn’t only the healing of physical and emotional pain, but of spiritual pain as well. God’s best exists for the believers in community in relationship to one another (Gen. 2:18).

Community is a part of who God is as seen in the Trinity. So life for believers is best lived in community, and one of the blessings of community is the gift of confession and prayer that we can share with one another. As we confess our sins to each other, we share God’s forgiveness with each other in a tangible, audible, maybe even tactile way that reminds our souls how true it is. God allows for our need for human interaction and assurance that God is who he says he is, and that forgiveness is available for all, in spite of what the world might say about our sinfulness.

But in our failure to confess to one another, many of us retreat to the comfort of confessing to a God we cannot see.

As much as we don’t like admitting we were wrong, it is somehow easier to say that to God than to man. Many times our confessions to God might be more statements we make to ourselves about being better next time and thankfulness that God is forgiving. They might never get to the heart of a confession that states the sin and accepts the responsibility for it. But in the presence of another human being we are less likely to be unsure of our confession. As we confess to another we are forced to come face-to-face with the ugliness of our sin and to voice our guilt as a semipublic testimony of our imperfectness and his perfect trustworthiness.

On the heels of confession comes the prayer of those believers who heard it. They are standing in the gap, praying for our healing from the crippling pain of sin and its effects on our bodies. Not that all suffering is caused by sin in our lives, but God promises to relieve our suffering as we confess our sin. It might not be the sin that we confess that caused our pain, but our feelings about the pain, our resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness, worry, or doubt need confession.

No matter the case, confession of our sins and the transparency and authenticity that it brings is healthy for the soul and for the community. Your confession allows another person not only to have insight into their own sin but also to have the grace of God on that sin as well.

This is an excerpt adapted from Hayley and Michael DiMarco's book, Die Young: Burying Yourself in Christ.

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Hayley and Michael DiMarco are the best-selling authors of a combined total of over 30 books, including God Girl, God Guy, Dateable, Cupidity, and B4UD8. Their Nashville-based company, Hungry Planet, is focused on producing books that combine hard-hitting biblical truth with cutting-edge design.

Invite & Invest to Make Disciples

As Jesus completes his public ministry and prepares for his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, he spends his final moments with his disciples--teaching them what it means to abide in him and be his disciples on mission in the world. John 14 -15 provides a clear understanding of what it means to abide in Jesus. Based on this text, I use two questions to develop a common language for discipleship within my church community: “Are you abiding in Jesus Christ?” and “Who are you teaching to abide in Jesus Christ?” When we teach others to abide in Christ, we follow a very simple pattern of inviting them into relationship, investing our time and lives in them, and imagining with them what their lives would look like if lived in light of the gospel.

Inviting In John’s gospel, you see a very simple yet profound practice that Jesus employs in order that his mission will continue on after his death and resurrection: the practice of invitation. In John 1:35-51, Jesus extends the invitation to Andrew, Peter, and Phillip by simply calling them to “Come and See” and “Follow Me”. Although these would-be disciples have no idea what is in store for them, they drop what they are doing and begin the journey of learning from Jesus.

If your aim is to make disciples, this practice is essential for you as well. I believe the simple and intentional practice of extending an invitation to another person in order to teach them the truth of Christ and model for them a life in Christ is what is often missing in our attempts to make disciples.

We may talk about making disciples and even hope to make disciples, but until we actually invite someone to become a disciple, we have only a stated value, not a true value.

If you were to invite someone to be a disciple and teach them what it means to abide in Christ, who would it be? Perhaps a struggling couple in your church, a neighbor down the street, an unbelieving co-worker, or even the barista at your local coffee shop? Begin to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to someone you can disciple--and when He does, extend an invitation.

Investing Jesus spends an inordinate amount of time in John 13-17 alone with his disciples. Since he has completed his public ministry, and since he knows that he will soon be put to death publically, he takes a large amount of his time investing in his disciples.

The practical impact of this text cannot be overlooked. Think about all of the “good” things the Incarnate Son of God could have been doing with his last few moments of “free time”: he could have continued healing the sick, he could have continued calling the masses to faith and repentance, he could have even continued pleading with the Pharisees to turn from their religion and embrace Him as the Messiah. But he doesn’t do any of these things.

Instead, Jesus invests the fading moments of his earthly existence with 11 (Judas has departed) half-hearted disciples--whom he knows will soon abandon him in his greatest time of need. He gives them a symbol of his purifying blood by washing their feet. He models for them a life of service and love. He teaches them how to abide in him.

All of this shows us that if we want to make disciples of Jesus, we must invest our time and lives in a similar fashion.

We must be willing to invite people into our lives even when it is inconvenient.

We give away our time and experiences to others in order that they will grow in their faith in Christ and learn what it looks like to follow Jesus. We invest in others because he invested everything in us! As Paul says,

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8 ESV)

Imagining One key concept that should not be overlooked in John 14-17 is Jesus’ expectation of what his disciples will become after he has departed. In other words, Jesus paints a picture for these disciples about the possibilities that are in store for them if they abide in him. He tells them they will receive the Holy Spirit (14:16, 26), they will be adopted into his family (14:18), they will be one with him and the Father (14:20), they will bear fruit (15:5), they will experience true joy (15:11), persecution (15:18), and a deeper knowledge of the truth (16:12-13), just to name a few!

I believe the most overlooked aspect of teaching someone to abide in Christ is this work of “imagining” a different future for them. Life in Christ is full of joy, freedom, and satisfaction.

Knowing and living out your identity in Christ is the work of discipleship, and this leads to re-creation and renewal in the life of a disciple.

We must show others what this life can look like.

As you teach someone to abide in Christ, point to the great and glorious promises that Jesus gives his disciples. Help them imagine a different reality--one where King Jesus rules over them as the Servant King, extending grace upon grace to his followers. Help them see how this affects their work, their relationships, their marriages, the future of their children, the well-being of their neighborhood and of their city. Show them how a good and gracious God can wash the feet of sinners and rescue them from their own selfish ambition and self-hatred.

Discipleship is giving them a new story, with a new plot, and a new Hero, so that they can see the incomparable alternative to their current way of life.

In order to teach others what it means to abide, we must invite them into our lives, investing our time and experiences in them, and imagine a different future for them. My hope is that these simple steps can assist us all in our calling to make disciples of Jesus, through the power of the gospel.

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Greg "Gib" Gibson (@gibgibson) is an elder and teaching pastor at Living Hope, a church in the suburbs of Memphis, TN. Gib and his wife, Jill have three adorable kids.

The Image Conscious Disciple

As a wayward college student, I needed a cause more noble than piety, and a beauty more breathtaking than any woman could offer. I needed to fight for the nobility of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord, and to be ravished with the image of his glory shining in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6). Although I was unaware of it, I was fighting for an image that was far from noble and breathtaking. Image Consciousness We are all concerned about our images. We are image conscious. Hipsters work hard to look like they don’t care about image. Professionals work equally hard to look like they do care about image. We all project our values through the way we present ourselves. In writing this book, I am tempted to make writing decisions that reflect an intellectual image, instead of writing in a way that will best serve you. We all face the temptation to project false images of ourselves because we find the real image inadequate. This is easily done with social media. Our online image is often different from our offline image. With our Facebook statuses, we can project how we want others to see us, not who we truly are. Blog posts can be shrouded in airs of intellectualism, edginess, or humility.

If we are honest, our real image is nowhere near as attractive as we want it to be. We want to be more beautiful, more successful, more creative, more virtuous, more popular, and more intelligent than we actually are. We all have an image problem. The problem, however, is not that we lack beauty, success, creativity, virtue, popularity, or intelligence. The problem is that we believe the lie that says obtaining those images will actually make us happy. Believing the lie, we fight rigorously to obtain (or retain) our images of choice.

Only after we realize our tendency to build our identity on things that are untrue and unreliable, can we begin to sink our identity into what is truly reliable. 

We discipline ourselves to lose weight, climb the vocational ladder, learn new techniques, make moral decisions, or strive to be in the know, all to gain the images we so desperately want. We fight and scrap to obtain our desired perception. Why? Because we believe that being perceived a certain way will make us truly happy. We fight with whatever it takes—money, time, sacrifice, overworking, and the occasional white lie. In doing so, we believe a lie. We express faith in what is false. We rely on the unreliable. Only after we realize our tendency to build our identity on things that are untrue and unreliable, can we begin to sink our identity into what is truly reliable. Nobility and beauty travel along the lines of truth. If none of the images above truly satisfy, what kind of image should we be striving for? What offers true beauty and a truly noble cause?

God Wants Us to Have a Better Image  Christianity is about image. It affirms that we were created in God’s image (Gen. 1:26–28), disfigured in our fall with Adam (Rom. 5:12–21), and are in desperate need of renewal. This image constitutes our essential dignity as human beings. It is an imprint of the Creator’s divine nature, which includes our abil- ity to rule and relate. Apart from the redeeming work of God to restore our image, we rule and relate in very distorted ways. We rule over instead of for one another, and we relate out of a distorted sense of what will truly make us happy. As a result, we treat God and others with contempt and disregard.

This gospel knowledge corrects our vision so that we not only behold but also become the image of the glory of God in Christ.

The good news is that God wants to restore our image in Christ (2 Cor. 3:18; Col. 3:10). God wants to give us a better image. He promises a restored image in Jesus, who is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15). He holds up the image of Jesus as most glorious, and through the gospel, opens our eyes to his never-ending beauty (2 Cor. 4:6). Only by looking to Jesus can our disfigured image be restored and our contemptuous disregard forgiven. When we look away from ourselves and into the face of Christ, we behold “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). This gospel knowledge corrects our vision so that we not only behold but also become the image of the glory of God in Christ. True nobility and beauty converge in the image of Jesus.

Becoming What We Behold Everyone should be image conscious, but we need the gospel to change our image of choice. How, then, does our actual image change? It is a fundamental truth that we become what we behold.3 Children become like their parents; interns become like their mentors. If we behold the beauty of Christ, we become beautiful like Christ.While it is true that our first glance into the face of Christ restores our image (Rom. 5:1–3; 8:29–30), it is also true that we drift back into fashioning our own distorted image.We slip into our own distorted forms of masculinity and femininity. The gospel calls us back to look at Jesus over and over again.

A disciple of Jesus is a person who so looks at Jesus that he or she actually begins to reflect his beauty in everyday life. 

A disciple of Jesus is a person who so looks at Jesus that he or she actually begins to reflect his beauty in everyday life. The gospel gives us the eyes to see Jesus as well as the power to look like him. It changes us into the image of his glory: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” (2 Cor. 3:18). This transformative vision comes from the presence and power of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17–18), who we will discuss at length in chapter five. For now, suffice it to say that gospel-centered disciples rely on the Spirit, who focuses our hearts’ attention on Jesus, where beholding results in becoming like him. This is a goal worth fighting for.

The gospel also offers the hope of final transformation. One day our dusty image of Adam will be transformed entirely into the heavenly image of Christ: “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Cor. 15:49).This transformation, however, does not come without a struggle. Any image takes hard work, and in the words of J. P. Moreland, “Grace is opposed to earning not to effort.” If we are to enjoy the breathtaking beauty of Jesus, we must put effort into the noble fight of faith.

This is adapted from Jonathan Dodson's forthcoming book, Gospel-Centered Discipleship (Crossway, March, 2012).

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Jonathan K. Dodson (MDiv; ThM, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) serves as a pastor of Austin City Life in Austin, Texas. He has written articles in numerous blogs and journals such as The Resurgence, The Journal of Biblical Counseling, and Boundless. Dodson has discipled men and women abroad and at home for almost two decades, taking great delight in communicating the gospel and seeing Christ formed in others.

Be Fruitful and Multiply Disciples

Historically, movements have stopped because they were primarily leader-led information dumps. Information isn’t a bad thing, but information-driven movements are limited in influence. Why should we create disciple multiplying movements? How can we create them? It's What We Were Made For In the garden of Eden, we see that image bearers of God we were made to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:22, 26-28). By issuing his first "great commission," God did not merely intend for us to have more people over for Thanksgiving dinner. Rather, he wanted his beautiful image to fill the entire earth through the multiplication of his image bearers. But through Adam, we sinned and were separated from God.

In the attempt to author our own story, we sought center stage--pushing God's goals for us aside. We sought to multiply our image for the sake of our own fame rather than God's fame.

When someone repents and turns to God, it is our responsibility to show them their new mission by pointing back to the garden. We must show how their mission is all about multiplying for the sake of God's glory not multiplying a life that is all about them and their legacy.

Most small groups in churches believe their goal is to get to know each other or form a close bond. If this is the goal, multiplication will never be desired. Drawing close to one another is not the goal of missional community, but making disciples who make disciples is (being fruitful and multiplying images of Jesus). Drawing close to one another happens because Jesus has given us the same Father, and we are a part of the same family. So, forming a close bond is a bi-product rather than the goal of living together on mission as family.

This Must be on Our Lips If our goal is to make disciples who make disciples (to be fruitful and multiply), then this must be on our lips constantly. I tell those who aren’t even followers of Jesus yet, that we desire to see communities like ours across the world doing the same thing. So, when they join our community as a follower of Jesus, they’ve already been discipled to know that we desire multiplication.

But it doesn’t stop there. We continue to talk about it as a group and continue to seek to hear from the Spirit on his timing and his power to send us out. The best way I can describe this is by relating it to your child. Do you desire to see your child stay in your house until they die? Or do you desire to see them leave the house and have a family of their own? Do you then wait until they are 18 and spring this on them and then kick them out? Or, do you continue talking to them about it, train them and seek for them to be ready when the day comes to leave your house and go and be fruitful and multiply with their new family? This is the same thing we need to be doing with our church families. We need to seek to see them grow in maturity and grow in the gospel so that they too can lead a family of missionary servants to live out the effects of the gospel with those around them.

People often ask me how I make it easy for our groups to multiply. I say the same thing every time: You must regularly talk about multiplication and train the next group for its certainty. It must always be on your lips and prayers, and always on your people’s lips and prayers. If it’s not, then it will be very difficult when it happens--like kicking out your unsuspecting child and telling them it’s healthy.

Transforming and Transferable You will do well by building the foundation of multiplication. You will also do well by regularly talking about it and listening to the Spirit in the process. But what happens if you have no leaders to lead the multiplication? This is where many groups and movements fail. The reason is that people in the group look at the leader and think, “There’s no way I can do what he’s doing. This takes too much time and too much theological knowledge.” Not only that, but you’ve merely spoken about multiplication without transforming people’s hearts to seek it out.

Merely talking about making disciples is sometimes fun and it’s a great theological exercise for the mind. But mere talk and theologizing rarely inspire people to make disciples.

If you desire to see others gripped to make disciples, you must not only penetrate their intellect. You must also aim at their hearts. If you merely aim at their heads with theological reasons why it’s good to make disciples, people will always come up with reasons why they are not convinced of its realities.

I think of Jonathan Edwards when he spoke of God’s holiness and grace and compared it to honey.[1]

In this way, he says, there is a difference between having an opinion that God is holy and gracious, and having a sense of the loveliness and beauty of that holiness and grace. There is a difference between having a rational judgment that honey is sweet, and having a sense of its sweetness. A man may have the former, that knows not how honey tastes; but a man cannot have the latter unless he has an idea of the taste of honey in his mind. So there is a difference between believing that a person is beautiful, and having a sense of his beauty. The former may be obtained by hearsay, but the latter only by seeing the countenance. When the heart is sensible of the beauty and amiableness of a thing, it necessarily feels pleasure in the apprehension. It is implied in a person's being heartily sensible of the loveliness of a thing, that the idea of it is sweet and pleasant to his soul; which is a far different thing from having a rational opinion that it is excellent.

So, we must, as leaders, show others what it means to make disciples. When a follower of Jesus sees new disciples being made, and they are a part of it, their heart will rejoice. And like honey on the lips, they will desire more honey instead of merely talking about honey. Jesus did the same with the blind man in John 9. He healed him, so that the blind man would taste and see that the Lord was good. Then he supported that heart-transforming act, to theologically tackle the implications of who Jesus was afterward in John 9:35-41. Notice the way the blind man desired others to taste and see that the Lord Jesus was good--because his heart was transformed.

Not only do we seek to transform, but we must also make sure what we do is transferable. I have many things I can share from experience that I believe are transferable for my people, but you must ask yourself these types of questions:

• Do I need a theological degree to lead the community like I do? Remember, not all people like to read and study as much as many of us pastors do. If we want to create a movement of disciple-making, then we have to move away from leading from a position of “trained” men, into leading like “untrained” men. (By the way, I’ve never been to seminary, nor am I paid by the church.)

• Do I need to be paid by the church to have the time to do what I do? See above.

• What resources are available to give future leaders so that they don’t feel like they have to think of new topics to discuss and study in their Missional Community? I do not do any book studies in the Bible that cause me to do an immeasurable amount of study and reading on my own. If I do, then people will see the group as one that can only be led by someone with my capacity. Instead, I use easily transferable studies (e.g., check out  www.bild.org)

• How can I model all of this, so that I am going to be able to transfer leadership, instead of being the functional savior for our groups? Make sure you lead as you want others to lead. Don’t do studies that can only be led by a seminarian. Don’t do so many activities that can only be done by those with a job inside the church. Remember, as you lead, you are discipling those in your group on what it looks like to lead a group of disciple-makers. You can’t say one thing and model another. They’ll see right through that.

Because I have worked hard to hear the Spirit’s leading in this, 80% of those that are a part of the Missional Communities in my expression within Soma Communities desire to lead MCs at some point. When I baptized a new disciple, he first desired to lead a group of disciple-makers. He saw this as the only option for someone who was a follower of Jesus and, that it wasn’t anything special. In spite of being a new disciple, he didn’t see this as some “high calling” only for a few.

Since we want to lay the foundation of multiplication, we regularly talk about making disciples who make disciples. We seek to do this by modeling it for them in ways easily transferable. New disciples often can’t wait to lead others in the making of disciples who multiply to make more disciples.

So, go! Be fruitful disciples of Jesus by multiplying his beautiful image everywhere.

¹ http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/edwards_light.html

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Seth McBee is the adopted son of God, husband of one wife and father of three. He’s a graduate of Seattle Pacific University with a finance degree. By trade Seth is an Investment Portfolio Manager, serving as president of McBee Advisors, Inc. Today, he’s a preaching elder, City Church leader and coach with Soma Communities in Renton, Washington. In his down time he likes to watch football, cook BBQ, host pancake ebelskiver breakfasts at his home and many other neighborhood events in his hometown of Maple Valley, Washington.

Share the Gospel & Your Life

Discipleship happens, not just by sharing the gospel but by sharing our lives with others. Writing to the Thessalonians, Paul comments: “So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us” (1 Thess 2:8). Paul and Silas shared the gospel and their lives with these men and women. Paul lived with Jason, worked with the Thessalonians, ate meals with them, had an affection for them.

They shared life in the rhythms of working, eating, suffering, and serving, like a family.

So how do we go about making disciples?

Mentor Discipleship Paul describes discipleship through two primary relationships: brother to brother and father to son. Perhaps more people are familiar with brother discipleship relationships, where you have shared life and the gospel with your peers. All too often these Christian relationships stop at sharing life. They don't go deep into the gospel, mining grace through conflict, suffering, and mission. The other disciple relationship God has given the church is the father to son or mother to daughter. This relationship is not peer-based but mentor-based, sharing not only life but also gospel wisdom.

I’ve had the privilege of sharing life and wisdom with some great mentors. Tom & Julie Steller shared their lives and the gospel with us our first year of marriage. We lived on the first floor of their home, which was connected to their floors with a winding staircase. We popped in on one another, talked in the front yard about life, and occasionally shared meals. The Stellers gave us an example of marriage during our first year. Julie intentionally prayed for Robie and walked with her through some trials. Tom also helped me fumble through the first year by sharing wisdom with me, not just life. He was the first person to show me that, when 1 Peter 3:7 calls us to “live with our wives in understanding way”, it literally reads "dwell with them according to knowledge." In other words, husbands should be students of our wive's needs, hopes, fears, and dreams. We should know them intimately not just provide for them financially. This insight has compelled me to love my wife over the years by asking her questions about her joys, fear, concerns, hopes, and dreams. I’ve passed it onto many.

How to Speak Wisely Mentors speak wisely in a variety of ways. There's not a one size fits all way of sharing wisdom. Paul discipled through speech by exhorting and encouraging. He wrote to them saying: “For you know how, like a father with his children"exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory” (2:11–12). A fatherly mentor observes his disciple and takes time to exhort, encourage, and charge others in the faith.

A mentor observes his disciple and takes time to exhort, encourage, and charge others in the faith.

Tom exhorted me to understand my wife as a display of the gospel to the world. Doug Birdsall encouraged me in seminary. We met together regularly but he also took the time to attend the Sunday School classes I taught, in both my first year and my last year. Then, after each class he would pull me aside to specifically tell me how I had improved. When I began writing, published author and mentor, Steve Macchia, encouraged me to keep writing even when my article queries were turned down. He insisted that I had a voice and something to say, and that one day, I would get published. He endorses my first book, which comes out in March. Exhorting and encouraging can and should happen in peer discipleship relationships too, though exhortation and encouragement from a mentor carries a particular weight. Use it wisely.

The discipleship crisis can be redressed if we will simply take the time to be disciples who share the gospel and our lives with others. If this kind of discipleship had stopped with Paul and Barnabas, Christianity would have gone nowhere. But Barnabas discipled Paul, Paul discipled Silas, who discipled the Thessalonians, who discipled others. Four generations of disciples. The church grew, in depth and number, through the multiplication of shared life and wisdom. What if this kind of discipleship had stopped with the Thessalonian church? Where would we be? If it had stopped with me, my now friend and fellow pastor would not be discipling others. When I first met him, he was a burned out musician and recovering alcoholic in need of shared life and gospel wisdom. After taking in some gospel steroids, sharing life, and devouring wisdom, he's discipled others. Now he’s not only a peer disciple but also a mentor to others.

Life and Gospel What would happen if you and your community took the opportunity to share life and the gospel, not just as peers but also as mentors to one another? You could stave off the crisis and advance the church.

Jesus wasn't born, crucified, and raised just so you could go to church; he came so you would go make disciples.

Good discipleship relationships share life and the gospel. Sometimes they take the form of brotherly relationships and other times they take the form of mentor relationships, father to son, mother to daughter. Everyone needs a mentor but not everyone is promised a mentor. However, everyone can be a mentor to others. If you know Jesus, you know more than enough to disciple someone.

It is these discipling relationships that cause the gospel to spread, for disciples to multiply. What would it look like for you to invite one person into your life, to share just 25% of your time with? Who has God sent you to? Are you intentionally making disciples? Who could you deliberately pursue to share life and the gospel with? Jesus wasn't born, crucified, and raised just so you could go to church; he came so you would go make disciples. Don't just go to church; go make disciples!

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Jonathan K. Dodson (MDiv; ThM, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) serves as a pastor of Austin City Life in Austin, Texas. He has written articles in numerous blogs and journals such as The Resurgence, The Journal of Biblical Counseling, and Boundless. Dodson has discipled men and women abroad and at home for almost two decades, taking great delight in communicating the gospel and seeing Christ formed in others.

Barefoot Church (Excerpts)

Believing is not just a matter of knowing. “Believing is also a matter of doing. Believing is trusting that Jesus’ way of living is the right way, and trusting it enough that one is willing to live that way – and die that way.”[i] Following Christ Should Change Our Lives We've been talking about the elements of discipleship ad nauseum for years. Bible study, surrender, the Holy Spirit, giving back... no one would disagree with these marks of a disciple… but most people never transfer these practices from the church campus to an actual life.

According to our role model, Jesus, surrender meant death in every possible way: materially, relationally, and physically. He surrendered until there was nothing left but redemption for a broken world.

The Holy Spirit is a blazing fire, charring every remnant of selfishness and pride left in our souls, an unquenchable fire that cannot be ignored or denied. Giving back means giving all; any inferior definition is pure deception. Our money, our resources, our gifts, our time, our dreams, our selfish ambitions, our comfort - these we give back in their entirety. Anything less is not discipleship at all. It is simply a clever substitution by a crafty enemy who has figured out how to use our own weaknesses against us, rocking us to complacent sleep with a consumeristic version of the gospel, knowing all the while he is making goats out of sheep.

Earlier today I sat down to start this chapter on how social action impacts discipleship when I was interrupted by a call from my wife. She said seven words, “Brandon. Come home. We got our referral!” Then she hung up.

Nearly a year ago we started the long journey of international adoption. After spending some time in Africa with The Eden Reforestation Projects, and falling in love with the children of Ethiopia, our hearts were affirmed that that’s where we were to adopt.

Jen handled the whirlwind of paperwork like a pro. It’s like applying for 20 mortgages at the same time. Quite a process: Family history, addresses, references, financial reports, physicals (even the dog), fingerprints, and home studies. We submitted our dossier. Made the payments thanks to some incredible friends and supporters. And we waited. I tried my best not to think about it too often, hoping the time would pass. Jen’s strategy was a little different; adoption blogs, facebook groups, email chains, and the adoption agency website were a daily obsession for her.

Today we were given the names, faces, and heart breaking stories of a beautiful little 5-year old girl and 7-year old boy we were going to adopt.

There are experiences in life that simply change us. Some are good. Some are tragic. But they literally change who we are and what we’re about from that point forward. While we’ve yet to realize the full impact adoption will have on us, this is certainly one of those experiences for us. Life will never be the same.

Following Christ should change our lives. We should not be the same. Discipleship should be transforming.

Yet when we think about our spiritual development, it’s easier to see a change in our practices than in our passions. We continue to add things and replace things, yet our hearts remain the same. We seem to think discipleship is an agreement to knowledge instead of a commitment to a gospel that makes all things new.

I share my story because I want you to know that my hope is completely different today than it was a handful of years ago. I’ve seen the same in others. While I know I have a ways to go, I can honestly say that the way I think is different. The way I feel is different. The way I love is simply different. My faith journey is now a joy. My church experience is life-giving. And for the first time, I actually do life with the people I’m in biblical community with.

When the Church Makes Jesus Public Jesus was clear that his followers were the salt of the earth, a light to the world, and a city on a hill that could not be hidden. Being a visible city or a shining light does not mean that we should talk even louder when no one is listening to us or that we should wave our arms and jump around when we aren’t seen, just to get in someone’s face. When we are “salt,” saltiness is part of our very nature. If we are indeed “light,” we will indeed be seen in a dark world. Who we are can’t be hidden because light consumes the darkness.

These are images that define the nature of a community that becomes Good News to others. This is something we become because of what we believe, what we value, and what we do. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 that when people encounter such a community that they will “see” our “good works” and then ultimately “give glory to your Father in heaven.”[ii]

In a post-Christian society, this is what the church needs to become yet again, salt and light to the world. The unchurched community no longer expects much from church; in fact, they often expect the worst. They are jaded. Wounded. And, confused. Yet people are still looking for hope, and no one else can offer what we have to offer them.

Our story made public, the visible witness of our lives together as a whole community, are integral to whether or not our message of hope becomes their message of hope.[iii]

To minister with influence in our current context, we must learn to locate the key differences between what our culture sees and what the Kingdom of God made visible has to offer them. The more the church lives in faithfulness to God and the gospel, the more visible God’s grace will be for all those who long for it. As Darrell Guder wrote in his book, Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America, “Churches that listen to sermons deploring crime may be faithful in attending to God’s call for right relationships among humanity. But the church that sets up victim-offender reconciliation programs and promotes equitable economic opportunities for communities where crime is the main escape route from financial despair is not only faithful but a remarkable light to the world, a city on a hill.”[iv]

Living the Gospel We Proclaim We’ve already established that the gospel demands both proclamation and incarnation. Proclaiming has many forms, but in the end they are all spoken. Incarnation also has many forms but it is always about how we live.  It’s Good News when we speak the gospel message and share the offer of redemption that is available through Christ. And it’s Good News when we live incarnationally and take on the posture of Christ to others, humbly serving them. Either approach can be productive. But depending on how we engage in these activities, either of them can also be very ineffective.

Proclamation and incarnation are inseparably linked together. A spoken word can quickly be discredited through our actions, and in the same way our actions can quickly validate the message we speak. We can try to argue that our actions and words function independent of one another, without consequence. But one thing’s for certain: our observers never separate the two.

There are circumstances when proclamation is in order. We should always be prepared to speak and give a defense for the hope that we profess. There are moments when a spoken word can bring the conviction of sin and the confidence of reconciliation between a fallen child and a forgiving Father. But there are also times when speaking the Good News must begin by living it out and showing people what it looks like.

Mercy and justice ministry is a life-mate to the spoken Word in this equation. In an increasingly post-Christian and postmodern context where moral authority trumps positional authority, we would be wise to make sure that our deed matches our creed. If our actions and our message do not align, the message we desperately want to be heard will not be heard. At least not in the way we want.

Being Good News as a Way of Life As a part of the spiritual formation process at Austin New Church, we spend quite a bit of time talking about tangible ways we can become good news as an intuitive way of life. Last night, my Restore Community was having a discussion around the Gospel as being Good News to broken people. I was incredibly encouraged by all the stories of how members of the group were being intentional about the gospel that very week.

After a time of sharing individual stories, I asked the group to think about how revealing, simple, and powerful each story was. And what it’s teaching them about the Gospel. Then I asked them to consider what would happen if a group of people collectively gathered around the mission of being good news as a way of life. What would be the impact on our community?

The immediate consensus was that people would want to be involved. That even those resistant to church would be intrigued. And that it would change the way people viewed us as believers.

They were excited to talk about how that might play out. They were being creative in thinking about ways to bridge new relationships with the hopes of making a positive impact on others. They were talking about how the growth would create the opportunity to form new groups and how together the scope of our service could be exponentially larger.

They didn’t even realize that we were talking about a biblical model of church where the Gospel is central. And they were excited about it growing. They were right in thinking that people would want to be a part of it. Just the idea was refreshing and life giving. Everyone was intrigued. Everyone smiling. And our affections were on the mission and the relationships, not the numbers.

Transforming the Way We View Success I’ve heard it said that the more things change, the more things stay the same. I disagree. The more things change, the more things should change along with it. We should hope for transformed lives, increased hope, life-giving relationships, and for all things to be made new. This is the type of change I desire as a Christian. And honestly, I think it’s the type of the change the world is looking for.

Change is a good way to measure success. Often change itself is the success. Mostly because it’s the work of the Spirit that creates real change. Another way to think about it is transformation. If we were to really evaluate transformation in the church as evidenced by our lives, our relationships, our joy and peace it would certainly change what we view as success.

“It is not enough to fill our churches; we must transform our world. Society and culture should change if the church has been truly effective. Is the church reaching out and seeing lives changed by the Good News of the Kingdom of God? Surely the numbers of Christians will increase once this happens, but filling seats one day a week is not what the Kingdom is all about. We do Jesus an injustice by reducing His life and ministry to such a sad story as church attendance and membership roles. The measure of the church’s influence is found in society—on the streets, not in the pews.”[v]

This is an excerpt from Brandon Hatmaker's book, Barefoot Church: Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture.

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Brandon Hatmaker is pastor of Austin New Church and a missional strategist & coach with Missio. He is married to author and speaker Jen Hatmaker and is father to five children, two via adoption from Ethiopia and three “the old fashioned way”. To find out more about Brandon and his ministry check out www.brandonhatmaker.com.

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[i] Darrell L. Guder, Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998) 130-131.

[ii] Matthew 5:17.

[iii] Darrell L. Guder, Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans), 128.

[iv] Ibid., 129.

[v] Neal Cole: Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005).

Change is a Community Project

He’d passed up the opportunity a hundred times before. But, taking himself by surprise, he decided to go for it today. He spluttered something about having something to say. Now he was beyond the point of no return. There were four other people around the table at their lunchtime prayer meeting, all looking at him warmly. He took a deep breath and told them, confessing years of sin.

For Stephen, it was the turning point. Three years later that moment is still etched on his mind. But those three years have been years of joy and freedom and growth.

God is in the business of change, and he’s placed us in a community of change. The church is one of God’s means of grace to reinforce our faith and repentance, but it’s also a channel for the other means of grace. I’m holding a book on holiness in my hand that has a picture on the cover of a person walking alone along a beach. The message is that holiness is about me and God. But change in the Bible is never a solo project. Change is a community project.

A Community of Change Paul talks about the church as a community of change in Ephesians 4. He begins by urging us to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” Through the death of Jesus we have become a home for God (2:22) and a showcase for his wisdom (3:10). Your local church is that home and that showcase in your area. This means that change is a community project.

Change is a Community Process Change is a community project because it’s a community process as well as an individual process. When Paul talks about becoming mature, he’s talking about the body of Christ as a whole (4:12–13). It’s the Christian community together that displays God’s wisdom. We make God known not just as individuals, but through our life together and our love for one another (John 13:34–35; 17:20–23). That’s why Paul urges us to be a united community (Ephesians 4:2–6). Our aim is to “grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (v. 15).

Imagine one of those children’s books that have pictures of different people with the pages divided so you can mix and match different heads, bodies, and legs. You flip over the pages to match up the pictures, enjoying the funny combinations as you go. Paul says the church is a body with Christ as its head. Our job is to change the body so that it matches the head. And we can’t be the body of Christ on our own. We can’t be mature on our own. Change is a community project.

This means sin is always a community concern. My sin impedes the growth of the community as a whole. It stops us from growing together as the body of Christ. It has an impact on all of us. Even our private, secret sins affect the community. No one knew Achan had kept the robe, silver, and gold from the defeat of Jericho, but his sin led to defeat for God’s people (Joshua 7). My sin stops me from playing the role God intends for me in the way God intends, and this means that the church doesn’t grow and reflect its head as God intends.

Community is the God-Given Context for Change The Christian community is the best context for change because it’s the context God has given. The church is a better place for change than a therapy group, a counselor’s office, or a retreat center. We grasp the love of Christ “with all the saints” (Ephesians 3:18). Christ gives gifts to the church so we can grow together (4:7–13).

What does Christian maturity look like? It looks like Jesus (4:13, 15). One of the great things about the Christian community is that it gives us models of Christlike behavior. Of course, no one is perfectly like Jesus, but other Christians help us see what it means to walk with God. It’s not just godliness we model for one another, but also growth and grace. We model growth as people see us struggling with sin and turning in faith to God.

Every Sunday in our church we give people the opportunity to talk about what God has been doing in their lives during the past week—answers to prayer, comfort from God’s Word, opportunities for evangelism, help in temptation. In so doing, we reinforce our belief in a God who is alive and active among us.

One reason the ascended Christ gives the Spirit to the church is to equip each of us with a special gift—our contribution to the life of the church community (4:7). Everyone’s contribution matters. “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (4:16, niv). We all have a part to play in building a home for God. We need one another in order to be a healthy, growing church. This means that everyone else needs you, and you need everyone else. You need to help others change. And you need to let others help you change.

Together we extol Christ to one another, and we each bring distinct harmonies to the song. We comfort one another with the comfort we have received (2 Corinthians 1:3–7). Our different experiences of God’s grace become part of the rich counsel that we in the church have for one another. Moreover, in the Christian community there is a collective persistence that’s stronger than any individual can manage. When I grow weary of speaking truth to a particular situation, someone else will take up the baton. We’re like a choir singing the praises of Jesus. No one can sustain the song continually on his or her own, but together we can.

Paul particularly highlights the role of those who proclaim, explain, and apply God’s Word (Ephesians 4:11). That’s because the Bible is the source of the truth about God, which counters the lies behind our sin. But notice that these leaders don’t do all the work of God in the church. Their role is to equip God’s people for works of service (4:11–12). It’s all God’s people who together build up the body of Christ. We work with one another and for one another, so that together we can be mature and Christlike.

Paul says that Christ “makes the whole body fit together perfectly” (4:16, nlt). Your church is not a collection of random people. Christ has specially selected each one to create a perfect fit. You may have chosen other people for one reason or another. But God placed these people in your life to help you change. As my friend Matt said when we were talking about this passage, “I need to give everyone in our church a new merit in my life.”

Paul isn’t talking about an idealized church with idealized people. He’s writing to a real church with real people. He’s talking about your church. You can’t say, “That’s fine in theory, but my church is never going to be like that.” God has given these people to you so they can care for you and so you can care for them. If your church isn’t what it should be, then start changing it. Start sharing your struggles, and start “speaking the truth in love” (4:15).

Verse 31 says, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” These behaviors all have two things in common. First, they all involve other people. Second, they’re all symptoms of thwarted and threatened sinful desires. Often we can’t spot sinful desires. But when they’re threatened or thwarted by other people, we respond with bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, and malice. One of the great things about living as part of a community is that in community people walk all over your idols. People press your buttons. That’s when we respond with bitterness, rage, and so on. And that gives us opportunities to spot our idolatrous desires.

God is using the different people, the contrasting personalities, in your church to change your heart. He’s using the difficult people, the annoying people, the sinful people. He’s placed you together so you can rub off each other’s rough edges. It’s as if God has put us, like rocks, into a bag and is shaking us about so that we collide with one another. Sometimes sparks fly, but gradually we become beautiful, smooth gemstones. Remember the next time someone is rubbing you the wrong way that God is smoothing you down! God has given you that person in his love as a gift to make you holy. Sinclair Ferguson comments, “The church is a community in which we receive spiritual help, but also one in which deep-seated problems will come to the surface and will require treatment. . . . We often discover things about our own hearts which we never anticipated.”

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This is an excerpt from Tim Chester's book, You Can Change: God's Transforming Power for Our Sinful Behavior and Negative Emotions.

Tim Chester (PhD, University of Wales) is pastor of the Crowded House in Sheffield, United Kingdom, and director of the Porterbrook Institute, which provides integrated theological and missional training for church leaders. Chester also coauthored Total Church (Re:Lit) and has written more than a dozen books.

Worship Distorted

I was asked to teach an intensive course at a seminary, three eight-hour days of presentation. During the first hour my agenda was to introduce the idea that we are all idolaters. I began by saying, “One hundred percent of your pastoral counseling will involve identifying and confronting idols.” Immediately the push back began: “Idolatry is a primitive idea”; “People don’t have idols; they have issues.” As long as we ignore what the Bible says about the human heart and what God desires from his people, we will raise these same objections. The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9).

The root of idolatry is pride. Isaiah described Lucifer’s rebellion as he ceased to worship because he wanted to be worshiped:

“You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’” (Isa. 14:13–14).

In James, pride is seen as a heart condition that God resists. The posture appropriate to approaching God is one of humility:

Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. . . . Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:5–7, 10)

Pride is seen as detestable to God precisely because it steals from God’s glory and his preeminence. Pride is rebellion, but it is much more than rebellion against God’s authority. Pride is self-centeredness rather than God-centeredness. A proud heart sees itself as central and God as the one who must find his place of orbit in the proud heart’s universe. While few people who call themselves Christians would admit to such a self-centered worldview, I find my weeks filled with people with questions and comments such as these:

• How can God be loving and let this bad thing happen to me?
• I can’t believe in a God who let’s bad things happen.
• I don’t care what the Bible says; this is what I want.
• I have been praying for a Christian husband, and if God wanted me to marry one, then he would have provided one.
• If God is against homosexuality, why did he create me this way?
• If God wanted me to stay married, he should have told that to my cheating spouse.

Look beyond the content of those objections to the underlying conviction of those who are making them. The objectors believe they have rights and God has the responsibility to work within those rights. To their way of thinking, God can’t love and also do something the objector can’t understand, nor can God call for behavior that is inconvenient or politically incorrect. They believe that God has no right to ask them to opt for grace and forgive another when they have a “biblical” right to hurt someone who has hurt them.

A couple of things need to be pointed out. First, the idea that God is accountable to us for his behavior, or at least for explanations for acting as he does, skews our real place with God. At best, it makes him our peer, and in that vein he should give us a reasonable explanation. When I talk to people who are angry at God for what he has done or is allowing to happen, I often hear them say, “All I want to know is why.” I have asked several of them, “Really? What if his explanation didn’t satisfy you, and you were convinced he could achieve the same end without doing or allowing what has angered you?” At that point, they often realize that they really want more than a why; they want a why that satisfies them and that makes God accountable to them.

Second, the concept of creature and creator gives God a trump card. He really does get to design his world, his creations, and his story for his own glory. Anything that attempts to compete with that is an idol. Pride paints us into corner between self-centeredness and idolatry.

Jesus already raised the bar from adultery to a heart of lust and from murder of a brother to anger. So how is it we continue to smuggle sin and knock-off versions of righteousness into lives and community in the name of Christianity? It has to have something to do with who or what we are worshiping. When self is at the center, things that feel good or right, emotional places of consolation or insulation, or distractions and attractions don’t seem that bad. But when God is the center, when the God of the universe comes into your soul, living quarters become tight, and there just isn’t any room for things that don’t exalt the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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This is an excerpt adapted from Bill Clem's recent book, Disciple: Getting Your Identity from Jesus.

Bill Clem is a pastor for Ballard Campus of Mars Hill Church, based out of Seattle, and is on the global campus network team spearheading spiritual formation.

Signs You are Not Awakened to the Gospel

The following is an excerpt from Jared Wilson's recently published book, Gospel Wakefulness.

One of the marks of gospel wakefulness is the failure of anything else to thrill the soul like the gospel. When the heart treasures Christ and savors his power, sin grows bitter. Even good gifts that God made delicious recede to their proper flavors. Good things we have made “god things” don’t cease to be good; in fact, they continue to provide pleasures and satisfactions, but they keep their proper functions and blessings, in service to the common grace the God of glory ascribes them.

Signs You are Not Awakened to the Gospel The purpose of Gospel Wakefulness is not to shake your assurance but to bolster it, and in doing so to invite you deeper into your own spiritual brokenness to find the glistening diamond-riddled cave of the gospel treasure. Nevertheless, allow me the tender ministry of pressing on your assurance like a doctor would a troublesome extremity. Allow the application of a diagnostic test. The Scriptures do tell us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, so the aim of this diagnostic is not to shake your foundation, but to shake off whatever might not be of God that has been erected upon it. Some signs you have not experienced gospel wakefulness:

1. The gospel doesn’t interest you—or it does, but not as much as other religious subjects.
2. You take nearly everything personally.
3. You frequently worry about what other people think.
4. You treat inconveniences like minor (or major) tragedies
5. You are impatient with people.
6. In general, you have trouble seeing the fruit of the Spirit in
7. your life (Gal. 5:22–23).
8. The Word of God holds little interest.
9. You have great difficulty forgiving.
10. You are told frequently by a spouse, close friend, or other family members that you are too “clingy” or too controlling.
11. You think someone besides yourself is the worst sinner you know.
12. The idea of gospel centrality makes no sense to you.

That last diagnostic question raises what I call the “catch-22” of gospel centrality.

As a pastor I am frequently faced with questions, either from curious people or from temptation from the Devil, about the durability of the gospel week in and week out. It is the centerpiece of my preaching, the central theme of my ministry, the heart of my life, and the joy of my tongue and pen. Occasionally I am faced with this question: can it not get worn out from all that use?

Here is the catch-22 of gospel centrality: whether one “gets it” or not, the prescription for preaching and all of life is still the gospel. The critic of the one-note Johnnyism of gospel centrality just doesn’t get it. But the gospel is versatile enough for those who do and don’t. And there’s the awesomeness of the gospel-centered life! Those who haven’t yet experienced gospel wakefulness can only do so by hearing the gospel, and those who have experienced gospel wakefulness don’t tire of hearing it!

Either way, the gospel is the answer.

The Beautiful Monotony of the Gospel As I have said, one sign you are gospel wakened is the recurring newness of the gospel to you, the lack of gospel fatigue you experience. Gospel wakefulness creates a constant state of awe about the gospel.

One fear pastors like me must put aside in our quest for greater gospel centrality is that it will not preach week to week. The enemy and our own flesh will test our commitment with this “plausible argument” (Col. 2:4), that the gospel will just sound so one-note. We are tempted to think the repetition will have the unintended effect of boring people or making the gospel appear routine and commonplace.

But the gospel is resilient. It is miraculously versatile. It proves itself every day for those awake to it. Because it is the antidote for all sin of all people, power effectual for all types of people no matter their background or circumstance, it is God’s might to save every millisecond and therefore every Sunday.

Perhaps we’ll sound like a broken record. It’s true the gospel is one song. But it is a song with many notes. The news is the same, but some of the words may change and the angles shift. (Use a thesaurus if you have to.) If we are awake to the gospel and seek the wakefulness of others, Christian and non-Christian, the playing of the greatest song at every instance is a lot like the exuberance of childlike wonder in monotonous fun. In his classic work Orthodoxy, the great G. K. Chesterton writes:

Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.*

When we “get” the gospel for what it really is—the power to save, the most thrilling news there could be, the declaration that God’s Son died for us and then came back to life to be the risen Lord and supreme King of the universe, achieving for us not just the entry fee for heaven but the currency for all of life—we revel in the new creation it unleashes in its wake at every turn. We never get tired of hearing it. It’s the new song that never gets old. “Play it again, play it again!” we will cry.

God is strong enough to bear the monotony of our daily sin; he has placed that burden on his Son, who bore it obediently and sacrificially, who took it to the cross and killed it, covering all debts for us, public and private, from the foundation of the world until the streaming nightless days of eternity. With such freedom, gospel-wakened people have been given the strength to exult in the beautiful monotony of the gospel.

The further good news is that those who are dulled in their senses will not be further dulled by the gospel. In fact, only the gospel can deliver them from their dulled state. The gospel renews our affections to embrace the God-centered life.

So I am eager to preach the gospel to you . . . (Rom. 1:15)

*Gilbert K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy (New York: John Lane, 1908), 108–9.

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Jared C. Wilson is the pastor of Middletown Springs Community Church in Middletown Springs, Vermont. He is an award-winning author whose articles and short stories have appeared in a number of periodicals, and has written the popular books Your Jesus Is Too Safe and Gospel Wakefulness, as well as the curriculum Abide. Wilson lives in Vermont with his wife and two daughters, and blogs daily at GospelDrivenChurch.com.

The Gospel According to Jonah

The Omnivore & the GospelA number of years ago, Michael Pollan, the best-selling author of some excellent books on food, hunted and killed a wild California pig as part of his effort to prepare a meal hunted and foraged in the wild. After shooting the pig, he walked to it, knelt and touched it, saw its blood flowing onto the ground, and experienced a surge of emotions, including pride, relief, and happiness.

The other emotion he felt (but hadn’t expected) was gratitude. But, in Pollan’s words, gratitude ‘for what exactly, or to whom? For my good fortune, I guess…but also to this animal, for stepping unbidden over the crest of that hill, out of the wild and into my sight…More than the product of any labor of mine (save receptiveness) the animal was a gift – from whom or what I couldn’t say – but gratitude seemed in order, and gratitude is what I felt’ (The Omnivore’s Dilemma).

It’s a sacred moment for Pollan, though he seems unable to connect the dots to God. He feels grateful to the pig, but also to someone (Someone?) for giving him the pig. In the end, he seems content to simply record the emotion he feels and leave it there. But what a moment and what a remarkable description of the moment! This passage feels to me like a groping toward the gospel. Pollan even articulates an awareness of grace – the pig was a gift more than a product of his labor, and his role was mainly receptiveness. The terminology sounds like some New Testament descriptions of the gospel. Someone or something has supplied a free, unexpected, and undeserved gift, and it feels right to be thankful. It’s perhaps unusual to find a hint of the gospel in a description of a secular, liberal, foodie intellectual killing a pig. But there it is.

Jonah & the Gospel There are even clearer hints of the gospel in another unlikely place: the book of Jonah. Unlikely, because the events described in Jonah occurred about eight hundred years before Jesus, there is no explicit mention in Jonah of any Messianic figure, and the main character of the book is a recalcitrant and sinful man. But Jesus himself invites us to look for hints of the gospel in the book of Jonah.

He does so by referring to his own death and resurrection as ‘the sign of the prophet Jonah’ (Matthew 12.39) and by comparing Jonah’s experience with his own (‘…for just as Jonah… so will the Son of Man…). This suggests that the shape of Jesus’ experience is roughly similar to Jonah’s experience. If we know the stories of both Jonah and Jesus, we can immediately see the similarities. The raging sea and the cross are both places of desperation and death. The fish and the tomb (in which both Jesus and Jonah lie for ‘three days and three nights’) are (quite unexpectedly in each case) a step along the way toward life after death. In both cases, God is the one responsible for this new life – he tells the fish to deposit Jonah on dry land (Jonah 2.6, 10) and he exerts his great power to raise Jesus Christ from the dead (Ephesians 1.19-20).

Jesus sees Jonah’s experience as analogous to his own. You might say that in this case, the New Testament’s use of the Old Testament (i.e. Jesus’ reference to Jonah) actually points to the Old Testament’s use of the New (i.e. Jonah’s story embodying hints of a greater story to come – the redemptive events most central to the gospel itself).

Are there other hints of the gospel in Jonah’s experience? Jesus’ self-comparison with Jonah invites us to ask this question. I think the answer is yes. Most of these hints, however, come by way of contrast between Jonah and Jesus rather than comparison. This is not surprising. It’s easy to imagine that the story of a wayward and disobedient servant of God would more naturally point by negative example toward the perfect servant of God who perfectly fulfilled his mission. Jesus himself says he is ‘greater than Jonah’ (Matthew 12.41). The similarities between Jonah and Jesus show us the glory of Jesus and the gospel, but the differences cause the gospel to shine even more brightly.

And the differences are many. For instance, although Jonah describes his experience in the sea and the fish in terms that sound like death (Jonah 2.1, 5-7) he didn’t actually die in the raging sea or the hungry fish. That’s because his mission was to preach, not to die. By contrast, Jesus’ mission was to preach and also to die. Thankfully, Jesus had more than a near-death experience. He really did die (John 19.34; 1 Corinthians 15.3). Because he did, there’s a gospel to preach.

Moreover, the reason Jonah came close to death was because of his own sin. He himself says this to the sailors on his ship: ‘I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you’ (Jonah 1.12). In fact, throughout the book of Jonah, we see the pagans in the story acting more honorably and righteously than the prophet. The prophet who despises non-Jewish peoples and wishes them harm (Jonah 4.1-2) is the recipient of their sacrificial kindness (Jonah 1.13). The prophet who is slow to experience a change of heart (and it’s not clear that his heart has changed even by the end of the book) sees pagan sailors (Jonah 1.16) and pagan Ninevites (Jonah 3.10) repent and draw closer to God. Jonah’s near-death experience is clearly because of his own sin. The cause of Jesus’ death is utterly different. He dies not because of his own sin but because of the sins of others (2 Corinthians 5.21). The righteous dies for the unrighteous (1 Peter 3.18).

In one sense Jonah willingly chose to enter the raging sea (Jonah 1.12) but this seems to have been mainly because he was out of other options. He was thrown into the sea by the hands of the sailors (Jonah 1.15) but he knew it was actually God casting him into the sea (Jonah 2.3). And it was God’s decision, not Jonah’s, that Jonah would enter the fish: ‘And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah’ (Jonah 1.17). In the case of Jesus, it is clear that God sent him to the cross (Acts 4.27-28; Romans 3.25; 8.32). But it is equally clear that Jesus willingly chose the cross: ‘For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord’ (John 10.17-18).

Jonah grudgingly obeyed God after his near-death experience in the fish and went to Nineveh to preach, although his heart still wasn’t in it (Jonah 4.1-3). Jonah’s almost-death was intended by God to win his obedience. But Jesus’ death was his act of obedience: ‘For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous’ (Romans 5.19). After the fish, Jonah’s work was just beginning; God gave him a second chance to fulfill his commission (compare Jonah 1.1-3 and 3.1-3). But at the cross, Jesus could say his work was finished (John 19.30). God’s redemptive plan was accomplished through Jesus’ obedience. With less-than-ideal material to work with in the person of the prophet Jonah, God sovereignly used Jonah’s disobedience to draw people to himself (Jonah 1.16).

What happened to Jonah and Jesus after the fish and the grave? Jonah’s ‘resurrection’ left him in an inglorious pile of fish vomit on the shore (Jonah 2.10). Jesus rose gloriously from the dead (Romans 1.4) and ascended into Heaven, to the right hand of God (Ephesians 1.20-23). So, although Jesus went lower than Jonah (he actually died), his ascent was infinitely higher.

All these differences make surprising the very difference between Jonah and Jesus that Jesus himself highlights: the responses they received. The people of Nineveh accepted Jonah’s post-fish preaching humbly, immediately, and completely. They repented when they heard his warning. Not so the people of Jesus’ generation. ‘The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here’ (Matthew 12.42). Although Jesus doesn’t say it explicitly, the implication is clear: his own generation by and large did not heed his message.

Why does this comparison between Jonah and Jesus matter? It matters because it points us to our perfect Savior, a Savior who willingly died for our sins (rather than his own) and was then raised from the dead by God into unimaginable and eternal splendor. He was rejected by many of his own generation but will be praised forever by his people. This is the gospel according to Jonah.

A version of this article previously ran on The Gospel Coalition.

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Stephen Witmer is the pastor of Pepperell Christian Fellowship in Pepperell, Massachusetts. He serves on the editorial board of Themelios and is author of the Good Book Guide to Jonah, newly released from the Good Book Company. If you order five or more copies of the Good Book Guide to Jonah at www.thegoodbook.com and enter ‘gbgj’ at checkout, you’ll get 40% off.