Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
God’s Sovereignty and human responsibility meet together in Revelations 20:12 in a most amazing way reminding me once again that salvation is of the Lord but nothing absolves any man of their responsibility to obey the gospel.
Let me show you what I mean. Revelation 20:12 describes and event not yet to have happened. It is the final judgment before those who have rejected the grace of God are sent to eternal separation from God in a place called hell.
There is a book called the book of life and then there are other books. And in the book of life there are names and according to Revelation 17:8 the names were written in the book before the foundation of the world.
Revelation 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Yet because God holds man responsible for his failure to observe that he must have been made by a creator God and serve the one true God who created him there has been a record being made of everything that has been done by every person every created for their entire life—these are the books.
And according to Revelation 20:12, “the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”
The fact that their name in not written in the book of life is not relevant at the final judgment God will judge them from their actions, decisions and choices—that is human responsibility.
So I see the intersecting of divine sovereignty (the book of life) and human responsibility (the books) intersecting in a most amazing and mysterious way at the throne of Grace. Like two eternal rays of light coming out of the darkness on a course toward the same point yet coming from such opposite locations that one wonders will they ever intersect? Yet there is a point of intersection and that point of intersection is at the throne that our King of the Universe rules from—the throne of Grace.
At that throne and with those books we will see that all who have been saved have had their names written in a most amazing book called the book of life. And we will see the record of how God orchestrated the salvation of a multitude of people from Adam to the very last human being who puts their faith in the truth that God forgives sins through the Person and work of the Messiah—our God and Savior Jesus Christ.
And there will be books upon books with a record of the actions of human beings ensuring that no one can charge God with unrighteousness and to the glory of God these books are mentioned throughout holy Scripture reminding us that God sovereignty never absolves us of the human responsibility to do right.
In the third chapter of the book of Malachi, there is an amazing parallel to Revelation 17. In verse 16, there is a specific mention of “a book of remembrance” being written before God of the words and actions of those who fear the Lord.
Malachi 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
This book will show that those whose names are written in the book of life fear the Lord. These books of remembrance being written upon every moment of every day by holy angelic-servants of God will ensure that the fruit of the lives of those who have been radically transformed into believers is remembered.
The moment of conversion when sins are repented of and faith is put in the Lord Jesus Christ and all subsequent decisions and actions which give evidence of conversion and will be rewarded by God from the book of remembrance—glory to God.
Aren’t you glad there is a book of life which contains a list of all whom God has, is and will save from hell? And aren’t you glad that even as you read this blog and recognize that you have not put your faith in Christ as your only hope for forgiveness and eternal life that you can ensure your name is written in that book by putting your faith (trust and dependency) upon what Christ did for you 2000 years ago on a bloody cross on a hill in Jerusalem. Do it right now! With every ounce of dependency you have within your very being depend upon what Christ did for you right now. See yourself as the sinner that God sees you as and seek to have your sins forgiven through your faith in Christ.
And if you are a believer live everyday in light of the reality that books of remembrance are being written this very moment. Do something today that is worthy of being recorded in the book of remembrance.
Mary the "Mother of God" A Confusing Title
References to virgin Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus, as the “Mother of God” are really quite unfortunate and unbiblical. On one hand, perhaps the intent is to reinforce the deity of Jesus as God the Son but unfortunately this has backfired and resulted in millions of people praying to Mary as a godlike figure.
The actual phrase “mother of God” is not found in any of the 20 English Bibles I can search through digitally.
One may wonder what the big deal is. If we believe Mary was in fact the instrument God used to bring Jesus into the world biologically and Jesus is God why can’t we logically deduce that she is the mother of God. The Bible is our sole authority for doctrine and the Bible doesn’t teach that Mary should be thought of as the “mother of God.”
And God is also the Father and God is also the Eternal Holy Spirit and God is the Son of God—Jesus all of which do not have a beginning; therefore, giving all of them (or one of them) a mother is very confusing.
A small child may very well wonder, if God has always existed then why does God need a mother. We need to explain that God chose Mary has a special person to be the earthly mother of Jesus while He was a child on this earth.
More over giving God a mother encourages or creates another person to petition for needs desires etc. (You remember how this worked as a kid—if dad said no or appeared to be in a “bad” mood you would go to mom; well that pattern has carried over into adult life for some people.)
I witnessed this first hand most recently and it pained me to see and hear a group of people so confused on a matter which is not hard to understand.
Praying to Mary is like praying to any other human who has ever died. We have no biblical ground to believe that God has given those who die in Christ the ability to hear our prayers. Encouraging someone to pray to Mary or any other saint is encouraging idolatry plain and simple. And idolatry is a sin. The Bible is very clear about this matter; we are to have no other gods before God. This idolatrous god can be any number of things—it could be Mary—that is I spend time devoted to Mary that should be exclusively devoted to God. (Or it could be my boat that is keeping me out of church.)
If someone desires to refer to Mary’s relationship with the Godhead, they could be exceptionally careful to stress that Mary was the earthly mother of the Son of God and nothing more. Mary had to be saved by faith in the Messianic work of Christ as the Savior of the world like every other person that has ever been born-again.
There isn’t a shred of biblical evidence that Mary has been given any divine attributes or qualities. Those who pray to her are deceived by the god of the world who desires to have the glory that is meant for the Son of God and Him alone. Satan our enemy continually seeks to steal from God glory; he was thrown out of heaven for this sin and still seeks to blind and confuse people concerning Jesus the Son of God.
The Bible is very clear we have one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). Focus on Jesus and you can’t go wrong. It is the Father’s desire to see His Son exalted and He has not revealed a plan to share that glory with the earthly mother of the Son of Man (or anyone else).
The actual phrase “mother of God” is not found in any of the 20 English Bibles I can search through digitally.
One may wonder what the big deal is. If we believe Mary was in fact the instrument God used to bring Jesus into the world biologically and Jesus is God why can’t we logically deduce that she is the mother of God. The Bible is our sole authority for doctrine and the Bible doesn’t teach that Mary should be thought of as the “mother of God.”
And God is also the Father and God is also the Eternal Holy Spirit and God is the Son of God—Jesus all of which do not have a beginning; therefore, giving all of them (or one of them) a mother is very confusing.
A small child may very well wonder, if God has always existed then why does God need a mother. We need to explain that God chose Mary has a special person to be the earthly mother of Jesus while He was a child on this earth.
More over giving God a mother encourages or creates another person to petition for needs desires etc. (You remember how this worked as a kid—if dad said no or appeared to be in a “bad” mood you would go to mom; well that pattern has carried over into adult life for some people.)
I witnessed this first hand most recently and it pained me to see and hear a group of people so confused on a matter which is not hard to understand.
Praying to Mary is like praying to any other human who has ever died. We have no biblical ground to believe that God has given those who die in Christ the ability to hear our prayers. Encouraging someone to pray to Mary or any other saint is encouraging idolatry plain and simple. And idolatry is a sin. The Bible is very clear about this matter; we are to have no other gods before God. This idolatrous god can be any number of things—it could be Mary—that is I spend time devoted to Mary that should be exclusively devoted to God. (Or it could be my boat that is keeping me out of church.)
If someone desires to refer to Mary’s relationship with the Godhead, they could be exceptionally careful to stress that Mary was the earthly mother of the Son of God and nothing more. Mary had to be saved by faith in the Messianic work of Christ as the Savior of the world like every other person that has ever been born-again.
There isn’t a shred of biblical evidence that Mary has been given any divine attributes or qualities. Those who pray to her are deceived by the god of the world who desires to have the glory that is meant for the Son of God and Him alone. Satan our enemy continually seeks to steal from God glory; he was thrown out of heaven for this sin and still seeks to blind and confuse people concerning Jesus the Son of God.
The Bible is very clear we have one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). Focus on Jesus and you can’t go wrong. It is the Father’s desire to see His Son exalted and He has not revealed a plan to share that glory with the earthly mother of the Son of Man (or anyone else).
The Gospel at Weddings
As I have been thinking about what to say about the gospel at Adam Cress and Shannon Smith’s wedding, I have been continually struck by the fact that the body of Christ should see every wedding as a continual reminder of the fact that God the Father is preparing a bride for His Son.
The bride is the body of Christ—the church. The church, of course, consists of all those who have been clothed in the righteousness of Christ by faith.
Eventually in the future there is going to be quite the “wedding” when God the Father presents the bride to the Son. Then there will be a celebration—a huge celebration. Something unlike anything any of us have ever participated in and it is going to be a glorious time.
There is going to be a dinner of sorts and I certainly do not profess to have any idea what all that means exactly but I do not the Bible presents it as a banquet or party. And when God throws a party you can be sure you will not want to miss it. Somehow it is very easy to get so caught up in the affairs of this life that we forget about future glory.
Weddings and the dinners/parties afterwards should serve as continual reminders that there is a party coming for all who have been united to Christ Jesus by faith in the promises of God. This must be what Christ is referring to in Matthew 22 when he makes reference to a man who shows up at a wedding banquet without the right clothes.
The right garment must be the righteousness of Christ for this man is told he is not wearing the right garment and is cast out into outer darkness. I can’t imagine that but I have no reason to deny the truth of the Word of God. Jesus said it and I believe. Therefore, every pastor must see a wedding as another opportunity to call people repent and believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ—the Ultimate Prophet, the one true High Priest and the Lord of the Universe—God’s only begotten Son.
The bride is the body of Christ—the church. The church, of course, consists of all those who have been clothed in the righteousness of Christ by faith.
Eventually in the future there is going to be quite the “wedding” when God the Father presents the bride to the Son. Then there will be a celebration—a huge celebration. Something unlike anything any of us have ever participated in and it is going to be a glorious time.
There is going to be a dinner of sorts and I certainly do not profess to have any idea what all that means exactly but I do not the Bible presents it as a banquet or party. And when God throws a party you can be sure you will not want to miss it. Somehow it is very easy to get so caught up in the affairs of this life that we forget about future glory.
Weddings and the dinners/parties afterwards should serve as continual reminders that there is a party coming for all who have been united to Christ Jesus by faith in the promises of God. This must be what Christ is referring to in Matthew 22 when he makes reference to a man who shows up at a wedding banquet without the right clothes.
The right garment must be the righteousness of Christ for this man is told he is not wearing the right garment and is cast out into outer darkness. I can’t imagine that but I have no reason to deny the truth of the Word of God. Jesus said it and I believe. Therefore, every pastor must see a wedding as another opportunity to call people repent and believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ—the Ultimate Prophet, the one true High Priest and the Lord of the Universe—God’s only begotten Son.
Marks of Maturity
On the front cover of Leadership Journal, Spring 2010, there is a picture of about fifteen baby bottles with the caption “Got Maturity? Nurturing a congregation beyond spiritual infancy.” The cover and the related articles serve to remind and challenge all spiritual leaders that they have a responsibility to mature personally and to challenge their congregations (classes, small groups, etc.) to do the same. Obviously the question “Got Maturity?” leads to another question, “How do I know if I am mature?” Or, “Is there a way I can evaluate my maturity?” The answer is yes; several passages of scripture present a list of qualifiers that can be used to evaluate maturity. For example, Paul gives both Timothy and Titus a list to use when selecting elders and deacons for the local church; and in Psalms 15, King David provides a substantial list articulating those who “dwell on [God’s] holy hill?” (15:1). Then for those who are indwelt with God the Holy Spirit, Paul provides a list of what fruit the Holy Spirit will manifest in the life of the believer in Galatians 5:22-26.
However, the most comprehensive list is found when one unpacks the virtues of Christ (or qualifiers of maturity) Paul presents in Colossians 3:12-17. Utilizing the structure presented in Steve Runge’s Lexham High Definition New Testament, a list can easily be seen in the bulletized line-by-line structure he presents from the Greek text. Paul tells all Christians to “put on” or possess these fourteen virtues of Christ beginning with
1) compassionate hearts, 2) kindness, 3) humility, 4) meekness, and 5) patience, 6) bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, 7) forgiving each other; (as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive) And above all these put on 8) love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And 9) let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And 10) be thankful. 11) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, 12) teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, 13) singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, (with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (And whatever you do, in word or • deed,) 14) do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, (giving thanks to God the Father through him) [bold numbers mine].
Each of these fourteen marks of maturity provided the believers at the church at Colossae with indicators of steady progress toward maturity. However, three stand out as exceptionally important. By unpacking the depth of the virtues 3) “humility,” 8) “love” and 12) “teaching and admonishing,” all Christians can better understand how each of the fourteen virtues can be analyzed and used to evaluate a believer’s maturity in Christ.
HUMILITY
The opposite of humility is pride, and pride is the deadly sin that caused Lucifer to be cast from heaven. Theologian John Cassian writes, “Lucifer, was cast out of heaven for no other sin but this [he was] pierced with the dart of pride.” In a chapter that glorifies Jesus as the one that God “has highly exalted” (Philippians 2:9), the reader is reminded that Jesus, the believer’s supreme model for life and godliness, “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (2:8). Being recognized as a humble person is a significant sign of maturity. Paul told Timothy when selecting elders that he cannot be a “novice” because immature converts are susceptible to being puffed up with pride. Elders should be models of maturity in the church and this model will be described by all as a humble person. Jesus said, “Whoever humbles themselves as a little child the same is the greatest in the kingdom of God” (Matthew 18:4). A mature Christian will need an abundance of God’s grace to be like Christ in this sinful world, yet James 4:7 says “God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.” The mature Christian does not seek to exalt himself but trusts in the sovereignty of God to exalt him at whatever time God chooses. Jesus modeled this throughout his entire ministry. In Matthew 21:5 He is described as “humble” and sitting on a donkey. Becoming or being humble is hard work; it will take consistent practice. One will know spiritual formation is happening if he abhors pride and seeks to put on the humility of Christ as he dies to himself.
LOVE
Paul makes it clear that “love” is the overarching virtue that distinguishes spiritual babes from mature Christians. He writes, “And above all these put on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:14). If there is but one virtue to work on, then work on diligently putting on love is what Paul is saying. This is a reoccurring theme throughout Christ’s ministry. When a Jew wonders what it means to love one’s neighbor and who that neighbor is, Jesus gives a complete sermon explaining what love looks like with the “Parable of the Good Samaritan” (Luke 10:25-37). In the parable, the reader is given a picture of what unconditional love looks like. Stein writes, “Jesus and Luke sought to illustrate that the love of one’s neighbor must transcend all natural or human boundaries such as race, nationality, religion, and economic or educational status.” The mature Christian must seek to rid his heart of all prejudice. He must strive to love his enemies and pray for those who persecute him (Matthew 6:44). The mature believer turns the other cheek (Luke 6:29). Loving one’s enemies does not come natural. When a Christian is able to love his enemy, he can be assured spiritual formation is happening.
A maturing Christian is striving with all he has to love the Lord his God with his heart, soul, mind, and strength (Luke 10:27). From 1 Corinthians 13, the mature Christian is able to evaluate whether he is patient, kind, not envious, not arrogant (or humble), and not resentful (or forgiving). He learns that the greatest of faith, hope and love is love (13:13). D.A. Carson says, “Love has the top place, for reasons that are clear in vs. 1–7.” In fact, Paul is quite unified in his message between 1 Corinthians 13 and Colossians 3 where he states that believers must bear each other’s burdens and forgive one another even as Christ has forgiven us. Love manifested in the ability to genuinely forgive after one has been “stabbed in the back” is a true mark of being conformed to the image of God’s Son. When the believer is able to say, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34) he or she can be assured God the Spirit is doing an incredible work of maturity in their heart and soul and they are learning to love like Christ loves. Ultimately, because God is love and perfect love comes from God, the believer who is striving to love like Christ loves can be assured spiritual formation is happening in his life. Jesus said all men would know who was his disciples by their love for one another (John 13:35). Essentially, the more I love the more I know Christ is being formed in me. Philippians 1:9 provides ideal transition from the virtue of love to the virtue of knowledge to teach. Paul writes that his prayer is that the Philippians Christian’s “love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.”
TEACHING
Finally, a Christian can evaluate his own personal maturity by asking himself (herself) can I teach the Word of Christ to another person? This does not mean the believer must be able to preach or teach large audiences. One does not have to be gifted, like Beth Moore, in order to be able to disciple another toward spiritual growth. However, if a person feels completely inadequate to communicate the message of the gospel and its implications into all aspects of life, then he or she should not evaluate themselves as mature. The inability to give an answer for the hope that lies within someone should serve as a red flag that more work must be done in letting the “word of Christ dwell” in them (Colossians 3:16). The single qualification between an elder and deacon is an ability to teach the Word (1 Timothy 3).
The mature Christian knows that he does not live by bread alone (Matt 4:4). He understands that spiritual growth comes from the Word of God; he feeds upon the Word through preaching, teaching, personal Bible study and supplemental reading. The author of Hebrews 5:12–14a puts it plainly with:
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature (ESV).
The believer who is lost when solid food is delivered or has no interest in solid food needs to evaluate themselves as a babe in Christ and seek to change that. Peter commands believers to grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). Yet Richard Foster reminds us “we come to the scripture to be changed, not to amass information.” Citing 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Foster notes “that the central purpose” of scripture is “inner transformation.” Who can argue against the reality that the greatest way to learn something is to have to teach it? Therefore, one can be assured that in the process of teaching the Word of God one could hardly keep from growing.
It takes a mature person to have the character to “admonish” other Christians in the grace and faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. When to admonish, how to admonish, and what to say to admonish all requires significant spiritual maturity. Melick writes, “Admonishing differs from teaching. Admonishing has the element of strong encouragement. It is generally practical and moral.” A spiritually immature person could lash out at someone or rebuke someone but this is not admonishment. Admonishment has a very positive connotation to it—it is spirit filled, gospel-centered, biblically sound encouragement.
CONCLUSION
Growing in Christ is not optional. Paul’s emphasis on the importance of spiritual formation is seen in what he writes in Galatians 4:19. When Paul says that he “travails in birth again” or is going through birth pangs “until Christ be formed in you,” his reader must recognize how important Paul views the Christian growing in the virtues of the One who saved him from the power and penalty of sin. Each of the virtues he presents in Colossians 3 are marks one can use to analyze if he is yielding to and cooperating with God’s transforming work in his life (Philippians 1:6). Hopefully by presenting how three of the marks can be further studied in light of rest of the Word of God, the reader can see how each virtue can be studied and used to measure spiritual growth or conformity to the image of the Son (Romans 8:29). The Bible is full of exhortations for God’s people to submit to His work in their lives. For example, James exhorts his reader to let perseverance do “its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:4). In Opening Up James, Roger Ellsworth writes, “Every Christian is interested in spiritual maturity. No one can be a Christian and not be interested in growing in the things of the Lord.” Perhaps the most important reason why every Christian should continually be examining whether they are becoming more like Christ is that there is no greater assurance of one’s salvation than to experience the sanctifying work of God in one’s life.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Carson, D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
Ellsworth, Roger. Opening Up James. Leominster: Day One Publications, 2009.
Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1998.
Melick, Richard R. Philippians, Colossians, Philemon: The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001.
Robert H. Stein, Luke, The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001.
Runge, Steven. The Lexham High Definition New Testament: ESV Edition. Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2008.
Schaff, Philip, Editor. The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Second Series Vol. XI. Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, 1997.
However, the most comprehensive list is found when one unpacks the virtues of Christ (or qualifiers of maturity) Paul presents in Colossians 3:12-17. Utilizing the structure presented in Steve Runge’s Lexham High Definition New Testament, a list can easily be seen in the bulletized line-by-line structure he presents from the Greek text. Paul tells all Christians to “put on” or possess these fourteen virtues of Christ beginning with
1) compassionate hearts, 2) kindness, 3) humility, 4) meekness, and 5) patience, 6) bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, 7) forgiving each other; (as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive) And above all these put on 8) love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And 9) let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And 10) be thankful. 11) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, 12) teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, 13) singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, (with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (And whatever you do, in word or • deed,) 14) do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, (giving thanks to God the Father through him) [bold numbers mine].
Each of these fourteen marks of maturity provided the believers at the church at Colossae with indicators of steady progress toward maturity. However, three stand out as exceptionally important. By unpacking the depth of the virtues 3) “humility,” 8) “love” and 12) “teaching and admonishing,” all Christians can better understand how each of the fourteen virtues can be analyzed and used to evaluate a believer’s maturity in Christ.
HUMILITY
The opposite of humility is pride, and pride is the deadly sin that caused Lucifer to be cast from heaven. Theologian John Cassian writes, “Lucifer, was cast out of heaven for no other sin but this [he was] pierced with the dart of pride.” In a chapter that glorifies Jesus as the one that God “has highly exalted” (Philippians 2:9), the reader is reminded that Jesus, the believer’s supreme model for life and godliness, “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (2:8). Being recognized as a humble person is a significant sign of maturity. Paul told Timothy when selecting elders that he cannot be a “novice” because immature converts are susceptible to being puffed up with pride. Elders should be models of maturity in the church and this model will be described by all as a humble person. Jesus said, “Whoever humbles themselves as a little child the same is the greatest in the kingdom of God” (Matthew 18:4). A mature Christian will need an abundance of God’s grace to be like Christ in this sinful world, yet James 4:7 says “God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.” The mature Christian does not seek to exalt himself but trusts in the sovereignty of God to exalt him at whatever time God chooses. Jesus modeled this throughout his entire ministry. In Matthew 21:5 He is described as “humble” and sitting on a donkey. Becoming or being humble is hard work; it will take consistent practice. One will know spiritual formation is happening if he abhors pride and seeks to put on the humility of Christ as he dies to himself.
LOVE
Paul makes it clear that “love” is the overarching virtue that distinguishes spiritual babes from mature Christians. He writes, “And above all these put on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:14). If there is but one virtue to work on, then work on diligently putting on love is what Paul is saying. This is a reoccurring theme throughout Christ’s ministry. When a Jew wonders what it means to love one’s neighbor and who that neighbor is, Jesus gives a complete sermon explaining what love looks like with the “Parable of the Good Samaritan” (Luke 10:25-37). In the parable, the reader is given a picture of what unconditional love looks like. Stein writes, “Jesus and Luke sought to illustrate that the love of one’s neighbor must transcend all natural or human boundaries such as race, nationality, religion, and economic or educational status.” The mature Christian must seek to rid his heart of all prejudice. He must strive to love his enemies and pray for those who persecute him (Matthew 6:44). The mature believer turns the other cheek (Luke 6:29). Loving one’s enemies does not come natural. When a Christian is able to love his enemy, he can be assured spiritual formation is happening.
A maturing Christian is striving with all he has to love the Lord his God with his heart, soul, mind, and strength (Luke 10:27). From 1 Corinthians 13, the mature Christian is able to evaluate whether he is patient, kind, not envious, not arrogant (or humble), and not resentful (or forgiving). He learns that the greatest of faith, hope and love is love (13:13). D.A. Carson says, “Love has the top place, for reasons that are clear in vs. 1–7.” In fact, Paul is quite unified in his message between 1 Corinthians 13 and Colossians 3 where he states that believers must bear each other’s burdens and forgive one another even as Christ has forgiven us. Love manifested in the ability to genuinely forgive after one has been “stabbed in the back” is a true mark of being conformed to the image of God’s Son. When the believer is able to say, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34) he or she can be assured God the Spirit is doing an incredible work of maturity in their heart and soul and they are learning to love like Christ loves. Ultimately, because God is love and perfect love comes from God, the believer who is striving to love like Christ loves can be assured spiritual formation is happening in his life. Jesus said all men would know who was his disciples by their love for one another (John 13:35). Essentially, the more I love the more I know Christ is being formed in me. Philippians 1:9 provides ideal transition from the virtue of love to the virtue of knowledge to teach. Paul writes that his prayer is that the Philippians Christian’s “love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.”
TEACHING
Finally, a Christian can evaluate his own personal maturity by asking himself (herself) can I teach the Word of Christ to another person? This does not mean the believer must be able to preach or teach large audiences. One does not have to be gifted, like Beth Moore, in order to be able to disciple another toward spiritual growth. However, if a person feels completely inadequate to communicate the message of the gospel and its implications into all aspects of life, then he or she should not evaluate themselves as mature. The inability to give an answer for the hope that lies within someone should serve as a red flag that more work must be done in letting the “word of Christ dwell” in them (Colossians 3:16). The single qualification between an elder and deacon is an ability to teach the Word (1 Timothy 3).
The mature Christian knows that he does not live by bread alone (Matt 4:4). He understands that spiritual growth comes from the Word of God; he feeds upon the Word through preaching, teaching, personal Bible study and supplemental reading. The author of Hebrews 5:12–14a puts it plainly with:
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature (ESV).
The believer who is lost when solid food is delivered or has no interest in solid food needs to evaluate themselves as a babe in Christ and seek to change that. Peter commands believers to grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). Yet Richard Foster reminds us “we come to the scripture to be changed, not to amass information.” Citing 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Foster notes “that the central purpose” of scripture is “inner transformation.” Who can argue against the reality that the greatest way to learn something is to have to teach it? Therefore, one can be assured that in the process of teaching the Word of God one could hardly keep from growing.
It takes a mature person to have the character to “admonish” other Christians in the grace and faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. When to admonish, how to admonish, and what to say to admonish all requires significant spiritual maturity. Melick writes, “Admonishing differs from teaching. Admonishing has the element of strong encouragement. It is generally practical and moral.” A spiritually immature person could lash out at someone or rebuke someone but this is not admonishment. Admonishment has a very positive connotation to it—it is spirit filled, gospel-centered, biblically sound encouragement.
CONCLUSION
Growing in Christ is not optional. Paul’s emphasis on the importance of spiritual formation is seen in what he writes in Galatians 4:19. When Paul says that he “travails in birth again” or is going through birth pangs “until Christ be formed in you,” his reader must recognize how important Paul views the Christian growing in the virtues of the One who saved him from the power and penalty of sin. Each of the virtues he presents in Colossians 3 are marks one can use to analyze if he is yielding to and cooperating with God’s transforming work in his life (Philippians 1:6). Hopefully by presenting how three of the marks can be further studied in light of rest of the Word of God, the reader can see how each virtue can be studied and used to measure spiritual growth or conformity to the image of the Son (Romans 8:29). The Bible is full of exhortations for God’s people to submit to His work in their lives. For example, James exhorts his reader to let perseverance do “its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:4). In Opening Up James, Roger Ellsworth writes, “Every Christian is interested in spiritual maturity. No one can be a Christian and not be interested in growing in the things of the Lord.” Perhaps the most important reason why every Christian should continually be examining whether they are becoming more like Christ is that there is no greater assurance of one’s salvation than to experience the sanctifying work of God in one’s life.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Carson, D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
Ellsworth, Roger. Opening Up James. Leominster: Day One Publications, 2009.
Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1998.
Melick, Richard R. Philippians, Colossians, Philemon: The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001.
Robert H. Stein, Luke, The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001.
Runge, Steven. The Lexham High Definition New Testament: ESV Edition. Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2008.
Schaff, Philip, Editor. The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Second Series Vol. XI. Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, 1997.
Suffering well: Pastor's faith tested by cancer
By Eric Gorski, The Associated Press
DALLAS — Matt Chandler doesn't feel anything when the radiation penetrates his brain. It could start to burn later in treatment. But it hasn't been bad, this time lying on the slab. Not yet, anyway.
Chandler's lanky 6-foot-5-inch frame rests on a table at Baylor University Medical Center. He wears the same kind of jeans he wears preaching to 6,000 people at The Village Church in suburban Flower Mound, where the 35-year-old pastor is a rising star of evangelical Christianity.
Another cancer patient Chandler has gotten to know spends his time in radiation imagining that he's playing a round of golf. Chandler on this first Monday in January is reflecting on Colossians 1:15-23, about the pre-eminence of Christ and making peace through the blood of his cross.
Chandler wears a mask with white webbing that keeps his head still as the radiation machine delivers the highest possible dose to what is considered to be fatal and incurable brain cancer.
This is Matt Chandler's new normal. Each weekday, he spends two hours in the car — driven from his suburban home to downtown Dallas — for eight minutes of radiation and Scripture.
LIVING WITH CANCER: Share your story with other readers
Chandler is trying to suffer well. He would never ask for such a trial, but in some ways he welcomes this cancer. He says he feels grateful that God has counted him worthy to endure it. He has always preached that God will bring both joy and suffering but is only recently learning to experience the latter.
Since all this began on Thanksgiving morning, Chandler says he has asked "why me?" just once, in a moment of weakness.
He is praying that God will heal him. He wants to grow old, to walk his two daughters down the aisle and see his son become a better athlete than he ever was.
Whatever happens, he says, is God's will, and God has his reasons. For Chandler, that does not mean waiting for his fate. It means fighting for his life.
———
Thanksgiving morning. Chandler pours himself a cup of coffee, feeds 6-month-old Norah a bottle and — as he is about to sit down — collapses in front of the fireplace.
Chandler has no recollection of the seizure. He bit through his tongue and punched a medic in the face.
At a hospital, Chandler gets a CT scan, followed by an MRI.
Not long afterward, the ER doctor delivers the news: "You have a small mass on your frontal lobe. You need to see a specialist."
It was Thanksgiving. Chandler had not seen his kids — Audrey, 7, Reid, 4, and the baby — for hours.
He had collapsed in front of them. For whatever reason, those grim words from a doctor he'd never met did not cause his heart to drop. What Chandler thought was, "OK, we'll deal with that." Getting the news meant he could go home.
———
Chandler can be sober and silly, charming and tough. He'll call men "bro" and women "mama." He drives a 2001 Chevy Impala with 144,000 miles and a broken radio. He calls it the "Gimpala"
One of Chandler's sayings is, "It's OK to not be OK — just don't stay there."
Chandler's long, meaty messages untangle large chunks of Scripture. His challenging approach appeals, he believes, to a generation looking for transcendence and power.
His theology teaches that all men are wicked, that human beings have offended a loving and sovereign God, and that God saves through Jesus' death, burial and resurrection — not because people do good deeds. In short, Chandler is a Calvinist, holding to a belief system growing more popular with young evangelicals.
Chandler grew up a military kid, moving around the country until landing in Galveston, Texas. He was taught that Christianity meant not listening to secular music or seeing R-rated movies. His views began to change when a high school football teammate started talking about the Gospel.
After college Chandler became a fiery evangelist who led a college Bible study and traveled the Christian speaking circuit. He was hired from another church in 2002 at age 28 to lead what is now The Village Church, a Southern Baptist congregation that claimed 160 members at the time.
The church now meets in a renovated former grocery store with a 1,430-seat auditorium; two satellite campuses are flourishing in Denton and Dallas, and Chandler speaks to large conferences.
"What Matt does works because it resonates with the deep longing of the soul the average person can't even identify," said Anne Lincoln Holibaugh, the church's children's ministry director.
———
Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Chandler and his wife, Lauren, meet with Dr. David Barnett, chief of neurosurgery at Baylor University Medical Center.
The weekend had brought hope: A well-meaning church member who is a radiologist looked at Matt's MRI and concluded the mass was encapsulated, or contained to a specific area.
But Barnett delivers very different news. He saw what appeared to be a primary brain tumor — meaning a tumor that had formed in the brain — that was not contained. It had branches.
Chandler is facing brain surgery. He schedules it for that Friday, Dec. 4.
Questions start to haunt him. Am I going to wake up and be me? Am I going to wake up and remember Lauren?
The surgery begins around 2 p.m. A biopsy determines that it is, indeed, a primary brain tumor.
As far as Chandler knows, there is no history of cancer in his family. His tumor, like most others, was likely caused by a genetic abnormality, Barnett says.
The surgeon is aggressive, pushing to remove as much of the mass as possible.
"You cannot be a timid neurosurgeon when you deal with these things," Barnett says later. "Your first shot is your best shot at treating this."
Seven hours after entering surgery, Chandler is wheeled to intensive care.
He wakes to Barnett's voice.
"Matt ... Matt ... Who am I?"
He knows the answer. Relief. His left side is numb. His facial expressions are frozen and his voice has no pitch, what doctors call a "flat affect."
This is all good, leading Barnett to believe he pushed hard but not too hard.
Each day after the surgery, Chandler gets better, stronger.
"The first four days were just ... not scary, but hard," Lauren says. "I'm wondering, 'How much of this will stay? ... How much of this will be the new normal?'"
Tuesday after surgery. Barnett meets with Lauren and Brian Miller, chairman of the church's elder board. Barnett tells them the tumor was malignant. Such tumors send tiny fingers of cells beyond their borders — and eventually a branch will reach back and grow another brain tumor, Barnett says.
Barnett asks Lauren and Miller to keep the diagnosis to themselves for a week so Matt can concentrate fully on recovering from surgery.
On Dec. 15, Barnett shares the pathology results with the Chandlers. Tumors are designated by grade — with Grade 1 being the least aggressive and Grade 4 being the most.
Chandler's tumor is a Grade 3.
The average life expectancy, Barnett says, is two to three years. The doctor says he believes Chandler will live longer because of the aggressive surgery, treatment and Chandler's otherwise good health. There's also a chance the cancer goes into remission for years.
Before the meeting ends, Matt prays that his children and others do not grow resentful.
"Lord, you gave this to me for a reason. Let me run with it and do the best I can with it."
Chandler says learning he had brain cancer was "kind of like getting punched in the gut. You take the shot, you try not to vomit, then you get back to doing what you do, believing what you believe.
"We never felt — still have not felt — betrayed by the Lord or abandoned by the Lord. I can honestly say, we haven't asked the question, 'Why?' or wondered, 'Why me, why not somebody else?' We just haven't gotten to that place. I'm not saying we won't get there. I'm just saying it hasn't happened yet."
Later, Chandler clarified that. There was one moment when he saw a picture on a Christmas card of a man who chronically cheated on his wife and thought, "Why not that guy?" He says it was wicked to think that.
———
Monday, Jan. 4, a month after surgery. Morning breaks with Reid singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Chandler sits at his laptop in the dining room, nursing a cup of green tea.
He's preparing to drive to a clinic for an infusion of Vitamin C to bolster the immune system, followed by radiation in downtown Dallas. He's in the midst of a six-week program of radiation and chemotherapy, to be followed by a break and more treatment.
Chandler never thought such a trial would shake his faith. But until now, that was just hope.
"This has not surprised God," Chandler says on the drive home. "He is not in a panic right now trying to figure out what to do with me or this disease. Those things have been warm blankets, man."
Chandler has, however, wrestled with the tension between belief in an all-powerful God and what he can do about his situation. He believes he has responsibilities: to use his brain, to take advantage of technology, to walk in faith and hope, to pray for healing and then "see what God wants to do."
"Knowing that if God is outside time and I am inside time, that puts some severe limitations on my ability to crack all the codes," he says.
Chandler has preached the last two weekends and is planning trips to South Africa and England. He lost his hair to radiation but got a positive lab report last week and feels strong.
"If he suffers well, that might be the most important sermon he's ever preached," said Mark Driscoll, pastor of Seattle's Mars Hill Church and a friend of Chandler's.
Chandler is drinking life in — watching his son build sandcastles at the park, preaching each sermon as if eternity is at stake — and feeling a heightened sense of reality.
"It's carpe diem on steroids," he says.
At the dinner table on the sixth day of radiation, new normal looks like this: Reid in Spiderman pajamas. Peanut butter and jelly dipped in honey for the kids, turkey chili for the adults.
And peppermint ice cream.
It is a diaper changed, dishes done.
Matt Chandler takes his chemo pills and goes to bed, grateful for another day.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
DALLAS — Matt Chandler doesn't feel anything when the radiation penetrates his brain. It could start to burn later in treatment. But it hasn't been bad, this time lying on the slab. Not yet, anyway.
Chandler's lanky 6-foot-5-inch frame rests on a table at Baylor University Medical Center. He wears the same kind of jeans he wears preaching to 6,000 people at The Village Church in suburban Flower Mound, where the 35-year-old pastor is a rising star of evangelical Christianity.
Another cancer patient Chandler has gotten to know spends his time in radiation imagining that he's playing a round of golf. Chandler on this first Monday in January is reflecting on Colossians 1:15-23, about the pre-eminence of Christ and making peace through the blood of his cross.
Chandler wears a mask with white webbing that keeps his head still as the radiation machine delivers the highest possible dose to what is considered to be fatal and incurable brain cancer.
This is Matt Chandler's new normal. Each weekday, he spends two hours in the car — driven from his suburban home to downtown Dallas — for eight minutes of radiation and Scripture.
LIVING WITH CANCER: Share your story with other readers
Chandler is trying to suffer well. He would never ask for such a trial, but in some ways he welcomes this cancer. He says he feels grateful that God has counted him worthy to endure it. He has always preached that God will bring both joy and suffering but is only recently learning to experience the latter.
Since all this began on Thanksgiving morning, Chandler says he has asked "why me?" just once, in a moment of weakness.
He is praying that God will heal him. He wants to grow old, to walk his two daughters down the aisle and see his son become a better athlete than he ever was.
Whatever happens, he says, is God's will, and God has his reasons. For Chandler, that does not mean waiting for his fate. It means fighting for his life.
———
Thanksgiving morning. Chandler pours himself a cup of coffee, feeds 6-month-old Norah a bottle and — as he is about to sit down — collapses in front of the fireplace.
Chandler has no recollection of the seizure. He bit through his tongue and punched a medic in the face.
At a hospital, Chandler gets a CT scan, followed by an MRI.
Not long afterward, the ER doctor delivers the news: "You have a small mass on your frontal lobe. You need to see a specialist."
It was Thanksgiving. Chandler had not seen his kids — Audrey, 7, Reid, 4, and the baby — for hours.
He had collapsed in front of them. For whatever reason, those grim words from a doctor he'd never met did not cause his heart to drop. What Chandler thought was, "OK, we'll deal with that." Getting the news meant he could go home.
———
Chandler can be sober and silly, charming and tough. He'll call men "bro" and women "mama." He drives a 2001 Chevy Impala with 144,000 miles and a broken radio. He calls it the "Gimpala"
One of Chandler's sayings is, "It's OK to not be OK — just don't stay there."
Chandler's long, meaty messages untangle large chunks of Scripture. His challenging approach appeals, he believes, to a generation looking for transcendence and power.
His theology teaches that all men are wicked, that human beings have offended a loving and sovereign God, and that God saves through Jesus' death, burial and resurrection — not because people do good deeds. In short, Chandler is a Calvinist, holding to a belief system growing more popular with young evangelicals.
Chandler grew up a military kid, moving around the country until landing in Galveston, Texas. He was taught that Christianity meant not listening to secular music or seeing R-rated movies. His views began to change when a high school football teammate started talking about the Gospel.
After college Chandler became a fiery evangelist who led a college Bible study and traveled the Christian speaking circuit. He was hired from another church in 2002 at age 28 to lead what is now The Village Church, a Southern Baptist congregation that claimed 160 members at the time.
The church now meets in a renovated former grocery store with a 1,430-seat auditorium; two satellite campuses are flourishing in Denton and Dallas, and Chandler speaks to large conferences.
"What Matt does works because it resonates with the deep longing of the soul the average person can't even identify," said Anne Lincoln Holibaugh, the church's children's ministry director.
———
Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Chandler and his wife, Lauren, meet with Dr. David Barnett, chief of neurosurgery at Baylor University Medical Center.
The weekend had brought hope: A well-meaning church member who is a radiologist looked at Matt's MRI and concluded the mass was encapsulated, or contained to a specific area.
But Barnett delivers very different news. He saw what appeared to be a primary brain tumor — meaning a tumor that had formed in the brain — that was not contained. It had branches.
Chandler is facing brain surgery. He schedules it for that Friday, Dec. 4.
Questions start to haunt him. Am I going to wake up and be me? Am I going to wake up and remember Lauren?
The surgery begins around 2 p.m. A biopsy determines that it is, indeed, a primary brain tumor.
As far as Chandler knows, there is no history of cancer in his family. His tumor, like most others, was likely caused by a genetic abnormality, Barnett says.
The surgeon is aggressive, pushing to remove as much of the mass as possible.
"You cannot be a timid neurosurgeon when you deal with these things," Barnett says later. "Your first shot is your best shot at treating this."
Seven hours after entering surgery, Chandler is wheeled to intensive care.
He wakes to Barnett's voice.
"Matt ... Matt ... Who am I?"
He knows the answer. Relief. His left side is numb. His facial expressions are frozen and his voice has no pitch, what doctors call a "flat affect."
This is all good, leading Barnett to believe he pushed hard but not too hard.
Each day after the surgery, Chandler gets better, stronger.
"The first four days were just ... not scary, but hard," Lauren says. "I'm wondering, 'How much of this will stay? ... How much of this will be the new normal?'"
Tuesday after surgery. Barnett meets with Lauren and Brian Miller, chairman of the church's elder board. Barnett tells them the tumor was malignant. Such tumors send tiny fingers of cells beyond their borders — and eventually a branch will reach back and grow another brain tumor, Barnett says.
Barnett asks Lauren and Miller to keep the diagnosis to themselves for a week so Matt can concentrate fully on recovering from surgery.
On Dec. 15, Barnett shares the pathology results with the Chandlers. Tumors are designated by grade — with Grade 1 being the least aggressive and Grade 4 being the most.
Chandler's tumor is a Grade 3.
The average life expectancy, Barnett says, is two to three years. The doctor says he believes Chandler will live longer because of the aggressive surgery, treatment and Chandler's otherwise good health. There's also a chance the cancer goes into remission for years.
Before the meeting ends, Matt prays that his children and others do not grow resentful.
"Lord, you gave this to me for a reason. Let me run with it and do the best I can with it."
Chandler says learning he had brain cancer was "kind of like getting punched in the gut. You take the shot, you try not to vomit, then you get back to doing what you do, believing what you believe.
"We never felt — still have not felt — betrayed by the Lord or abandoned by the Lord. I can honestly say, we haven't asked the question, 'Why?' or wondered, 'Why me, why not somebody else?' We just haven't gotten to that place. I'm not saying we won't get there. I'm just saying it hasn't happened yet."
Later, Chandler clarified that. There was one moment when he saw a picture on a Christmas card of a man who chronically cheated on his wife and thought, "Why not that guy?" He says it was wicked to think that.
———
Monday, Jan. 4, a month after surgery. Morning breaks with Reid singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Chandler sits at his laptop in the dining room, nursing a cup of green tea.
He's preparing to drive to a clinic for an infusion of Vitamin C to bolster the immune system, followed by radiation in downtown Dallas. He's in the midst of a six-week program of radiation and chemotherapy, to be followed by a break and more treatment.
Chandler never thought such a trial would shake his faith. But until now, that was just hope.
"This has not surprised God," Chandler says on the drive home. "He is not in a panic right now trying to figure out what to do with me or this disease. Those things have been warm blankets, man."
Chandler has, however, wrestled with the tension between belief in an all-powerful God and what he can do about his situation. He believes he has responsibilities: to use his brain, to take advantage of technology, to walk in faith and hope, to pray for healing and then "see what God wants to do."
"Knowing that if God is outside time and I am inside time, that puts some severe limitations on my ability to crack all the codes," he says.
Chandler has preached the last two weekends and is planning trips to South Africa and England. He lost his hair to radiation but got a positive lab report last week and feels strong.
"If he suffers well, that might be the most important sermon he's ever preached," said Mark Driscoll, pastor of Seattle's Mars Hill Church and a friend of Chandler's.
Chandler is drinking life in — watching his son build sandcastles at the park, preaching each sermon as if eternity is at stake — and feeling a heightened sense of reality.
"It's carpe diem on steroids," he says.
At the dinner table on the sixth day of radiation, new normal looks like this: Reid in Spiderman pajamas. Peanut butter and jelly dipped in honey for the kids, turkey chili for the adults.
And peppermint ice cream.
It is a diaper changed, dishes done.
Matt Chandler takes his chemo pills and goes to bed, grateful for another day.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Spiritual LIfe: The Foundation of Preaching by Westerhoff
The purpose of this short paper is to provide the reader with background information about John H Westerhoff, author of Spiritual Life: The Foundation for Preaching and Teaching, a short summary of the book, and an evaluation of his work.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ENTRY
Westerhoff, John H. Spiritual Life: The Foundation for Preaching and Teaching. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Westerhoff can best be described as a theologically liberal religious educator and Episcopalian priest who really loves God, his parish and all of creation. His early life and education significantly contributed to who Westerhoff is as a professor and author. Westerhoff graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology in 1955 from a liberal arts college. During Westerhoff’s time in college, he organized and led a small group of skeptics seeking to know religious truth. Sensing God’s call in his life for vocational ministry, Westerhoff attended Harvard Divinity School and received a Masters of Divinity degree. Concerning this time at Harvard, Paul Bramer writes:
There he was exposed to influential professors from a broad spectrum of the Christian faith and theological disciplines. From Paul Tillich in particular he learned a dialectical approach to thinking and he reconciled his internal civil wars between faith and doubt, commitment and openness, reasoning and intuiting, practice and theory, by affirming the paradoxical and complex nature of much of truth and life.
There is no question that this “broad spectrum” has continued to influence Westerhoff through his life.
After graduating from Harvard, Westerhoff worked within the United Church of Christ (UCC) for several years in various positions. On staff with the UCC, he traveled around the world interviewing people in religious and secular education while writing articles on how the church could improve spiritual formation in its parishioners. Bramer states that “Ivan Illich reinforced Westerhoff’s skepticism about traditional schooling” and “Paulo Freire persuaded him of the need for liberation theology and pedagogy.” Westerhoff went on to serve at Duke University’s Divinity School. After a twenty year career and numerous books, he retired as Professor of Theology and Christian Nurture. In 1978, he became an Episcopalian priest where, according to Westerhoff, he could embrace both the "Catholic substance and the Protestant principle." He then went on to found an institute for pastoral studies at St. John’s Episcopalian Church and presently serves as an associate priest and theologian in residence at St. Anne’s Church in Atlanta Georgia.
CONTENT SUMMARY
Westerhoff is convinced that pastors, lay preachers, and church-school teachers can take their preaching and discipleship ministry to a level of excellence they have never experienced before by significantly increasing their focus on the development of their spiritual life through certain spiritual disciplines involving themselves, all people, and most importantly—God (Westerhoff 1994, xi, 1). After a brief introduction as to why Westerhoff felt the need to write Spiritual Life: The Foundation for Preaching and Teaching, he goes into a chapter discussion of the spiritual life. Then he goes into a presentation as to why this is a new day in preaching and teaching and follows this with two chapters on spirituality in preaching and teaching. Finally, he closes with application.
In “Exploring the Spiritual Life,” Westerhoff explains the relationship between one’s relationship with God, others and themselves. For example, he writes about the ridiculousness of saying my relationship with God is fine while one is displaying behavior that is prejudicial or another is refusing to be reconciled to a brother in Christ (Ibid., 2). He stresses that all of life must be viewed as spiritual, but that spiritual life has two dimensions…a physical dimension and a nonphysical dimension (Ibid., 3). The importance of one’s view of God is presented with an emphasis on the intimacy Christians should be experiencing with God. Then in chapter 2, Westerhoff presents his case that spiritual life is the basis or “foundation” for preaching and teaching (Ibid., 15). He argues that in the past, unpacking a biblical passage from a historical-critical method may have been acceptable, but it will not work in this new day and age. He argues that the Christian tradition is not just about doctrine, but about life—all of life—calling for a balance between the intellectual and intuitional aspects of life (Ibid., 21). He says that the imagination is the basis for one’s spiritual life and calls for preaching and teaching to engage the imagination (lbid., 25).
Two chapters are packed with the importance of the spiritual life for anyone who holds up the Bible and speaks for God. Westerhoff tells a lot of stories to make his case. He emphasizes the importance of silence, solitude, paying attention to the restlessness of life, and stresses the importance of living in a community that views its members as a reflection of God (Ibid., 37). He puts weight upon continuing to be a learner and challenges his reader to consider if anyone is really learning anything when they preach or teach, or are they merely regurgitating information (Ibid., 42-43). He closes the chapter with the importance of modeling.
Then Westerhoff focuses on the practical development of the spiritual life in two chapters devoted toward application. He puts a premium on the spiritual balance between schools of spirituality, religious orders, and denominations—for they are all part of the entire body of Christ (Ibid., 63). Westerhoff believes that a combination of prayer, reading scholarly works, and exercise is an excellent balance. He provides some very encouraging words of advice on how to start small and move into a more significant regiment of spiritual disciplines balancing prayer, study, work and leisure. He stresses worship, community, and simplicity of life with deep compassion for others (Ibid., 74). Then in a short conclusion, he pleads for revival in the church through the spiritual renewal of those who teach and preach to all the people of God.
EVALUATION
What one’s worldview is will determine whether or not Westerhoff made his case that the spiritual life of the man is the foundation of his preaching or teaching ministry. If one subscribes to the existence of absolute truth and verbal inspiration of the Word of God as the supreme authority in the life of the believer, then he may struggle with Westerhoff’s theological liberalism and argue with his failure to make his case from a biblical perspective. However, if a reader is open to the Bible as another good piece of literature, then he will most likely embrace Westerhoff’s perspective as an appropriate alternative to the Bible being the foundation for preaching and teaching.
In so much as theological liberals love God and desire to reflect his love to all of creation, Westerhoff’s work is full of great points of value to any disciple seeking to grow in their relationship with Christ. Westerhoff properly stresses the importance of reflecting the vertical relationship with God in the horizontal plane we live upon with other humans also made in the image of God. He rightly stresses the importance of not living in a state of hypocrisy and duplicity. It would be hard to deny that the importance of being real, as a spiritual being, is of critical importance to the effectiveness of one’s pulpit ministry, but that is not what Westerhoff says—he takes it a step further. He makes one’s spiritual life of greater importance than doctrine. In fact, he struggles greatly with what he classifies as dogmatism and states that “a heresy is a truth taken too far” (Ibid., 54). In this definition, Westerhoff gives away his liberal bias. For example, one could easily wonder how you could take the exclusivity of Christ, as the only way to God the Father too far. However, if the Word of God is not the foundation for preaching and teaching, then the foundation becomes a moving target.
By Westerhoff’s tremendous reliance upon establishing the authority for his position from non-biblical sources, one should not be surprised by the absence of scripture references through a book that is supposed to improve the preacher’s spiritual life. Instead, Westerhoff suggests that reading scholarly books for one hour a day is a vital component to spiritual development, but he does not mention or give a particular time to reading the Bible (Ibid., 66). He does not mention a daily reading plan. While he does stress the importance of journaling, a very valuable discipline, he states that it is more important to record one’s conversation with God than what one got out of his reading of the Word of God. While respecting his position on the importance of not reading the Bible like a textbook, one may wonder what makes his position different from a charismatic perspective in which experience trumps everything else.
Westerhoff rejects the idea that there is only one correct interpretation with multiple applications in every text. He suggests that a singular perspective is a relatively new thing—post nineteenth century. He is more than willing to take parables and change what the symbols represent contrary to the Word of God. He suggests the seeds that Jesus spoke about could be a Christian’s life, but he does not explain the legitimacy of such a position (Ibid., 70-71). Yet Jesus is very specific in identifying the seed as the Word of God (Matthew 13). If the spiritual life is the foundation for preaching, one can be very free to change what the text says to support the objective of the sermon, but if one is committed to exegeting the text, it will be very hard to make the spiritual life “king” with the text subordinate to the experience. Or, in another example of this upside down perspective, Westerhoff suggests that the usual understanding of the Song of Solomon can be reversed and God can be made the bride and the believer the groom. Then he writes, “imagine …God is about to enter into intimate lovemaking with you” (73). This is in fact, one of the effects of not having the Bible as the foundation to preaching and teaching. The author reveals the freedom to alter the text during the sermon from the willingness he presents in a work about setting the conditions for improving one’s preaching ministry.
While Westerhoff’s work is packed full of valuable and important points that can be sifted through when viewed with the lens of a biblical worldview, the book has limited value to anyone other than those already bent on rejecting the supremacy of the Bible in preaching or those whose worldview cannot be altered by a cleverly written book full of quotes from scholars. This book could really confuse a young Bible college student who does not understand that the biblical text must be “king” when preaching or teaching, or a Pandora’s Box of anything and everything is opened every time one says, “thus says the Lord.” One has only to examine the Word Faith Movement of Copeland, Hagin, Osteen etc. to see what happens when any preacher can say, “The Lord gave me a word for you.” Yet, even the most conservative pastors can benefit from some of Westerhoff’s points about the importance of having a partner to grow with in one’s walk with the Lord (Ibid., 69). His recommendation of establishing a routine and sticking to the routine, including turning the phone off for an hour of prayer, is a suggestion that both conservatives and liberals can agree upon (Ibid.,66). Likewise, his insistence upon finding a balance between daily prayer, study, work and leisure is a reminder that every vocational pastor/teacher should be reminded of often (Ibid., 74). Finally, who can argue with the premium Westerhoff puts upon God and one’s relationship with God, yet one may wonder why references to Christ were so absent. Could it be that Westerhoff is not that insistent upon the exclusivity of Christ?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bramer, Paul. Talbots School of Theology. “Listing of Christian Educators,” http://www.talbot.edu/ce20/educators/view.cfm?n=john_westerhoff [accessed March 28, 2010].
Westerhoff, John H. Spiritual Life: The Foundation for Preaching and Teaching. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994.
Westerhoff, John H., III. “A Journey into Self-understanding.” In Marlene Mayr (Ed.), Modern masters of religious education. Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Press, 1983.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ENTRY
Westerhoff, John H. Spiritual Life: The Foundation for Preaching and Teaching. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Westerhoff can best be described as a theologically liberal religious educator and Episcopalian priest who really loves God, his parish and all of creation. His early life and education significantly contributed to who Westerhoff is as a professor and author. Westerhoff graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology in 1955 from a liberal arts college. During Westerhoff’s time in college, he organized and led a small group of skeptics seeking to know religious truth. Sensing God’s call in his life for vocational ministry, Westerhoff attended Harvard Divinity School and received a Masters of Divinity degree. Concerning this time at Harvard, Paul Bramer writes:
There he was exposed to influential professors from a broad spectrum of the Christian faith and theological disciplines. From Paul Tillich in particular he learned a dialectical approach to thinking and he reconciled his internal civil wars between faith and doubt, commitment and openness, reasoning and intuiting, practice and theory, by affirming the paradoxical and complex nature of much of truth and life.
There is no question that this “broad spectrum” has continued to influence Westerhoff through his life.
After graduating from Harvard, Westerhoff worked within the United Church of Christ (UCC) for several years in various positions. On staff with the UCC, he traveled around the world interviewing people in religious and secular education while writing articles on how the church could improve spiritual formation in its parishioners. Bramer states that “Ivan Illich reinforced Westerhoff’s skepticism about traditional schooling” and “Paulo Freire persuaded him of the need for liberation theology and pedagogy.” Westerhoff went on to serve at Duke University’s Divinity School. After a twenty year career and numerous books, he retired as Professor of Theology and Christian Nurture. In 1978, he became an Episcopalian priest where, according to Westerhoff, he could embrace both the "Catholic substance and the Protestant principle." He then went on to found an institute for pastoral studies at St. John’s Episcopalian Church and presently serves as an associate priest and theologian in residence at St. Anne’s Church in Atlanta Georgia.
CONTENT SUMMARY
Westerhoff is convinced that pastors, lay preachers, and church-school teachers can take their preaching and discipleship ministry to a level of excellence they have never experienced before by significantly increasing their focus on the development of their spiritual life through certain spiritual disciplines involving themselves, all people, and most importantly—God (Westerhoff 1994, xi, 1). After a brief introduction as to why Westerhoff felt the need to write Spiritual Life: The Foundation for Preaching and Teaching, he goes into a chapter discussion of the spiritual life. Then he goes into a presentation as to why this is a new day in preaching and teaching and follows this with two chapters on spirituality in preaching and teaching. Finally, he closes with application.
In “Exploring the Spiritual Life,” Westerhoff explains the relationship between one’s relationship with God, others and themselves. For example, he writes about the ridiculousness of saying my relationship with God is fine while one is displaying behavior that is prejudicial or another is refusing to be reconciled to a brother in Christ (Ibid., 2). He stresses that all of life must be viewed as spiritual, but that spiritual life has two dimensions…a physical dimension and a nonphysical dimension (Ibid., 3). The importance of one’s view of God is presented with an emphasis on the intimacy Christians should be experiencing with God. Then in chapter 2, Westerhoff presents his case that spiritual life is the basis or “foundation” for preaching and teaching (Ibid., 15). He argues that in the past, unpacking a biblical passage from a historical-critical method may have been acceptable, but it will not work in this new day and age. He argues that the Christian tradition is not just about doctrine, but about life—all of life—calling for a balance between the intellectual and intuitional aspects of life (Ibid., 21). He says that the imagination is the basis for one’s spiritual life and calls for preaching and teaching to engage the imagination (lbid., 25).
Two chapters are packed with the importance of the spiritual life for anyone who holds up the Bible and speaks for God. Westerhoff tells a lot of stories to make his case. He emphasizes the importance of silence, solitude, paying attention to the restlessness of life, and stresses the importance of living in a community that views its members as a reflection of God (Ibid., 37). He puts weight upon continuing to be a learner and challenges his reader to consider if anyone is really learning anything when they preach or teach, or are they merely regurgitating information (Ibid., 42-43). He closes the chapter with the importance of modeling.
Then Westerhoff focuses on the practical development of the spiritual life in two chapters devoted toward application. He puts a premium on the spiritual balance between schools of spirituality, religious orders, and denominations—for they are all part of the entire body of Christ (Ibid., 63). Westerhoff believes that a combination of prayer, reading scholarly works, and exercise is an excellent balance. He provides some very encouraging words of advice on how to start small and move into a more significant regiment of spiritual disciplines balancing prayer, study, work and leisure. He stresses worship, community, and simplicity of life with deep compassion for others (Ibid., 74). Then in a short conclusion, he pleads for revival in the church through the spiritual renewal of those who teach and preach to all the people of God.
EVALUATION
What one’s worldview is will determine whether or not Westerhoff made his case that the spiritual life of the man is the foundation of his preaching or teaching ministry. If one subscribes to the existence of absolute truth and verbal inspiration of the Word of God as the supreme authority in the life of the believer, then he may struggle with Westerhoff’s theological liberalism and argue with his failure to make his case from a biblical perspective. However, if a reader is open to the Bible as another good piece of literature, then he will most likely embrace Westerhoff’s perspective as an appropriate alternative to the Bible being the foundation for preaching and teaching.
In so much as theological liberals love God and desire to reflect his love to all of creation, Westerhoff’s work is full of great points of value to any disciple seeking to grow in their relationship with Christ. Westerhoff properly stresses the importance of reflecting the vertical relationship with God in the horizontal plane we live upon with other humans also made in the image of God. He rightly stresses the importance of not living in a state of hypocrisy and duplicity. It would be hard to deny that the importance of being real, as a spiritual being, is of critical importance to the effectiveness of one’s pulpit ministry, but that is not what Westerhoff says—he takes it a step further. He makes one’s spiritual life of greater importance than doctrine. In fact, he struggles greatly with what he classifies as dogmatism and states that “a heresy is a truth taken too far” (Ibid., 54). In this definition, Westerhoff gives away his liberal bias. For example, one could easily wonder how you could take the exclusivity of Christ, as the only way to God the Father too far. However, if the Word of God is not the foundation for preaching and teaching, then the foundation becomes a moving target.
By Westerhoff’s tremendous reliance upon establishing the authority for his position from non-biblical sources, one should not be surprised by the absence of scripture references through a book that is supposed to improve the preacher’s spiritual life. Instead, Westerhoff suggests that reading scholarly books for one hour a day is a vital component to spiritual development, but he does not mention or give a particular time to reading the Bible (Ibid., 66). He does not mention a daily reading plan. While he does stress the importance of journaling, a very valuable discipline, he states that it is more important to record one’s conversation with God than what one got out of his reading of the Word of God. While respecting his position on the importance of not reading the Bible like a textbook, one may wonder what makes his position different from a charismatic perspective in which experience trumps everything else.
Westerhoff rejects the idea that there is only one correct interpretation with multiple applications in every text. He suggests that a singular perspective is a relatively new thing—post nineteenth century. He is more than willing to take parables and change what the symbols represent contrary to the Word of God. He suggests the seeds that Jesus spoke about could be a Christian’s life, but he does not explain the legitimacy of such a position (Ibid., 70-71). Yet Jesus is very specific in identifying the seed as the Word of God (Matthew 13). If the spiritual life is the foundation for preaching, one can be very free to change what the text says to support the objective of the sermon, but if one is committed to exegeting the text, it will be very hard to make the spiritual life “king” with the text subordinate to the experience. Or, in another example of this upside down perspective, Westerhoff suggests that the usual understanding of the Song of Solomon can be reversed and God can be made the bride and the believer the groom. Then he writes, “imagine …God is about to enter into intimate lovemaking with you” (73). This is in fact, one of the effects of not having the Bible as the foundation to preaching and teaching. The author reveals the freedom to alter the text during the sermon from the willingness he presents in a work about setting the conditions for improving one’s preaching ministry.
While Westerhoff’s work is packed full of valuable and important points that can be sifted through when viewed with the lens of a biblical worldview, the book has limited value to anyone other than those already bent on rejecting the supremacy of the Bible in preaching or those whose worldview cannot be altered by a cleverly written book full of quotes from scholars. This book could really confuse a young Bible college student who does not understand that the biblical text must be “king” when preaching or teaching, or a Pandora’s Box of anything and everything is opened every time one says, “thus says the Lord.” One has only to examine the Word Faith Movement of Copeland, Hagin, Osteen etc. to see what happens when any preacher can say, “The Lord gave me a word for you.” Yet, even the most conservative pastors can benefit from some of Westerhoff’s points about the importance of having a partner to grow with in one’s walk with the Lord (Ibid., 69). His recommendation of establishing a routine and sticking to the routine, including turning the phone off for an hour of prayer, is a suggestion that both conservatives and liberals can agree upon (Ibid.,66). Likewise, his insistence upon finding a balance between daily prayer, study, work and leisure is a reminder that every vocational pastor/teacher should be reminded of often (Ibid., 74). Finally, who can argue with the premium Westerhoff puts upon God and one’s relationship with God, yet one may wonder why references to Christ were so absent. Could it be that Westerhoff is not that insistent upon the exclusivity of Christ?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bramer, Paul. Talbots School of Theology. “Listing of Christian Educators,” http://www.talbot.edu/ce20/educators/view.cfm?n=john_westerhoff [accessed March 28, 2010].
Westerhoff, John H. Spiritual Life: The Foundation for Preaching and Teaching. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994.
Westerhoff, John H., III. “A Journey into Self-understanding.” In Marlene Mayr (Ed.), Modern masters of religious education. Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Press, 1983.
Beloved People who are NOT Beloved
Romans 9:25 I will call them my people, which are NOT my people.....
Romans 9:25-26 contains an amazing truth that should serve to encourage you even when life seems to be falling apart and nothing appears to be going your way.
Paul describes a group of people who are not blood descendents of Abraham—this would include nearly everyone who is presently reading this posting. (I am not aware of any orthodox Jews reading what I write.) These people are called Gentiles.
According to verse 26 they are not God’s people. They were not born with the special designation of being God’s people. Only Israel has that special designation of being able to claim to be a nation chosen by God and Christians should affirm that claim. Israel has been preserved by God and for God. And in verse 26 these people who are not Israelites get called “children of the living God.”
Don’t miss this point. In verse 25 Paul quotes an Old Testament prophecy by Hosea about a time in the future when God will call people who are NOT His people His people. By the call of God they by faith move from being NOT His people to His people. They are not born children of God—they, by faith, must be born-again when God calls them His people. They, by faith exchange unrighteousness for righteousness. They, by faith, exchange a status of being a created being to becoming a son of the one true living God.
They, by faith, exchange a dependency upon doing right, keeping the law, looking a particular way, etc. to a realization that God grants righteousness through the person and work of Christ and this realization is a belief system given by God when He called them sons of the living God.
Verse 30 sums up how one gets saved in the Bible quite well. Paul writes:
What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
That was me—a Gentile—a boy following NOT after righteousness. I didn’t have a right standing with God. There wasn’t anything about me that met God’s standard. I continually fell short moment after moment, day after day, week after week until God called.
And I, by faith, exchanged my fifthly rags of righteousness to the perfect righteousness of the King of Kings and Lord of Lord when God declared that I would be one of perhaps millions of sons of God who have no blood relationship to Abraham who are redeemed by the work of Jesus on the cross of Calvary.
If you are a child of the King—He knows your name and He cares for you. No matter what your struggle or heartache you can know that nothing will separate you from the love of God and this trial has been ordained and permitted by God for good. Notice I did not say your good—I just said good because that’s what the Bible says:
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
If God has called you His child, the son or daughter of the one true living God, then you may claim this promise even during the most difficult trials of life.
......Now, through Christ Jesus, God calls you "beloved which were NOT beloved" (Romans 9:25).
Nothing can separate the beloved from the love of God--nothing--not even the heartache and trial you are going through. Beloved of God claim that promise today!
Romans 9:25-26 contains an amazing truth that should serve to encourage you even when life seems to be falling apart and nothing appears to be going your way.
Paul describes a group of people who are not blood descendents of Abraham—this would include nearly everyone who is presently reading this posting. (I am not aware of any orthodox Jews reading what I write.) These people are called Gentiles.
According to verse 26 they are not God’s people. They were not born with the special designation of being God’s people. Only Israel has that special designation of being able to claim to be a nation chosen by God and Christians should affirm that claim. Israel has been preserved by God and for God. And in verse 26 these people who are not Israelites get called “children of the living God.”
Don’t miss this point. In verse 25 Paul quotes an Old Testament prophecy by Hosea about a time in the future when God will call people who are NOT His people His people. By the call of God they by faith move from being NOT His people to His people. They are not born children of God—they, by faith, must be born-again when God calls them His people. They, by faith exchange unrighteousness for righteousness. They, by faith, exchange a status of being a created being to becoming a son of the one true living God.
They, by faith, exchange a dependency upon doing right, keeping the law, looking a particular way, etc. to a realization that God grants righteousness through the person and work of Christ and this realization is a belief system given by God when He called them sons of the living God.
Verse 30 sums up how one gets saved in the Bible quite well. Paul writes:
What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
That was me—a Gentile—a boy following NOT after righteousness. I didn’t have a right standing with God. There wasn’t anything about me that met God’s standard. I continually fell short moment after moment, day after day, week after week until God called.
And I, by faith, exchanged my fifthly rags of righteousness to the perfect righteousness of the King of Kings and Lord of Lord when God declared that I would be one of perhaps millions of sons of God who have no blood relationship to Abraham who are redeemed by the work of Jesus on the cross of Calvary.
If you are a child of the King—He knows your name and He cares for you. No matter what your struggle or heartache you can know that nothing will separate you from the love of God and this trial has been ordained and permitted by God for good. Notice I did not say your good—I just said good because that’s what the Bible says:
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
If God has called you His child, the son or daughter of the one true living God, then you may claim this promise even during the most difficult trials of life.
......Now, through Christ Jesus, God calls you "beloved which were NOT beloved" (Romans 9:25).
Nothing can separate the beloved from the love of God--nothing--not even the heartache and trial you are going through. Beloved of God claim that promise today!
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