from the confessions of our faith

So here’s a truth that hits home for all of us. We all die. It is irreversible. You can only act like it doesn’t matter to you for so long. From the Heidelberg Catechism, we know the purpose of death for the believer:

42. Q. Since Christ has died for us, why do we still have to die?

A. Our death is not a payment for our sins, but it puts an end to sin and is an entrance into eternal life.[1]

[1] John 5:24; Phil. 1:21-23; I Thess. 5:9, 10.

This hinges on a belief that Christ died for you so that you may be satisfied. You cannot deny your times of emptiness. Whether it manifests in desperate need for attention or exceeding disappointment at failures made by ourselves or friends, our hearts without Jesus are unsatisfied.

God does not force the decision. It is entirely your choice to accept this free gift or not.

I suck at loving people

It’s not even one of those fake humility things where I’m downplaying my awesomeness. How do you know if you’re a pretty good friend of mine? We share blessing experiences together but over time I’ve neglected you and taken you for granted. You would then confront me about it and I offer my feeble apologies. This will occur perhaps multiple times.

Quick exegesis on 2 Corinthians 6:3-12:

• (verse 3) Unable to genuinely love people is a stumbling block that really hurts people, learned both from friends and cg members.
• (verse 6) Purity. Understanding. Patience. Kindness. Sincerity. These things are super foreign to me.
• (verse 12) I withhold affection as only prideful people do.

Atm, very unconcerned about the theological integrity of this post. So much so I used NIV in writing this. It’s all about that ridiculous heart for the Gospel.

Open invitation to Jeff Lee's memorial worship service tonight @7PM, Bodek Lounge

"Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less"

Martin Luther defined sin as “mankind turned inward.” And sadly, the way many of us think about sanctification is terribly narcissistic. We spend too much time thinking about how we’re doing, if we’re growing, whether we’re doing it right or not. We spend too much time pondering our failure and brooding over our spiritual successes. In short, we spend way too much time thinking about ourselves and what we need to do and far too little time thinking about Jesus and what he’s already done. And what I’ve discovered is that the more I focus on my need to get better the worse I actually get–I become neurotic and self-absorbed. Preoccupation with my performance over Christ’s performance for me makes me increasingly self-centered and morbidly introspective. This is the opposite of how the Bible describes what it means to be sanctified. Sanctification is forgetting about yourself.

Peter only began to sink when he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on “how he was doing.” Anytime our natural fixture on self is rattled, shaken, turned from itself to that Man’s blood, to that Man’s cross, the devil runs!

When we stop narcissistically focusing on our need to get better that is what it means to get better. When we stop obsessing over our need to improve, that is what it means to improve!

— Tullian Tchividjian of The Gospel Coalition

How I can become more gospel-centered

That is, make applicable the riches of God’s grace through Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection for pathetic sinners like me:

• Take the entire Bible seriously to enhance the sweetness of the gospel message. To my shame, I have not read through the Old Testament.
• Preach the gospel to both believers and nonbelievers.
• Repent. Repent. Repent.
• Have a contagious, constant astonishment of the gospel.
• Be known to give grace; be a person skeptics and seekers would like to talk to.
• Love the person of Jesus more than doctrinal implications.

Remixed Calvinism

It sometimes feels like Calvinists first invoke the five points, then apologize for invoking the five points, then explain how the five points don’t really mean what they seem to mean and aren’t really saying what they seem to be saying. This can’t possibly be the best way to introduce people to what we believe.

Funny but true. Greg Forster offers another version of TULIP which references the three persons of God and the mechanism of salvation:

• State of man before salvation: wholly defiled
• Work of the Father in salvation: unconditional choice
• Work of the Son in salvation: personal salvation
• Work of the Spirit in salvation: supernatural transformation
• State of man after salvation: in faith, perseverance

Das cool.

What church should I attend?

From Pastor John of Good News Church I attended this summer:

1) Don't base your choice on comfort. Ever thought that, perhaps, as a sinner what you consider comfortable God may consider uncomfortable?

2) Risk-benefit analysis is ill-advised. A good church will always cost you by asking you to give yourself in committed service. In that way, it is blessing you (ref. Beatitudes).

3) Christ-centered. A good gauge whether the church is not grieving the Holy Spirit is if Christ is the chief priority (John 16:14). Not morals, practical advice, fellowship events, cool worship - other religions have those. Not personalities or movements. Just Christ.

4) Marked with humility. Philippians 2:1-11 not only on an individual level, but does the body care for the church universal and form partnerships? Does it celebrate victories of other bodies or is it absorbed in its own happenings?

Now commit.

describes my conversion to a t

But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

-1 Corinthians 14:24-25