You will not find a verse in Scripture where people are told to "bow your heads, close your eyes, and repeat after me." You will not find a place where a superstitious sinner's prayer is even mentioned. And you will not find an emphasis on accepting Jesus. We have taken the infinitely glorious Son of God, who endured the infinitely terrible wrath of God and who now reigns as the infinitely worthy Lord of all, and we have reduced him to a poor, puny Saviour who is just begging for us to accept Him.
Accept Him? Do we really think Jesus needs our acceptance? Don't we need Him? . . .Surely this gospel evokes unconditional surrender of all that we are and all that we have to all that He is.
And just in case that didn't rock your boat. . .
We live in a church culture that has a dangerous tendency to disconnect the grace of God from the glory of God. Our hearts resonate with the idea of enjoying God's grace. We bask in sermons, conferences, and books that exalt a grace centering on us. . ."[I]f God loves me" is the message of Christianity, then who is the object of Christianity? God loves me. Me. Christianity's object is me. Therefore when I look for a church, I look for the music that best fits me and the programs that best cater to me and my family. When I make plans for my life and my career, it is about what is best for me and my family. [When choosing a house, a car, clothes, lifestyle] I will choose according to what is best for me. This is the version of Christianity that largely prevails in our culture.
But it is not biblical Christianity.
The message of biblical Christianity is not "God loves me, period," as if we were the object of our own faith. [It is] "God loves me so that I might make Him--His ways, His salvation, His glory, and His greatness--known among all nations." Now God is the object of our faith, and Christianity centers around Him. We are not the end of the gospel; God is. (excerpted from pp 69-71)
RadicalTaking Back Your Faith From the American Dream
by David Platt
(Multnomah)
For more about this book, and a giveaway, click here.
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3 comments:
Yes and amen. That's funny we posted the same excerpt! I'd like to quote the whole book; it's THAT good...
Thanks for your email. I haven't been out making my blog visits lately but I'm glad you pointed me this way!
Those are two powerful quotes. But both so true.
Melissa mentioned last week that she won't be able to host this meme any more due to personal issues. I've thought about taking it on, although the free WordPress blogs won't support Mr. Limky or McLinky. But for the time being I posted some quotes that struck me this week, anyway.
This was great.
It is so important to remember, "Hey, it's not all about me!?!"
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