The Motivation for Christian Obedience? Beauty and Duty

Tim Keller answers the question, “What should the motivation for Christian obedience be?” His answer? Beauty and duty. Watch the video below to hear an explanation of each.

Those using RSS readers, click through to the actual blog to see the video.

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Richard Keyes: Idols Point to the Reality of God

… Since we were made to relate to God – but do not want to face him – we forever inflate things in this world to religious proportions to fill the vacuum left by God’s exclusion.” - Richard Keyes, “The Idol Factory” in No God But God, p. 32.

In other words, the reason we blow common things to biblical proportions and the reason why we make such mundane things so much more glorious in our lives than they really are is because we know the truth that a God who really is that glorious is there. But because we don’t want to face that God, we make up our own counterfeit gods (which will eventually fail us) to fill that gap.

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Get Comfortable with Mystery in Relating to God

In studying for my upcoming sermon on Galatians 1:11-24, I’ve had to brush up on the topic of election/predestination again. In the end, I think C.J. Mahaney says it best in this video below: “Get comfortable with mystery in relating to God.”

God, help me to get comfortable with the mystery of election and rest in the comfort of knowing that you pursued me (and continue to pursue me) as unworthy as I am.

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Preach It Until You Feel It

Justin Buzzard:

Most of us live life feeling our way towards an action, rather than acting our way towards a feeling. We have it backwards.

Instead, we ought to act our way towards a feeling, trusting that healthy emotions will follow healthy belief and action.

There is no more important arena for exercising this action-precedes-feelings order than in the talking/preaching you do to yourself and others.

The great John Wesley wrestled with this dynamic at a crucial juncture in his ministry. Wesley had come to believe the biblical gospel, to believe the staggering good news of justification by faith alone. This was the gospel he was preaching to himself and to the crowds. His brain believed this gospel, but he wasn’t feeling it and so he doubted whether it would be authentic of him to continue preaching the gospel while lacking the accompanying emotions of joy and feelings of freedom. Fortunately, John Wesley had a friend who gave him a single sentence of counsel that set him free. Below is their historic conversation.

John Wesley: “I see it clearly with my head but I do not feel it, and I had better stop preaching it until I feel it.”

Peter Bohler: “Do not stop preaching it, but go on preaching it until you do feel it.”

Peter Bohler’s ancient counsel to Wesley is my counsel to you, especially when it comes to the discipline of preaching the gospel to yourself and to others.

DO NOT STOP PREACHING IT, BUT GO ON PREACHING IT UNTIL YOU DO FEEL IT!

Today, don’t feel yourself towards an action, act your way towards a feeling. Don’t wait for the joy in order to act, go get the joy! Preach more gospel to yourself. Speak more gospel to others. Do not stop preaching it, but go on preaching it until you do feel it.

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Distinction Between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism

Here is a very helpful post by Wes Bredenhof on the oft-neglected distinctions between Reformed Protestantism and Roman Catholicism.

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