Effective and Productive Faith Part 2

   When you are born again (John 3:1-8, 2 Corinthians 5:17-18), you will change. Though we don't know the mechanics of this transformation, the change is significant and radical. Your heart now longs to be with God and your desire is now to obey him and walk in His law. Jesus is now indeed the king of your heart.

   Transformation does not occur only in the dramatic events of your life. The proof this transformation is borne out over time, in each moment that you live. Paul Tripp says this :

    The little moments of life are profoundly important precisely because they’re the little moments that you live in and that form you. This is where I think that "Big Drama Christianity" gets us into trouble. It can cause us to devalue the significance of the little moments of life and the "small-change" grace that meets us there. And because we devalue the little moments where we live, we tend to not notice the sin that gets exposed there and don't seek the grace that’s offered us there. You see, the character of a life is not set in two or three dramatic moments, but in 10,000 little moments. The character that was formed in those little moments is what shapes how you respond to the big moments of life.

What leads to significant personal change? 10,000 moments of personal insight and conviction, 10,000 moments of humble submission, 10,000 moments of foolishness exposed and wisdom gained, 10,000 moments of sin confessed and sin forsaken, 10,000 moments of courageous faith, 10,000 choice points of obedience, 10,000 times of forsaking the kingdom of self and running toward the kingdom of God, 10,000 moments when we abandon worship of the creation and give ourselves to worship of the Creator. And what makes all of this possible? Relentless, transforming, little-moment grace. You see, Jesus is Emmanuel not just because he came to earth, but because he makes you the place where he dwells. This means he’s present and active in all the mundane moments of your daily life. And what is he doing? In these small moments he’s delivering every redemptive promise he’s made to you. In these unremarkable moments, he’s working to rescue you from you and transform you into his likeness. By sovereign grace he places you in daily little moments that are designed to take you beyond your character, wisdom and grace so that you’ll seek the help and hope that can only be found in him. In a lifelong process of change, he’s undoing you and rebuilding you again; exactly what each one of us needs!

   This is how your salvation is worked out. This is how your character is conformed to the image of Christ.

Effective and Productive Faith Part 1

"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins." 

- 2 Peter 1:5-9 (ESV)

    God provides infinite resources for us to grow in our faith. Yet for many Christians, spiritual growth is a struggle. Habitual sins are difficult to overcome, they lack self-control, they don't understand the Bible, their relationship with God goes hot and cold, and their relationships with others are still mired in conflict and unforgiveness.

    Does this describe your spiritual life? If so,it should be immensely helpful for you to know that the root-cause of ineffective and unproductive faith is a lack of understanding of the gospel. When you do not comprehend the meaning of the gospel, you fail to grasp your identity in Christ and the work that God does in your life. As a result, your spiritual life fails to produce the expected fruit of faith. The Apostle Peter declares that whoever lacks Christ-like qualities is "so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from former sins". Spiritual growth is lacking is because you may have underestimated the presence and power of indwelling sin. You may be surprised to find how so easily swayed you are by the world and its ways. Your heart is prone to wander from the God you love, as the hymn says.

   So how can the spiritual blindness be removed?

"For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard..."

-Colossians 1:19-23 (ESV) 

    Stick to the gospel! True Christians are not sinless but they sin less because their hearts are transformed such that they loathe themselves because of their sins but look to the cross where the blood of Jesus has brought them peace and reconciliation with God. They don't try harder to be good through their self-effort but the Holy Spirit that dwells in them gives them the desire to follow Jesus and causes them to walk in obedience to God's laws (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Remember that the gospel is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). God is stronger than the power of sin! He not only gets us saved but also keeps us saved. Jesus does not lose any of His sheep (John 10:27-30)!

    So remember the gospel by looking to the cross daily. Thank Jesus that his blood covers your sins, even those that you commit after you were saved. That's the first key to effective and productive faith.

More in the next post....

Book Review : ESV Seek and Find Bible

   Finally, a high-quality study Bible for kids! Think of the ESV Seek and Find Bible as the ESV Study Bible, kid version.

    In the ESV Seek and Find Bible, the well-regarded ESV text is combined with Bible stories, illustrations, and discussion questions that help children dig deeper into God’s Word. Over 130 Bible stories can be found throughout the book and, thankfully, are placed close to its original book chapter and verse so that they can be easily found. They were written with young readers in mind and they’re great for family devotions. Last Easter, my two sons took turns reading aloud the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That served as a springboard for priceless spiritual conversation with my children. They asked a lot of questions. What did the thieves do? How painful was it to be crucified? Why did Jesus die in the cross? Is he God? How did he rise again? Is Jesus really a king? A lot of theology was taught within that hour!


    Not only are the stories great for devotions, I was also pleasantly surprised that they are fully packed with solid Biblical theology. The writers made sure to connect the Old Testament stories to Jesus Christ. The story about Adam and Eve, for instance, ends with this explanation:

“Adam and Eve were the very first people to sin. They brought sin into the world. But God still loved them very much, and so He gave them the promise that one day a Savior would come. Many years later, God sent His Son, Jesus, to earth. Satan came to Jesus too, and tempted Him to disobey God, but Jesus did not listen to Satan. Jesus lived His whole life without sin. Then He suffered and died on the cross for the sins of the world and rose from the dead to give us eternal life.”

    Nowadays, parents are challenged to explain the gospel to their children. The ESV Seek and Find Bible will help to explain it in a language that children will understand. They’re never too young to know that they are sinful, to know the grace of God, and that by faith believe in Jesus Christ who saves them and transforms their hearts! I definitely recommend this to be the Bible that your kids should own and read as they grow in their faith.

    For more information about this book and other Crossway titles, go to : www.crossway.org/blog.