True life change (what theologians call sanctification) is an inside job – a work that the Spirit of God does in our hearts. What often complicates and confuses the issue is that Christian behavior can also be faked. In fact, in the last post I warned against reducing spiritual growth to a learned behavior. It is sad that in many Christian circles people are kept in bondage by such “cattle prod” approaches, where a “gospel” is preached that in essence is not the gospel at all. (note: the word ‘gospel’ means ‘good news’) It is hardly “good news” to be told that to be a Christian you have to avoid certain “taboos” and learn to look and act like “good Christian church folk ought to”. This even goes as far as how one dresses or how one votes. After all, you have to learn to tow that party line!

Now I know I am exercising a little hyperbole to make my point, but it really is an abomination in light of the true gospel of God’s grace. Beyond learning all the new behavior, one might even get the sense you have to learn a new language (i.e. “Christianese”). Maybe much of this makes no sense to you – or maybe – if you’re like me and have lived in that world at some point in your life, you know all too well what I’m talking about. I hope that somehow you have been set free – but not in the way of reacting in the opposite extreme. Rather, set free by the truth of what the Bible really teaches (not what men have added to the Biblical teaching). I think Jesus addressed such madness as He rebuked the Pharisees in Matthew 23:25-28 .

As I also previously stated, I prefer the “measuring stick” approach which says “because we have understood the gospel (good news of God’s grace) we can rest in God’s love and acceptance of us as demonstrated in the Gospel, these are the things we might see in our lives as evidence of spiritual growth”. Joe Thorn puts it will in his blog (read here) that deals with Moralism – and this blogger will continue to discuss this in more posts that follow this one. I hope this is helping somebody think through this issue for themselves. Too many have blindly “drunk the Koolaid” of American Christianity.

Just so that I do not sound like I am knit-picking here, let me suggest what I think is a better way to stress the issue of “life change” in teaching God’s people. Here it is in pretty simple words – rather than preaching life change in a way that makes it a cattle prod (to motivate people to behave in a certain way), preach life change in a way that makes it a measuring stick.

The “cattle prod” approach says “if you are a true believer, then this is the kind of changes that one should see in your life”.  This has the tendency to reduce spiritual growth to learning a new set of behaviors. You may have seen this yourself. It’s the kind of church that teaches “Christians don’t do such-and-such, or Christians should look, talk, and dress like such-and-such”. More correctly however, spiritual growth is the fruit of an increased understanding (2 Pet. 3:18) – not to behavior management. I will discuss this more in another post.

The “measuring stick” approach says “because we have a regenerate heart (i.e. experienced the New Birth) and have understood the gospel, these are the things we might see in our lives as evidence of spiritual growth”. It may seem to you that I am trying to split a theological hair, and I will admit that the differences I refer to are subtle. However, subtle differences can often have drastic effects. Especially in the discussion of biblical truths. Such subtle differences as we have here can affect whether we are walking in bondage to legalism and man-made religion, or walking in the freedom found only in Christ and the Gospel. More to come……

Just in case you read this and are tempted to accuse me of speaking against teaching “life change” for believers, let me make a simple distinction to help you understand where I am coming from. What I am against is the kind of life change teaching that is merely behavior driven. What I am very much in favor of is the kind of life change that is belief driven. So this is where I will be coming from as I write on this subject over the next few weeks. I believe that while this emphasis has some value, it is not where the primary focus should be in our teaching. And I believe that historic, orthodox, Christian teaching supports my position.

My thoughts on the subject may be too many to share in one posting, so I am thinking I will write a series of posts to discuss this. I would be interested in hearing feedback from my readers so feel free to weigh in whether you agree or not.

 1. John Stott articulated a biblical faith in ways that are true and faithful to the text of the Bible. No postmodern experiments with deconstructing. No theological flights of fancy. No sermons that overwhelmed the biblical narrative with his own cute stories. No pandering after the crowds. No studied attempt to be authentic, no pacing up and down the stage, no working the crowd for a laugh. Just simple and clear exegesis, with the appropriate illustration or classic quote.

2. John Stott lived a life that was true and faithful to the Bible. He spoke with conviction and humility. He worked hard but did not burn out. He played hard – if you call his fascination with bird-watching play - but was never tempted to let leisure define his lifestyle. He listened to his critics without being cowed by them. He wore his fame lightly, and used it not to promote himself or the sale of his books, but to further the ministries he had given himself to. He continued to grow and learn his whole life, expanding God’s calling on his life until his last breath. He put love into action, bringing into near perfect biblical balance the call for evangelism and social justice.

3. John Stott preached and lived a life that was an apology for the oldest and strongest pillars of evangelicalism: the complete trustworthiness and authority of Scripture; the primacy of the substitutionary atonement of Christ; Jesus as Savior and Lord; and a life of activism, characterized by both evangelism and social justice.

These things shaped the life of John Stott, as they most likely have countless evangelical Christians over the past several decades. His writings have certainly served as a shaping influence on me and those who God used to shape me. May his tribe live on and increase to the glory of God: 

Unfortunately, our culture’s obsession with entertainment celebrities has led to placing such people upon pedestals from which they feel obligated to express their views and opinions. There is nothing wrong with that per se, as we do live in a country that allows freedom of speech. The unfortunate thing is that the views and opinions that these people have, are so often taken as valid and authoritative. If you question that, consider the “great modern theologian” Oprah Winfrey and the influence she has had. Just because someone famous who we may like as a musician or movie star says something does not make it right or true – no matter what degree of creative genius we consider that person to have. Case in point, Miley Cyrus’ statement about “not judging” (see link). I rarely write on such things as this, but when I read about this it struck me as another sad indicator of our deteriorating culture. It led to some thoughts that I considered worthy of writing about.

True, Jesus did have some things to say in Matthew 7 about judging (read here).  But was Jesus telling us to never judge or discern anything? Or was he giving a word of warning about how we are to judge and some things to be careful of as we do so?  I would suggest that we need to distinguish between making assessments of character and motives, versus weighing the actions and beliefs that others may promote against God’s word as revealed in Scripture. The latter seems to be a form of “judging” that the Bible deems permissible, however this should be done with humility, as Jesus seems to be saying in Matthew 7. The Bible says far more about God and what He is for or against, than simply that He is love. It does say that, but lets be careful about taking one verse out of context – AND – let’s be even more careful that we do not make the mistake that Miley Cyrus is making (she claims to read her Bible) by ignoring the clear teaching of Scripture about what is normative and what constitutes a marriage and a family.

I will continue to be an ambassador of the Gospel – although not from a pulpit, but in my home, my community, and in the workplace. I will also continue the ministry that God has given me through this blog. However, I will be writing not so much as a “pastor”, but as a “pilgrim” who lives and struggles among other pilgrims as we await the ultimate fulfillment of God’s kingdom here on earth. (note: I realized some time ago that in reality, this describes pastors too – although many sadly lose sight of that)

Alot about my life has changed over the past year. I have (re)learned that my entire identity is not wrapped up in being “Pastor Tommy”. My identity is in Christ and in being a redeemed child of God – loved and accepted because of what Jesus has done for me – not because of what I do for Him. I have been reminded that I am first and foremost a husband to Kristi, and a father to my children – something that being a pastor in the local church continually overshadowed.

Another change is that I find myself without a lucrative career to fall back into. Although I did not enter paid ministry with an expectation of wealth, my last church paid me a pretty comfortable wage for my services. Our family is having to make some big adjustments in the area of lifestyle and financial security. In it all we are trusting God to show us the way – even if after some time to regroup, He points me back into the pastorate. In an upwardly mobile society, it confuses people to see a man take what looks like a step backward in his “career path”. But I cannot be concerned with what people think. My heart’s desire is to walk the path of obedience to the Father, just as Jesus did. To most casual observers, the life Jesus lived would not be what one might expect for a king. But Jesus humbled himself to live out His calling – and that was the thing that pleased God (see Phil. 2:5ff).

I am not attempting to say that I am anywhere close to being in the same league as Jesus. All I am saying is that I hope that, by God’s grace, I can continually humble myself to keep on being a minister of the Gospel – even if it doesn’t look like people think it should. With God’s help, I hope that I can carry out that ministry in the mundane activity of the day to day life – at home, at work, and in the place I live.

Time Well Spent (excerpt)
By R.C. Sproul

Time is the great leveler. It is one resource that is allocated in absolute egalitarian terms. Every living person has the same number of hours to use in every day. Busy people are not given a special bonus added on to the hours of the day. The clock plays no favorites.

We all have an equal measure of time in every day. Where we differ from one another is in how we redeem the time allotted. When something is redeemed it is rescued or purchased from some negative condition. The basic negative condition we are concerned with is the condition of waste. To waste time is to spend it on that which has little or no value.

I am a time waster. When I think of the time I have wasted over the course of my life, I am hounded by remorse. This guilt is not a false one fostered by an overactive work ethic. The guilt is real because the time I have wasted is real time.     The late Vince Lombardi introduced the adage, “I never lost a game, I just ran out of time.” This explanation points to one of the most dramatic elements of sports—the race against the clock. The team that is most productive in the allotted time is the team that wins the game. Of course, in sports, unlike life, there are provisions for calling time-out. The clock in a sports contest can be temporarily halted. But in real life there are no timeouts…

Given my propensity to waste time, I have learned a few tricks to help me beat the clock. They may be helpful to some of you.

First, I realize that all of my time is God’s time and all of my time is my time by His delegation. God owns me and my time. Yet, He has given me a measure of time over which I am a steward. I can commit that time to work for other people, visit other people, etc. But it is time for which I must give an account.

Second, time can be redeemed by concentration and focus. One of the greatest wastes of time occurs in the human mind. Our hands may be busy but our minds idle. Likewise, our hands may be idle while our minds are busy. Woolgathering, day-dreaming, and indulging in frivolous fantasy are ways in which thoughts may be wasted in real time. To focus our minds on the task at hand—with fierce concentration—makes for productive use of time.

Third, the mind can redeem valuable time taken up by ordinary or mechanical functions. For example, the mechanics of taking a shower are not difficult. In this setting the mind is free for problem solving, creative thinking, or the composition of themes. Many of my messages and lectures are germinated in the shower. When I used to play a lot of golf, I found that the time I had between shots was a great time for composing messages in my mind.

Fourth, use your leisure time for pursuits that are life enriching. Leisure time is often spent on avocations. Reading is a valuable use of time. It enriches life to read outside of your major field or area of expertise. Augustine once advised believers to learn as much as possible about as many things as possible, since all truth is God’s truth. Other avocations that are enriching include the arts. I like to study the piano and I dabble in painting. No one will ever mistake me for a serious musician or an accomplished artist. But these avocations open up the world of beauty to me that enhances my view of God and His manifold perfections. I also enjoy working cross-word puzzles to warm up the little gray cells and to expand my vista of verbal expression.

Fifth, find ways to cheat the “Sand Man.” Several years ago I had an epiphany about time management. Though my life-long pattern had been to stay up late at night I realized that for me, the hours between 9–12 p.m. were not very productive. I reasoned that if I used those hours to sleep I might secure more time for more productive things. Since then my habit has been to retire between 8–9 p.m. when possible and rise at 4 a.m. This has effected a wonderful revolution for my schedule. The early hours of the day are a time free from distractions and interruptions, a marvelous time for study, writing, and prayer….

Sixth, use drive-time for learning. Driving a car is another mechanical function that allows the mind to be alert to more than what is happening on the roadway. The benefits of audio tape can be put to great use during these times. I can listen to lectures and instructional tapes while driving, thereby redeeming the time.

Finally, in most cases a schedule is more liberating than restricting. Working with a schedule helps enormously to organize our use of time. The schedule should be a friend, not an enemy. I find it freeing in that the schedule can include time for leisure, recreation, and avocation. It helps us find the rhythm for a God-glorifying productive life

One instance that some might point to as God punishing Christians is found in Acts ch. 5 (read here )   What we see there is not technically “God punishing His children” as much as it is “God protecting His bride (the Church)”. Much of what we see in Acts, while being historical accounts of how God worked through the apostles to form the Church, is not intended to teach us of normative ways that God works today. Rather, it is special providence to remove deceit and other potentially destructive elements from the Church at a time when things were just taking shape and in a fragile state. Obviously God has not kept the Church completely pure over the past 2000 years. If He had most of our churches today and the people who are part of them, would have also gone the way of Annanias and Sapphira. But I, personally do not take that to have been “punishment”.

What many people get confused about is terminology. We tend toward thinking in terms of judgment rather than grace. Many sincere Christians have been under legalistic teaching that reflects more of the Old Covenant than a New Covenant understanding of grace. This is sad and it keeps many good people living in bondage and fear. To be sure, we do indeed need a healthy fear of God, but we can still have that without living in the fear of His punishment.

The Gospel sheds much light on this. We need to see and understand that Jesus bore the punishment for our sins – past, present, and future. God is not watching our every move to see that we, as “slaves”, need to be punished for our every mistake (sin). If you have been re-born through the Gospel and come to faith in Jesus, you have been born into God’s family and He now deals with you as His own child. When children sin, a loving Father does not measure out harsh punishment does He?  No! But that is not to say that a loving Father does not need to discipline his children for their good (see Heb. 12:5ff ) .

Many people may feel like they are being punished by God. I do understand that because I have felt that way myself on occasion, until truth prevailed over feelings. What I want to try to help my readers understand in this small amount of printed space, is that when we find ourselves under God’s discipline or living through some tough consequences of our sin, is this – God orchestrates these things in our lives through His Providence, and He does so for His glory and for our ultimate good.

The Bible tells us that God desires that people everywhere would turn away from their sin and be saved from judgment (Ezek. 18:32). We also see in the Bible (Psalm 73) that God often withholds judgment from the wicked, even when it would seem to us that He would be perfectly justified in unleashing His judgment upon them in great measure. In short, this can become a complicated issue. So perhaps for those who are Christians and are concerned with this question, it would be better to think about how God deals with US when WE sin. The main message of the Bible sheds much more light on how God deals with believers.

It is important that we have a right view of God regarding this question. I would suggest that 2 things are helpful here. First, we must pay attention to the metaphors the Bible uses to speak of our relationship with God through faith in Jesus. God deals with believers as children of the covenant, not as slaves (see Gal. 3:23-4:7 and Romans 8:14-17). There is no question that believers do sin. There are the little occasional “slip-ups” that we are aware of, as well as those “habitual or pet sins”. Without exception we also have undetected sin in our lives – things that we may have not even thought of as sin, but the Bible does indeed identify as such. Usually these are more in the way of attitudes and relational sins than in the way of behavioral sin.

That being said, when we (believers) do sin, I want to help you understand it is not God’s normal way to “punish” us.  This leads to the second helpful thought which is we must understand the central message of the gospel, particularly what was actually accomplished by the Cross.  We read in both the Old and New Testaments (Is. 53: 5-6; Rom. 3:23-25; 2 Cor. 5:21) that Jesus bore the punishment for our sin.  Since that is true, for God to punish us (again) would make Christ’s atonement seem inadequate, and we know that there was nothing lacking in it. Jesus himself said as he was dying upon the cross, that what He was doing was enough to satisfy God (John 19:30 declared His work  completed / paid in full).

So in light of all that, I would contend that it is theologically wrong to say that God punishes His children, but we CAN rightly say that He does discipline them. When Christians sin, they need not fear ultimate eternal judgment, BUT we must understand that sin has consequences, and God does not always spare us of the consequences of sin and foolishness. I think that in reading through the New Testament, you will find that when God does discipline His children and allow them to experience the bitter consequences of sin, it is always formative rather than punitive (Rom. 8:28ff).