Notes on *Plastic Donuts*

Plastic Donuts: Giving That Delights the Heart of the Father, Jeff Anderson (Multnomah, 2013)

Main Idea/Takeaway

• Discerning the kind of giving that delights the heart of the Father.

Table of Contents

Introduction

I. The Plastic Donut

II. What is Acceptable?

III. Does the Amount Matter?

IV. Rule #1 There Are No Rules

V. A Two Percent Perspective

VI. Because You Can

VII. All the Difference

VIII. That Chair

Postscript

Favorite Quotes by Chapter

Introduction

• "When you start to see giving from God's perspective, the lights will come on." (3)

I. The Plastic Donut

• "I didn't see it coming, but at that moment it occurred to me: this is how our giving must feel from God's perspective. Our gifts to Him are like Plastic Donuts. God does not need our gifts or our money. But like a child's gift that moves her father, our gifts can really get God's attention." (8)

• "For years I had thought a lot about the receivers of my gifts: my church, my neighbor, my chosen charities.

  And I had studied the benefits that come to me as a giver. But I hadn't given much thought to my gift from God's viewpoint. Could it be that God desires a similar Plastic-Donut experience when I give to Him?" (9)

• "Remember, we all need personal clarity from Scripture when a question arises." (14)

• "...when your questions about giving can be answered with confidence, your connection with your heavenly Father will grow stronger." (16)

• "I saw more clearly why the joy of giving can seem so elusive. It's hard to experience it without looking up to the Father. Often, instead of looking up with my gift, I was looking down. Instead of pondering God's reaction to my giving, I was occupied with my own feelings on the subject. Instead of giving to the One unseen, I'd been giving to what I could see." (19)

II. What is Acceptable?

• "Still today, people are curious about Cain and Abel's gifts. For a story with so few details, theologians have many ideas. This much is clear: in the very begin-ning, God showed great interest in the gifts from His children." (23)

• "...perhaps the most significant lesson is this: Not all gifts are the same to Him. Not all gifts are acceptable." (24)

• "But when it comes to our pleasing God, bad doctrine often gets in the way. Some people view it as a performance or a way to appease God-or maybe to satisfy His demands. Of course, this is wrong. Others react negatively to the idea of pleasing God because of their past inability to please the people who are most important to them: a parent, a spouse, a boss, a friend. This is unfortunate. We may carry baggage from ruptured relationships on earth, but our relationship with God is different. It is pure! We can please God, and

  for the right reasons. Our greatest aim in life should be to please Him, whether we are on earth or in heaven (see2 Corinthians 5:9). The thought of pleasing God should be comforting to us, and our gifts are one tool that help us please Him."(26)

• "One of the most surprising to many of us is this: our gifts can delight the heart of the Father, bringing a smile to His face. These are acceptable gifts. (30)

III. Does the Amount Matter?

• "When it comes to our gifts, the amount matters. When the gift amount matters to us, it can matter to God too. When the amount doesn't matter to us, it doesn't matter to God." (35)

• "The question is, what are the amounts that matter to you? Do your gifts to God fit in this category? Are you as diligent in making careful provision for your gifts to God as you are in making other financial decisions?" (35)

• "In my discussions with Christians about giving, no opinion has been more frequently expressed than this one: "The amount doesn't really matter. It's all about the heart." I understand the good intentions behind this statement. The problem is, the message is wrong. Often we pull the heart card to avoid deeper questions about the amount we give."(37)

• "In fact, it's the amount that helps engage the heart."(38)

• "Much of my time and attention were spent considering other things to do with the 90 percent. I spent very little time thinking about the 10 percent I was giving away and zero time imagining a life of giving more than that."(40)

• "What I didn't realize was that my lifestyle had frozen my giving at the 10 percent level. When it came to my finances, my lifestyle had all the influence."(40)

• "Do your gifts engage your heart in worship? Do your gifts influence your lifestyle? Do your gift amounts matter to you? From God's perspective, the amount matters." (41)

IV. Rule #1 There Are No Rules

• "It's our next Acceptable Gift truth: When it comes to our gifts, we determine the amount." (44)

• "In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus provided instructions on giving, praying, and fasting. For each, He focused on the heart standard but did not provide an amount standard (see Matthew 6:1-18)."(45)

• "The bottom line is this: we determine the amount of our gifts. There is tremendous God-given freedom in that— and responsibility too."(60)

V. A Two Percent Perspective

• "If you've spent any time studying giving statistics, you likely know about the 2 percent. That's the percentage of income people give, on average, to charitable or religious causes. I agree it's a disappointing stat—not the measurement, but what it means. It falls well short of the 10 percent standard that has been held up as a minimum level for biblical giving."(64)

VI. Because You Can

• "God desires everyone to give according to their abilities. It's a simple plan."(74)

• "Even though she was poor, the widow had a benchmark for a superior gift-it was her ability."(77)

• "Instead of asking why give more, we began to ask why not? Giving decisions became easier."(82)

• "Tapping your true giving ability will require countercultural lifestyle choices-such as debt-free living or a reduction in your spending."(84)

• "When it comes to our gifts, we know the amount matters. And when selecting our gifts, we determine the amount, in order to delight our Father.

  In measuring whether our gift is the acceptable kind, God measures it according to our ability. He understands our ability and takes it into consideration, not as a celestial bill collector, but as a loving Father."(90)

VII. All the Difference

• "In the end, it is the condition of the giver's heart that makes the gift pleasing to God."(95)

• "On one hand, God doesn't want our gifts without our hearts being clear. On the other hand, we have seen that without gifts, our hearts cannot fully express love for God or others."(96)

• "Just because more than one thing is desired- and one is more highly sought than the other-does not mean that the other is not desired. Make sense? Without a heart that pleases God, our gifts have limited value. And without gifts that please God, our heart expression is limited."(96)

• "That means that a primary way we speak from our hearts is through our gifts."(97)

• "The gift helps your heart speak what it really feels. And the heart makes your gift count for what it's really worth. The gift and the heart—they work together."(98)

• "Look up. Give your heart and soul to God. Then sense His smile. Sense His pleasure in you. Feel His embrace."(104)

VIII. That Chair

• "So bring your gifts to Him. May they be pleasing and acceptable in His sight. And may your face light up as you imagine the joyful approval of your Father as He receives you in one arm...and your Plastic Donuts in the other."(108)

Notable Content

"The next time you give a gift, remember the Acceptable Gift truths:

• The amount matters.

• We determine the amount.

• We give according to ability.

• The heart makes the gift count."(108)

Notes on *Deeper*

[Editor’s note: Deeper is my favorite I’ve read this year. I found it profoundly encouraging, repeatedly leading me to worship.]

Deeper: Real Change for Real Sinners, Dane Ortlund (Crossway, 2021)

Main Idea/Takeaway

The way that Christians grow- or progress in sanctification- is not by putting their heads to work, but by opening their hands to receive all that God is for us in Christ. We must keep our eyes on Jesus.

• "The basic point of this book is that change is a matter of going deeper. Some believers think change happens through outward improvement-behaving more and more in accord with some moral norm (the biblical law, or the commands of Jesus, or conscience, or whatever). Others chink change happens mainly through intellectual addition--understanding doctrine with greater breadth and precision. Others think it comes centrally through felt experience-  sensory increase as we worship God. My argument is that all three of these elements are included in healthy Christian development (and if any is missing, we are out of proportion and will not grow), but real growth transcends them all.Growing in Christ is not centrally improving or adding or experiencing but deepening. Implicit in the notion of deepening is that you already have what you need. Christian growth is bringing what you do and say and even feel into line with what, in fact, you already are." (16)

• " The primary emphasis I have wanted to give is that we grow specifically by going deeper into the gospel, into the love of Christ and our experienced union with him." (153)

• "My goal in this book has simply been to coach you into that single, simple, all-determining impulse of the heart: looking to Jesus. If you look to him, everything else is footnotes." (172)

• "This is a book with one point: Be astonished at the gracious heart of Jesus Christ, proven in his atoning work in the past and his endless intercession in the present. Receive his unutterable love for sinners and sufferers. Stop resisting. Let him draw near to you. Gaze upon him." (173)

Table of Contents

I. Jesus

II. Despair

III. Union

IV. Embrace 

V.  Acquittal 

VI. Honesty

VII. Pain 

VIII. Breathing 

IX. Supernaturalized 

Conclusion: What now?

Favorite Quotes by Chapter

I. Jesus

• "Let me suggest that you consider the possibility that your current mental idea of Jesus is the tip of the iceberg. That there are wondrous depths to him, realities about him, still awaiting your discovery." (22)

• "This supreme reign holds true not only for the cosmos and for world history but also for your own little life. He sees you. He knows you. Nothing is hid from his gaze. You will be judged one day not according to what was visible to others but according to what you really were and did." (24)

• "Have you reduced the Lord Jesus to a safe, containable, predictable Savior who pitches in and helps out your otherwise smoothly running existence? Have you treated what is spiritually nuclear as a double-A battery? Might one reason we stall out in our growth in Christ be that we have unwittingly domesticated the expansive authority and rule of Jesus Christ over all things?" (25)

• "And in our ongoing walk with the Lord now, do we functionally believe that the healthy Christian life is basically a matter of our efforts, baptized with a little extra push from Jesus?" (25)

• "Every human is five hundred denarii in debt. The point of the parable is that we tend to feel only fifty denarii in debt. The more obvious failures of a given culture sense their sinfulness more readily than others and are therefore readier and more eager for a deliverance that sweeps them up out of death with a full and total salvation." (27)

• "But if this is a Savior who draws near to us, who is repelled only by self-righteousness but never by acknowledged shame and weakness, there is no limit to just how deep a transformation is possible in us. It is at our point of deepest guilt and regret that his friendship embraces us most assuredly, most steadfastly." (28)

• "We will not grow in Christ if we view his presence and favor as a ticking clock, ready for an alarm to go off once we fail him enough. We can flourish into deeper health only as the truth settles over us that once Jesus has brought us to himself, he will never be looking for an off-ramp. He will stick by us to the end. In that knowledge we calm down and begin to flourish." (29)

• "Jesus is not bored in heaven. He is fully engaged on our behalf, as engaged as ever he was on earth. He is interceding for us. Why? Because we continue to sin as believers. If conversion so changed us that we never sinned again, we would not need Christ's intercessory work. We would only need his death and resurrection to pay for our pre-conversion sins. But he is a comprehensive Savior. His present intercessory work applies his past atoning work moment-by-moment before the Father as we move through life desiring to please the Lord but often failing." (31)

• "We will grow in Christ only as we recognize the ally Jesus Christ is to us, now in heaven. He did not die and rise again on our behalf back then only to stand now with arms crossed seeing how we'll do in response. He continues to work on our behalf-he goes "to the uttermost" for us--advocating for us when no one else will, not even we ourselves. He is more committed to your growth in him than you are." (31)

• "Our growth in Christ also draws strength from a vivid heart sense of his imminent return. It is hard to move forward in the Christian life if we allow ourselves to be lulled into the monotonous sense that this world will simply roll on forever as it currently is." (31)

• "He is the most open and accessible, the most peaceful and accommodating person in the universe. He is the gentlest, least abrasive person you will ever experience. Infinite strength, infinite meekness. Dazzlingly resplendent; endlessly calm." (32)

• "Peer down into the deepest recesses of Jesus Christ and there we find: gentleness and lowliness." (33)

• "What we must see is not only that Jesus is gentle toward you but that he is positively drawn toward you when you are most sure he doesn't want to be." (33)

• "Determine today, before God, through the Bible and good books explaining it, that you will spend the rest of your life wading into the unsearchable riches of the real Christ." (35)

II. Despair

• "Fallen human beings enter into joy only through the door of despair. Fullness can be had only through emptiness. That happens decisively at conversion, as we confess our hopelessly sinful predicament for the first time and collapse into the arms of Jesus, and then remains an ongoing rhythm throughout the Christian life. If you are not growing in Christ, one reason may be that you have drifted out of the salutary and healthy discipline of self-despair." (38)

• "Christian growth is, among other things, growth in sensing just how impoverished and powerless we are in our own strength- that is, just how hollow and futile our efforts to grow spiritually are on our own steam." (39)

• "The old British preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains: "You will never make yourself feel that you are a sinner, because there is a mechanism in you as a result of sin that will always be defending you against every accusation. We are all on very good terms with ourselves, and we can always put up a good case for ourselves." (40)

• "To the degree that we minimize the evil within, we lower the ceiling on how deeply we can grow. We take a painkiller and go to sleep when we think we have a headache; we undergo chemotherapy when we know we have a brain tumor. The severity of our condition dictates the depth and seriousness of the medicine we know we need. If you view your sinfulness as a bothersome headache more than a lethal cancer, you will see tepid growth, if any. You won't see yourself as needing to grow all that much." (40)

• "When we see how desperately sick we are and how profoundly short we fall of the glory for which God intended us, we have already taken the first decisive step in bridging that vast gulf between who we are and who we were made to be." (41)

• "The point in all this is chat we must come face-to-face with who we

  really are, left to our own steam. Christian salvation is not assistance.

  It is rescue. The gospel does not take our good and complete us with God's help; the gospel tells us we are dead and helpless, unable to contribute anything to our rescue but the sin that requires it. Christian salvation is not enhancing. It is resurrecting." (42)

• "You cannot feel the weight of your sinfulness strongly enough. I never met a deep Christian who did not have a correspondingly deep sense of his or her own natural desolation." (43)

• "The pattern of the Christian life is not a straight line up to resurrection existence but a curve down into death and thereby up into resurrection existence.? And one thing that means is that we go through life with an ever-deepening sense of how reprehensible, in ourselves, we really are." (44)

• "If you plunge down only a little into self-despair, you will rise only a little into joyous growth in Christ. "The index of the soundness of a man's faith in Christ," writes J. I. Packer, "is the genuineness of the self-despair from which it springs." (45)

• "Healthy despair is an intersection, not a highway; a gateway, not a pathway.

  We must go there. But we dare not stay there. The Bible teaches, rather, that each experience of despair is to melt us afresh into deeper fellowship with Jesus." (47)

• “As you despair of yourself agonizing over the desolation wrought by your failures, your weaknesses, your inadequacies- let that despair take you way down deep into honesty with yourself. For there you will find a friend, the living Lord Jesus himself, who will startle and surprise you with his gentle goodness as you leave Self behind, in repentance, and bank on him afresh, in faith.” (49)

III. Union

• "The old writer Jeremiah Burroughs put it this way: "From Christ as from a fountain sanctification flows into the souls of the saints: their sanctification comes not so much from their struggling, and endeavors, and vows, and resolutions, as it comes flowing to them from their union with him." (51-52)

• "When Jesus went down into the grave to die for our sins, we too went with him down into that grave to die to our sins." (52)

• "This fourth approach is "God in me." God does everything to save me, and then by his Holy Spirit (more on that in another chapter) he unites me spiritually to his Son. The result is that in our growth in holiness (as Edwards put it) "we are not merely passive in it, nor yet does God do some and we do the rest, but God does all, and we do all. . .. We are in different respects wholly passive and wholly active." This approach, in other words, holds together both human responsibility and divine sovereignty in how we move forward spiritually." (54)

• "Our Christian growth takes place in the sphere of a wonderful inevitability, even invincibility. I am united to Christ. I can never be disunited from him." (56)

• "The New Testament uses the language of union with Christ in basically two ways. We could call them the macro and the micro realities to union with Christ, or the cosmic and the intimate, or the federal and the personal." (57)

• "The alternative to being in Christ is to be in Adam. One or the other. No third option.

  Every human being alive today is either in Adam or in Christ. And that is the fundamental defining reality about each of us." (58)

• "To be united to Christ as your new federal head is to be placed in that new realm. If you are a Christian, you have been swept up by divine grace into the new order that the prophets foretold. The new creation has already begun to dawn." (59)

• "The glory of Christian redemption is that it is in union with Jesus that we are given back our true selves. We finally begin becoming who we were truly created to be." (61)

• "At this point you may be wondering how union with Christ fits with the other great and glorious pictures of our salvation- justification, adoption, and so on. The answer is that union with Christ is the umbrella doctrine within which every benefit of salvation is subsumed. When we are united to Christ, we get all these benefits." (62)

• "And union with Christ, the organic or spatial metaphor, is the master-picture. If you are in Christ, you get all these benefits." (63)

• "If you are in Christ, you have everything you need to grow. You are united to Christ: by the Holy Spirit, you are in him and he is in you. He is your federal head, and he is your intimate companion. You cannot lose. You are inexhaustibly rich." (64)

• "Every atom in the universe is managed by Christ so as to be most to the advantage of the Christian, every particle of air or every ray of the sun; so that he in the other world, when he comes to see it, shall sit and enjoy all this vast inheritance with surprising, amazing joy." (65)

• "Therefore: nothing can touch you that does not touch him. To get to

  you, every pain, every assault, every disappointment has to go through him. You are shielded by invincible love. Everything that washes into your life, no matter how hard, comes from and through the tender care of the friend of sinners. He himself feels your anguish even more deeply than you do, because you're one with him; and he mediates everything hard in your life through his love for you, because you're one with him. Picture yourself standing in a circle with an invisible but impenetrable wall surrounding you, a sphere of impregnability. But it's not a circle you're in. It's a person--the person. The one before whom John fell down as he grappled for words to describe what he was looking at as one whose "eyes were like a flame of fire ... and his voice was like the roar of many waters" (Rev. 1:14-15) has been made one with you. The might of heaven, the power that flung galaxies into existence, has swept you into himself." (66)

IV. Embrace 

• "What I want to say in this chapter is that the love of God is not something to see once and believe and then move beyond to other truths or strategies for growing in Christ. The love of God is what we feed on our whole lives long, wading ever more deeply into this endless ocean. And that feeding, that wading, is itself what fosters growth. We grow in Christ no further than we enjoy his embrace of us. His tender, mighty, irreversible embrace into his own divine heart." (70)

• "What exactly is Paul praying for? Not for greater obedience among the Ephesians, or that they would be more fruitful, or that false teaching would be stamped out, or that they would grow in doctrinal depth, or even for the spread of the gospel. All good things, things we should and must pray for. But here Paul prays that the Ephesians would be given supernatural power not power to perform miracles or walk on water or convert their neighbors, but power, such power, the kind that only God himself can give, power to know how much Jesus loves them. Not just to have the love of Christ. To know the love of Christ." (71)

• "Here in Ephesians 3, Paul is praying that believers would taste the love of Christ. Drink it down." (72)

• "The love of Christ is his settled, unflappable heart of affection for sinners and sufferers- and only sinners and sufferers. When Jesus loves, Jesus is Jesus." (72)

• "Paul is saying that the love of Christ is as expansive as God himself.

  We can underestimate it. We always do. We can never overestimate it. "His essence being love," Jonathan Edwards preached, "he is as it were an infinite ocean of love without shores and bottom, yea, and without a surface." (73)

• "And as this love of Christ becomes real to us not just something we assent to on paper, but vivid to us -we are, according to the Bible, "filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:19). With the possible exception of Colossians 2:9-10-_"in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him" -- this is, to me, the most astonishing claim in the Bible." (74)

• "Knowing Christ's love is the means, and being filled with divine fullness is the purpose. We are infused with divine plenitude, fullness, buoyancy, joy, as we experience the love of Christ. We don't go out and attain divine fullness. We receive it. This is the surprise of the Christian life. We get traction in our spiritual lives not centrally as we get down to work but as we open up our hands." (74)

• "But we cannot receive what God has to give when our fists are clenched and our eyes shut, concentrating on our own moral exertion. We need to open up our fists and our eyes and lift both heavenward to receive his love." (75)

• "And so what I want to say in this chapter is that your growth in Christ will go no further than your settledness, way down deep in your heart, that God loves you." (75)

• "So much as we see of the love of God, so much shall we delight in him, and no more. Every other discovery of God, without this, will but make the soul fly from him; but if the heart be once much taken up with this the eminency of the Father's love, it cannot choose but be overpowered, conquered, and endeared unto him. ... If the love of a father will not make a child delight in him, what will?" (76)

• "We tend to think we're in danger of overstating God's love for us as we receive it as his children. We hold back, not wanting to be too bold, careful to be sure we don't overdo it." (76)

• "We experience the love of God as we look at Jesus and God pours the Holy Spirit, who is himself divine love, into our felt experience." (77)

• "...affections. By that they meant the felt inner enjoyment of the heart, the soul throb that only God gives, the joyous calm that blankets those who look upon him.

  And as we see more clearly the second person of the Trinity_-who he is and what he has done--the third person of the Trinity creates in us an experience of divine love." (77)

• " But where do we look to see Jesus so that the Holy Spirit can be poured afresh into our actual experience? We open a Bible." (78)

• "It's precisely our messiness that makes Christ's love so surprising, so startling, so arresting and thereby so transforming." (79)

• "Your life doesn't disprove Christ's love; his life proves it." (80)

• "The wraparound category of your life is not your performance but God's love. The defining hallmark of your life is not your cleanness but his embrace." (83)

V.  Acquittal 

• "And in this book on sanctification, this chapter is on justification. Sanctification is lifelong, gradual growth in grace. Justification, however, is not a process but an event, a moment in time, the verdict of legal acquittal once and for all." (85)

• "...the process of sanctification is, in large part, fed by constant returning, ever more deeply, to the event of justification." (86)

• "We could put the point of this chapter in three sentences:

  1. Justification is outside-in, and we lose it if we make it inside-out.

  2. Sanctification is inside-out, and we lose it if we make it outside-in.

  3. And this inside-out sanctification is largely fed by daily appropriation of this outside-in justification." (86)

• "The great teachers of the past understood how heart-contrary we are to accepting wholesale the surprise of justification. This is why the Scottish pastor Robert Murray McCheyne said, "For every one look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ." It's why John Newton said that a single view of Christ "will do you more good than poring over your own wounds for a month." (87)

• "Our growth in godliness, in other words, works in an inverse way to justification, both in how it works and in how it gets ruined. In our justification the verdict of legal acquittal must come wholly from heaven, landing on us as something earned by someone outside us, in no way helped out by our contribution. But that has to do with our standing. That is the objective result of the gospel. Sanctification, however, is change with regard to our walk, our personal holiness, the subjective result of the gospel. This must happen internally." (88)

• "Edward Fisher, in his famous Puritan treatise on sanctification, explained that external conformity to rules without an internal reality fueling it is akin to watering every part of a tree except its roots and expecting it to grow. The internal realities of the Christian are what define true growth in Christ." (90)

• "The gospel is what changes us, and only it can, because the gospel itself is telling us what is true of us before we ever begin to change, and no matter how slowly our change comes. (ln saying this I do not mean to collapse all that the gospel says into the one category of justification; the gospel is broader than justification, including other glorious doctrines such as adoption, reconciliation, redemption, and so on. But justification is the sharpest edge of the gospel because it is the doctrine where the sheer gratuity of the grace of the gospel stands forth most clearly.)" (91)

• "...in line with the broader point of this whole book: we grow by going deeper into the justification that forgave us in the first place." (91)

• "Richard Lovelace puts it in his classic work on spiritual renewal:

Much that we have interpreted as a defect of sanctification in church people is really an outgrowth of their loss of bearing with respect to justification. Christians who are no longer sure that God loves and accepts them in Jesus, apart from their present spiritual achievements, are subconsciously radically insecure persons--much less secure than non-Christians, because they have too much light to rest easily under the constant bulletins they receive from their Christian environment about the holiness of God and the righteousness they are supposed to have." (91)

• "Reformed stalwart Herman Bavinck defined real faith as a practical knowledge of the grace that God has revealed in Christ, a heartfelt trust that he has forgiven all our sins and accepted us as his children. For that reason this faith is not only needed at the beginning in justification, but it must also accompany the Christian throughout one's entire life, and also play a permanent and irreplaceable role in sanctification." (93)

• "Paul identified Peter's conduct as being out of step with the gospel (2:14) and in violation of the doctrine of justification by faith (2:16) because Peter had allowed the approval of people to erode his grasp of the approval that the gospel gives and the settled status that justification provides." (96)

• "What we all end to do is walk through life amassing a sense of r who we are as an aggregate of what we think everyone else think of us. We walk along, building a sense of self through all the feedback. pinging back at us. We don't even realize we're doing it. And when others are critical, or snub us, or ignore us, or ridicule us, that builds our sense of who we are. It inevitably shapes us. And so we muse constantly hold the gospel before our eyes. And as the gospel becomes real to us, the need for human approval loses its vice-like grip on our hearts, because we're no longer putting our heads down on our pillows at night medicating our sense of worth with human approval. The doctrine of justification frees us not only from the judgment of God in the future but also from the judgment of people in the present." (98)

• "Diagnostic questions to expose our idols are questions such as:

• What does my mind tend to drift back to when I lie awake in bed?

• What do I spend disposable income on?

• What in other people do I tend to envy?

• What is that one thing that, if God were to appear to me today and tell me I would never have it, would make life feel not worth living?

• If I'm married, what would my spouse say I tend to give myself to that makes him or her feel neglected?

• How would my heart--not my theology, but my heart--phrase the hymn, "When _________________it is well with my soul"?

• What do I find myself praying for that is nowhere promised in the Bible?" (100)

• "Every idol is man-made. Every false justification is generated by us. But God himself has come to us with a justification of his own doing. It is the atoning verdict of Jesus Christ. We can only receive it. To add to it is therefore to subtract from it. We simply breathe it in with a heart posture of trusting faith. And thereby God justifies us--God himself." (102)

• "Do you want to grow in Christ? Never graduate beyond the gospel. Move ever deeper into the gospel. The freeness of your outside-in justification is a critical ingredient to fostering your inside-out sanctification." (110)

VI. Honesty

• "I'd like to focus in this chapter on one particularly important teaching from the New Testament, the most important corporate reality for our growth in Christ: honesty." (112)

• "Walking in the light in this text is honesty with other Christians." (113)

• "Here is what I want to say in this chapter: You are restricting your growth if you do not move through life doing the painful, humiliating, liberating work of cheerfully bringing your failures out from the darkness of secrecy into the light of acknowledgment before a Christian brother or sister. In the darkness, your sins fester and grow in strength. In the light, they wither and die. Walking in the light, in other words, is honesty with God and others." (114)

• "Walking in the light breeds depth of communion with fellow Christians."(117)

• "The gospel answers that. If you are in Christ, heaven has bathed you.

  You have been rinsed clean and are now "un-dirty-able." It doesn't matter what you feel. That doesn't define you. Jesus was defiled to free you from your defiled status and your defiled feelings. That doesn't mean we will never battle feelings of defilement. But it does mean that one aspect of growing in Christ is bringing our subjective feelings of defilement into line with that objective, decisive, invincible, true-for-all-time-and-eternity cleansing in the blood of Christ." (122)

• "When you trust God enough to speak your sinfulness to another human, the channels of your heart are opened to feeling forgiven. This is because the same pride that stops us from confessing our sins to a brother or sister also hinders our felt belief in the gospel. Pride hinders fellowship both horizontally and vertically. Evading honesty before another Christian is more fundamentally a rejection of the gospel itself. Refusing to be honest with another is works righteousness in disguise; we are believing that we need to save face, to retain uprightness of appearance." (123)

VII. Pain 

• "Your natural instincts tell us that the way forward in the Christian life is by avoiding pain so that, undistracted, we can get down to the business at hand of growing in Christ. The New Testament tells us again and again, however, that pain is a means, not an obstacle, to deepening in Christian maturity." (125)

• "Misery and darkness and anguish and regret and shame and lament color all that we say, do, and think. The reality of nightmares shows that this pain and futility even reaches into our subconscious and our sleep. We can go nowhere to escape the futility and pain of life in this fallen world. This is true for all believers." (127)

• "Throughout the course of our discipleship to Christ we all need to build a deep and strong foundation of understanding how to process and even redeem the anguish of our lives. Without this foundation our growth in Christ will be severely limited." (128)

• "We who are honest with ourselves recognize how intractably entwined the vines of our hearts are with this world. That's not to say we should refuse to enjoy the good things of the world--a favorite meal, a beautiful sunset, the intimate pleasures of a spouse, gratification at a job well done. To resist such pleasures absolutely is, according to the apostles, demonic (1 Tim. 4:1-5). Rather, we should acknowledge that our hearts will latch on to anything in this world short of God himself and will seek to draw strength from that created thing instead of the Creator and his love.

  The biblical category for this perverse inclination of our hearts to look to the things of this world to quench our soul thirst is idolatry." (130)

• "When pain washes into our lives, we immediately, instinctively feel as if we are losing. Something is happening in the debit category. We are going backward. This is bad, we think. Understandably so. In the economy of the gospel, however, we are united to a Savior who was himself arrested, crucified, put in a grave, and left for dead, only to rise in a triumphant glory not possible apart from that death. Pain seeds glory?" (131)

• "When insults send us reeling backward, when life hurts, our eyes are being lifted off of the unstable things of the world onto the stable God of the Bible. We are being given back our true selves. We are being beckoned, as Lewis put it, "further up and further in.' When pain comes, it is not simply to hurt us, to teach us a lesson, to whip us into shape; it is from a tender Father, for our healing." (132)

• "When life hurts, we immediately find ourselves at an internal fork in the road. Either we take the road of cynicism, withdrawing from openheartedness with God and others, retreating into the felt safety of holding back our desires and longings, lest they get hurt again, or we press into greater depth with God than we have ever known." (132)

• "If you want to be a solid, weighty, radiant old man or woman someday, let the pain in your life force you to believe your own theology. Let it propel you into deeper fellowship with Christ than ever before. Don't let your heart dry up. He is in your pain. He is refining you. All that you will lose, Sibbes reminds us, is the dross of Self and misery that in your deepest heart you want to shed anyway." (133)

• "Let yourself cry as you grow. Don't stuff your emotions down. Growing in Christ isn't all smiles and laughter. Let your tears, and the wounds they reflect, take you deeper with Christ than you could ever otherwise go." (135)

• "Right now, every one of us who is in Christ is either killing sin or being killed by sin. Either getting stronger or getting weaker. If you think you're coasting, you're actually going backward. There's no cruise-control spiritually. It may feel as if you're currently in neutral, but our hearts are like gardens: if we aren't proactively rooting out the weeds, the weeds are growing, even if we don't notice." (135)

• "The trouble is that the whole message of the Bible is that if we're going to add a cherry of self-contribution on top of Christ's work to really be okay, we have to provide the whole sundae. All or nothing. And the tragedy is that though we assent theologically to the truth that we can't add to Christ's work, we try to put ourselves emotionally at ease by helping the Lord out a bit. Yet adding something to seal the deal is precisely what will create uneasiness about whether the deal ever really is sealed." (138)

• “Killing sin is a strange battle because it happens by looking away from the sin. By "looking away" I don't mean emptying our minds and trying to create a mental vacuum. I mean looking at Jesus Christ.” (139)

• "We feed sin by coddling it, pining after it, daydreaming about it, giving vent to it. We suffocate sin by redirecting our gaze to Christ.

  When I say "redirecting our gaze," I mean looking on him with "the eyes of your hearts" (Eph. 1:18)." (139)

• "But when our hearts redirect their gaze to the Jesus of the Bible in all his glorious gentleness and dazzling love, sin gets starved and begins to wilt. As we enjoy the truths this book has been reflecting on--realities such as our union with Christ and his unshakable embrace of us and God's irreversible acquittal of us--then, right then, spiritual life and vigor begin to have the ascendancy, and the grip of sin loosens."(140)

VIII. Breathing 

• "I want to consider just two ordinary, predictable, wondrous, vital practices: Bible reading and prayer. And the way to think about these two practices is by the metaphor of breathing. Reading the Bible is inhaling. Praying is exhaling." (143)

• "The Christian life-our growth in Christ--is nothing other than the lifelong deconstruction of what we naturally think and assume and the reconstruction of truth through the Bible." (145)

• “In this shifty, uncertain world, God has given us actual words, Concrete, unmoving, fixed words. We can go to the rock of Scripture amid the shifting sands of this life. Your Bible is going to have the same words tomorrow that it does today. Friends can't provide that-they will move in and out of your life, loyal today but absent tomorrow. Parents and their counsel will die. Your pastor will not always be available to take your call. The counselor who has given you such sage instruction will one day retire, or maybe you'll move out of state. But you can roll out of bed tomorrow morning and, whatever stressors slide uncomfortably across your mental horizon as you groan with the anxieties of the day, your friend the Bible is unfailingly steady. It lies there, awaiting opening, eager to steady you amid all the unanswered questions before you that day. It will give you what you need and not evade you. Our truest wisdom and only safety is to build our lives on its words (Matt. 7:24-27)” (146)

• "In fact, we should not be saying "it" but "he." Through Scripture God himself addresses us." (146)

• "Read the Bible asking not mainly whom to imitate and how to live but what it shows us about a God who loves to save and about sinners who need saving." (149)

• "The right way to read the Bible is the gospel approach. This means we read every passage as somehow contributing to the single, overarching storyline of Scripture, which culminates in Jesus." (150)

• "Make the Bible your central daily ritual. Make it your habit without which you have not lived a normal day." (152)

• "As we now think about prayer, here is what we are doing; we are reflecting on the way our souls must go out to God in Christ to desire, to long for, to receive, to dwell in, to thank him for his endless love. The gospel comes to us in the Scriptures, and in prayer we receive and enjoy it?" (153)

• "...to connect prayer with Scripture reading is simply to acknowledge that God is a real person with whom believers have an actual, moment-by-moment relationship. The Bible is God's speaking to us; prayer is our speaking to him. If we do not pray, we do not believe God is an actual person. We may say we do. But we don't really. If we do not pray, we actually think he is an impersonal force of some kind, a kind of Platonic ideal, distant and removed, powerful but abstract. We don't view him as a Father." (153)

• "Move through your day praying. Let God be your moment-by-moment Father. Hear his voice in Scripture in the morning, and turn that Scripture into prayer and then let that time with him, that back-and-forth communion, send you off into your day communing with him all day long." (155)

• “So I propose to you, as you grow in Christ, that you form the vital habit of making the book of Psalms your lifelong companion. Befriend the Psalms deeply. Never go too long without making them your own prayers. They give voice, sacred voice, to every circumstance, every emotion, every distress we walk through in this fallen wilderness of a world.” (155)

IX. Supernaturalized 

• "The natural inertia of all our Christian ministry and living is to proceed out of our own resources, asking God to add his blessing to our efforts. It's how we all tend to operate without even realizing it, even as born again believers. But it is backward." (159)

• "The Father ordains salvation, the Son accomplishes salvation, and the Spirit applies salvation. In other words, there is no Christian life without the Spirit. The Christian life is purely theoretical if there is no operation of the Spirit. Everything that we experience of God is the working of the Spirit. That is true at conversion, as the Spirit opens our eyes to our sin and Christ's saving offer. And it is true of our growth." (160)

• "The Holy Spirit is how God gets inside you. If you are a Christian, you are now permanently indwelt by the Spirit, and if you are permanently ind welt by the Spirit, then you have been supernaturalized." (160)

• "...the Spirit is the continuation, so to speak, of Jesus himself. Jesus spoke of his departure being necessary so that the Spirit could come John 16:7; cf. 14:12-17). In the Spirit, we have something more wonderful than those who spoke and ate with Jesus himself. And this Spirit's arrival marks the dawning new creation." (163)

• "To grow as a disciple of Christ is not adding Christ to your life but collapsing into Christ as your life. He's not a new top priority, competing with the other claims of reputation, finances, and sexual gratification. He is asking you to embrace the freefall of total abandon to his purpose in your life." (166)

• "In brief: the Spirit effectually causes us to behold Christ in such a way that transforms us." (169)

• "Be so radically Spirit-led that you are therefore radically Christ-centered.

  Christ and Spirit, the incarnate Son and the indwelling Spirit--this is your double gift." (169)

Conclusion: What now?

• "The final conclusion, the deepest secret, to growing in Christ is this: look to him. Set your gaze upon him. Abide in him, hour by hour. Draw strength from his love. He is a person, not a concept. Become personally acquainted with him, ever more deeply as the years roll by." (171)

• "I do not have nine things to say. I have one thing to say. Look to Christ. You will grow in Christ as you direct your gaze to Christ. If you take your eyes off of Jesus Christ and direct your gaze to your own growth, you will prevent the very growth you desire." (171)

• "I have asked the question: what must happen in the individual human heart, most fundamentally, most deeply, for a man or woman to get traction and grow? And the message of this book is that the way we grow is receiving the heartful love of Jesus. The gospel of grace not only gets us in but moves us along." (173)

• "Learn much of the Lord Jesus. For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ. He is altogether lovely. Such infinite majesty, and yet such meekness and grace, and all for sinners, even the chief? Live much in the smiles of God. Bask in his beams. Feel his all-seeing eye settled on you in love, and repose in his almighty arms." (174)

Notable Content

• Seven facets of Christ (23-34)

  1. Ruling

  2. Saving

  3. Befriending

  4. Persevering

  5. Interceding

  6. Returning

  7. Tenderness

• Four different ways Christians understand growth: (53)

1. God then me

2. God not me

3. God plus me

4. God in me

• Nine common but wrong ways to read the Bible: (150)

1. The warm-fuzzies approach - reading the Bible for a glowing, subjective experience of God, ignited by the words of the text, whether we understand what they actually mean or not. Result: frothy reading.

2. The grumpy approach - reading the Bible out of nothing but a vague sense that we're supposed to, to get God off our backs for the day. Result: resentful reading.

3. The gold-mine approach- reading the Bible as a vast, cavernous, dark mine, in which one occasionally stumbles upon a nugget of inspiration. Result: confused reading.

4. The hero approach -reading the Bible as a moral hall of fame that gives us one example after another of heroic spiritual giants to emulate. Result: despairing reading.

5. The rules approach -reading the Bible on the lookout for commands to obey to subtly reinforce a sense of personal superiority.Result: Pharisaical reading.

6. The Indiana Jones approach -reading the Bible as an ancient document about events in the Middle East a few thousand years ago that are irrelevant to my life today. Result: bored reading.

7. The magic-eight-ball approach_-reading the Bible as a road map to tell me where to work, whom to marry, and what car to buy. Result: anxious reading.

8. The Aesop's Fables approach- reading the Bible as a loose collection of nice stories strung together independently, each with a nice moral at end. Result: disconnected reading.

9. The doctrine approach reading the Bible as a theological repository to plunder for ammunition for our next theology debate at Starbucks. Result: cold reading.

• What did the Old Testament anticipate taking place at the end of the world? (161)

1. The ruinous fall into sin at Eden wrought by Adam would be undone

2. God would make a new creation.

3. Sin and evil would be judged.

4. God would triumph once and for all over his enemies.

5. God's people would be vindicated.

6. The nations of the world would flock to Jerusalem

7. Messiah would come.

8. The latter-day kingdom would be launched.

9. The dead would be raised.

Notes on *Spurgeon on the Christian Life*

Spurgeon on the Christian Life: Alive in Christ (Theologians on the Christian Life), Michael Reeves, (Crossway, 2018)

Main Idea/Takeaway

• The legacy of Spurgeon's theology of the Christian life is Christ-centered joy rooted in the gospel of grace, and very much alive.

• "This is a book about Spurgeon's theology of the Christian life, and those were the concerns that lay at the heart of it. Spurgeon was unreservedly Christ-centered and Christ-shaped in his theology; and he was equally insistent on the vital necessity of the new birth. The Christian life is a new life in Christ, given by the Spirit and won by the blood of Jesus shed on the cross." (16)

• "Rooted in glory, and gravitating to glory: that, according to Spurgeon, is the nature of the Christian life." (180)

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I: Charles Spurgeon

I. A Man Full of Life

Part II: Christ the Center

II. Christ and the Bible

III. Puritanism, Calvinism, and Christ

IV. Christ and Preaching

Part III. The New Birth

V. New Birth and Baptism

VI. Human Sin and God's Grace

VII. The Cross and New Birth

Part IV. The New Life

VIII. The Holy Spirit and Sanctification

IX. Prayer

X. The Pilgrim Army

XI. Suffering and Depression

XII. Final Glory 

Favorite Quotes by Chapter

Introduction

• "Spurgeon concretely lived out his belief that the Christian life is not a dull, ethereal existence on some higher, invisible plane. It is being more full, more human--brighter, more involved and more lively." (17)

• "Brethren, we should cultivate a clear style. When a man does not make me understand what he means, it is because he does not himself know what he means. ... If you look down into a well, if it be empty, it will appear to be very deep; but if there be water in it, you will see its brightness. I believe that many "deep" preachers are simply so because they are like dry wells with nothing whatever in them, except decaying leaves, a few stones, and perhaps a dead cat or two. If there be living water in your preaching, it may be very deep, but the light of the truth will give clearness to it." - CHS (19)

• "Some preachers seem to be afraid lest their sermons should be too rich in doctrine, and so injure the spiritual digestions of their hearers. The fear is superfluous. ... This is not a theological age, and therefore it rails at sound doctrinal teaching, on the principle that ignorance despises wisdom. The glorious giants of the Puritan age fed on something better than the whipped creams and pastries which are now so much in vogue." -CHS (20)

• "That combination of concerns, for theological depth with plainness of speech, made Spurgeon a preeminent pastorally minded theologian." -CHS (21)

Part I: Charles Spurgeon

I. A Man Full of Life

• "And while he surely struggled, it would be wildly misguided to think of Spurgeon as a fragile pushover. It would be far better to say that tenderness saved him: it kept his robustness of character from steamrolling those weaker than himself, and channeled it for their benefit." (27)

• "Spurgeon was an unmistakably and deliberately earnest man. With a deep concern for the glory of Christ and the fate of the lost, he believed that Christians should be able to say with our master, "Zeal for your house will consume me" (John 2:17; cf. Ps. 69:9)." (29)

• "But perhaps it is Spurgeon's cigar smoking that best reveals his sunny playfulness as well as his vivacious willingness to enjoy created things." (30)

• "Humor, he believed, is normally the fruit of something deeper. Sometimes it can come from no more than high spirits--and this, he admitted, was a temperamental challenge for him.

• We must-some of us especially must-conquer our tendency to levity. Agreat distinction exists between holy cheerfulness, which is a virtue, and that general levity, which is a vice. There is a levity which has not enough heart to laugh, but trifles with everything; it is flippant, hollow, unreal." (31)

• "Most essentially, though, Spurgeon's sunny manner was a manifestation of that happiness and cheer which is found in Christ, the light of the world. The "levity" he found in himself, and questioned, was inextricably related to his clear refusal to take himself-or any other sinner-too seriously." (32)

• "Rather like Jonathan Edwards, Spurgeon believed that it is right to "read" creation as a book full of testimony to the Creator and his ways." (34)

• "Christ is the logic and the light of the world; the gospel is the sum of all wisdom; the Scriptures are able to make us wise-and not just for salvation. Christians should therefore be wise and omnivorous people of comprehensive intellect." (36)

Part II: Christ the Center

II. Christ and the Bible

• "It is blessed to eat into the very soul of the Bible until, at last, you come to talk in Scriptural language, and your very style is fashioned upon Scripture models, and, what is better still, your spirit is flavoured with the words of the Lord. I would quote John Bunyan as an instance of what I mean. Read anything of his, and you will see that it is almost like reading the Bible itself. He... cannot give us his Pilgrim's Progress--that sweetest of all prose poems,-without continually making us feel and say, "Why, this man is a living Bible!" Prick him anywhere; and you will find that his blood is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him. He cannot speak without quoting a text, for his soul is full of the Word of God." -CHS (39)

• "There is a peculiar majesty, a remarkable fulnes, a singular potency, a divine sweetness, in any word of God, which is not discoverable, nor anything like it, in the word of man. ... It is God's inspired teaching, infallible, and infinitely pure. We accept it as the very word of the living God, every jot and tittle of it, not so much because there are external evidences which go to show its authenticity, -a great many of us do not know anything about those evidences, and probably never shall,-but because we discern an inward evidence in the words themselves. They have come to us with a power that no other words ever had in them, and we cannot be argued out of our conviction of their superlative excellence and divine authority." -CHS (41)

• "The book is the revelation of Christ, who is the eternal Word and revelation of his Father; as such, it cannot be considered apart from Christ. The book is living and active because Christ is living and active. And just as Christ cannot be left out of Scripture, so Scripture cannot be apart from Christ." (42)

• "He treasured the Bible and held it to be entirely trustworthy because he treasured Christ and held him to be entirely trustworthy." (42)

• "The fact that scripture is the Word of Christ, that its purpose and mail theme is Christ, served as a strong melodic line throughout Spurgeon's thought and ministry." (43)

•  "In this way, Spurgeon saw theology much like astronomy: as the solar system makes sense only when the sun is central, so systems of theological thought are coherent only when Christ is central. Every doctrine must find its place and meaning in its proper relation to Christ." (44)

• "Christ himself is the truth we know, the object and reward of our faith, and the light that illumines every part of a true theological system." (44)

• "Jesus is the Truth. We believe in him,- not merely in his words. He himself is Doctor and Doctrine, Revealer and Revelation, the Illuminator and the Light of Men. He is exalted in every word of truth, because he is its sum and substance. He sits above the gospel, like a prince on his own throne. Doctrine is most precious when we see it distilling from his lips and embodied in his person. Sermons are valuable in proportion as they speak of him and point to him. A Christless gospel is no gospel and a Christless discourse is the cause of merriment to devlis." -CHS (45)

• "You cannot taste the sweetness of any doctrine till you have remembered Christ's connection with it." -CHS (45)

• "True Bible reading thus requires wakeful, attentive study and deep reflection on what is written." (47)

• "Scripture is the Spirit-breathed Word of God: we read it to know him, and we need his help." (47)

• "We are begotten by the word of God: it is the instrumental means of regeneration. Therefore love your Bibles. Keep close to your Bibles." (49)

III. Puritanism, Calvinism, and Christ

• "The rise of theological liberalism and Anglo-Catholicism in his day tended to make Calvinistic Puritanism look quaintly olde worlde and not a little pea-brained. More remarkable still was the unbigoted way in which he held this theology. Being so out of step with the theological climate of his day could easily have made him prickly and clannish, yet for all his unbending theological resolution, Spurgeon was strikingly broad-minded. " (51)

• "Yet even more than all the Bunyan references and imagery in Spurgeon's sermons and writings, Bunyan helped shape the very way Spurgeon spoke and wrote. Spurgeon instinctively disliked the flowery pretentiousness of Latinate words, but it was from Bunyan more than any other that Spurgeon learned the power and the simplicity of plain and homely Anglo-Saxon." (53)

• "He was emphatic that the purpose of his Pastors' College was to raise up pastors who would be thoroughly "Puritanic." (55)

• "In Puritan hands, deep and thoughtful theology was never allowed to become a game for the intelligentsia: it fueled worship and it built up the church. This concern he shared with them, for a heartfelt knowledge of the truth--beyond mere intellectual assent to the doctrines of the gospel-entirely shaped his vision for the Pastors' College." (55)

• "Calvinism means the placing of the eternal God at the head of all things. I look at everything through its relation to God's glory." -CHS (57)

• "Calvin's theology, in contrast, is the system of doctrine which most clearly magnifies Christ as a Savior and ascribes all the glory to God, and thus best captures the truth we shall sing for eternity as we gather around God's throne and praise him." (57)

• "God's glory being what it is, Spurgeon argued that Calvinistic theology is that in which Christians will find the greatest joy. Calvinism's deep view of sin and high view of God's grace are not harsh dogmas, except to those who would rather not think of themselves as sinners. They are liberating, joy-giving truths." (57)

• "For, to preach this "Calvinism" is really just to preach the gospel: justification by faith, without works; the sovereignty of God; the eternal, all-conquering love of God; the effective redemption of Christ; and the fact that God is powerful to save and keep to the uttermost." (57)

• "In part, Spurgeon's catholicity reflected a generosity of spirit and a humanity that preferred to treat people as people rather than theological specimens. He had a distaste for bigotry and what Philipp Melanchthon called the rabies theologorum that drives theologians, like dogs, to treat doctrines as bones to bark over." (62)

• "He wanted Christians to have more than a formal confession of faith, however orthodox and Christ-centered. For Spurgeon, healthy theology must involve an earnest and warm affection for the Christ who stands above and before all/Christ must be central, but he is truly central only when he is supremely adored." (63)

IV. Christ and Preaching

• "The special work of our ministry is to lay open Christ, to hold up the tapestry and unfold the mysteries of Christ." (66)

• "Since Christ's great and eternal purpose- and the very reason for his death-is to win for himself a bride, the preacher's purpose is, as it were, to woo for Christ. Preachers are called to make Christ known in all his goodness, beauty, and truth, that his people might yield themselves to him, delight in him, and be one with him." (66)

• "In the pulpit he sought not merely to inform his listeners about the Word of God but also to draw both believers and unbelievers to Christ. His aim was to see people transformed at the very deepest level, their affections and desires turning away from their naturally cherished sins to Christ." (66)

• "The object of all true preaching is the heart: we aim at divorcing the heart from sin, and wedding it to Christ. Our ministry has failed, and has not the divine seal set upon it, unless it makes men tremble, makes them sad, and then anon brings them to Christ, and causes them to rejoice." -CHS (66)

• "As well as distinguishing preaching from mere data-dumping, Spurgeon was clear that "to preach" is not the same thing as "to moralise." "Remember," he told his students, "you are not sent to whiten tombs, but to open them." The transformation he longed for in his listeners was not merely at the superficial behavioral level (though he wanted to see godly behavior), but also at the very core of their being. Through preaching the gospel, he wanted to see the spiritually dead come to new life in Christ, and the living to become more gloriously Christlike and alive." (67)

• "First, the preacher must clearly and faithfully preach Christ. He is "Scripture's great theme" and the bridegroom that the servants are sent forth to make known." (71)

• "'to preach Christ' involves preaching all the doctrines that set him forth. It is a stretching and not a limiting mandate for the preacher. Christ must, after all, be preached for who he is and what he has done in his entirety." (71)

• "Spurgeon was emphatic that keeping Christ central, prominent, and clear was the reason for the fruitfulness of his ministry." (74)

• "Next, if he is to be preached faithfully, the Christ who is the light and glory of God must be preached both clearlyand beautifully." (76)

• "Preachers who woo for Christ, aiming at divorcing hearts from sin and wedding them to Christ, must view themselves as standing in Christ's stead." (78) 

• "In order to serve as a faithful ambassador of Christ, and to dare to stand in his stead, the preacher must embody the new life Christ offers. He should both know and enjoy the truth he seeks to share if he is to share it successfully." (79)

• "Not only must the preacher generally embody new life in Christ; he must, more specifically, embody the actual text he expounds. Spurgeon himself always preached best, he found, if he managed to "bathe" or "soak" in his text, to let the text soak into him." (80)

• "All this advice was summed up in an address he gave at the Pastors' College in 1881, titled "Preach Christ in a Christly Manner." His students were all expecting him to urge them to preach Christ, and he did not disappoint: "Ministers of the gospel, let Christ be your subject, and let Christ be your model: find in him not only the truth you utter, but the way and life of your utterance." (80)

• "As we share the gospel with friends and neighbors, Spurgeon reminds us that it is Christ--in all the multifaceted glories of his person and work-who must be the focal point of our message and the treasure we offer. And as we do that, we will properly adorn our message as we share Christ's own zeal, Christ's own courageous meekness and simplicity, and Christ's own love for both God and neighbor." (82)

Part III. The New Birth

V. New Birth and Baptism

• "He remained a stalwart and passionate Baptist for the rest of his life. What matters for us here, though, is that his Baptistic convictions were not a mere matter of his having to choose a denominational alignment: they were an integral part of his theology of the Christian life." (88)

• "The particular doctrine adhered to by Baptists is that they acknowledge no authority unless it comes from the Word of God. ... If we could find infant baptism in the Word of God, we should adopt it. It would help us out of a great difficulty, for it would take away from us that reproach which is attached to us, -that we are odd, and do not as other people do. But we have looked well through the Bible, and cannot find it."-CHS (88)

• "Spurgeon's passionate commitment to baptistic theology was part and parcel of his commitment to the importance of the new birth and faith in Christ." (91)

• "Regeneration was something he always expected to see as he preached the gospel. A friend of his once came to him, depressed because for three months of ministry he had not seen a single conversion. Spurgeon slyly asked, "Do you expect the Lord to save souls every time you open your mouth?" Embarrassed, the man answered "Oh, no, sir!" "Then, Spurgeon replied, "that is just the reason why you have not had conversions: 'According to your faith be it unto you." (92)

VI. Human Sin and God's Grace

• "The desires of our hears, which should incline us to Christ, incline sinners away from him to anything else." (94)

• "I believe the Eternal might sooner forgive the sin of ascribing the creation of the heavens and the earth to an idol, than that of ascribing the works of grace to the efforts of the flesh, or to anyone but himself."-CHS (98)

• "While God uses his truth, his final object is not the head but the heart. Through his Word he enlightens minds in order that hearts might be healed and won to himself. Preachers, therefore, must avoid vacuousness in their preaching, and they must avoid heartless intellectualism. The object of all true preaching, after all, is the heart, and preaching has failed "unless it makes men tremble, makes them sad, and then anon brings them to Christ, and causes them to rejoice. Sermons are to be heard in thousands, and yet how little comes of them all, because the heart is not aimed at, or else the archers miss the mark." (98)

• The cross-that deepest revelation of the glory of God- is the great weapon that breaks down the heart's defenses. Where the good news of Christ crucified is passed over, preaching must lack the power of God to save sinners." (99)

• "The gift of a"new heart" means the radical transformation of our affections and desires. "The affections are the most powerful part of our nature, they to a great extent mould even the understanding itself, and if the heart be defiled all the mental faculties become disturbed in their balance. God, therefore, commences at the heart."- CHS (101)

• "Here again Spurgeon inserted a helpful pastoral lesson. We must not mistake natural tenderness for this "heart of flesh." Some people are born constitutionally sensitive, but that does not mean they are spiritually sensitive. It may well be that they are simply impressionable and can be influenced quickly for evil as well as good." (103)

• "Regeneration is a work of pure grace- and those the Lord regenerates, he will indwell." (103)

VII. The Cross and New Birth

• "In the end, all talk of the centrality of Christ would, for Spurgeon, be inaccurate if we separated Christ from his work and failed to mention his crucifixion." (105)

• "The cross is the pinnacle of Christ's work and the clearest window into his identity: it was the key and the plumb line for Spurgeon as he contemplated Christ and the new life he offers." (105)

• "The most educated must find their wisdom in the cross, or die fools." -CHS (106)

• "All good things lie within the compass of the cross, its outstretched arms overshadow the whole world of thought; from the east even unto the west it sheds a hallowed influence; meanwhile, its foot is planted deep in the eternal mysteries, and its top pierces all earth-born clouds, and rises to the throne of the Most High." -CHS (106)

• "The cross being so pivotal, Spurgeon made it the emblem of his Pastors' College, surrounding it with the motto Et Teneo Et Tenor, "I Hold and Am Held (fig. 2): "I hold" because Christ crucified is the saving and sanctifying truth we must hold out to all people; "I am held" because the blood of Christ is what attracts us to Christ and what holds us safe in Christ." (107)

• "Spurgeon taught that the minister's "great object of glorifying God" is mainly achieved through the preaching of "Christ and him crucified." There the true wisdom, power, holiness, goodness, love, and sovereignty of God are revealed in all their surprising beauty, winning the hearts of those who look to him." (116)

• "When the glory of God is displayed in the cross, we get to see all God's perfections. We see that God is not merely helpful to the weak but also long-suffering and infinitely merciful to great sinners. We see the riches of his grace, his sovereign power to save, his holy justice, and his love. And never does one attribute clash with another." (117)

• "At the heart of the cross, then, was a work of penal substitution, and Spurgeon would be both persistent and outspoken in teaching and defending this theme." (119)

• "Christs substitutionary sacrifice  is essential to the gospel and to faithful preaching, Spurgeon believed. It is the only message which allows-yes, and demands-us to put all our trust in Christ and none in ourselves for salvation. After all, if Christ is our perfect substitute-if our sin is imputed to him and his righteousness to us--then no merit of ours can be necessary. A penal substitutionary atonement means that we can accept by simple faith (and faith alone) what Christ has done for us."(120)

Part IV. The New Life

VIII. The Holy Spirit and Sanctification

• "Growth in the Christian life is not, therefore, something very different from the initial experience of conversion. It is, first and foremost, about turning to Christ in faith and love. It is, consequently, about increasing likeness to Christ." (126)

• "When considering the work of the spirit in believers, Spurgeon liked to speak of how the Spirit of life makes lively people. As the Son of God is dynamically and fully alive in the Spirit, so he makes the children of God spiritually active and energetic. This is what life means. The idea of a passive Christian, content in sin, content not to know God better, was simply anathema to this understanding of the Spirit." (130)

• "In order to make us holy, the spirit animates us to a particular sort of love above all: that love which finds its joy in God. Spurgeon wrote and preached a good deal on joy." (135)

• "What is the gospel?" he once asked. "Glad tidings of great joy." And why? For the gospel reveals a happy God. The happiness of God was a theme Spurgeon returned to again and again. He held that it "enters into the essential idea of God that he is superlatively blessed. We cannot conceive of a God who should be infinitely miserable." Being infinitely full of happiness, God is a God who delights to share his happiness, and who created us for that very reason. "He is the happy God; ineffable bliss is the atmosphere in which he lives, and he would have his people to be happy... for a joyous God desires a joyous people." (136-137)

• "The Christian life, then, is one of entering into what Spurgeon called"the noblest and truest immortality," whereby we "live as God liveth, in peace and joy, and happiness."'S By rejoicing in the Lord, we "commence our heaven here below." (137)

• "Above all, though-above all the blessings of salvation and adoption--it is God in himself who is the great object of our joy. Thus when our hearts or circumstances leave us feeling that we cannot rejoice in anything else, we can still rejoice, for we rejoice in One who is unchangeably joy-giving." (137)

• "Man cannot please God without bringing to himself a great amount of happiness."- CHS (138)

• "True Christlikeness involves desiring to enjoy God ever more." (138)

• "As Spurgeon saw it, joy in God is part of the very fiber of Christian vitality, and thus he would connect it to every other aspect of holiness." (139)

• "Since we are made to be happy in Christ, joy is an essential part of human health. When a person is full of joy, "it shines out of his eyes, it sparkles in his countenance.. it quickens the flowing of the blood in the veins; it is a healthy thing in all respects." (139)

• "Joy in the Lord has the power to strengthen believers against temptation, for when we find our happiness and satisfaction in him, we will not seek it elsewhere. Joy has a medicinal power to cure the ills that come from grumbling. It therefore has the ability to drive away quarreling and promote peace. It is the cure for fretfulness and anxiety. And it is a contagious good, as cheer in one quickens cheerfulness in others, so spreading its own benefits." (140)

• "Christians must, then, fight for joy, and fight for that intimacy with God that fosters joy." (140)

• "So take care that you rejoice in the Lord when you have other things to rejoice in. When he loads your table with good things, and your cup is overflowing with blessings, rejoice in him more than in them."- CHS (140)

• "The spirit's enlightening work over the years that follow is thus quite bittersweet, for enlightening means not only knowing God better but also knowing self better. The Spirit enables us to see ever deeper into our own darkness, the depths of which would simply overwhelm the young believer. Mature Christians therefore feel themselves to be greater sinners than do young Christians. It is not that they are; rather, the Spirit has made them more sensitive to sin and more averse to it. Those sins we once ignored as petty and worth no attention become to us a source of ever-deeper pain." (141)

• "I do not know, beloved, when I am more perfectly happy than when I am weeping for sin at the foot of the cross." -CHS (142)

IX. Prayer

• "Prayer is communion with God, which is the very nature of eternal life. It is faith in action. It is a taste on earth of the everlasting life of praise Christians will enjoy before the throne of heaven." (144)

• "The habit of private prayer, and the constant practice of heart fellowship with the Most High, are the surest indicators of the work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart." (144)

• "Prayer must not only be the living breath of the new life: it must also be the breath of any faithful ministry. Because of what prayer is, no amount of talent or education--wonderful gifts though they may be to the church-can substitute for it." (146)

• "As a rule, we ministers ought never to be many minutes without actually lifting up our hearts in prayer. Some of us could honestly say that we are seldom a quarter of an hour without speaking to God, and that not as a duty but as an instinct, a habit of the new nature for which we claim no more credit than a babe does for crying after its mother."-CHS (147)

• "To come before God as our Father means that we can pray with boldness, assurance, and even joyful familiarity. It means we are not approaching a stranger or an enemy." (151)

• "It is when we do not feel fit to pray that we most need it. In such times we must pray for prayer--or, as Spurgeon liked to put it, "pray till we pray." And in those times when we do not feel fit for prayer, we must strike quickly, for that is the Devil's hour." (152)

•  "If you cannot speak, cry; if you cannot cry, groan; and if you cannot even groan to God, "let thy prayer be at least a breathing, a vital, sincere desire, the outpouring of thine inner life in the simplest and weakest form, and God will accept it. In a word, when you cannot pray as you would, take care to pray as you can."- CHS (153)

X. The Pilgrim Army

• "Two of Spurgeon is favorite books were by john Bunyan: The Pilgrims Progress and The Holy War; and together they represent two key aspects of the Christian life as Spurgeon saw it." (155)

• "Machismo is a distorted, cartoonish caricature of the human flourishing of manhood Spurgeon promoted. What he longed to see was more strength exercised (and restrained) in the name of love for Christ. In other words, he wanted believers to have a backbone to their faith." (158)

• "The Christian life is one of sharing the self giving life of God. l must then be a proactively generous life committed to blessing others. And it is then that we experience more richly God's own joy." (160)

• "Faithful activism for Christ is a manifestation of affections that have been reordered to share Christ's passions. Thus Spurgeon held that earnest zeal for the glory of God is the most essential quality in a Christian minister." (162)

• "Only with such heartfelt love for God can the Christian truly share the life of Christ, who was consumed by zeal for God's house John 2:17). Only that way can they be faithful and resolute for him.'s Only that way can they be most truly joyous and alive, for to "live entirely for the Lord is to live indeed, all else is mere existing." (162)

XI. Suffering and Depression

• "Knowing by most painful experience what deep depression of split means, being visited therewith at seasons by no means few or far between, I thought it might be consolatory to some of my brethren if gave my thoughts thereon, that younger men might not fancy that some strange thing had happened to them when they became for a season possessed by melancholy; and that sadder men might know that one upon whom the sun has shone right joyously did not always walk in the light." -CHS (164)

• "The gods of other religions might give ease to the good and health to the worthy. Not so in Christianity, where "goodness" is Christ himself, and conformity to him. God will not therefore simply reward believers with ease in this life, for that would make ease, rather than Christ, the greater prize. Suffering is therefore a "covenant mark," a proof that God is our Father and therefore cares enough about us to do everything necessary to mold and clip us into the likeness of his happily holy son." (165)

• "When a pastor patiently endures difficulty and affliction, and keeps rejoicing in God, it powerfully commends the gospel as glad tidings of great joy. The pastor-or, indeed, any Christian who ministers to another--can prove the comfort that is to be found in God in such times. God therefore often leads his under-shepherds through trials, "not so much for their own benefit as for the sake of those to whom they may afterwards minister." (168)

• "Christian ministers should therefore expect a special degree of suffering to be given to them as a way of forming them for Christlike, compassionate ministry." (169)

• "Just now, when anguish fills the heart, and the spirits are bruised with sore pain and travail, it is not the best season for forming a candid judgment of our own condition, or of anything else; let the judging faculty lie by, and let us with tears of loving confession throw ourselves upon our Father's bosom, and looking up into his face believe that he loves us with all his infinite heart." (172)

• "In suffering then, it is not only the case that we get to draw neater to Christ, becoming more like him and leaning more fully on him. In such times Christ draws near to us to walk with his people in the furnace. And not only to walk with us, but to bear us through." (174)

XII. Final Glory 

• "Spurgeon clearly saw that the Christian hope is to enjoy both communion with God and communion with the people of God." (176)

• "Heaven is heavenly precisely because it is the place of communion with Christ, where his glory is enjoyed. And hell is hellish because it is the place of cast-out Christlessness." (177)

• "Spurgeon's theology of the Christian life was one compassed about on all sides by the glory of God. We have life and new life because of the glory of God, and the glory of God is what we live, hope, and aim for. It is our whence, our whither, our where, and our why?" (179)

• "God's greatest glory is that he is good. The brightest gem in the crown of God is his goodness." (179)

• "The glory of the living God is a self giving, fertile glory. He rejoices to give and share his eternal happiness and life, and he has proved this on the cross." (179)

• "The outgoing, self-giving nature of God's glory is the reason for all created life, and it is the reason we have a gospel of grace. But there is a gracious undertow to God's expansive glory: as God in his glory gives out, so in that same glory he draws his creation in to enjoy his life-giving presence." (180)

• "The Christian life blooms and flourishes in the light of God's glory, where God both gives out and draws in. Having received new life in Christ from God's glorious grace, we find ourselves drawn in to enjoy him and to long for more of him." (180)

Notable Content

• How to Read the Bible: (46-48)

  1. The reader must understand what is written.

  2. The reader must seek out Scripture's meaning and intent. 

  3. Scripture reading is profitable.

• Advice for Preachers: (71-82)

  1. Preach Christ 

  2. Preach Clearly and Beautifully

  3. Stand in Christ's Stead

  4. Seek to Embody the Text

  5. Preach Christ in a Christly Manner

• Two essential reasons for opposing infant baptism: (90-91)

  1. First, to give even the impression that dropping water on a head can save a soul undermines entirely the gospel's call for people to be born again.

  2. Second, infant baptism not only conceals our need to be born again; it also draws people to trust in something other than Christ.

• "Third Nature" see footnote 34. (101)

• Sermons on joy. (135)

Notes on *Heaven on Earth*

Heaven on Earth: A Treatise on Christian Assurance, Thomas Brooks, 1654, (Banner of Truth)

Main Idea/Takeaway

• Assurance is the gift not of having grace but of knowing you have grace, and though it is not required for salvation, it is the highest experience of salvation this side of heaven. 

Interaction 

• Brooks' dedication. (9-13)

• Assurance is explained in short. (14)

• “State of grace” “Reflex act of gracious soul” Assurance is not to have grace but to be sure you have grace. This assurance is not required for salvation, it is the highest experience of salvation this side of heaven. (15)

• The believer prays Rom. 8:15 not on the basis of his strong faith, but because it’s just true. God is "Abba Father”. (30)

• See Owen on waning analogy.(36)

• But does it? What is meant “living purely upon Christ””Holy art” contentment. (38)

• In this way, when we preach the glory of Jesus we are preaching for the assurance of his people.(39)

• Only ultimately is this the case. If a lash is something other than a lash in its moment then it's not a lash. Lashes become lessons. (82)

• So assurance should be pursued, but not as a thing itself. Not in a shortcut kind of way. We must pursue it through holiness, i.e., "grace & holiness for communion with God and conformity to God. (87)

• How is the experience of acting grace different from the experience of assurance? (150)

• What is the "actings of grace?" Availing oneself to the means of grace? Appropriating the grace of God in experience? That is, to live in the knowledge of grace, that I am loved by God because of God alone? (150)

Table of Contents

Epistle to the Saints

Preface: The Nature of Assurance

I. Proofs that Believers May in This Life Attain Unto A Well-Grounded Assurance Of Their Everlasting Happiness and Blessedness

II. Weighty Propositions Concerning Assurance

III. Hindrances and ImpedimentsThat Keep Poor Souls From Assurance; With the Means and Helps to Remove Those Impediments and Hindrances

IV. Motives to Provoke Christians to be Restless Till They Have Obtained A Well-Grounded Assurance of Their Eternal Happiness and Blessedness

V. Ways and Means of Gaining a Well-Grounded Assurance

VI. The Differences Between a True and a Counterfeit Assurance, Between Sound Assurance and Presumption

VII. Answers to Several Special Questions About Assurance

Favorite Quotes by Chapter

Epistle to the Saints

• "I could wish it better for your sakes, yet such as it is I do in all love and humility present you with, desiring the Lord to make it an internal and eternal advantage to you." (10)

• "Assurance is a believer's ark, where he sits, Noah-like, quiet and still in the midst of all distractions and destructions, commotions and confusions." (11)

• "The life of a Christian is rather via (journey) than vita (life), a step towards life rather than life." (12)

• "Books may preach when the author cannot, when the author may not, when the author dares not, yea, and which is more, when the author is not." (12)

Preface: The Nature of Assurance

• "The being in a state of grace will yield a man a heaven hereafter, but the seeing of himself in this state will yield him both a heaven here and a heaven hereafter; it will render him doubly blest, blest in heaven, and blest in his own conscience." (14)

• "Now assurance flows from a clear, certain, evident knowledge that I have grace, and that I do believe. Now this assurance is the beauty and top of a Christian's glory in this life." (14-15)

• "To have grace, and to be sure that we have grace, is glory upon the throne, it is heaven on this side of heaven." (15)

I. Proofs that Believers May in This Life Attain Unto A Well-Grounded Assurance Of Their Everlasting Happiness and Blessedness

• "The Bible is a Christian's magna charta, his chief evidence for heaven. Men highly prize, and carefully keep their charters, privileges, conveyances, and title-deeds of their lands; and shall not the saints much more highly prize, and carefully keep in the closet of their hearts, the precious Word of God, which is to them instead of all assurances for their maintenance, deliverance, protection, confirmation, consolation, and eternal salvation." (18)

• "Faith, in time, will of its own accord raise and advance itself to assurance. Faith is an appropriating grace; it looks upon God, and saith with David, "This God is my God for ever and ever, and he shall be my guide unto the death," Ps. 48." (21)

• "We must not only strive after assurance, but we must strive and shew all diligence to the attaining of that rich and full assurance which will scatter all fears and doubts, which will make a soul patient in waiting, courageous in doing, and cheerful in suffering, and which will make a heaven in a man's heart on this side heaven, and make him go singing into paradise, in despite of all calamities and miseries." (25)

• "How can they rejoice and glory in God, that do not know whether he will be an everlasting friend or an everlasting enemy to them, whether he will always breathe out love or wrath upon them?" (28)

• "Christians, are not your mercies greater than your miseries? Yes. Are your greatest sufferings comparable to the least spark of grace or beam of glory revealed in you or to you? No. Will not one hour's being in the bosom of Christ recompense you for all your trouble and travail? Yes?"

• "Joy and rejoicing is a consequent and effect of assurance." (29)

• "How can they rejoice and glory in God, that do not know whether he will be an everlasting friend or an everlasting enemy to them, whether he will always breathe out love or wrath upon them?" (29)

• "Joy and rejoicing is a consequent and effect of assurance." (29)

• "Luther: " The whole Scripture." saith he, " doth principally aim at this thing, that we should not doubt, but that we should hope, that we should trust, that we should believe, that God is a merciful, a bountiful, a gracious, and a patient God to his people." (32)

II. Weighty Propositions Concerning Assurance

• "Christians, this you are always to remember, that though the enjoyment of assurance makes most for your consolation, yet the living purely upon Christ in the absence of assurance, makes most for Christ's exaltation." (38)

• "Now though this full assurance is earnestly desired, and highly prized, and the want of it much lamented, and the enjoyment of it much endeavored after by all saints, yet it is only obtained by a few. It is a mercy too good for most men's hearts, it is a crown too weighty for most men's heads. Full assurance is optimum maximum, the best and greatest mercy; and therefore God will only give it to his best and dearest friends." (39)

• "It is one mercy for God to love the soul, and another mercy for God to assure the soul of his love." (39)

• "It is one thing to be an heir of heaven, and another thing for a man to know or see himself an heir of heaven." (39)

• "It is one thing to be an heir of heaven, and another thing for a man to know or see himself an heir of heaven." (39)

• "Assurance is requisite to the well-being of a Christian, but not to the being; it is requisite to the consolation of a Christian, but not to the salvation of a Christian; it is requisite to the well-being of grace, but not to the mere being of grace. Though a man cannot be saved without faith, yet he may be saved without assurance." (41)

• "God loves to act in such ways of grace towards his suffering ones, as may stop the mouths of their enemies, and cause the hearts of his friends to rejoice." (70)

• "This soul will never be quiet, till it sees God face to face, till it be quiet in the bosom of God. The more a saint tastes of God in an ordinance, the more are his desires raised and whetted, and the more are his teeth set on edge for more and more of God." (78)

• "Afflictiones benedictiones, afflictions are blessings. God's corrections are our instructions, his lashes our lessons, his scourges our schoolmasters, his chastisements our admonitions!" (82)

• "Prayer crowns God with the honor and glory that is due to his name; and God crowns prayer with assurance and comfort. Usually the most praying souls are the most assured souls." (84)

• "Praying souls, remember this. It is but weakness to think that men shall reap as soon as they sow, that they shall reap in the evening when they have but sowed in the morning." (90)

III. Hindrances and Impediments That Keep Poor Souls From Assurance; With the Means and Helps to Remove Those Impediments and Hindrances

• "The only ground of God's love is his love. The ground of God's love is only and wholly in himself." (96)

• "If thou has anything to say, say it to my Christ; he is my comfort and crown, my joy and strength, my redeemer and intercessor, and he shall plead for me." (105)

• "Why, then, O doubting souls, will you make your sense and feeling the judge, not only of your condition, but of the truth itself? What is this but to dethrone God, and to make a god of your sense and feeling?" (109)

• "A heart that is full of the world, is a heart full of wants." (115)

• "The pleasure and sweetness that follows victory over sin is a thousand times beyond that seeming sweetness that is in the gratifying of sin." (120)

• "It is not a man's whining and complaining over sin, but his mortifying of sin, that will make his life a paradise of pleasure." (120)

• "He that shuns not the occasions of sin, tempts two at once, Satan and his own heart; he tempts Satan to tempt him to taste of forbidden fruit, and he tempts his own heart to feed upon forbidden fruit." (125)

IV. Motives to Provoke Christians to be Restless Till They Have Obtained A Well-Grounded Assurance of Their Eternal Happiness and Blessedness

• "Assurance is that heavenly crystal that quickens souls, and that casts a beauty and a glory upon souls; and this makes the devil mad." (132)

• "Ah! were their souls fully assured that God had loved them freely, and received them graciously, and justified them perfectly, and pardoned them absolutely, and would glorify them everlastingly, they could not but love where God loves, and own where God owns, and embrace where God embraces, and be one with every one that is one with Jesus." (147) 

V. Ways and Means of Gaining a Well-Grounded Assurance

• "Seeing that God looks not for any penny or pennyworth, for any portion or proportion in the creature to draw his love, but he will justify, pardon, and save for his name's sake, Isa. 55. 1, 2; seeing all the motives that move God to shew mercy are in his own bosom; seeing they are all within doors, there is no reason why the vilest of sinners should sit down and say, There is no hope, there is no help, Deut. 7. 7, 8; Ps. 68. 18." (155)

• "Remember, reader, that a little heart-knowledge, a little experimental knowledge, is of greater efficacy and worth than the highest notions of the most acute wits. He doth well that discourses of Christ, but he doth infinitely better that, by experimental knowledge, feeds and lives on Christ. It was not Adam's seeing, but his tasting, of forbidden fruit that made him miserable; and it is not your seeing of Christ, but your experimental tasting of Christ, that will make you truly happy. As no knowledge will save but what is experimental, so let no knowledge satisfy you but what is experimental, Ps. 34. 8." (183)

• "I can live only in Christ, who is my life, my love, my joy, my crown, my all in all. Oh, the hearing of Christ affects me, the seeing of Christ affects me, the taste of Christ affects me, the glimmerings of Christ affect me; the more I come to know him in his natures, in his names, in his offices, in his discoveries, in his appearances, in his beauties, the more I find my heart and affections to prize Christ, to run after Christ, to be affected with Christ, and to be wonderfully endeared to Christ." (184)

• "The more I know him, the more I like him; the more I know him, the more I love him; the more I know him, the more I desire him; the more I know him, the more my heart is knit unto him." (184)

• "Divine and heavenly knowledge brings a man near to God; it gives a man the clearest and fullest sight of God; and the nearer any man comes to God, and the clearer visions he hath of God, the more low and humble will that man lie before God. None so humble as they that have nearest communion with God."(188)

• "No man that is saved is saved upon the account of the strength of his faith, but upon the account of the truth of his faith. In the great day Christ will not bring balances to weigh men's graces, but a touch-stone to try their graces; he will not look so much at the strength as at the truth of their graces." (215)

• "The work of repentance is not the work of an hour, a day, a year, but the work of a life-time." (225)

• "The daily mercies and experiences that they have of the love of Christ, of the care of Christ, of the kindnesses and compassions of Christ working more and more towards them, cannot but raise their affections more and more to him. As fire is increased by adding of fuel unto it, so is our love to Christ upon fresh and new manifestations of his great love towards us." (243)

VI. The Differences Between a True and a Counterfeit Assurance, Between Sound Assurance and Presumption

• "A well-grounded assurance doth always beget in the soul an earnest and an impatient longing after a further, a clearer, and a fuller enjoyment of God and Christ." (289)

• "A well-grounded assurance of a man's own eternal happiness and blessedness will make him very studious and laborious to make others happy." (292)

• "So when Christ and assurance come to be set up in the soul, all the idols of Satan and a man's own heart are cast down, and cast out as an abomination." (294)

• "It is impossible for a soul not to love Christ, that knows he is beloved of Christ." (296)

• "Ah! this assurance causes the strong waters of consolation to overflow the soul. Assurance raises the strongest joy in the would." (296)

VII. Answers to Several Special Questions About Assurance

• "Humility is both a grace, and a vessel to receive grace. God pours in grace into humble souls, as men pour liquor into an empty vessel." (309)

• "Therefore, as you would have your assurance strengthened and maintained, walk humbly with your God; I say again, walk humbly, walk humbly with your God, and you shall wear the crown of assurance to your grave." (310)

• "Your happiness lies in your union with God, in your communion with God, in your interest in God, and not in your seeing and knowing your interest; your joy and comfort lies in your seeing and knowing your interest in God, but your everlasting happiness lies in your being interested in God. The welfare and happiness of the child lies in the interest that he hath in his father, but the joy and comfort of the child lies in his seeing, in his knowing, of his interest in his father."(312)

• "Happiness lies not in any transient act of the Spirit, as assurance is, but in the more permanent and lasting acts of the Spirit." (312)

• "But this is the believer's blessedness, that his condition is always good, though he doth not always see it to be good; that his state is always safe, though it be not always comfortable." (313)

• "Assurance is a peculiar mercy; it is a flower of paradise that God sticks only in his children's bosoms. Assurance is a mercy-sweetening mercy; it is a mercy that puts the garland upon all our mercies." (318)

• "Holiness differs nothing from happiness, but in name. Holiness is happiness in the bud, and happiness is holiness at the full. Happiness is nothing but the quintessence of holiness." (319)

• "The holy soul is happy in life, and blessed in death, and shall be transcendently glorious in the morning of the resurrection, when Christ shall say, Lo, here am I, and my holy ones, who are my joy; Lo, here am I, and my holy ones, who are my crown; and therefore, upon the heads of these holy ones will I set an immortal crown. Even so, Amen! Lord Jesus." (320)

Notable Content

• Nine special seasons when assurance is enjoyed: 1.) At conversion 2.) Before engaging in hard or dangerous service 3.) During times of waiting 4.) During times of suffering 5.) During “hearing” and “receiving” times 6.) During times of personal afflictions 7.) During seasons of prayer 8.) Before conflicts with Satan 9.) After conflicts with Satan.

• Brooks on experimental knowledge. (183)

Notes on *The Pilgrim’s Progress*

The Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan, 1678, (Banner of Truth)

Note-taker’s Preface: John Bunyan’s classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress, is a book unlike any other. Originally published in 1678, it has sold more than any other book in the English language at around 250 million copies. It’s popularity is due to its profundity. The relevance of Bunyan’s allegory for Christian discipleship, even so many years removed from when he wrote, is simply stunning. I hope that these notes can be a quick-reference guide to some key parts of the story, and that you can consult these notes for illustration helps. My personal goal is to eventually be so acquainted with the novel that I can use Christian”s journey as a field guide for my own, and for those I shepherd.

Lastly, my favorite edition of the book is a recent release from Banner of Truth. It is an elegant, 7x5 hardcover with the original etchings by William Strang.

Interaction 

• "The two children: Patience and Passion" (28)

• "The fire burns hotter and brighter" (30)

• "At the Palace Beautiful = the local church" (46)

• "The effect of Christian fellowship." (58)

• "How the church's fellowship builds us up" (58)

• "Would that this be enough for my rest!" (62)

• "Faithful is murdered by the jury in Vanity Fair." (110)

• "After the death of Faithful, Hopeful steps up to befriend Christian." (112)

• "Christian and Hopeful mutually encourage one another, each for the other at different times." (158)

• "What a sinner's prayer!" (164)

Characters 

Part I

• Christian

  Husband and father stricken by spiritual crisis. Christian is told by a messenger to leave his doomed city and begin a journey of progress toward spiritual achievement.

• Evangelist

  The messenger carrying the Gospel, or word of Christ, to Christian. Evangelist spurs Christian on his journey to the Celestial City.

• Obstinate

  A neighbor of Christian’s in the City of Destruction who refuses to accompany him.

• Pliable

  A neighbor of Christian’s who accompanies him for a while. After falling in the Slough of Despond, Pliable is discouraged and returns home, only to be mocked by the townsfolk.

• Help

  Fellow pilgrim who helps pull Christian from the Slough of Despond.

• Worldly Wiseman

  A reasonable and practical man whom Christian encounters early in his journey. Worldly Wiseman tries unsuccessfully to urge Christian to give up his religious foolishness and live a contented secular life.

• Formalist

  A traveler whom Christian meets along the wall of Salvation. With his companion Hypocrisy, Formalist sneaks over the wall, instead of following the strait and narrow as Christian did.

• Hypocrisy

  Formalist’s travel companion.

• Discretion

  One of the four mistresses of the Palace Beautiful. Discretion takes Christian in and feeds him.

• Piety

  One of the four mistresses of the Palace Beautiful. Piety asks Christian about his journey so far.

• Prudence

  One of the four mistresses of the Palace Beautiful. Prudence tries to understand Christian’s purpose in traveling to Mount Zion.

• Charity

  One of the four mistresses of the Palace Beautiful. Charity asks Christian why he did not bring his family, which causes him to weep.

• The Interpreter

  Spiritual guide who shelters Christian. The Interpreter instructs Christian in the art of reading religious meanings hidden in everyday objects and events, which he houses in his Significant Rooms.

• Apollyon

  Fierce monster with fish scales, bear feet, and dragon wings. Apollyon threatens Christian and fights him with sword until Christian defeats him.

• Shining Ones

  Three celestial creatures who clothe Christian with new garments and give him the certificate. The Shining Ones act as guardians throughout Christian’s journey.

• Faithful

  Fellow pilgrim from Christian’s hometown who reports on the city they both left behind. Faithful loyally accompanies Christian until he is executed in the town of Vanity for the crime of disrespecting the local Satan-worshipping religion.

• Talkative

  Fellow pilgrim who travels alongside Christian and Faithful for a while. Talkative is spurned by Christian for valuing spiritual words over religious deeds.

• Mr. By-ends

  A user of religion for personal ends and social profit. Mr. By-ends accompanies Christian briefly after Christian escapes from Vanity.

• Hopeful

  Pilgrim who replaces Faithful as Christian’s travel companion and confidant after leaving Vanity, all the way to the Celestial City. Hopeful saves Christian’s life in the river before the gates to Mount Zion.

• Giant Despair

  Master of the Doubting Castle. Giant Despair imprisons Hopeful and Christian for trespassing on his domain and is later killed by Great-heart and Christiana’s sons.

• Diffidence

  Giant Despair’s wife. She encourages the harsh punishment of Hopeful and Christian in the Doubting Castle.

• Demas

  Gentlemanly figure who tries to entice Christian and Hopeful with silver and dreams of wealth.

• Temporary

  A would-be pilgrim whom Christian speaks of in a cautionary way, warning of Temporary’s backsliding before his spiritual progress was complete.

Part II

• Sagacity

  An elderly man who visits the narrator in his dream. After the narrator asks after Christian’s family, Sagacity offers to take the narrator’s place as the storyteller and recount Christiana’s journey.

• Christiana

  Christian’s wife and the titular pilgrim in Part II. As a spiritual voyager and a guide to her children, Christiana shows remarkable strength and resilience on the journey.

• Mercy

  Christiana’s neighbor employed by her as a servant on her pilgrimage. She later marries Matthew, Christiana’s eldest son.

• Matthew

  Christiana’s eldest son, who eventually marries Mercy. After stealing fruit from the devil’s garden, Matthew must be healed by Dr. Skill.

• Joseph

  A son of Christiana.

• Samuel

  A son of Christiana.

• James

  Christiana’s youngest son.

• Ill-Favored Ones

  Two strangers who attempt to harm Christiana and Mercy.

• Reliever

  Fellow pilgrim who rescues Christiana and Mercy from the two Ill-Favored Ones.

• Mr. Great-heart

  The Interpreter’s manservant. He protects and guides Christiana and Mercy on their way up the hill of Difficulty and toward the House Beautiful.

• Watchful

  Porter of the House Beautiful.

• Grim

  Master of the lions, who threatens Christiana and Mercy on their way to the House Beautiful.

• Maul

  A giant killed by Great-heart. He accuses Great-heart of kidnapping the pilgrims.

• Mr. Brisk

  Mercy’s suitor. He ends their affair because she is too involved in charity work.

• Old Honest

  An elderly pilgrim. While accompanying Christiana and her group, he relates the sad demise of the pilgrim Fearing.

• Mr. Fearing

  A pilgrim who accompanies Honest for some time. Mr. Fearing is courageous in the face of physical danger but insufficiently certain about his desire to reach the Celestial City.

• Gaius

  A homeowner and host who welcomes Christiana and her group. Two of Gaius’s daughters marry two of Christiana’s sons.

• Giant Good-Slay

  A giant slain by Gaius, Great-heart, and others. He almost devours the pilgrim Feeble-mind.

• Heedless

  A pilgrim who falls asleep near the end of his pilgrimage and talks in his sleep, showing his basic failure to understand pilgrimage.

• Too-bold

  Heedless’s cohort.

• Madam Bubble

  A tall, attractive, dark-skinned temptress. Madam Bubble offers Standfast herself and her money if he will stay with her.

• Standfast

  The last pilgrim met by Christiana. Standfast is found kneeling on the ground and praying in thanks for having been delivered from the temptation of Madam Bubble.

• Mr. Feeble-Mind

  A mentally slow pilgrim captured and nearly killed by the giant Good-Slay. Mr. Feeble-Mind is rescued by Gaius and joins Christiana’s group of pilgrims.

• Mr. Ready-to-Halt

  A handicapped pilgrim who joins Christiana’s group on crutches.

• Mr. Mnason

  Pilgrim with whom Christiana’s group lodges. Two of Mnason’s daughters are married off to Christiana’s sons.

• Contrite

  Friend of Mnason’s, who says that the locals feel a burden of guilt after the unjust execution of Christian’s friend Faithful.

• Valiant-for-truth

  A strong, sword-wielding pilgrim. Valiant-for-truth drives off three attackers single-handedly and joins Christiana’s group at the end of their journey.

Favorite Quotes by Chapter

The Author's Apology for His Book

• "Which way it pleases God: For who knows how, Better than he that taught us first to Plough, To guide our Mind and Pens for his Design? And he makes base things usher in Divine." (xiii)

Part I: The Pilgrim's Progress: in the similitude of a dream

• "I dreamed, and behold I saw a Man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a Book in his hand, and a great Burden upon his back." (1)

• "So I saw in my dream that the Man began to run; Now he had not run far from his own door, but his Wife and Children perceiving it, began to cry after him to return; but the Man put his fingers in his ears, and ran on crying, Life! Life! Eternal Life! So he looked not behind him, but fled towards the middle of the Plain." (5)

• "World. Wilt thou hearken to me if I give thee counsel? Chr. If it be good, I will; for I stand in need of good counsel." (13)

• "Chr. Why, Sir, this Burden upon my back is more terrible to me, than are all these things which you have mentioned" (14)

• "The man that met thee, is one Worldly-Wiseman, and rightly is he so called; partly, because he savoureth only the doctrine of this world; (therefore he always goes to the town of Morality to church) and partly, because he loveth that doctrine best; for it saveth him from the Cross; and because he is of this carnal temper, therefore he seeketh to pervert my ways, though right." (18)

• "So he had him into a private room, and bid his man open a door; the which when he had done, Christian saw the picture of a very grave Person hang up against the wall; and this was the fashion of it, It had eyes lifted up to Heaven, the best of Books in his hand, the Law of Truth was written upon his lips, the World was behind his back; it stood as if it pleaded with men, and a Crown of Gold did hang over its head." (26)

• "The man whose picture this is, is one of a thousand; he can beget children, travel in birth with children, and nurse them himself when they are born. And whereas thou seest him with eyes lift up to Heaven, the best of Books in his hand, and the Law of Truth writ on his lips; it is to shew thee, that his work is to know and unfold dark things to Sinners; even as also thou seest him stand as if he pleaded with men; and whereas thou seest the World as cast behind him, and that a Crown hangs over his head; that is to shew thee, that slighting and despising the things that are present, for the love that he hath to his Master's service, he is sure in the World that comes next, to have Glory for his reward." (26-27)

• "Chr. Then said Christian, Now I see that Patience has the best Wisdom, and that upon many accounts. 1. Because he stays for the best things. 2. And also because he will have the Glory of his, when the other has nothing but rags." (29)

• "The Interpreter answered, This is Christ, who continually with the Oil of his Grace maintains the work already begun in the heart: By the means of which, notwithstanding what the Devil can do, the souls of his people prove gracious still. And in that thou sawest, that the Man stood behind the wall to maintain the Fire; this is to teach thee, That it is hard for the Tempted to see how this Work of Grace is maintained in the soul." (30-31)

• "Then was Christian glad and lightsome, and said with releases us of our Guilt and a merry heart, He hath given me Rest by his Sorrow, and Burden, we Life by his Death. Then he stood still a while to look and wonder; for it was very surprising to him, that the sight of the Cross should thus ease him of his Burden. He looked therefore, and looked again, even till the springs that were in his head sent the waters down his cheeks." (38)

• "Chr. I walk by the Rule of my Master, you walk by the rude working of your fancies." (40)

• "Sometimes he sighed, sometimes he wept, and oftentimes he chid himself for being so foolish to fall asleep in that place which was erected only for a little refreshment from his weariness." (45)

• "Fear not the Lions, for they are chain'd, and are placed there for Trial of Faith, where it is, and for Discovery of those that have none: Keep in the midst of the Path, and no hurt shall come unto thee." (47)

• "Piety. But did you not come by the House of the Interpreter? Chr. Yes, and did see such things there, the remembrance of which will stick by me as long as I live: Especially three things, to wit, How Christ, in despite of Satan, maintains his Work of Grace in the heart; how the Man had sinned himself quite out of hopes of God's Mercy; and also the dream of him that thought in his sleep the Day of Judgment was come." (50)

• "Prud. Can you remember by what Means you find your annoyances at times, as if they were vanquished? Chr. Yes, when I think what I saw at the Cross, that will do it; and when I look upon my 'broidered Coat, that will do it; also when I look into the Roll that I carry in my bosom, that will do it; and when my thoughts wax warm about whither I am going, that will do it." (52)

• "The name of the chamber was Peace, where he slept till break of Day, and then he awoke and sang,

Where am I now! Is this the Love and Care

Of Jesus; for the men that Pilgrims are,

Thus to provide! That I should be forgiven,

And divel already the next door to Heaven!" (56)

• "Whilst Christian is among his godly friends, Their golden mouths make him sufficient 'mends For all his griefs; and when they let him go, He's clad with northern steel from top to toe." (58)

• "Chr. All this is true, and much more, which thou hast left out; but the Prince whom I serve and honour, is merciful and ready to forgive: But besides, these Infirmities possessed me in thy Country; for there I sucked them in, and I have groaned under them, been sorry for them, and have obtained Pardon of my Prince." (62)

• "And I thought again, this Shame tells me what men are; but it tells me nothing what God or the Word of God is. And I thought moreover, That at the Day of Doom we shall not be doomed to Death or Life, according to the hectoring spirits of the world, but according to the Wisdom and Law of the Highest. Therefore, thought I, what God says, is best, though all the men in the world are against it: Seeing then that God prefers his Religion; seeing God prefers a tender Conscience; seeing they that make themselves fools for the Kingdom of Heaven, are wisest; and that the poor man that loveth Christ, is richer than the greatest man in the world that hates him; Shame, depart, thou art an Enemy to my Salvation; shall I entertain thee against my Sovereign Lord? How then shall I look him in the Face at his Coming? Should I now be ashamed of his Ways and Servants, how can I expect the blessing?"(82)

• "Faith. Oh! a great deal: A man may cry out against Sin, of Policy, but he cannot abhor it but by virtue of a godly antipathy against it. I have heard many cry out against Sin in the Pulpit, who yet can abide it well enough in the Heart, House, and Conversation." (91)

• "They therefore brought him out, to do with him according to their Law; and first they scourged him, then they buffeted him, then they lanced his flesh with knives: after that they stoned him with stones, then pricked him with their swords; and last of all, they burnt him to ashes at the Stake. Thus came Faithful to his end." (110) 

• "Now I saw in my dream, that Christian went not forth alone; for there was one whose name was Hopeful, (being made so by the beholding of Christian and Faithful in their words and behaviour, in their sufferings at the Fair) who joined himself unto him, and entering into a brotherly covenant, told him, that he would be his companion. Thus one died to make testimony to the Truth, and another rises out of his ashes to be a companion with Christian in his Pilgrimage." (112)

• "Hope. My Brother, said he, remembrest thou not, how valiant thou hast been heretofore?" (135)

• "Hopeful comforts him again by calling former things to remembrance." (135)

• "Now, a little before it was Day, good Christian, as one half amazed, brake out in this passionate speech; What a Fool, quoth he, am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty? I have a key in my bosom, called Promise, that will I am persuaded open any lock in Doubting-Castle. Then said Hopeful, That's good news, good brother, pluck it out of thy bosom and try." (136-137)

• "Let us lie down here, and take one nap. Chr. By no means, (said the other) lest sleeping we never awake more." (158)

• "Hope. Another thing that hath troubled me even since my late amendments is, that if I look narrowly into the best of what I do now, I still see Sin, new Sin, mixing itself with the best of that I do; so that now I am forced to conclude, that notwithstanding my former fond Conceits of myself and duties, I have committed Sin enough in one duty to send me to Hell, tho' my former life had been faultless." (162)

• "God be merciful to me a Sinner, and make me to know and believe in Jesus Christ; for I see, that if his Righteousness had not been, or I have not Faith in that Righteousness, I am utterly cast away. Lord, I have heard that thou art a merciful God, and hast ordained that thy Son Jesus Christ should be the Saviour of the World; and moreover, that thou art willing to bestow upon such a poor sinner as I am, (and I am a sinner indeed) Lord, take therefore this opportunity, and magnify thy Grace in the Salvation of my soul, through thy Son Jesus Christ. Amen." (164)

• "Now I further saw, that betwixt them and the Gate was a River, but there was no bridge to go over, and the river was very deep."(181)

• "They then addressed themselves to the Water, and entering, Christian began to sink, and crying out to his good friend Hopeful, he said, I sink in deep Waters; the Billows go over my head, all the Waves go over me. Selah. Then said the other, Be of good cheer, my Brother, I feel the bottom, and it is good." (182)

• "Then I saw in my dream, That Christian was as in a muse  a while. To whom also Hopeful added these words, Be of good cheer, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: And with that Christian brake out with a loud voice, Oh, I see him again! and he tells me, When thou passest through the Waters, I will be with thee; and through the Rivers, they shall not overflow thee. Then they both took courage, and the Enemy was after that as still as a stone, until they were gone over." (184)

• "Now, just as the Gates were opened to let in the men, I looked in after them; and behold the City shone like the Sun, the streets also were paved with Gold, and in them walked many men with Crowns on their heads, Palms in their hands, and Golden Harps to sing praises withal." (188)

Part II: The Pilgrim's Progress: from this world to that which is to come

• "Then said the Visiter, Christiana! the Bitter is before the Sweet. Thou must through Troubles, as did he that went before thee, enter this Celestial City." (210)

• "The Bitter must come before the Sweet, and that also will make the Sweet the sweeter."

• "Rel. It is not always necessary to grant things not asked for, lest by so doing, they become of little esteem; but when the Want of a thing is felt, it then comes under, in the eyes of him that feels it, that estimate, that properly is its due, and so consequently will be hereafter used." (230)

• "the Interpreter takes them apart again, and has them first into a room, where was a Man that could look no way but downwards, with a muckrake in his hand: There stood also one over his head, with a Celestial Crown in his hand, and proffered to give him that Crown for his muckrake; but the man did neither look up, nor regard, but raked to himself the straws, the small sticks, and dust of the floor."(234)

• "Give me not Riches, is scarce the prayer of one of ten thousand. Straws and sticks, and dust, with most, are the great things now looked after." (236)

•  "It was fine Linen white and clean. When the women were thus adorned, they seemed to be a terror one to the other; for that they could not see that Glory each one on herself, which they could see in each other. Now therefore they began to esteem each other better than themselves. For you are fairer than I am, said one; and you are more comely than I am, said another."

• "Pilgrims should watch, and remember what they have already received under their greatest enjoyments; but for want of doing so, ofttimes their rejoicing ends in tears, and their sun-shine in a Cloud." (258)

• "Jos. That Sin is so great and mighty a Tyrant, that none can pull us out of its clutches, but God; and that God is so good and loving to Man, as to pull him indeed out of this miserable state. Prud. What is God's design in saving of poor men? Jos. The glorifying of his Name, of his Grace, and Justice, and the everlasting Happiness of his Creature." (268)

• "Pray how fareth it with you in your Pilgrimage? (331)

• "Hon. It happens to us, as it happeneth to wayfaring men; sometimes our Way is clean, sometimes foul; sometimes up hill, sometimes down hill; we are seldom at a certainty: The wind is not always on our backs, nor is every one a Friend that we meet with in the Way. We have met with some notable rubs already; and what are yet behind we know not; but for the most part we find it true, that has been talked of of old: A good man must suffer trouble."(331)

• "My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me, that I have fought His battles, who now will be my Rewarder." (373)

• "The waters indeed are to the palate bitter, and to the stomach cold; yet the thoughts of what I am going to, and of the conduct that waits for me on the other side, doth lie as a glowing coal at my heart." (375)

• "I heard one say, that they were yet alive, and so would be for the increase of the Church in that place where they were, for a time." (376)

Notable Content

• Four Reasons for Backsliding (176-178)

Notes on *Making Faith Magnetic*

Making Faith Magnetic: Five Hidden Themes Our Culture Can't Stop Talking About... And How to Connect Them to Christ, Daniel Strange, (Good Book Company, 2021)

Main Idea/Takeaway

• The gospel of Jesus Christ answers the basic longings of the human heart represented in at least five themes found throughout culture. 

• "This book is about five themes that, consciously or subconsciously, our culture and every culture is talking about...these are five themes that are both subverted and fulfilled in Jesus Christ" (13)

Interaction 

• "D.A. Carson: Intolerance of Tolerance" (46)

• "God gets all the blame and none of the credit." (66)

Table of Contents

I. The Way Ahead

II. The Cosmic Game of Hide-and-Seek

Part 1: The Magnetic Points

III. Totality: A Way to Connect?

IV. Norm: A Way to Live?

V. Deliverance: A Way Out?

VI. Destiny: A Way to Control?

VII. Higher Power: A Way Beyond?

Part 2: The Magnetic Person

VIII. Joining the Dots

IX. Jesus: The Way We Connect

X. Jesus: The Way We Live

XI. Jesus: The Way Out

XII. Jesus: The Way of Control

XIII. Jesus: The Way Beyond

XIV. The Magnetic People

Appendix

Conclusion: The Way From Here

Favorite Quotes by Chapter

I. The Way Ahead

• "Yes, Christians are told to live as "foreigners and exiles" in this world (1 Peter 2 v 11). But we're also called to be the "salt of the earth" and "the light of the world" (Matthew 5 v 13-14)— distinctively different to everyone around us but, to those whom God is calling, magnetically attractive." (12)

• "I'm going to show you five of these points of contact — five hidden themes that our culture can't stop talking about, and how they connect to Christ. We'll call them "magnetic points", because they're ideas to which people are irresistibly drawn over and over again." (14)

• "I've increasingly recognized that to siphon off and compartmentalize evangelism and apologetics from Christian discipleship and ministry is artificial and even unhelpful. What Jesus in the Great Commission calls disciple-making is nothing other than allowing the gospel to transform every part of our lives." (15)

• "If my whole life is connected to the gospel, and if I'm growing as a disciple in every part of my life, then the task of connecting the gospel to other people's lives becomes more natural, because we all face common struggles." (15)

• "lf I'm connecting the dots in my everyday story, then I'll be much better equipped to connect the dots in your everyday story."(15)

II. The Cosmic Game of Hide-and-Seek

• "God has made it clear in everything that has been made that he is present and we are dependent, and that he is present and we are dependent, and that he is personal and we are accountable." (21)

•  "Being made in God's image means we are instinctive worshippers. So when we try to smother reality, we end up making new twisted "realities" which we are devoted to instead. Often we imagine that these realities are less powerful and less personal, which means that we are less dependent, more in control and less accountable. Again, we are extremely creative in the things we consider, commit to and worship as "ultimate".(23)

Part 1: The Magnetic Points

III. Totality: A Way to Connect?

• "The idea of totality is centered around connection. It asks questions like: Who are we as human beings? What's our place in the universe?" (34)

• "In the "above us, only sky" world, romantic relationships often bear the weight that communion with God, as the transcendent being, used to bear." (39)

• "At a deep, subconscious level, people know they have been created for close communion with another - and they seek to find it in romantic human relationships." (40)

IV. Norm: A Way to Live?

• "This second magnetic point is called norm and asks whether there is a way to live — and how we know what that is. As human beings, we know there are rules to be obeyed. We accept that there are "norms"-moral standards and codes- which come from outside of us but to which we must adhere." (44)

• "I'm not the first person to comment that tolerance used to mean the idea of "bearing with" or "putting up with" someone with whom you disagreed. Now tolerance has become, frankly, an intolerance towards anyone who disagrees with me. "Bearing with" has become "bearing down", and "putting up" has become "shutting up". (46)

V. Deliverance: A Way Out?

• "There is more — there must be more. Something is broken and it needs fixing. Such songs are just another example of what has long been labelled in literature and psychology as Sehnsucht: a sense of mystical longing and yearning for happiness and fulfillment in the face of a reality which does not provide it."(54)

• "If loss of identity is the problem, then nationalism will bring deliverance. If loneliness is the problem, then community will bring deliverance. If discrimination is the problem, then justice is the answer — or is that education again?" (55)

• "Death is the final confirmation of our sneaking suspicion that all is not right in the world." (61)

VI. Destiny: A Way to Control?

• "When it comes to the magnetic points, I have a favorite and it's this fourth one. It's called destiny and it asks whether there is a way we can control our lives." (64)

• "What a way to put it: we both "lead" and "undergo" our lives. Isn't that a description of so many people we know or how we ourselves feel?" (65)

• "There's no good power responsible for quiet shifts or pleasant customers, just bad ones." (66)

• "I think it's the irresistible power of destiny that explains our fascination with semi-scientific solutions that promise to "explain" us and give us a prophet-like knowledge of the future." (71) // Culturally, we have an infatuation with “data” for this reason.

VII. Higher Power: A Way Beyond?

• "Remember, our magnetic points are what is left after human beings have suppressed and idolatrously substituted the knowledge of God in creation." (74)

• "...as we tear away and sift through our damaged response to God (seen through the magnetic points), we reveal our point of origin: the revelation of God's eternal power, implying human dependency, and God's divine nature, implying human accountability (Romans 1 v 20)." (74)

• "The fifth and final point is called higher power. It asks whether there is a way beyond the realm of our normal experience — a way to connect with someone or something higher than ourselves. Another word for this is transcendence." (75) 

• "So Western culture today is not "dis-enchanted" but "differently-enchanted". It may not be the case that people believe in "God" or "gods" —  at least, certainly not a personal one." (78)

Part 2: The Magnetic Person

VIII. Joining the Dots

• "the gospel of Jesus Christ does not bypass the magnetic points, but is the subversive fulfilment of the magnetic points." (88)

• "Second, the gospel message is the subversive fulfilment of the magnetic points, but our hope is not in a "what" but in a "who"." (89)

• "all this stuff is not about looking sophisticated, or winning an argument; it's simply about getting better at offering people the person of Jesus. We offer Jesus." (90)

• "Third, in offering Jesus as the subversive fulfilment of the magnetic points, we demonstrate both his magnetic appeal and how appalling idolatry is." (90)

• "The more we show people Jesus, the more- we pray, by God's Holy Spirit- they will see the bankruptcy of any alternative worldview.  And the more they see the shortcomings of idolatry, the more beautiful Jesus is shown to be in contrast." (91)  

• "We've said that when it comes to evangelism, we are persons offering other persons the person of Jesus; so let's not miss that the people we're engaging with are people. That means communicating holistically and humanely." (93)

IX. Jesus: The Way We Connect

• "The aim is to use our words to paint a compelling portrait of Jesus, and invite others to stop and look and consider him for themselves." (99)

• "Through Christ we enjoy connection and communion with God, but also connection and community with each other. After all, if I am connected to Jesus, and you are connected to Jesus, then in a very real way we are connected to one another." (104)

• "In his offer of identity, communion and community, Jesus Christ shows himself to be the subversive fulfilment of the magnetic point of totality." (105)

X. Jesus: The Way We Live

• "We've decided to follow our own script and make our own rules. But we can never escape our need for a standard and a sense of accountability, even if it's only to ourselves. It's hard-wired into us." (109)

• "When it comes to the norm, Jesus doesn't just reveal that there is a standard, he says, I am the standard." (110)

• "Everything that God had revealed in the Old Testament about what makes for human flourishing and for shalom(peace) in our communities was fully realized in Jesus' teaching and in his person." (110)

• "And because Jesus is the standard and the one who is the perfect authority over us, we no longer have to live in fear of tyranny of any kind- we need not be oppressed by anyone else's expectations." (115)

• "Jesus is the standard we all want, and Jesus is the Savior we all need. But here's the thing: you can't have one without the other." (115)

• "although the water is quickly running out of the bath, our Western culture still lives off the capital of a Christian worldview." (116)

• "Our culture's norms and conventions are still related to Jesus' norms written in the Bible, but with a diminishing view of our need for the cross." (116)

XI. Jesus: The Way Out

• "Call me a cynic, but I'm afraid that a stadium rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Ariana Grande, however heart-felt, is not going to deliver us from the war on terror." (121)

• "The certainty of death has been shattered and transformed by Jesus; this was previewed in Lazarus' resurrection and undeniably declared in Jesus' own." (124)

XII. Jesus: The Way of Control

• Lewis: "There is something which unites magic and applied science [i.e.  technology] while separating both from the 'wisdom' of earlier ages. For the wise men of old the cardinal problem had been how to conform the soul to reality, and the solution had been knowledge, self-discipline, and virtue. For magic and applied science alike the problem is how to subdue reality to the wishes of men; the solution is a technique." (130)

• "although in the 2020s I have access to more information than ever about my personality type, my ancestry, my ethnicity, or the oppressive regime over me, I don't feel more liberated but instead more trapped by my character, my heritage, my genes and my economic status." (131)

• "As our good shepherd, Jesus' control over our lives is neither impersonal nor tyrannical. Our obedience to him is not akin to throwing our hands up and submitting to fate. Instead, we obey in the context of a relationship of love. With Jesus I don't have to choose between powerless love or loveless power." (135)

• "Christians are not those who deny the supernatural realm or the existence of superpowers, but rather those who proclaim Christ's supremacy and reign over them both." (136)

• "In Jesus Christ's sovereign control and tender care we find the subversive fulfilment of the magnetic point of destiny." (138)

XIII. Jesus: The Way Beyond

• "As the theologian Lesslie Newbigin memorably put it, "Christ is the clue to all that is"63 We do not worship a "thing" or an "it" but a someone-someone maximally absolute and maximally personal, who is both transcendent and immanent. We worship one who has reached down to us in grace, the Word made flesh." (140)

• "Jaroslav Pelikan's statement that "Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant figure in the history of Western culture for almost twenty centuries. If it were possible, with some sort of super magnet, to pull up out of that history every scrap of metal bearing at least a trace of his name, how much would be left?" (140)

• "With Jesus we're not left wondering about how to connect with God (totality). He comes to be the way that we should follow (norm). He is the one who offers true and final deliverance. He is the one who is Lord of the universe but also the serving Shepherd (destiny)." (143)

XIV. The Magnetic People

• "We are either being formed by Christ or are being deformed by someone else. If we are not being drawn to Christ, we are being drawn away by something else." (148)

• "Our attitude toward God's word is an index of our love for Jesus."(153)

• "Open the Bible with the same sense of expectation you would have were Jesus to come through your front door and sit on the sofa next to you. because in a very real sense, he is. What might change if you came to God's word each day with a prayer for that kind of eagerness." (154)

• "We experience the humble confidence and security in knowing who we are — in knowing we are his. So whatever life throws at us — when we're crushed by criticism, or threatened by danger, or feel like we don't belong — we can remember that we belong to Christ: treasured, safe, secure." (158)

• "And once we are magnetized each week, we are then sent out and scattered into the world to be a magnetic presence. Let me ask you: in the places where God has called you to live your life- your home, your place of work, your places of play- what would it look like to do all things fully magnetized by Jesus and for Jesus?" (160)

Appendix

• "For those of us given the responsibility to teach and preach God's word, our goal, in the power of the Holy Spirit, is to offer Christ to people, both Christians and non-Christians." (165)

• "The magnetic points can be extremely helpful scaffolding in our desire to construct messages that connect and confront people with the offer of Christ. It's there to help people look at him." (168)

Notable Content

• "Bavinck discerns five of these magnetic points- these themes to which humans are repeatedly drawn:

1.Totality: A way to connect?

2.Norm: A way to live?

3.Deliverance: a way out?

4.Destiny: a way we control?

5.Higher power: a way beyond?

• These scholars argue that as a society we have become disenchanted/enchanted as ever. (77)

• Four practical steps to engaging faithfully and fruitfully with culture:

  1. Entering: Stepping into the world and listening to the story. 

  2. Exploring: Searching for elements of grace and the idols attached to them. 

  3. Exposing: Showing up the idols as destructive frauds.

  4. Evangelizing: Showing off the gospel of Jesus Christ as subversive fulfilment.

• Roger Scruton: "An Apology for thinking" (108)

• We all have authorities in our lives and we regard them with differing levels of importance, trust and obedience, based on at least three questions: (111)

  1. First, do they have the knowledge?

  2. Second, what about their ethical character?

  3. Third, are they effective?

• All of these three things have to be in place in order for someone to have our trust, respect and obedience. Someone can have all the knowledge but be totally ineffective. Someone can get things done but be taking the wrong course of action entirely. Someone can have great integrity but now know what they're talking about." (111)

• Let's consider what being pulled away might look like, using the framework of the magnetic points:

  • "In terms of totality and the way to connect, we can be pulled back into thinking that there is no big plan for God to bring "all things together" 

  • "When it comes to the norm and the way to live, perhaps we see God's standards as rules that constrict us for rules' sake, rather than as rules that liberate us for our good." (149)

  • "For deliverance and the way out, perhaps we subtly and almost imperceptibility start to think that we are delivered by our routines and our purity." (150)

  • "In terms of destiny and the way we control, perhaps even as Christians we can feel like victims. God's sovereign plan for our lives feels more like that infamous fickle finger of fate rather than loving fatherly care." (150)

  • "Finally, in terms of the higher power and the way beyond, we experience the culmination of all the "pulls" I've just mentioned. In our daily words, actions, habits and rituals we gradually demonstrate that there are "loves of our lives" that are higher and deeper than our love for Christ." (151)

• "How do we become these kinds of fully magnetized followers of Jesus?"

  1. Loving Jesus

  2. Loving Our Identity in Jesus

  3. Loving Jesus' Body: the Church

Notes on *Possessed by God*

Possessed by God: A New Testament Theology of Sanctification and Holiness, David Peterson (IVP, 1995)

Main Idea/Takeaway

Moral holiness in the Christian life, typically called "progressive sanctification" is better understood and practiced in the biblical terms of renewal, transformation, and growth — expressions of our definitive sanctification.

• "I will argue that definitive sanctification is a more important theme in the New Testament than has generally been acknowledged. Rightly understood, this doctrine is a key to holy living and a way through the impasse created by much previous debate. God calls us and enables us in Christ to live as those possessed by God and empowered by his Holy Spirit. This is the theme of the first three chapters of this book. The fourth chapter then examines New Testament exhortations to pursue holiness and considers the sense in which sanctification is a process of 'becoming' and 'acting'."(14)

• "The overall aim will be to hear afresh God's challenge to holiness, encouraged by the promises on which it is grounded and guided by the teaching with which it is associated." (16)

• "Sanctification is commonly regarded as a process of moral and 'spiritual transformation following conversion. In the New Testament, however, it primarily refers to God's way of taking possession of us in Christ, setting us apart to belong to him and to fulfil his purpose for us. Sanctification certainly has present and ongoing effects, but when the verb 'to sanctify' (Gk. hagiazein) and the noun 'sanctification' (Gk. hagiasmos) are used, the emphasis is regularly on the saving work of God in Christ, applied to believers through the ministry of the Holy Spirit." (27)

• "It would be more accurate to say that renewal and change flow from the regeneration and sanctification that God has already accomplished in our lives." (136)

• "Instead of speaking in terms of progressive sanctification, the New Testament more regularly employs the language of renewal, transformation and growth, to describe what God is doing with us here and now." (136)

• "In New Testament terms, we are to live as those who have been brought from death to life, discharged from the law to belong to Christ, led by the Spirit in a continuing struggle with the flesh. We are to live with a confidence in what God has already done for us and trust in him to continue his transforming work in us until we see him face to face." (137)

Interaction 

• The holiness of God, cf. Webster. (16)

• "But they are unable to effect such living" (21)

• On mission: "Mission is clearly the goal of sanctification in John17." (30)

• "Are you living by your assessment of your life or God's?" (49)

• "Believe the gospel. Embrace your identity in Christ. Live by God's assessment of your life." (49)

• "Think in terms not of measurable maturity, but trajectories of current devotion & practice. The "Pilgrim's Progress" allegory is again masterful." (91)

• cf. Beale article: relation between new creation and reconciliation in 2 Corinthians. (133)

• Present experience of glorification. (133)

Table of Contents

Introduction

I. The biblical starting-point

II. Sanctified in Christ

III. Sanctified by word and Spirit

IV. Pursuing holiness

V. Living between the cross and the resurrection

VI. Transformation, renewal, and growth

Appendix A: The meaning of hagiasmos in the New Testament

Appendix B: Sanctification and God's law

Favorite Quotes by Chapter

Introduction

• "Considering the passion for holiness expressed by writers and preachers in former generations, James Packer may be right to claim that 'holiness is a neglected priority throughout the modern church generally' and 'specifically a fading glory in today's evangelical world' (1984: 99)." (11)

• "Despite the significant work of Packer and others, there is room for a fresh look at the subject, with a particular focus on what the New Testament teaches about the way holiness is achieved and expressed."(12)

• "The assumption is generally made that sanctification is simply the process by which we become more and more holy." (13)

• "It obscures the distinctive meaning and value of the terminology in the New Testament, confusing sanctification with renewal and transformation." (13)

• "Sanctification is a state in which believers find themselves because of the work of Christ and the operation find themselves because of the work of Christ and the operation of his Spirit in their lives. They are called to remain in that state 'by living in correspondence to their given holiness' (614)." (14)

• "In sum, sanctification in the New Testament is seen as 'a one-time event and as a process, the believers being and becoming holy and acting correspondingly' (614)." (14)

I. The biblical starting- point

• "Even though the holiness of God cannot be adequately conveyed in vision or word, angelic beings declared that it could be encountered in our universe, which is like a vast temple dedicated to his use and the display of his glory. God's glory is his holiness revealed."(18)

• "The covenant relationship established by God contained at its heart the assurance that he would be their God and they would be his people (e.g. n. 17:7-8; Ex. 6:7). Consequently, he would be uniquely with them, to fulfil his purposes and bring blessing to them (e.g. Gn. 28:13-15; Ex. 3:7-8)." God's sanctifying presence would continue to mark them as a holy people and demand holiness of living as a response." (21)

• "Holiness cannot simply be acquired by human effort. It is a status or condition which God imparts to those whom he chooses to bring into a special relationship with himself through covenant and redemption. But it is a status that carries with it particular responsibilities."(23)

• "Just as Israel was made holy by God's saving activity in the time of Moses, and again in the restoration after the Babylonian Exile, so sanctification in the New Testament is an integral part of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. It is regularly portrayed as a once-for-all, definitive act and primarily has to do with the holy status or position of those who are 'in Christ'." (24)

• "Christians are sustained in holiness by the ongoing presence of the Holy Spirit and the trust that he gives in the finished work of Christ. The essential work of the Spirit is to enable belief in the gospel, so that the blessings it offers may be continually enjoyed by God's people." (24)

• "Christians are called to live out the practical consequences of knowing God in Jesus Christ and of being consecrated by his saving work. Everything that is said about moral change and personal transformation in the New Testament is to be related to God's sanctifying initiative in Christ." (25)

• "...sanctification in Christ has to do with a profound re-orientation of values and behavior. Beginning with the 'heart' and reaching out to touch the life and witness of God's people at every level, God's word and God's Spirit bring change and transformation. In us and through us, something of God's holiness is revealed to the world." (25)

II. Sanctified in Christ

• "At the heart of the revelation that Jesus brings is the proclamation of God's redemptive achievement in the death of his Son. In his death, Jesus demonstrates the love which God has for the world and which he desires to see reflected in the life of his people. With the gospel message about Jesus and his work, God imparts his Spirit to us and binds us to himself in love. That same word keeps us in holiness and love, enabling us to share in his mission to the world." (33)

• "By his sovereign action in Christ, God sets apart and binds to himself those who have been purified from the defilement of sin. This objective, consecrating work of God has profound implications for the attitude and behavior of those who believe." (34)

• "Although Israel under the Old Covenant was able to draw near to God through the mediation of priests and the operation of the sacrificial system, the people were not 'perfected' in their approach to God (gf. 7:11; 10:1-2). However, with Jesus, 'a better hope' has been introduced by which we may draw near to him (7:19; 10:14)." (36)

• "This better hope is based on the 'better covenant', which has been enacted through 'better promises' (8:6). Here and now, we are 'qualified' to draw near to God with the certainty of sins forgiven and the confidence that we are in an eternally secure relationship with God (c/. 7:19; 9:9; 10:1-4, 14-23; 12:22-24). Our hope is also to meet God face-to-face, in the glory of his eternal kingdom (c/. 2:10; 4:9-10; 12:14, 22-24; 13:14), and so perfection in Hebrews involves ultimate glorification. Even so, what we have yet to experience is only an unfolding of what has already been achieved for us by Christ's sacrifice." (36)

• "The terminology of perfection is used to proclaim the fulfilment or consummation of men and women in a permanent, direct and personal relationship with God."(36)

• "Jesus' death brings about a cleansing from sin and a definitive consecration to God in the present. It also secures for us a share in the future that God has promised. We can draw near to God now with the directness and certainty that belong to the final state of his people (cf. 4:16; 10:19-22: 12:22-24). The perfecting of believers involves all of that. Our sanctification or consecration to God is only a part of the process of eschatological perfection, achieved through the perfecting of Christ (2:10; 5:9; 7:28)." (37)

• "The New Covenant promise of a renewed 'heart' is fulfilled when people are set free from the burden of unforgiven sins through trusting in the effectiveness of Christ's sacrifice (9:14; 10:22). They are thus renewed in faith and sincerity towards God. Only the cleansing provided by Christ can definitively free us to worship or serve the living God (9:14, Gk. latreuein) in a way that pleases him and truly honors him." (39)

• "Sanctification means being appropriated by God and dedicated to him by the saving work of his Son. The terminology is associated with the beginning of the Christian life and highlights the corporate dimension to sanctification in Paul's thinking. Sanctification has to do with the identity and status of those who are 'in Christ'. It also points to the lifestyle that is consistent with God's calling." (40)

• "The next clause, 'to those sanctified in Christ' (Ck. hegiasmenois en Christo), amplifies what it means to be God's church. The Corinthian Christians were a holy and distinct people in that corrupt and godless city. This was so because of God's initiative, drawing them into an exclusive relationship with himself.? What he had done for them "in Christ Jesus' had made them part of his eschatological community. Here the perfect passive participle "sanctified' should be understood as another way of speaking about their conversion and incorporation into Christ. It can hardly refer to their holiness of character or conduct, since Paul spends much time in this letter challenging their values and their behavior, calling them to holiness in an ethical sense. He does this on the basis that they are already sanctified in a relational sense, but need to express that sanctification in lifestyle." (41)

• "Jesus delivers us from the dominion of sin and death (redemption). By his righteousness he also makes it possible for us to be counted righteous by God (justification). At the same time, he establishes us in a distinct and exclusive relationship with the Holy One (sanctification). In the great Christological statement of 1 Corinthians 1:30, redemption, justification and sanctification are overlapping, but distinct theological concepts. This judgment is confirmed by the argument in 1 Corinthians 6:11." (44)

• "The Spirit's work is to empower the preaching of the gospel about Jesus, enabling those who hear to understand and believe (2:4-5; cf. 2:6-16). So the Spirit is the means whereby God in the present age 'effects the work of Christ in the believer's life' (Fee 1994: 219)." (47)

• "Sanctification is about being possessed by God and expressing that distinctive and exclusive relationship by the way we live." (48)

III. Sanctified by word and Spirit

• "Here it is important to note that everything in the Christian life, from beginning to end, is made possible by Jesus' self-giving in death (Eph. 5:25), previously described as 'a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God' (5:2). Only those who are sanctified by Christ now can be presented to him in glory then. Transformation is implied by the notion of glorification (cf. Rom. 8:29-30; 2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Jn. 3:2), the present work of the Spirit anticipating the ultimate transformation associated with the resurrection of our bodies." (54)

• "By faith in the gospel, we continue to be united with Christ, which is the heart of sanctification. By faith, we rely on his promises and grasp the power of his Spirit, so that we can resist sin and live for God. This theme will be particularly developed in chapter five. Faith is 'not only a receptive organ but also an operative power." (56)

• "When God sanctifies us as individuals, he establishes us as members of a holy fellowship, enabling us to play our part in maintaining and expressing the holiness of the church, in doctrine and lifestyle." (67)

IV. Pursuing holiness

• "So the challenge is to pursue practical expressions of the holiness or sanctification that is ours in Christ." (75)

• "Those who are cleansed and consecrated by Christ, and who look forward to sharing the perfection of holiness in his presence for ever, will pursue holiness as a lifestyle." (77)

• "Indeed, the Spirit he gives to Christians is the Spirit of holiness; and nothing unholy can be tolerated in the lives of individuals or communities where the Holy Spirit dwells (gf. 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1)." (84)

• "The promises about God dwelling in the midst of his people, and welcoming as his sons and daughters those who separate themselves from everything unclean (6:16-18), are the motivation for a holy and separated life." (87)

• "From a positive point of view, the secret of a holy life is reflecting the character of God, knowing that his Spirit is at work amongst his people to make that separate and distinct lifestyle possible, and thus walking in the Spirit's ways. When they ignore these imperatives, believers dishonor the one who called them into an exclusive relationship with himself and compromise the holiness of the church as 'the temple of the living God' (6:16; cf. 1 Cor. 3:16-17; Heb. 12:15)." (88)

• "No Christian should doubt the need to give practical, everyday expression to the holiness that is our status and calling in Christ. Only those who trust in his sanctifying work on the cross, and take seriously the warning to 'pursue holiness', will 'see the Lord'." (91)

• "On the other hand, it is possible to be so zealous for 'progress' that one's attention shifts from God's grace to human effort. Moral growth and development will be God's gift to us at different stages of our lives, but spirituality must not be measured in terms of the rate of change. We are to go on exhibiting what we know of God's character and will, motivated by the certainty of his acceptance, cleansing and enabling in Christ, together with the promise of entire sanctification when we meet him, face to face. Progress may be seen as we exercise ourselves in that godly devotion which issues from a true knowledge of God in Jesus Christ." (91)

V. Living between the cross and the resurrection

• "When he moves to consider how justification by faith can lead to holiness of life, Calvin emphasizes the role of repentance. Repentance not only follows faith but is born of faith. Repentance means the true turning of our life to God, a turning that arises from a pure and honest fear of him' (Inst. 3.3.5). It consists in 'mortification of our flesh and of the old man' and in 'vivification of the Spirit'." (93)

• "In this chapter, I want to explore the idea that moral renewal proceeds from our union with Christ in his death and resurrection." (95)

• "Baptism into union with Christ is the way we identify with him in his epoch-changing death and draw on its benefits. Of course, conversion and water baptism are often separated in Christian experience. But Paul's point is that genuine initiation into Christ means trusting in his death as our death and his risen life as our life. In this respect, baptism is presented as our 'funeral rite' and a decisive break with the life and values of this present age." (97)

VI. Transformation, renewal, and growth

• "What makes me a new person in Christ is essentially faith in God and his promises. The Spirit's ongoing task is to renew my "mind' through the gospel and give me a new 'heart' to serve God in faith and obedience. Renewal of mind and heart transforms character and behavior because of the central place that the mind has in the orientation, attitudes and beliefs of the human personality. Renewal is not simply at the rational level, though this is foundational to the whole process of moral renewal and change that is effected by the Spirit. In the final analysis, renewal is the present experience of glorification through the Spirit, anticipating the glorification that will come with the resurrection of our bodies. It is being conformed to the likeness of Christ, who is himself the image of God."(133)

• "If we are definitively sanctified by the work of Christ and the gift of his Spirit, 'growth' in holiness will mean increasing and abounding in practical expressions of that status calling and commitment which is already ours by God's grace." (136)

Notable Content

• Definitive Sanctification explained. (14)

• "To what extent are we urged by Scripture to progress in holiness and in what manner? How should we pray for one another in this regard? How might we expect God to answer our prayers?" (71)

• Understanding Hebrews chapter 12. (75)

• Four senses in which Christians die to sin. (97)

• Brief comments on the concept of growth in the New Testament. (134)

Notes on *Ploductivity*

Ploductivity: A Practical Theology of Work and Wealth, Douglas Wilson (Canon Press, 2020)

Main Idea/Takeaway

Technology in all its forms is a type of wealth, and we are called to steward it well- which means productivity.

• "Technology is a form of wealth; progress is a form of wealth."(57)

• "And so here is my central thesis, stated yet again: technology in all its form is a type of wealth." (99)

Table of Contents

Part I: A Theology of Productivity

An Introduction to Technofullness

I. A Theology of Work

II. A Theology of Wealth

III. A Theology Tools

IV. A Theology of Media

V. A Theology of Missions and Media

VI. A Theology of Markets

VII. A Theology of Progress

VIII. A Theology of Glad Suspicion

Part II: Learning Ploductivity

IX.The Finitude of Work

X. Ambition is a Good Thing

XI. The Master Key

XII. The Power of Plodding

XIII. Work at a Pace You Can Maintain

XIV. Progress and Depravity

XV. Eschatology

XVI. New Media

Favorite Quotes by Chapter

An Introduction to Technofullness

• "As Peter Drucker said, "Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things."(7)

• "But I sincerely hope, at least for a number of you readers, this will be the last productivity book you read. Not because I have discovered the Lost Technique that once made Atlantis great and which I am about to share with you all for a modest fee, but rather because I hope this book will help you deal with the issues surrounding productivity in such a way as to help you mortify that most peculiar lust." (8)

• "If we get the theology of the thing right, then it should be something that our great-grandchildren can apply fruitfully fifty years from now when they are trying to incorporate who-knows-what into their daily lives. It probably won't be the iPhone 92." (10)

• "We have a perennial temptation to locate sin as resident in the stuff. Some refuse to see sin in the stuff, and therefore conclude that there must not be any sin. These are the technophiles. Others see clearly that there is sin, and so they conclude that it must be in the stuff, though maybe it is not in the earlier stuff. These are the technophobes." (10)

• "Technology is therefore a form of wealth. The reason this is important is because the Bible says very little about technology as such, but it gives us a great deal of blunt and pointed teaching on the subject of wealth. If we learn how to deal with wealth scripturally, then we will have learned how to deal with technology." (11)

• "This is what I mean by ploductivity. This is deliberate faithfulness: working in the same direction over an extended period of time. Our electronic servants may be super fast, but we should be as deliberate as ever." (11)

I. A Theology of Work

• See Notable Content for "What does good work look like?"

• "We are saved by grace, but grace works."(19)

• "We are not saved by good works (Eph. 2:8-9), but we are saved to good works.(Eph. 2:10)" (20)

II. A Theology of Wealth

• "Wealth- monetary, technological, or otherwise- is simply and solely a good thing, a gift of God. The sin enters in when the means of self-sufficiency are placed in the hands of someone who has entirely the wrong attitude about autonomous self-sufficiency." (21)

• "The arrogant human heart is the source of the sin concerning wealth, and the arrogant human heart sins this way in the proximity of wealth. Wealth is not the locus of the sin, but the presence of the wealth is the locus of the temptation." (23)

• "The solution to self-sufficiency is not to banish the goods that we used to forget God, but rather to make a point of remembering God in and through the abundance He gave to us." (25)

• "We are not only tempted by wealth, we are tempted to blame wealth. It can be a sin to misunderstand the nature of sin. In other words, we are tempted to locate the sin in the stuff, and then we try to solve the problem (when and if we do try to solve it) by putting some kind of respectable distance between us and the stuff. If people sin with alcohol, tobacco and firearms, and they do, then we think we must regulate the substances (or the tools) themselves." (25)

• "If I were to make a decision to throw my old heart away, that decision would have to be made by my old heart. And if my old heart could do something as wonderful as throwing my old heart away, what is the need for a new heart?" (25)

III. A Theology Tools

• "In order to evaluate a tool, we have to account for the telos, the end, the purpose. Hammers are used to build both brothels and barns." (29)

• "When we sin with a material object, or in near proximity to a material object, the most obvious thing to occur to us is to blame that material object." (29)

• "Tools enable us to widen our reach. Tools make it possible for our radius of fruitfulness (now there is a phrase for the ages_ to extend much farther than it otherwise would. So when Adam found the beehive-knocking-down stick, he was wealthier than he was before. When a man purchases an app for 99 cents, he is wealthier than he was before. Tools are technology, and technology is a form of wealth." (32)

• "We should regard tools the same way we regard our money- with grateful suspicion. Or perhaps, on alternating weeks, with suspicious gratitude." (32)

IV. A Theology of Media

• "I would define media in this way: working out from and including our bodies, media also include our clothes, other people, and tools, including especially tools for communication and infrastructure." (34)

• "God was the one who told us to multiply. And one of the things that necessarily grows and develops with that multiplication is the largely invisible world of media. When we notice it, which happens rarely, our reflex action is to worry about it- as though getting your news off a smartphone is somehow less "authentic" than getting it from newsprint, telegraphs, or smoke signals." (37)

• "But when we see that tools are a subset of media, and that media were obviously a gift from God, given to us through the mere fact of creation, we should become much more comfortable with the idea of tools as essential to our humanity." (37)

V. A Theology of Missions and Media

• "When Jesus spoke these words, going into the world meant what we would call travel (going from one place to another yourself), and it meant communication across distance (going from one place to another by means of media). Communication media at the same time largely meant letters, or epistles. We still have the same basic options- travel and communications media." (40)

• "So what should we bring with us when we travel? What should we send with our messages when we write? The answer is Jesus, but this must be understood rightly." (40)

• "The fact that we have greatly accelerated the pace of these two functions (travel over distance and communication across distance) is nothing new in principle." (41)

• "Your country can only export whatever it is your farmers are growing. When you go somewhere, or when you send a message somewhere, you are simply projecting what you already are." (42)

• "If you are alive, vibrant, and forgiven, you now live in a world where you can project that in amazing ways." (42)

VI. A Theology of Markets

• "Control of the future is actually a (vain) attempt to control people, with the future as our instrument." (47)

• "Two words that do not go together are control and future. The future, like salvation, is the gift of God, and it must be apprehended by faith alone." (48)

• "The two issues mentioned earlier that underlie economics are first, the need for us to respect the free choices of others, and second, to use our own power of free choice to investigate the fruitful world God gave to us." (48)

• "The free market does not decide the price of the new zippers. That decision is made by the Lord Jesus. A statement like that hits us sideways because we are accustomed to think about the world in a quasi-Diestic terms. Sure, God made everything some time long ago, but things happen now because of impersonal natural laws, right? Gravity pulls things to the floor, centrifugal force pulls them out to the edges, and the law of supply and demand determines the cost of zippers. But the biblical doctrine is actually one of creating and ongoing providence. All of it is personal." (49)

• "We are to put our hand to the work, doing the best we can with it, and we are to keep our hands off the future." (50)

• "My responsibility is, so to speak, whatever is in front of me, there on my workbench or desk or counter. I should do a first-rate job with that, and other things will fall into place. And as they fall into place, it will not be the impersonal doing of Adam Smith's invisible hand. Every blessing a Christian ever receives is from a pierced hand." (50)

VII. A Theology of Progress

• "Wealth is the technical ability to summon the labor of others, either in person or through the application of tools, but the person in possession of that wealth has to have the ability to know how to do it." (53)

• "If you are anything like me, you need to learn how to manage this embarrassment of wealth. In short, you need to learn how to become more productive." (55)

VIII. A Theology of Glad Suspicion

• "The Bible does teach us what our orientation toward health should be- that of glad suspicion, or maybe, on our gloomy days, suspicious gladness." (57)

• "The technophile just assumes that man is the measure of all things, and he plumps his resume in order to get a job with Google, so that he too may become one of the lords of the earth. The technophobe just memorizes the poetry of Wendell Berry, and yearns for the days of yesterday when all our food was eked out under a hot sun by a slow mule and a picturesque peasant staggering behind it. Both are forms of ingratitude; both are grotesque. The only obedient response is to accept that wealth as the gift of God that it is, and to keep it in its proper creaturely place." (59)

• "Although there is a bias toward sin in the possession of such blessings, it is important to emphasize by means of reiteration that sin is not resident within the things themselves. In this respect, it is like the old covenant- God finds fault with the people (Heb. 8:7-8). There is no sin in immunizations, in iPhones, in Google searches, in air travel, or in Lasik eye surgery. To the extent it is progress, it is the result of God's kindness as mediated through our culture as fruit of the gospel." (59)

• "To whatever extent it is not a blessing, it is not progress. If it is progress, then we must thank God for it- He is the one who gives us the power to get wealth, and there is no appropriate or safe response to that wealth other than complete and simple gratitude." (61)

• "It does not profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul, and there is an additional sting when he then loses the world too. Whatever to worship in place of God is another thing you lose. Whatever you surrender gladly to Him is returned to you, pressed down, shaken, and running over." (62)

• "There is not one blessing we enjoy that was not given to us by the hand of Jesus Christ. If we insist on ignoring His lordship, his blood, His authority, and His kindness, then the time is coming, and now is, when He will chastise us by taking it all away. If we seek the Kingdom, then other things will be added. If we don't acknowledge Him, worship Him, or bow down before Him, He takes away that which was blocking the view, which in our case is all our stuff." (62)

An Introduction to Ploductivity

• "Living and working in the presence of God is essential because what constitutes a truly productive person is the fact that they are laboring under the blessing of God." (68)

• "Living in the presence of God means that you are living in such a way as to invite or seek His favor. The Sabbath and the tithe illustrate well the trust we are to display in this. Would you rather work hard for seven unblessed days or work hard for six blessed days? Would you rather try to live on 100% of an unblessed income or on 90% of a blessed income?"(69)

• "Pray that God establish the work of your hands, and not just the work of your heart. This is not a facile "health and wealth" approach because God is not to be treated as some kind of a vending machine. God's blessing includes both temporal victories and temporal defeats, and evangelical faith knows how to handle all of it." (69)

IX. The Finitude of Work

• "Too many people confound our finitude with our sinfulness, but the breach between us and God is one that was caused by our unholiness, not by our size. Before Adam sinned he was just as small as the day after he sinned, but he was still able to walk with God in the garden in the cool of the day. Our size is a feature, not a bug." (72)

• "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand for us to do, God is up to something big- He has a cosmic project in view- and not one of us knows the fullness of what that is." (72)

• "When God created ex nihilo, He was doing all the work. When we work as sub-creators, to use Tolkein's word for it, we are dealing with pre-existent materials and processes. This is because God is using the miniscule works that we are performing to teach us to trust Him, and to teach us the meaning of work." (74)

• "Remembering the finitude of your labors will keep you humble. Recognizing that your labors have a place in God's cosmic intentions for the universe will keep you from thinking that your tiny labors are stupid labors. They are nothing of the kind. Your labors in the Lord are not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58)." (74)

X. Ambition is a Good Thing

• "The true Christian is characterized, not by a lack of desire, but rather through a desire that is calibrated to its appropriate object, which is ultimately Christ." (76)

• "Many Christians think their problem lies in the verbs, when it actually lies in the direct objects and in the adverbs. They think they are to be faulted because they want , because they desire. But the actual problem is not that we desire, but that we desire the wrong things, or that we desire the right things wrongly." (77)

• "Setting ambitious goals is therefore a good thing, and determining whether or not we are desiring something sinful, or desiring it sinfully, is heart work. We do that heart work by praying to the Lord about it, by reading the Word faithfully, looking to be instructed, and by worshipping God together with Hid people, gathering regularly to be edified by Word and sacrament." (78)

XI. The Master Key

• "It is impossible to read through the Scriptures and come to the conclusion that the Lord thinks slipshod work is good enough." (80)

• "Learn what good work is, imitate it studiously, and do that over time." (82)

XIII. Work at a Pace You Can Maintain

• "The thing to take away is that brief but daily routines are capable of accumulating a large amount of whatever the work product might be. A man could take out the trash every evening, and while out there quietly lay one brick, and after six months present his with with a brick wall along the alley- something she never even knew she wanted." (94)

XIV. Progress and Depravity

• "The birth of the modern age, measured in terms of conveniences, technology, wealth, medical advances, and so on was largely a legacy of the Reformation. But the Bible teaches that whenever a gift is given, there will immediately be a temptation arising in our hearts to steal the glory and gratitude that should go to God alone." (95)

• "A commons worry among modern sophisticates is that technology really is making us stupid. It would be better to say that technology when ignored or mismanaged makes us stupid, but this has always been the case with every form of wealth." (97)

• "The world, this world, is presently going where Jesus is taking it. So we should be wise, and stop worrying." (99)

XV. Eschatology

• My optimism about tools and technology is, at bottom, an optimism that is grounded on the fact that at the darkest point in human history, God in the flesh was crucified by arrogant sinners, by all the important people. Three days after that, the Lord came back from the dead. That means that the world has been overthrown. How could that world not be overthrown? That world is dead because its only power was death, and we serve a Lord who went into death's maw, and then came out again. That is the ultimate plot turn. That is the central fact of all human history." (103)

XVI. New Media

• "When the bank robber Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, his reply was "Because that's where the money is." Christians should go with our life-transforming message, and where should we go? Where the people are."(106)

• "We proclaim the lordship of Christ over everything, and we do so, not because we have invited Him into our hearts, but rather because He rose from the dead, ascended into the presence of the Ancient of Days, and was given a universal and cosmic authority Dan. 7:13-14)." (107)

• "Jesus is already Lord of those who recognize it, and He is already Lord of those who refuse to recognize it. This means that the authority of Jesus Christ, right now and not later, currently extends over Facebook, Google, and Twitter." (107)

• "So wherever people are, Christians should be right there, with all our work, talking about the Lord. You know, theLord. The Lord over all of this." (108)

Notable Content

• "I am seeking to stake out an entirely different third position, over against the twin errors of technophobia and technophilia." (9)

• What does good work look like? (17-18)

  1. "First, work is a good thing, and the hard way is actually the easy way."

  2. "Second, the right kind of work- when a particular result is desired- quenches the wrong kind of desire."

  3. "Third, the Bible teaches that diligence and laziness are visible."

  4. "Fourth, the diligent like to have their work speak for them, and unproductive men like to substitute talk for action. Lazy men are good talkers."

• A description of the man hours required in just the manufacturing of a No. 2 pencil. (52)

• "A good example of an erudite worrier would be Neil Postman in Amusing Ourselves to Death. But for every book like that, given the propensity of Calvinists to worry excessively about the heart of man, I would recommend that you read three like Johnson's Everything Bad is Good for You, Postrel's The Future and Its Enemies, and Herman's The Idea of Decline in Western History." (102)

Notes on *The Care of Souls*

The Care of Souls: Cultivating a Pastor’s Heart, Harold Senkbeil (Lexham Press, 2019)

Main Idea/Takeaway

Our primary habitus as pastors is to know Jesus and give him to others through Word and sacrament.

• "The classical texts of pastoral care have always called the cure of souls a habitus, a pastoral temperament or character worked by the Holy Spirit through his means."

• "Genuine habitus: doing all you've been given to do in the full realization that you're only an instrument for the Lord to do his work through you."(22)

• "This, I'm convinced, is the sole power for consistent ministry as pastors. We love because we have first been loved- then we in turn love others as we ourselves have been loved. We are, in a very real sense, only channels or conduits for the love of Christ that enfolds us, impels us and compels us for faithful work in service of the Great Shepherd who has laid down his life for us all." (121)

• "Our job is not to usher in perfection, but to bring people to Jesus and him to them." (180)

• "Your job is merely to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people." (194)

Interaction 

• We are commending the person, Jesus. (14)

• Give them Jesus. (17)

• Guilt is as objective, specific, internal response to sin committed. Shame is something you wear- its the identity you take on in the aftermath of sin that either you committed or was committed against you." (140)

• When it comes to sexual desire, our calling is chastity. There's no neutral ground. It's either virtue or vice. Either fidelity (if married) or abstinence (if single)- the calling to virtue. It is a positive call- "live this way!" Not merely negative against the sin/vice- "don't do that!" (177)

• The liturgy our local church on Sundays is meant to give shape to our whole Christian lives. (188)

Table of Contents

I. The Pastoral Craft: One Farm Boy's Story

II. What is a Pastor? The Classical Model

III. The Cure of Souls: Attentive Diagnosis

IV. The Cure of Souls: Intentional Treatment

V. Sheep-Dogging and Shepherding: The Noble Task

VI. Guilt and Shame

VII. Holiness and the Cure of Souls

VIII. Drawing Near to God: Proximity and Holiness

IX. Invisible PowersL Spiritual Warfare

X. Christ's "Other Sheep": Mission and the Care of Souls

XI. The Shepherding of Shepherds

XII. Always Be Steady: Equilibrium in Ministry

Conclusion: Joy in Office

Favorite Quotes by Chapter

Preface

• "This is the secret for sustainable pastoral work: You need to realize that you've got nothing to give to others that you yourself did not receive. Jesus loves you first, then you love him back by loving his sheep and lambs in his name and stead." (xx)

I. The Pastoral Craft: One Farm Boy's Story

• "Pastors do not teach mere ideas or concepts; by their ministrations they bring Jesus himself into the hearts and lives of people ravaged with guilt, burdened with shame, and struggling under a boatload of pain in all its dimensions: physical, emotional, and spiritual."(14)

• "Wherever pastors bring the words and mysteries of Jesus, they bring Jesus himself, and he personally does the comforting." (14)

• "Whenever and wherever pastors do this work of Jesus, Jesus himself is present, even though he remains unseen." (15)

• "So then, effective and faithful pastoral ministry in each succeeding era must remain intimately connected with its essential core- the divinely given presence of Christ Jesus and the truth of his word by which alone we live. The challenge for pastors in every generation is to link the person and work of Jesus to every shifting era by means of his unchanging word- not to contextualize the message, but to textualize people into the text of Scripture, you could say." (17)

• "The essence of pastoral work is to bring the gifts of the Good Shepherd to his sheep and lambs. And here's the well from which you can draw inexhaustible grace every day as a pastor: In the church the Holy Spirit daily and richly forgives all your sins along with the sins of all believers." (19)

• "That's what it means to be a servant of Christ. You get your hands dirty among his earthly- and earthy- people. But you do it because you have life in your hands to give them." (25)

• "So right up front, let's start with this foundational definition: As a pastor you're above all else a true servant of Christ and steward of God's mysteries. Let that identity- that habitus- dictate everything you do and say in ministry. Then you yourself will be well served as you serve others in Jesus' name."(26)

• "What you might consider mundane routine is the very heart of your calling: to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ and to administer his life-giving sacraments. Preaching, baptizing, communing may be ordinary and God-ordained- but they are never dull." (29)

• "Have you come to realize that by your own reason or strength you can accomplish absolutely nothing in the ministry." (29)

• "Christianity is nothing more than the life and truth that God has disclosed and transmitted through the incarnate flesh of Jesus, his eternal Son." (31)

• "Pastors impart teaching that comes from the Holy Spirit of God and they bring that divinely given teaching to people who have received the Holy Spirit by faith." (33)

• "To be an agent and emissary of Jesus energizes and empowers you for active work as his servant. Just think: Christ Jesus, your Savior and your Lord, has called and commissioned you to love and serve the very sheep and lambs for whom he shed his blood and gave his life." (35)

II. What is a Pastor? The Classical Model

• "The text of sacred Scripture is at the heart of all pastoral work; the core of what we do in the diagnosis and sure of souls revolves around the word of God in written and verbal form because these in turn flow from Christ, who is the word of God made flesh." (45)

• "One divine word- incarnate, spoken, written- this is the word that you and I bring to God's people yet today as we go about the care of souls. And in that word there is life- the life of Christ for all humanity. That's why everything we do as pastors we do by means of the word of God." (56)

• "All ministry with the written word is ultimately the ministry of the one word of the Father made flesh for us and for our salvation."(56)

III. The Cure of Souls: Attentive Diagnosis

• "So the process of the cure of souls has two phases: attentive diagnosis followed by intentional treatment." (67)

• "Whenever someone is asking for my help I give them my rapt and undivided attention." (72)

• "Probably the most important skill to acquire is the art of listening to the conscience- listening accurately and spiritually, beneath the surface." (77)

• "Let's interact conversationally, responding to questions naturally and then asking our own questions appropriately." (79)

IV. The Cure of Souls: Intentional Treatment

• "Two things are indispensable, then, when it comes to serving as a spiritual physician: being attentive and being intentional. Faithful diagnosis and cure includes both. First we pay attention in Jesus' name, accurately assessing what threatens faith. Then we speak in Jesus' name, intentionally treating the underlying ailment with his healing word." (99)

• "All prayer is essentially answering speech; we as the children of God repeat back to him the word he has spoken to us. The first step in such word-based prayer is simply to echo what he has told us, repeating back to him what he has promised or commanded in that word." (106)

• "The Lord God, who has (insert his creative, redeeming and sanctifying power here) give you his blessing that you may (find required help, comfort, strength, etc.) for (purpose)- and the blessing of God Almighty: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" be with you now and forever." (109)

V. Sheep-Dogging and Shepherding: The Noble Task

• "There's nothing more important than to know Christ- that is, to believe in him and so receive life eternal in the life still to come as well as like in all its fullness already now. Everything else in all the world is peripheral to that; this alone is central." (125)

• "The New Testament word for conscience is syneidese. From its cognates this word means "to know together with," referring to a soul's perception of its standing before God. Conscience is not so much a moral compass as it is an umpire, or the capacity to see oneself as God sees you. It's conscious sensitivity toward God's judgment and grace." (128)

• "Our task as spiritual physicians is to treat bad consciences, continually delivering the healing balm of the living word of God and his life-giving sacraments." (129)

VI. Guilt and Shame

• "Remember, guilt has to do with behavior, shame has to do with being and identity. Believing himself to be disqualified as a son, he hoped to be hired as a servant instead." (140)

• "Baptism happens only once. But its significance goes on and on. For the rest of their life, every baptized child of God goes on dying and rising every day. Dying to sin but rising to righteousness, the sin addict dies and is raised again and again to live no longer as a slave but as a son within the Father's house." (149)

• "Once hiding in shame and broken by guilt, the soul emerges to live and love in wholeness and purity, made right again and purified by the shed blood of Jesus, the holy, sinless Lamb of God who was made to be sin for us that in him we might be made the righteousness of God." (152)

VII. Holiness and the Cure of Souls

• "In all your work, then, be conscious that you are nothing more- and nothing less- than an emissary of Jesus Christ." (157)

• "Sexual chastity is the gift of God's Spirit by which the powerful force of sex is first contained and then redirected, harnessed, you might say, for godly purposes. So abstinence apart from marriage and faithfulness within it is not the impossible dream, but a blessed reality for the man who in co-operation with the Holy Spirit uses his masculinity in service of God and his neighbor." (175)

VIII. Drawing Near to God: Proximity and Holiness

• "When I speak of liturgical living I mean that everything we have to give as Christians we first receive from God by entering repeatedly into his presence." (188)

• "What's true in Christian worship is also true in Christian living. There's a liturgical shape to the Christian life as well as our worship." (188)

• "Just as you and I cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ our Lord- or even come to him, so we cannot by our own works or effort make ourselves holy. Ours is an inherent, but derived holiness." (191)

IX. Invisible PowersL Spiritual Warfare

• "You've got to pay closer attention to invisible things. Behind every complication and difficulty encountered by pastors and churches, yes by every Christian, lurk the machinations and intentions of the Evil One. The devil is the sworn enemy of Christ and his church." (197)

• "Word and prayer go together for any Christian, but especially for pastors. That's why a rich life of prayer and meditation is essential" (202)

• "Jesus shows us in the Our Father how to pray as he does. He lists all the primary concerns: God's name, his kingdom, his will, our daily bread, and the forgiveness of our sins. Then significantly he concludes with two petitions that focus our attention on the spiritual battle that we're daily engaged in." (204)

X. Christ's "Other Sheep": Mission and the Care of Souls

• "Pastors are increasingly pressured to make a choice. They can either be an evangelist or a shepherd, a missionary or a pastor. Likely you've faced some pressure on this yourself either overtly or subtly, asked to choose between two options that are actually false alternatives." (221)

• "Too many sermons stop short of preaching Jesus; they are content to preach about Jesus instead." (227)

• "Christians are not called to be secret agents operation incognito, but witnesses for their Lord and Savior by their words and example." (230)

XI. The Shepherding of Shepherds

• "Everyone needs a disciplined approach to prayer." (242)

• "First the Spirit instructs us by his word and then he calls forth our reflection, thanksgiving, confession, and intercession in answer to that word." (250)

XII. Always Be Steady: Equilibrium in Ministry

• "Take courage, then, for the task before you. A pastoral habitus brings enduring joy. The work may seem exhausting, but repose awaits: rest eternal, sight unending, love undying, praise eternally resounding." (274)

Conclusion: Joy in Office

• "Love and joy are inseparably bound together in the inscrutable will of God." (279)

• "When God's love is in motion, there is joy even in the midst of sorrow." (280)

Notable Content

• Four Guideposts for Pastoral Conversation: (79-91)

  1. Faith

  2. Providence

  3. Holiness

  4. Repentance

• How to Bless:

  • As a servant of Christ you're authorized to bestow by means of a blessing any promise God makes in his word. Each blessing begins with God because he is always the actor, and the suffering soul the recipient. For example: "The Lord God, who has (insert his creative, redeeming and sanctifying power here) give you his blessing that you may (find required help, comfort, strength, etc.) for (purpose)- and the blessing of God Almighty: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" be with you now and forever." (109)

Notes on *Words of Life*

Words of Life: Scripture as the Living and Active Word of God, Timothy Ward (IVP, 2009)

Main Idea/Takeaway

When we read the words of Scripture we encounter God in action to reveal himself and redeem sinners through Jesus Christ.

• "The kind of doctrine of Scripture this book will outline is one that aims to demonstrate that its every aspect is shaped from the bottom up by the character and actions of God, and is integrally related to God's being and action, yet without the inert book coming to eclipse the living Savior." (17)

• "To encounter the words of Scripture is to encounter God in action." (48)

• "Scripture is God in communicative action. Therefore to encounter the words of Scripture is to encounter God in action." (177)

Interaction 

• To obey/disobey God's words is to obey/disobey God himself. (27)

• Central to how we live like Jesus is real is our attentiveness to his word. Our everyday embrace of Jesus's realness is seen in how we relate to His word. (28)

• God's actions as an extension of himself. (31)

• Trusting God's words is trusting God. (32)

• Human language. (34)

• See Packer's "Fundamentalism and the Word of God." (41)

• The organizing principle. (48)

• How to think of 'doctrine' of Scripture. (51)

• The covenantal nature of our relationship with God. (52)

• Bible as a covenant book. (55)

• When we hear the apostolic word. (60)

• God is the source of all reliable meaning. (64)

• This is not a "canon within a canon," but rather is to say that, because of redemption history, some books are more relevant to the church's life, and the content of the gospel." (85)

• What is verbal God-breathedness? Prepositions are breathed out by God in light of the speech act. (86)

• Amazing implication for translatability. (90)

• Defense of the NIV. (91)

• The inner testimony of the Holy Spirit.(93)

• While we never shrink back from rational proofs, we are supernaturalists and should never pretend otherwise.(94)

• cf. Vanhoozer 'First Theology.' (95)

• When we read the words of Scripture, we encounter God in action. (95)

• We deny the sufficiency of Scripture when we suppose the Spirit to work apart from the Word. (112)

• Primary matters: salvation, life, holiness. Secondary: worship, government, etc. (112)

• Word & Spirit. Nothing more is needed, and nothing less. (113)

• Foundational to preaching. (121)

• On "Preaching in worship and as worship"- This is connected to the bigger question of Who is God?! And his revelation. And what is Scripture? (122)

• Sufficiency means that nothing more or less than Word & Spirit is needed to receive God's revelation (& its purpose to save). Clarity means nothing more or less than Word & Spirit is needed to understand God's revelation ( & its purpose to save). (129)

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. God and Scripture: a biblical outline

III. The Trinity and Scripture: a theological outline

IV. The Attributes of Scripture: a doctrinal outline

V. The Bible and Christian life: the doctrine of Scripture applied

VI. Summary

Favorite Quotes by Chapter

I. Introduction

• "Throughout Christian history, the overwhelmingly predominant view of the Bible has been that it is itself the living and active Word of God. To say that the Bible is the Word of God is to say, putting it another way, that 'what the Bible says, God says'." (9)

• "We do not have to choose between 'believing in the Bible' and 'believing in Christ.' As Christians we are called on to do both. In fact one crucial means by which we demonstrate our faith in Christ is by also believing what the Bible says. Perhaps the most straightforward argument for this begins by observing the fact that Jesus himself treated the Jewish Scriptures, our Old Testament, as themselves words from God, and so if we are going to be devoted to him then we must make sure our view of the Scriptures is the same as his." (11)

II. God and Scripture: a biblical outline

• "Thus an action of God can be appropriately described both y saying that God's Word has performed an action for which he sent it, and by saying that God himself has performed an action." (25)

• "Thus, when Adam and Eve disobey God's spoken command , they fracture their relationship with God himself. From God's side, when the words of his command are set aside by his creatures in favor of their own desires and their own claims of wisdom, then God himself has been set aside." (27)

• "Abraham's response to God's words simply is also a response to God himself. His obedience to and trust in God's words are also, at one and the same time, an obedience to and trust in God himself." (28)

• "To trust God's covenant promise is not to enter into an agreement with an absentee God; it is to trust the God who has come to you. There is, then, a complex but real relationship between God and his actions, expressed and performed, as they are, through God's words. In philosophical terms, there is an ontological relationship between God and his words. It seems that God's actions, including his verbal actions, are a kind of extension of him." (31)

• "Communication from God is therefore communion with God, when met with a response of trust from us." (32)

• "God speaks to us human words of promise, such that for us to trust those words is in itself an act of trusting God himself." (32)

• "Whatever else may be true of human language, it is quite reasonable to suppose that it has the ability to speak truly of God, both because it was given to us by a God who speaks within himself as eternally three speaking persons, and also because our possession of language, as made in God's image, is analogous to God's communicative capacity. Our language can be made by God to speak truthfully of him because our language has its origin in him and in some way is like his own." (34-35)

• "This philosophical assertion continues, sometimes unconsciously and therefore unquestioned, to shape much contemporary rejection of the orthodox doctrine of Scripture. At root, the rejection of Scripture as divine special revelation is often a side effect of the greater rejection of the particularity of Christ as God's ultimate self-revelation in the world. Here should be noted a feature that underlies many discussions about Scripture: people's view of Scripture is often largely determined by their view of Jesus Christ. That is one practical reason why the doctrine of Scripture must be articulated in a way that makes explicit its dependance on the doctrine of Christ." (41)

• "Therefore everyone who never met the Word incarnate directly, bit who hears the words of Christ from the disciples, nevertheless encounters the words of the Father and of Christ, who in those words present themselves to us as a covenant-making God." (42)

• "Thus to reject the disciples' words, which come from Christ and are about Christ, is to reject God, and so to be liable for condemnation." (42)

• "God has identified himself both with Jesus Christ in person and with the passing on by his disciples of the words Jesus brought from the Father, with the result that to reject those human words spoken by the disciples is to reject God." (42)

III. The Trinity and Scripture: a theological outline

• "Perfection, necessity, sufficiency, clarity, inspiration and authority. Analysis of the Bible under these headings, as the primary way in which Scripture is described theologically, does indeed sometimes pass too quickly over the complexity of scriptural testimony and teaching on the nature and function of the Bible in relation to God and his purposes." (50)

• "Here we are still very much engaged in the vital task of describing Scripture explicitly at every point in the light of the character and actions of God, as revealed and witnessed to in Scripture." (51)

• "In the overarching narrative of Scripture the two great actions of the Father, following the glory of his creative act and the tragedy of the fall of humankind, are to redeem and to reveal." (52)

• "Commandments declare the stipulations of the covenant. Prophecy and epistles, in particular, expound and apply those stipulations in specific contexts; they are, in effect, the covenant preached in different situations. Narrative relates the unfolding events in which God's people have successfully trusted and rejected him, and through which God has faithfully enacted the consequences of his promises , whether in blessing or judgment." (55)

• "Psalms give exemplary forms in which a believer can address God in many situations in life while remaining faithfully within the covenant, whether one is full of praise for experience of blessing, or confused and despairing over God's apparent failure to keep his promises. And apocalyptic writing demonstrates graphically the full reality of the present and ultimate consequences of either blessing or cursing that follows from obedience or disobedience to the covenant." (55)

• "Yet to see the Bible as 'the book of the covenant' is not simplistic or reductionist. It is rather to recognize Scripture's profound role in the relationship between humanity and God that God wants to establish." (56)

• "A very high claim for Scripture is of course being made here: Scripture is an aspect of the action of the sovereign, faithful, self-revealing God in the world, and specifically it is the action by which this God declares his ongoing covenant with his people, climaxed in Christ." (56)

• "The strong bonds between ourselves, our actions and the words by which we perform many of our actions is evident in the normal course of life. This is particularly so when we think about the responses that can be made to a promise. For you to say 'I trust you to keep your promise' or 'I trust your promise' or 'I trust your words' is in effect to say the same thing in regard to me. For you to distrust the words of my promise is simply to distrust me. Persons and actions are so intimately identified in interpersonal relationships that actions begin to look like an extension of our personhood in our relationships with others." (59)

• "Those who rejected the apostolic proclamation of the gospel of Christ thereby made themselves liable to God's condemnation, because in rejecting those words they had rejected God. Similarly, to hear the words of Christ was directly to hear the speech of God. It follows that to speak of Scripture as the book of the covenant, the ongoing form in which God repeats his covenant promise in the world, ought to lead us to speak of Scripture as in some sense a mode of God's presence in the world." (60)

• "As we have seen, we as persons who act in relation to one another are so invested in our words that, by speaking, we act upon both ourselves and one another (e.g. in making you a promise I acquire for myself the responsibility to keep my promise and ascribe to you the obligation to take me at my word, other things being equal). It follows that what you do to my words (to my actions as performed by my words) you do to me." (63)

• "A speech act can be as short as a single word ('Go!'), or as long as a unified collection of books (the Bible as God's covenant promise in writing). Therefore when we speak of Scripture as a mode of God's presence, we are asserting that it is in the speech acts of Scripture that God reveals himself by being semantically present to us, as he promises, warns, rebukes, reassures and so on. And this revelation is happening when the words of Scripture are read: when God is performing again, through the reading of Scripture, the same action he performed through those words when they were first written." (66)

• "Turretin's response was that 'Christ is our only teacher, in such a sense as that the ministry of the word is not thereby excluded, but necessarily included because now in it only he addresses us ad by it he instructs us." (71)

• "Scripture's words are 'Word' not just because he sent them and speaks through them, but also because its words are his actions, the present word-actions of the Word." (71)

• "We should read, listen to and hear it preached, in order to find ourselves presented again with Christ and addressed by him. As we encounter the words of Scripture, we are encountering the Son in action, presenting himself to us in his call on us to take up our cross and follow him." (72)

• "God's aim in Scripture is to lead us to true devotion to Christ, and obedience to him and love for him, impinging on every area of life and thought." (73)

• "To speak of Scripture as in itself divine is therefore to speak of the divine origin of the speech acts of Scripture, a characteristic that follows from their identity as God's speech acts." (78)

• "Because of the unity of the Father and the Son in revelation and redemption, Scripture is at the same time the word by which the incarnate and ascended Word, the one in whom all God's covenant promises are fulfilled, continues to act and to present himself semantically so that he may be known in the world over which he has all authority." (78)

• "Because the whole of Scripture is breathed-out by God, every part needs to be interpreted in the light of its place in the history of salvation that Scripture unfolds, and in its literary context." (85)

• "Verbal inspiration claims that the Bible says exactly what God wants to say because the Holy Spirit was responsible for every word written in Scripture. He is the divine Author behind the human authors." (86)

• "It is the speech acts of Scripture (its units of meaning: sentences, paragraphs and books) that have their origin in divine authorship, because authors primarily author speech acts. The individual words are inspired (spoken out by God) to the extent that they come together to express these speech acts." (86)

• "Crucial to the Reformers' view of this action of the Spirit is that his illuminating work took place not through the church but through Scripture." (93)

• "Whenever we encounter the speech acts of Scripture, we encounter God himself in action. The Father presents himself to us as a God who makes and keeps his Covenant promises. The Son comes to us as the Word of God, knowable to us through his words. The Spirit ministers these words to us, illuminating our minds and hearts, so that in receiving, understanding and trusting them, we receive, know and trust God himself." (95)

IV. The Attributes of Scripture: a doctrinal outline

• "Thus a verbal revelation is absolutely necessary if humanity is to know God as he truly is, and to be able to enter into a saving knowledge of God." (101)

• "If Scripture alone is claimed to be the supreme authority in Christian thinking and living, that is because both its content (the verbal revelation) and its form (the written Scriptures) are indispensable." (102)

• "The whole pattern of God's self-revelation is that he establishes a covenant relationship between himself and his people, and this is a relationship in which he makes himself known. He does not reveal himself exhaustively, but the God he shows himself to be in his covenant relationship is the God he really is." (104)

• "The reality of the Trinity, and the purpose of the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension are sufficiently complex that they cannot be mimed or communicated through a religious impulse or sensation; they need to be spoken." (104)

• "In the light of this, I would define the sufficiency of Scripture in this way: because of the ways in which God has chosen to relate himself to Scripture, Scripture is sufficient as the means by which God continues to present himself to us such that we can know him, repeating through Scripture the covenant promise he has brought to fulfillment in Jesus Christ." (113)

• "Human finitude, and particularly sin, are the reasons for our lack of understanding of Scripture, rather than the cause being in some lack of clarity attributable to Scripture itself." (116)

• "Expository biblical preaching in fact assumes rather than denies the clarity of Scripture. An expository preacher takes it that his sermon can be judged as either a faithful or an unfaithful exposition of Scripture by his hearers, as they discern for themselves whether his teaching is or is not warranted by his biblical text. His appeal is not 'My teaching is true because I'm an officially appointed preacher' nor is it as heart 'My teaching is true because I am a Spirit-filled and Spirit-anointed preacher.' Those two factors may give added weight to his teaching, but at heart the implied claim of the expository preacher is instead 'My teaching is true because it can be openly seen that what I am saying is in line with the meaning of Scripture'." (121)

• "The preacher is not doing something with Scripture that the hearer by definition cannot do, which would be the case if the preacher were appealing primarily to special spiritual anointing or to his holding of an office in the church." (122)

• "The authority of Scripture is dependent entirely on the authority of God, and comes about only because of what God has chosen to do in the way he authored Scripture, and because of what he continues to do in presenting himself to us through Scripture as a God we can know and trust."

• "It commits us to giving the Bible the sovereign place in our lives that must follow from its central place in relation to God and in his actions." (129)

• "The idea that the Bible is 'infallible' means that it does not deceive. To say that the Bible is 'inerrant' is to make the additional claim that it does not assert any errors of fact: whether the Bible refers to events in the life of Christ, or to other details of history and geography, what it asserts is true."

V. The Bible and Christian life: the doctrine of Scripture applied

• "Preaching goes as tragically astray when it muses and reflects on those matters it should be proclaiming, as it does when it confidently proclaims what the preacher cannot know, because Scripture is silent." (158)

• "For example, if as a preacher I am hesitant that the Spirit will come and act supremely through my preaching of the speech acts of Scripture because he once authored them and is alive to speak to them again, then my preaching, if it is to be proclamatory, will probably take one of two forms. I might end up recommending my own spiritual experience as normative, perhaps using some biblical texts to illustrate my experience, by way of historical precedent. Or I might focus on rehearsing the beliefs and practices of my Christian subculture or denomination, which distinguish us from other groups, with the Bible again reduced to serving as a doctrinal sourcebook, or as a handbook of practical illustrations." (158)

• "To claim that one's own human speech about Christ crucified really is God speaking, and that the Holy Spirit comes in power through one's apparently weak speech, seems to run dangerously close to blasphemy. Yet that is clearly the pattern for the extension of the gospel after Pentecost that Christ and the apostles established."(159)

• "The New Testament precedent is simply that the preacher can preach and must preach, fearful and trembling because he is given the privilege of speaking God's words and has no power to determine the result of his preaching, but not so fearful that he loses his resolves to know and proclaim Christ and him crucified." (159)

• "The Spirit's activity through the speech acts of the Bible now is consistent with his activity in their composition at the level of grammar and meanings back then. The Spirit, as the Spirit of Christ, navigates the church into the future by calling it back to the written Word he authored." (161)

• "In the light of this, what the faithful biblical preacher does, and what the Holy Spirit does with Scripture through him, is best described as a contemporary re-enactment of the speech act that the Spirit performed in the original authoring of the text. This notion, that the sermon is itself a redemptive act of God in the present, is common in literature on preaching." (162)

• "A biblical text written, for example, to instil in its first readers and hearers a confident hope that at the future coming of Christ their perseverance in the faith will be vindicated performs that same action again in the lives of contemporary believers. It does so in a sermon if the preacher is faithful to the purpose of the original text, and fashions his sermon not just as a speech about hope, but as itself a hope-inspiring action." (163)

• "The Spirit is again graciously present in the preached message, if what is preached now is faithful in purpose and content to what he once inspired." (163)

• "Properly faithful biblical preaching involves the preacher deliberately seeking to fashion every verbal (and indeed physical) aspect of his preaching in such a way that the Spirit may act through his words in the lives of his hearers, ministering the content of Scripture in accordance with the purpose of Scripture." (163)

• "The preacher with a Christian congregation is therefore not bringing something fundamentally new in his sermon. Of course he should be teaching aspects of the biblical faith they are still unaware of, but he is only bringing to light for them from Scripture what is already true of them, explaining more of the truth that is already theirs. At heart he is reminding them of the one thing that has been undeniably true of them ever since they first devoted themselves to the apostolic gospel: that by the work of the Spirit of God they are not what they once were." (169)

• "Good preaching exercises something of a 'credal' function in the local church, giving people an interpretative structure in which to make sense of individual parts of Scripture when they encounter them for themselves." (172)

• "What we expect from Scripture must be determined entirely by what Scripture is, and the purpose for which God has caused it to be written."(174)

• "The norms of grammatical and historical interpretation are not avoided. But interpretation is not an end in itself; reading the Bible is not fundamentally a comprehension exercise. Interpretation should serve only to lead us to an encounter with God as he actually presents himself to us in Scripture." (175)

VI. Summary

• "He gives us Scripture as our word of life: the trustworthy, clear and sufficient means of knowing him and remaining in covenant relationship with him, in the power of the Holy Spirit, right up until the day we shall no longer need it, because then we shall see face to face." (179)

Notable Content

• The Reformers view of the work of the Word and Spirit together was an argument directed in three directions at once: (93)

  1. Against Roman Catholicism, it asserted that the Spirit required the church only as an instrument, not as the actual dynamic, by which people came to faith.

  2. Negatively against the sixteenth-century Radical Reformation, it asserted that the Spirit regularly illuminated minds through the content of the written Word.

  3. Positively, it served to demonstrate the faithfulness and consistency of God in revelation.