This book has been causing me to think. It has resurfaced a question in me that I have struggled with before.
Beginning on page 71, Piper is talking about saving faith or justifying faith. He refers to the untold number of "Christians" who have "believed" in Christ or "received" the gift of faith without any evidence of a true spiritual rebirth.
He says that the problem is that these people have not truly received saving faith because they fail to see Christ as supremely valuable...they do not have the same spirit that Paul does when he writes Phil 3:8.
These nominal Christians see Jesus as "sin-forgiver, rescuer from hell, healer, protector, creator, or prosperity giver..." but they do not personally receive, delight in, and cherish him as the most beautiful, most satisfying, most wonderful treasure in the universe.
This true saving faith does not come from assent to facts. Believing that Jesus is Messiah, Christ died for sinners, or that he rose from the dead is not the ground for salvation. Piper points out that the demons believe such facts - James 2:19.
And so I ask myself...have I been born again. Have I been spiritually quickened? Am I alive in Christ?
OR
Am I a mere acknowledger of truth without spiritual life?
I look at my life and try to see the signs of rebirth. While I am certainly a different person today than I was in 2004, I could probably attribute the changes in behavior and attitude to getting older and becoming a husband/ parent.
The real test lies inside the deep recesses of my heart and there I am not so sure. I still see so much pride, selfishness, lust, envy, and anger...I wonder how my soul could be alive.
I fail at being in the Word, giving cheerfully, praying incessantly, and loving others with such regularity that I cannot see how one would look at my life and say that I treasure Jesus above all things.
Yet, I also feel the deepest emotions of gratitude and joy when I think on who Christ is and what he did to restore the relationship between man and God. Could those emotions be false? Would God allow me to know so much of his truth and feel so deeply towards him while leaving me a sheep outside his flock?
Maybe I am just over-thinking the whole thing, but I felt compelled to get the subject off my mind and in some form of print. Maybe others struggle with this too and I can find wise counsel in how to deal with such thoughts...
Bro, I can not wait to talk with you about this subject! I really want to respond right now, but do not have sufficient time. I read this book a month ago, and was rocked by it...then I followed it up with reading "Radical" by Platt. Both intense books. (I'm kind of used to Piper's style now so it didn't surprise me like Platt's did but still really solid exposition of scripture)... But in short, what I will tell you now, after reading this post, is that I see the markers of true conversion from the humility shown in your post. It reminds me of the difference b/t the religious guy and the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14, both at the temple, but the foundation of the Tax collector's joy was found in Christ Alone. Yes, he was in deep suffering over his remaining sin and was tearing his robe in disgust over the vast space between him and the living God, but ultimately Jesus said that the tax collector walked away justified/forgiven/saved...
ReplyDeleteJust stumbled upon your blog while doing a search for the word "proto-evangelion" (found an article you wrote on it back in '09)
ReplyDeleteI'm really blessed by the things you have written. Including this post.... Makes me think too... Reminds me to "work out my salvation with fear and trembling, and "make every effort to make my calling and election sure."