Salvation? I Do!

I heard Francis Chan say something today that really clicked with me. He equated God's offer of salvation to that of a man proposing to a woman. I began to think of the cost of following Christ. Sometimes people think that salvation or the Gospel offers eternal life freely with no responsibility. It's as though we can accept Christ and enjoy salvation but continue living as we want. We mistake salvation as being free in the sense that we never have to do anything. In a sense we can enjoy the benefits of Yahweh, the God of Israel, while also serving/living for all the other gods we enjoy.

But salvation really is like a proposal. I remember sitting down with Lauren before we made the decision to marry. In fact this conversation happened before we even started dating. I laid everything out on the table for her. Told her my plans and dreams and where I saw my family going in the future. I then asked her if she would consider being a part of that life. Would she be willing to forsake all other men and all other future plans that those men might would have for her and instead commit her life to me as my wife and follow me, submit to me, love me, remain faithful to me for as long as she lives. Thankfully she considered my offer worthy of giving her life to. She weighed the costs and determined that loving me and following me was the life she wanted.

This is God's proposal to us. We are to surrender to him in faith and repentance and enjoy salvation from our sin. But in that proposal is the offer to come and forsake all other gods, to follow him, submit to him, love him, remain faithful to him for as long as we live.

It's not that salvation isn't free. It's as free as the offer to Lauren was. She didn't pay me anything to marry her. I've never asked her for anything. But part of being my wife means that she devotes herself to me. And I commit to doing everything I can for her good. The offer from God is the same. He doesn't ask us to pay anything or earn the right to join ourselves to him. But he does expect our devotion, while he promises to work for our good.

24 Books Complete!

At the beginning of last year I made the commitment to read a book a month. By God's grace I was able to find the time to complete 2 books a month. (I finished #24 for the year this morning). I've listed the books I completed below and would encourage you to pick up any one of them this year to read. I was encouraged greatly by all of them. Let me know if you would like a specific review on a title. (Note: Special Awards given)

1. Forgotten God by Francis Chan

2. Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond edited by Darrell Bock

3. Heaven Misplaced by Douglas Wilson

4. The Smell of Sin and the Fresh Air of Grace by Don Everts

5. What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert

6. You Can Change by Tim Chester

7. Death by Love by Mark Driscoll

8. Refuel by Doug Fields

9. Church Planting is for Wimps by Mike McKinley (I Never Thought I Would Need Book, but I definitely do now)

10. Standing Strong by John MacArthur

11. Saved Without a Doubt by John MacArthur

12. Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers by John Owen (Most Difficult to Read Book)

13. What Does God Want of Us Anyway? By Mark Dever

14. By Whose Authority? by Mark Dever

15. Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris

16. Love that Rescues: God’s Fatherly Love in the Practice of Church Discipline by Eric J. Bargerhuff

17. Radical by David Platt (Most Convicting Book)

18. Finally Alive by John Piper (Best All-Around Book)

19. Jesus: The Only Way to God by John Piper

20. Humility: The Journey Toward Greatness by Andrew Murray

21. Humilty: True Greatness by C.J. Mahaney

22. The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose (Must Read by Any LU Student Book)

23. Lord Foulgrin’s Letters by Randy Alcorn (Most Surprised by Its Goodness Book - I cried reading it)

24. Choosing to Cheat by Andy Stanley

Keep Praying for Matt Chandler

Here is an encouraging update from Matt Chandler. Can you believe it has been a year?

http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/blog/pastors/?p=758

New Blogs Added

Hey guys just wanted to encourage you that a few more blogs have been added to the "recommended list" for you to follow. Make sure you check out "Church Planting for the Rest of Us" and "Amy Davis." Girls, Amy just finished a series entitled "An Excellent Wife is the Crown of Her Husband." It looks good, check it out!

Ephesians 2: From Death to Life

Dead without the knowledge of it…

the destructive nature of sin leaves us so mangled and scarred,

corrupting us to the very core of our being

that we readily accept an existence of bondage that we ignorantly call “life”.

We walk in chains but not in service to men

but instead to our own desires and cravings, whose fulfillment,

while sought desperately, always seems just out of reach.

Tragically we glory in our pitiful state

that has been dealt to us by our own choosing.

Like neglected children, our cries of want and need go unheard

by a world that promises so much.

Yet blindly we continue to follow it,

choosing to ignore that which awaits us after its passing.

Completely unresponsive to the things of God and unable to be what

we were created for, we have become death walking.

We exist as walking corpses, fruit of our own rebellion

and driven to gratify our selfish appetites.

And yet it is precisely in this helpless, lifeless state that our Creator

extends to us the means to live.

What we foolishly walked away from together long ago

and have unknowingly been in need of ever since

now has been purchased on our behalf.

Blood not of our own now raises to life that which was dead.

Freedom from sin and death, which we vainly sought in our

own futile efforts has now been secured through God’s love and mercy.

Restored to our proper place in Christ, we no longer must stumble about,

lost and confused, thirsting for reason and purpose.

For our eyes have been opened, awakening us to both what we used to be

and what we are meant to become.

And it is here, in light of God’s grace, that we begin to truly understand

what it means to live.

Remember the Gospel

A good reminder from Matt Chandler. Read it here.

Is God unjust?

Many people would like to claim that God cannot possibly send those who have never heard of Christ to hell. To do so would be injustice. But "there is no injustice in God. The injustice lies in Christians who possess the gospel and refuse to give their lives to making it known among those who haven't heard." - David Platt