It's been a while since I have posted. I was on my way to Roanoke the other day and I started thinking about some things from the crazy number of sermons that I listen to. It seems that the growing trend in churches is application. Sure, we believe the Bible is the truth, but we want to know how it applies to us. Which, in a certain way, is a good and healthy thing because the Bible does apply to us.
The trend that I seem to be hearing though is that a lot of sermons now, in popular mainstream churches, are ALL application ALL the time. Let me try to unpackage this a little with some examples...
1)Your children are misbehaving, follow these steps.
2)Your finances are in shambles, follow these steps.
3)Your relationships are falling apart, follow these steps.
I think you catch my drift. The problem in my mind with this is that this isn't a heart change. This isn't something that seeps down to our core and these changes aren't something that will last. This is obedience training. (As made famous by a famous pastor)
I'm not say that application teaching is bad in any way but I would like to suggest something. God demands that we love Him with all of our heart, our soul, and mind. I don't know about you but I am nowhere near the model for this. There are countless times a day when my mind strays from God, when my actions or words communicate something other than Love to someone. So how is it that I, a believer in Christ Jesus, don't do these things? Or how is that I, a believer in Christ Jesus, can learn to do these things. I would like to suggest that it isn't through spiritual obedience training, because as I said before that is usually a shallow change at best.
I believe that we, sinners that we are, can only love God with all of us, because of the penetrating power of the Gospel. That when we hear the Law of "Love God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind," which we can't do it's only because of the Gospel that we are able to do it at all.
When my parents ask me to do things, I don't do it because they asked. I do them because I love them, I do them because I respect and honor them. I think the same thing can be said for God, it's only when I really understand what God has done for me, and that penetrates my heart, am I able to openly and fully love Him. That is why the Gospel is so important. Good deeds are an overflow of my understand of the Love that He has shown me. Apart from the Gospel, good deeds are just a rat-wheel that I am expected to run and that isn't sustaining.
I really hope this makes sense. I know I'm not a communicator. Feel free to ask clarifying questions.
God show me how to fall in love with the Gospel,
a simple mind
