The Bible is not a collection of timeless principles offering a gentle thought for the day. It is not a resource for our self-improvement. Rather, it is a dramatic story that unfolds from promise to fulfillment, with Christ at the centre. Its focus is God and his action.
God is not a supporting actor in our drama; it is the other way around. God does not exist to make sure that we are happy and fulfilled. Rather, we exist to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. God is not a facilitator of our "life transformation" projects. He is not a life coach. Rather, he is our Creator, Lawgiver, Judge, and Covenant Lord.
As we will see, he is also our Redeemer. However, before we can speak of God's saving work in Christ we have to reverse the focus from a human-centred to a God-centred way of thinking. The gospel witnesses not to an inner light within the self, but to the Light that came into the world, shining in the darkness and overpowering it (John 1:4-9).
The Protestant Reformers comforted anxious believers with the assurance that the gospel lies entirely outside of them. It is an "external Word" spoken by another person to me in the name of Christ. The gospel doesn't depend on anything in me at all; it is an objective, completed work.
The gospel is entirely outside of you! Has anyone ever told you that? Has it really hit you that no matter what your inner voice, conscience, heart, will, or soul tells you, God's objective Word on the matter trumps it all?
- Michael Horton, The Gospel-Driven Life: Being Good News People in a Bad News World
Hey Luke :)
ReplyDeleteI like this post, its a good reminder for me :) can i copy & paste some of it in my blog? ^_^
please do :)
ReplyDelete