Today we welcome guest poster, Sean Muldowney.
A Note from Chaplain Mike:
One of the most subtle forms of legalism takes hold of believers through forms of pietism. Pietism is an approach to the life of faith that emphasizes the intensity of our religious feelings and devotion. Modern evangelicalism is rife with it. Go to most any service and I can almost guarantee that you will sing more songs about how we want to worship Christ and be more wholly devoted to him than you will about his work on our behalf. Not that “religious affections” as Jonathan Edwards called them, are unimportant. But subtly, an unbalanced emphasis on spiritual experience and emotions leads us to put our trust in our subjective hold on Christ rather than on his objective hold on us through grace.
We have noted this week that one of the attractions of the New Calvinist Movement is their evident “passion” (see Damaris’s excellent post on the word itself) for a great God and his plan of salvation. It is ironic that even in this movement, this focus on spiritual fervency can lead to a sense of bondage. (Save your comments, I’m not saying they are the only ones who do this.)
Today’s guest commenter is Sean Muldowney, a 27 year-old graduate of the University of Connecticut with a BA in English, who currently works as an adolescent counselor at a youth crisis shelter. (You can read more of his bio here.) Sean made some comments this week in our series on New Calvinism that got my attention for the way he reflects so thoughtfully on his own experience and the faith. So I went to his blog, found this article, and knew immediately that our IM community should read it.
If you are hearing constant appeals to be more passionate, more devoted, more “on fire,” more “sold out” so that you won’t “waste your life” in Jesus, and they are tying your insides up in knots, here is a kind and gentle word for you today.
“Don’t (worry about trying not to) waste your life”
By Sean Muldowney
I had a chat with my discipler this week. It was the first time in a long time that I’ve sat down with him to talk about my life. I like it this way. He mentors me in a way which you will never find in a discipleship manual or step-by-step guide. He lets me make my own appointments and come and go as I need. He wants me to think for myself and live for myself and not rely on any other people, including himself (even gently alluding to the fact that I might be using him as a crutch – which he knows isn’t true – but he loves me enough to guard me against it).
Anyway, I saw him this week because I miss him, and I wished to update him on my life. I told him about school, and he was very excited for me. He excitement lifted my spirit.
After that, I began to talk about the things that I’ve been wrestling with, referring to topics I had written about on my blog. I summed it up as viewing my life in light of the judgment of God one day (which he affirmed), and all the questions that were manifesting in my heart could be summed up with the phrase made famous by John Piper: “Don’t waste your life.â€
It’s a theme that has dominated my thought life for close to a year. I constantly measure the things I do through this filter. My seminary experience has only amplified my scrutiny.
Am I bringing glory to God? Am I enjoying my relationship with Him? Am I a witness to others? Where do I need to give more? What needs to change about my character and attitude? Where am I living selfishly? What am I doing with my money? How invested am I in the Kingdom? ….etc., etc.
I don’t think I’m severe on myself. I wish to lead an examined life. And in counting the ways I so fall short of the example of Christ and am anxious to answer those above questions in a positive way, I am made aware of His grace and His love, which serves to motivate me even further out of gratitude because He does not disown me or condemn me when I fail. His love and goodness towards me is constant.
But “Don’t waste you life†is constantly before me. There’s a book and there’s a song (an anthem, really. Check it out). I’m 26 — what have I done so far? Am I on a path of sacrifice and reckless faith in God, or do I speak like I desire those things while hiding behind comfort and security? Am I using the things God has given me for His sake and for the good of others, or am I being used by them? These are the things I bring before my discipler.
His reponse? Relax.
He chuckled, like he usually does when I’m too wound up about something. He has that right. He’s almost 40 years older than me and has been walking with Jesus for over 50 years.
He explained pilgrims made their pilgrimages in medieval times. He demonstrated sauntering vs. moping into the Kingdom (physically demonstrated it – it was awesome), and how a saint is supposed to saunter with joy. He told me about how David had set the Lord “ever before†him.
Most of all, he told me how the Lord was faithful and would not lead one of His children to live a wasted life in His sight.
He got to the root of some of my discontent as well, as he usually does, about which I won’t go into detail. But he also validated some of my concerns, and urged “you just keep being you†despite how people around me may react. But that’s all I have to do. Essentially he told me to stop trying so hard or worrying so much about what lies ahead. A lamp gives enough light for the next step, and I should be happy with the steps I’ve recently taken.
Instead of focusing on the negative – Don’t waste your life – I should be answering these questions while focusing on the positive - I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken … and won’t waste my life in the process.
Sean blogs at Shut Up in My Bones
The Internet Monk Archives 
Dittos!
I wonder, we like to measure things, be they called “growth” or “sanctification.” But is God even in the “measuring” business?
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Chaplain Mike – you are doing a wonderful job of continuing Michael’s legacy here – I agree wholeheartedly with everything you are saying here. As one who now deals with cancer I can very much relate to Nicole in that my ability to do “significant” things, at least as we usually think of them, has been greatly compromised. Yet for all of us like Nicole, and I hope she sees this, the good news of the gospel is especially precious in times like these. Sanctification is real and true but it is largely invisible to us and the good news of the gospel is that though we can’t see our sanctification, God loves us in Christ. And mucho props to Sean for this post – a life in Christ by definition cannot be wasted. Our significance is based on His atoning work for us, not our performance for Him.
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Well said, Sean! I think the crux of it (pun fully intended) is that “Don’t Waste Your Life” with that sense could be something Martha would have said to Mary. No life however humble lived in faithfulness to Christ is ever wasted–“Whoever gives a cup of water to a prophet in my name shall receive a prophet’s reward.”
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I think Mark is another example of “When all you have is a hammer…”
And “If at first you don’t succeed, Get A Bigger Hammer.”
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Even within that, there’s “in” missions and “out” missions. “In” traditionally meant “Darkest Africa”, but now tends to be Third World countries with extra brownie points for Communist or Muslim countries.
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One of the most subtle forms of legalism takes hold of believers through forms of pietism. Pietism is an approach to the life of faith that emphasizes the intensity of our religious feelings and devotion.
I have seen Pietism and its fruits, and (to use Christianese) “have set my face like flint against it.” In my experience, Pietism translates as “DON’T THINK! JUST BE-LEEEEEEVE!” Or in the words of George Orwell, “doubleplusbellyfeel INGSOC”.
JMJ/Christian Monist has several horror stories about his experiences with Pietism and its corollaries on his blog.
But “Don’t waste you life†is constantly before me. There’s a book and there’s a song (an anthem, really. Check it out). I’m 26 — what have I done so far? Am I on a path of sacrifice and reckless faith in God, or do I speak like I desire those things while hiding behind comfort and security? Am I using the things God has given me for His sake and for the good of others, or am I being used by them?
That way lies Madness. Excessive Scrupulosity, Wretched Urgency, and Can-You-Top-This games of Spiritual One-Upmanship. Perfect setup for the Tyranny of the Obsessive-Compulsive, and putdowns for all who are less Godly/Spiritual. Because even 24/7/365 will never be enough.
JMJ/Christian Monist has related examples of this mindset during his time in the Navigators. The one that comes to mind is someone who slept only three hours a night to spend the time others slept in marathon Prayer and Witnessing, and was either challenging others to do the same or being held up as An Example — “WORK FOR THE NIGHT IS COMING…”
Another example from one of this blog’s comment threads (unknown source, but I think it was JMJ again) was a husband who spent 24/7 in Prayer and Devotion and other Godly/Spiritual things. His wife held the job, and supported the whole family/household with little help from him. (And probably got put down about how Lukewarm (TM) she was Wasting her Life in the Eyes of God.)
I also know of someone (a Christian Wifey in a Quiverfull-in-all-but-name lifestyle with a domineering husband) who also took this route around her 5th stair-step kid, going into 24/7 Devotions Devotions Devotions as a Godly escape.
Again, that way lies Madness.
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And I love all of these comments. I’m glad I’m not the only one.
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Nicole,
Jesus came for you. What more of an identity do you, I, or anyone else need? It’s about what He did for us, all the way.
Fight to rest in this. It’s a hard fight, to believe Christ came for you and loves you exactly as He says He does.
Thank you, so much, for sharing your story.
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Nicole,
I’m not sure of your religious background, but a number of Catholic saints are honored just for their acceptance of suffering and praying for others. Sorry that I can’t think of any names, though.
Also, remember that you are loved by God, so much that no word can express it,
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Okay, so, what you’re saying is that faith without works, justification without sanctification, and the objective work of Christ without the internal renewal of the Holy Spirit can still save someone. The Bible disagrees.
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Redemptive suffering– on some days, this concept (and reality) helps to keep me sane.
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RonP,
You just described a whole lot of my current life in your comment. I’m 37, and I feel that have accomplished so little in the eyes of most people, even most Christians. I have a disability, no paying job, I’m single, and I even recently came much more close than I would like to homelessness. The harsh truth is, I am basically nothing in the eyes of many people (or worse than nothing– a drag on the economy). You are right though. God’s “economy,” so to speak, is not that of the world. It may even be quite different than that of many Christians. I pray for peace for you, my brother. I also pray for better financial circumstances and a wife for you, but mainly, right now, for peace in Christ, in your identity as His beloved child. Please pray for the same for me.
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Nicole,
Thank you for your fearless, beautiful honesty here. I know some, though certainly not nearly all, of how you must feel. I am 37, have Cerebral Palsy, and currently, can’t get out of the house much, as I can’t drive and live in a state with not-so-great public transportation. Sister, keep looking to Christ.
I know that it may not seem this way to you, but you can “do more for God,” simply through your faith, your prayers, and your offering up of your trials to God, for Him to use for His purposes, than many more physically-able-bodied Christians do. In the end though, it’s not about a certain number of things we do for God. It’s about His infinite love for us and our hearts’ response to that love. Your heart can always respond to Him, even when your body can’t (at least not in the ways you would wish). In fact, I believe that your comment above is a great response of your heart to a prompting from God. Blessings to you. 🙂
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Dear Nicole,
How did I miss it? I just went to a prayer conference last week. Oh, how the world around you needs your prayers. That is something that you can do.
God’s blessings…
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Don C and others — One of the great poems of Christian literature is John Milton’s “On His Blindness.” Milton was devoted to writing about and for God, but he became blind in his middle years. He was faced with not be able to do anything for God and hashed that problem out in this sonnet. I find it a great comfort.
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I sometimes feel like I waste too much of my life on this website, but it is great stuff – always! Now where did I put my sea shells?
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Dear Mark,
I thought the verse stood pretty good by itself.
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Chris, what part of my statement following “On the other hand…” do you have objections to?
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The whole idea of not “wasting†one’s life plays itself out in some pretty subtle ways in evangelicalism. There are clearly behaviors that get you an “in,†such as having served in missions, gone to a non-liberal Christian college, or gone to seminary. These things raise one’s status. Conversely, having questions and doubts or wandering in the wilderness (especially if that’s happening right now) lowers one’s status.
Unfortunate but true.
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Don,
Don’t see it as one more way of not measuring up as one more way God can be glorified through you : it is truly in our weakness that we are strong because it is His strength. Look at Jesus, ponder what He did because He Loves YOU and focus on loving Him and Loving others for Him, through Him and with Him. Doing this will open your heart to His transforming love. I know this by personal experience as well as through the lives of countless others. Don’t focus on your sin and brokenness. Tell Jesus each day, each moment if needed : “Jesus all that I am is yours”, then focus on Loving Him through loving others. “All that you do to the least of these you do to me.” Smile at a store clerk who seems frustrated with helping you, thank them, wish them a wonderful day. Fold the clothes for a family member, wash dishes, sweep, clean up someone’s else’ s mess without saying a word to them about leaving it , – do something entirely unexpected just because you want to love them, because you love Jesus. Choose not to listen to gossip about someone – change the subject. Have lunch with a co-worker everyone seems to ignore. Don’t preach to them, just love them; find out their story, what needs they may have. Volunteer at a thrift store, food pantry, a hospital. Visit nursing home residents that don’t get much if any company – they love to share their stories with a listening ear. Such are just a morsel of the many and various ways we can love others and love Jesus.
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Great post. The whole idea of not “wasting” one’s life plays itself out in some pretty subtle ways in evangelicalism. There are clearly behaviors that get you an “in,” such as having served in missions, gone to a non-liberal Christian college, or gone to seminary. These things raise one’s status. Conversely, having questions and doubts or wandering in the wilderness (especially if that’s happening right now) lowers one’s status. It’s only in the past decade that I’ve come to fully appreciate how God’s kingdom and economy work rather differently than these preconceived structures. Shusako Endo’s novels explore the idea of “failing” for God. “Wonderful Fool” is particularly good.
BTW, our church has those choruses in which we claim to be “wholly devoted”, etc. I can’t sing them anymore. I’m not wholly devoted; I wouldn’t do half the stupid things I do if I was. The best I can say is I am working on it with God’s grace.
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Hi Nicole,
Having struggled with my own health issues since 2002 I not only “hear” your pain and frustration about your day to day “existence” I can understand with my own experience. I went for 2 years mostly in the horizontal position having lost an excessive amount of physical strength and ability. I couldn’t drive myself anywhere due to the fact of constant dosing off – severe constant fatigue – severe pain keeping me from sleep – so it was constant dozing off and napping.
I believe firmly if we have surrendered our life to God then everything that comes our way is under the guidance of His will whether His actual will or permissive will. Meaning : even things He doesn’t directly ordain but allows – illness being one example – can be instruments of grace and sanctification for the one experiencing the illness as well as for others, others we may never know.
How?? Jesus, took upon himself the sins of the world and all the effects of sin, yours, mine, every sin of every human being. He embraced this with all His being and offered Himself, in our place, as an eternal sacrifice for the salvation of the world. He did this through His suffering : physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual suffering. His suffering Has an eternal value. He embraced our human condition, embraced our sin and the suffering effects of sin and nailed it to the cross. He gave this suffering an eternal value.
If we can rap our minds around the reality that Jesus took what we experience/suffer, as a result of our sins and the result of the sins of others, He nailed this to the cross offering Himself to redeem our souls, and opened the doors of eternal life in His Kingdom where sin and it’s effects will have no more reign. If we can hold onto this truth while pondering that we have been incorporated into His Body, we are truly part of Him; then, everything that is His can be ours. The only key, we have to choose to simply accept it – not understand it, it is all wrapped up in mystery – just accept it.
In the light of the above, if we unite ourselves to Jesus on the cross in our own sufferings, remembering what He embraced of ours – and unite ourselves to His sacrifice, our suffering can have an eternal value for us and for others. This does not mean we should seek out ways to suffer..heck no!! Life offers us enough. Does this mean we will suffer heroically…no, not necessarily, most of us don’t. I don’t believe we should even think about that or aim for that. I believe our focus should be on Jesus Crucified – consciously nailing our suffering and pain to His cross and offer it as a loving sacrifice for those in need. Let God choose who will benefit – it could be a soul half way around the world. We become as such active missionaries – prayer warriors.
There was a women in her 20’s suffering from tuberculosis in the early 1900’s. She had heard of a man who was going to be executed the next day because of his crimes and how he angrily refused to make amends with God before that moment. He didn’t want anyone to come talk to him about God – he didn’t want to even look at a priest. This so tore at her heart that he would die and go to hell. She took every last ounce of strength she had to get out of bed and holding onto the edge of the bed, pull herself along praying for his salvation. Those caring for her found her doing this and tried to get her to get back into bed seeing how much pain she was in. She refused, saying, “I am walking for the salvation of this soul.” She later learned this man made a complete and open confession accepted God’s forgiveness, embraced Jesus as His savior and was baptized – all within hours of his execution.
Prayer has no boundaries. Prayer warriors are true missionaries.
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Hey Buford, see my comment below to Brian.
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NIcole
I greatly feel for you and I need to let you and all of the others in this wide world know,
God DOES love you. Not in some ethereal sense, not in some denominational doctrine sense, but REALLY,REALLY loves you.
Jesus took care of your humanity at the Cross and now stands for you at the throne of his Father.
God doesn’t see you as “dead weight”,or less than what you are– his beloved daughter!
Phillip Yancey said it best in his book on grace: “…grace is that nothing you do will cause God to love you more and nothing you have done will cause God to love you less.”
With this being the case, what should you as this tormented, weak human do?
Love God back. God invites you to the great dance. Perichoresis it is called.
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I appreciate everyone’s comments, and more importantly that some conversations began. This was such an unexpected blessing, for Chaplain Mike to visit my blog and choose to post this. I am so indebted to Michael Spencer and this community for my formation over the last few years.
Just for the record, this is something I wrote many months ago and never expected anyone other than my friends to see. They know me to always be speaking about passion for the Lord, and what that even really means an the struggles that come of it, so they knew the context. It was a personal reflection. My feelings about this sort of topic ebbs and flows; as a commenter above pointed out, I still have links on my blog to material that is Reformed, heady, and passion-pushing. I love the material. But when that’s the only thing, it messes us up. God is love, and He delights in us. A cup of cold water, even…
I didn’t want to make too big of a caveat here, but that’s just a little context.
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Yup, “discipler” is definitely campus-ministry language. That’s just the word I used that my friends – the only people who would read my blog – would understand. I could use it interchangeably with spiritual director, mentor, starets (from what I understand about the Eastern Orthodox tradition), etc.
But to me he’s just Joe. He’s a father to me.
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Nicole, at the risk of sounding trite, I’d like to encourage you to remember that God deals with each of us where we are. No two of us are dealt the same hand, so no two of us have the same struggles, calling, sufferings, etc.
In your very difficult situation, God may simply just want you to keep on keeping on for his glory. Or maybe your ‘witness’ (I think we overuse/misuse that word) is that with His help you can take that class. Or whatever. The point is that you just offer up to him whatever you have and let him take care of things. Keep your eyes on him and follow his lead.
Similarly, I think one of the things that happens with our habitual sins is that we often spend so much time focusing on the sin that we take our eyes off God. So, in worrying and trying so hard to not do that sin, we think about it more and thus fall into it more. Sometimes (most of the time) I think it’s often better to focus on Christ. When you slip up (and you will), talk to him about it. Talk to him about your troubles and struggles. As you focus less on the sin and more on Christ, you’ll find out that you’re sinning less in spite of yourself. Not that you still won’t mess up, ‘cuz you will. Probably in some of those same areas. But you can trust Him to help you get better.
BTW, for whatever it’s worth, St. Augustine (considered by Catholics and Protestants alike to be one of the greatest Christians ever) seriously struggled with sexual sin his whole life. Shoot, I don’t know a one of us that doesn’t struggle in some way with sexual sins.
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I have been that preacher that calls people to great sacrifice, to do great things. It really fires some people up, especially the young. As I get older, my definition of “great things” has changed.
Those ARE the kinds of great things God calls many, if not most, of us to do. Dealing with them in the grace of Christ means that one has not, in any way, shape, or fashion, wasted his/her life.
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I was gonna say something similar, Ansel 🙂
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Have you ever heard of the doctrine of “redemptive suffering,” Don C? I posted a comment above about it to Nicole, but the comment is awaiting moderation; I think because there are links in it. It’s an idea I discovered in the Catholic Church, but I’m not sure if it’s an exclusively Catholic idea. It’s helped me tremendously in similar struggles of feeling like I don’t “do” enough. If the comment above goes through, you might be interested in checking out the links. Sorry if I’m going far afield, Chaplain Mike…delete at will! 🙂
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RonP:
Your comments resonated with me so clearly! You’ve described my life situation to a tee. I have been blessed in so many ways, just as you wrote. But I truly believed that by this time in my life I would have done great things for the Lord, helped many people to understand the amazing power of His love and grace. Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened. I’ve spent the past 15 years expending most of my mental and physical energies overcoming adversity at so many levels….divorce, parenting two daughters, disabling health issues, frustrating work environments, etc…..
The foundation of my life for many years has been Jeremiah 29:11…..”For I know the plans I have for you…..plans to prosper you….to give you hope and a future.” I cling fervently to the knowlege that He is holding me in the palm of His hand and guiding me day by day. That’s what keeps me going most days. But there is so much more I thought I would be doing for Him at this point in my life.
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And the beat goes on… Our dear brother Brennan Manning once said, faith is the courage to accept acceptance. Which of course, is another thing we can “struggle” to accept. So, we’re learning to “trust and rely on the love God has for us” in Christ. I think he is our only hope. Peace.
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Nicole,
Are you familiar with the idea of redemptive suffering? It’s a doctrine that has made a huge difference in how I view my trials, and even my struggles with sin. Here are some links that expound on the idea. God bless you.
http://www.religious-vocation.com/redemptive_suffering.html
http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Martyrs/Martyrs_006.htm
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So self-loathing is a sin? Great, one more way I don’t measure up.
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Nicole and RonP, thanks for your posts. You’re not alone.
Sean’s message is welcome comfort, though for me, it’s very hard to put into action (funny how I’m framing that as something to do). For most of my life, the message I’ve heard from the pulpit is “What are you doing for God?” And it never, ever, EVER seemed to be enough. As long as I can remember, I’ve mentally kicked myself in the head for all the things I could have/should have done. This spilled out from the churchy stuff to everyday life to the point where I criticize myself for every action I take. I’m already hearing the little voice in the back of my head telling me I’m stupid to even post this, because who the H*ll cares, anyway?
I really, truly want to believe that God loves me despite what I do or don’t accomplish. But It’s incredibly hard when I keep hearing the voice that says “It’s not good enough”, which is always followed by “You’re not good enough”.
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I am glad to hear you have such a wise mentor. It is a question we need to consider in a Christian culture that is more about me than it is Christ. There have been times, however, when I have focused on this question so much, whether I was “not wasting” it enough, or rightly, that it has paralyzed me and moved me toward perfectionism–>legalism or despair. It is the Spirit who must guide our self examination and how he calls us to “waste” our life for the kingdom, for he will always lead us to Jesus and following his way for my life. Clifford Williams, in “Singleness of Heart” has some good things to say about this in his chapter on”The Dangers of Self-watching”, extrapolating much of it from Kierkegaard’s writings. To keep with our week on Calvinism, I also recall Jonathan Edwards writing on this in a sermon or article on “self scrunity” which alludes to some of this. Tozer refers to the “fine threads of the self life” which not only include lust, selfishness, etc, but also self loathing and over spiritualizing. Thankfully, God is greater than our hearts.
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ha!
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BTW – this has been a GREAT week (for me) at Internet Monk. Thank you Chaplain Mike, IM Team and IM Posters. You continue to teach, challenge, push, comfort and encourage me.
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You said, RonP: “Something I am coming to understand is that God’s way of measuring things is completely alien to the way we humans tend to measure things — and, somehow, He always finds treasure where we see only dirt and desolation.”
And that is faith. Faith is what pleases God. That is what gives me hope, and I hope it encourages Nicole and others. Thanks for boiling it down to that for me.
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“On the other hand…”
Are you serious?
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Witten
Thank you for the encouragement. In my head, I know God loves me, it can be hard to believe sometimes.
I don’t want to start a flame war or to drag this thread off topic, so I’ll delete that part.
Again, thanks for your encouragement.
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Nicole. I’m not going to pretend to understand your situation better than you do. The details of your struggle are important, very important, but I don’t know them. Please, know that as long as you love, your life isn’t wasted.
God just wants us to try to do better, maybe one of those 10 things you could say, maybe you could only say 19 of the 20 bad things.
At the risk of a flame war, don’t feel you have to struggle with Bisexuality and m*sturbation, those things are perfectly fine.
Are you being sanctified: of course you are, God’s love is bigger than we can imagine. He’s not going to leave you out, how could he, you’re glorious.
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I didn’t write this with sanctification in mind, I wrote it because according to John Piper (as I understand him), my life has been and will be wasted. What about those of us who have trouble existing let alone doing some radical missions, outreach? My main problem with the idea is that it fails to take into account the sick, the poor, and the mentally ill. There is always the call to minister to “those people”, and it is one of the things people are urged to do in order to not waste their life, but what about when you are one of “those people”?
Pursue righteousness? Well, I’m an prideful, arrogant, overachieving perfectionist so while saying I’m pursuing God, I’d actually be pursuing perfection and superiority over other people. To answer your question Mark, I am not generous, kind, patient, less envious. I used to think I was, then God showed me that I was actually just being a codependent, passive-aggressive, nice (niceness is kindness without honesty) person. I’m actually ridiculously selfish with my love. I also struggle (and fail miserably) with p*rn, m*sturbation, and bisexuality.
For every 1 good thing I do/say, there are 10 more good things I don’t do/say, 20 bad things I shouldn’t have done/said that I have, and 30 more bad things that I thought but shouldn’t have. Maybe I am getting sanctified, but I doubt it. The only thing different from me now and four years ago is that I am aware of the massive amounts of sin in my life and my continuing need for a Savior.
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Yes, but one cannot use the thief on the cross as an example of someone who can be saved through barren faith.
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Yes, without faith it is impossible to please God, I agree. On the other hand, who said that faith is merely intellectual assent or shallow affirmation? Faith entails more than just “believing” it is an act where a person commits himself/herself wholly to Christ – which includes producing the works of righteousness.
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In a way, yes, that is what I am saying.
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Mark, enough already!
What you fail to see is that this post is not about sanctification and its relationship to justification, the topic that you see in every particle of dust! This post is about the unrealistic expectations of pietism.
Please, I ask you respectfully. Stay on topic. Do not bring this up again in this thread of comments. In future threads, introduce it only when appropriate. This is getting more than tiresome. Your constant harping on a single doctrine like this communicates exactly the kind of burdensome expectation that was causing Sean such inner turmoil.
You have missed the entire point of the post, my brother, which is…Lighten up. If you believe God is in control and your life is in his hands, you can breathe a little and let others do so too.
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Most definitely. The thief on the cross just asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom. Jesus said today you will be with me! That is beautiful!
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I think Mark has hit on something here, Nicole. “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” What more could you do but believe? I think God is pleased.
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I think most would agree with you that it is necessary. Maybe some of us are not articulating ourselves well Mark. I haven’t heard the antinomian position, but then again I am not theologically trained. I suppose I am not sure what my works are yet, but I know that my heart desires to be open to him and rest in him. My only hope is that through him, he will begin to work out my sanctification. If I am his, then I will make to the end right?
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Mark, Martin Luther said that often real fruits of righteousness will be unknown to the believer. In other words they won’t be actively trying. What do you think about that? Is that what you are saying to Nicole?
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Thank you, Sean, and thank you, Mike, for posting this. I needed to read it.
I don’t know if any of you can relate, but lately I’ve felt very much like my life has taken a wrong turn onto a dead-end street. My career pursuits have hit a dead end. My long-time hope and prayer for a wife and family is almost completely dead. My finances have flatlined. And when I try to muster up some ambition or vision or enthusiasm for something, I find that there just isn’t any fuel left in the tank. About all I’ve got left is my faith in Jesus and the belief that He really does love me and cares about what happens to me.
But that really isn’t true. I’ve got close family and friends who love me and would do anything for me. I’ve got a roof over my head, relatively good health, and food in the fridge. God really has blessed me and continues to do so — in spite of my occasional pity-parties and general hard-headedness. And as unpleasant and frustrating as this season in my life may be, I do believe that God is doing a work inside me and through me — though I’m presently at a loss for exactly what He is doing. But maybe my ignorance is part of the plan. I don’t know.
Something I am coming to understand is that God’s way of measuring things is completely alien to the way we humans tend to measure things — and, somehow, He always finds treasure where we see only dirt and desolation.
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Sanctification should be a joyful process and should not lead to legalistic drudgery. It is based on our free salvation given to us by Christ’s work on the cross. However, it is also a necessary process. The author of Hebrews, despite knowing that Christians can never be perfect in this life (look at some of the list of people of faith in chapter 11), states quite clearly that without holiness no one will see the Lord (Heb 12:14, you can try all you want, but the author is clearly not talking about pursuing an imputed righteousness). My point is that though sanctification should never be a legalistic burden but a joyful process it is also a necessary that we need to go through if we are truly counted among God’s spiritual people.
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I’m sorry to hear about your condition Nicole. I truly am. However, I am not one of those people here who will give you sugar-coated answers. I tell it like it is, guided by Scripture and godly people who have studied the Word. I agree that nothing you can do can “improve” your position with God. When we truly believe we are instantaneously forgiven and justified, and no amount or works (or lack) can change that status. Having said that, Scripture is very emphatic that true believers, DEPENDING ON THE DEGREE OF FAITH, PRIVILEGE, AND GIFTS that God has given you you will pursue righteousness. You may not be going on mission trips, evangelism crusades, or doing social work in the name of Christ, but you may be producing the fruits of righteousness without knowing it (even in the midst of your physical and emotional condition). Perhaps you’re the type of person who is more patient than the rest, more generous, or less envious. I don’t know. I don’t know you. The point I am making is that despite your condition you may be producing the natural fruits of faith that pleases God without knowing it.
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I don’t think that Chaplain Mike is trying to separate them. You mention Luther, but at one point wasn’t he accused of being antinomian? I think Chaplain Mike is not implying they are separated but that sanctification is a process that doesn’t always happen in the same way for every person and that there is no certain formula per se. Maybe I am wrong about that but I don’t think he is saying that sanctification is not essential for saving faith.
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My paradigm comes from Scripture, church history, and works by respected theologians. Respectfully, Chaplain Mike, where does your paradigm come from? Are you more versed in Scripture than a lot of those godly PhD scholars who have concluded that justification and sanctification, though distinct, can never ever be separated (didn’t Luther and Calvin, despite their robust view of God’s grace, also say that faith without works is dead?). I truly wonder where you get your view of salvation from, I really do.
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Nicole,
Thank you for sharing. Your situation is similar to my daughter’s. She is 18 and recently had a kidney transplant. She has some crazy disease that is like the hick-ups; it could return at any time. It was your last sentence that got me. Like you, Hannah’s goal is to take 1 college class. She had no protein in her body for a couple of years prior to her transplant, so she would relate to your symptoms. She says she is beginning to get some strength back, but I rarely see her out of her chair. I am a very blessed daddy as she, like you, has a faith that is beyond me..
If you would like to correspond with her, google “caring bridge” and type in “hannahreimers” when you get there. She has a journal there and I’m sure she would give you her email if you wish.
God’s blessings…
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Isn’t sanctification a joyful process because we have been justified in Christ? Sanctification is a process brought about by love of a Saviour who freely saved us with no strings attached. I think I have heard Steve Brown say something along those lines. I have to say that that is comfort.
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Adventure in missing the point, Mark. Read Nicole’s comment again and fit that into your paradigm.
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We need to hear this, Nicole. Thank you. I won’t add anything to what you say, for fear of sounding completely cliché.
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I really don’t see how saying that sanctification and perseverance are intricately linked with forgiveness and justification as legalistic pietism. I guess we can start throwing stones at Luther, Calvin, the Reformers, the post-Reformers, Puritans, and other modern evangelical scholar – whether Wesleyan or Calvinist – as promoting a type of legalism into the gospel. I can line up many passages in Scripture that emphatically state that the external work of Christ on our behalf can only be a reality as we are internelly worked within us by Christ as we progress towards greater righteousness. Loving God and loving our neighbor are habits that will be formed within us because of the external work of Christ on our behalf.
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This describes my struggle perfectly. I understand what John Piper is saying, and I mostly agree with him. People should live their lives for God and not for all the little “gods” of this world, no matter how uncomfortable it makes them. Here’s my problem:
I’m 19. I’ve been sick for nearly four years. By “sick” I mean I have severe fatigue. Not just “tired”, but the type of fatigue that makes just being alive the most exhausting thing ever. I shower once per week because I am that weak and physical exertion is that draining. My big social event is dinner with my family, and even that takes effort. I only leave the house for doctor and therapist visits. Outreach? Hah! That would take me a week to recover from, not to mention a likely visit from my good friend Depression.
I can do nothing for God. I can do nothing to even try to improve my status before Him, no missionary work, no evangelizing, nothing that involves any type of caring for others. God has forced me to rest in the faith that Christ is enough, that God will still love me even though I’m “dead weight”.
So while I understand that Piper’s message is necessary, it can easily become a way of improving our position before God, a way of earning His favor or the mark of a Good Christian. The same God who calls all people to that radical discipleship, is the same God that understands and loves me. Me, whose goal is to take 1 class at college this spring semester and shower 2 times per week.
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Thanks for the post, great advice.
I have to admit I’m not a big fan of “discipler” relationships in general. When Jesus told us to “make disciples”, didn’t he didn’t he mean for us to get people to be HIS disciples … not OUR disciples? Mentoring … sure. Teaching … yes. Sharing wisdom and advice … great. But … “discipling”?
To anyone that’s never been involved in a campus ministry, this just sounds very cultish. (I know it’s probably more like mentoring than “discipling” … but, still, the language is just … scary … and sounds like something I wouldn’t want my kids doing.)
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I’m assuming that a “discipler” is what other churches call a “spiritual director” (or guru)…? Where does this language come from?
Funny, I always thought of Pietism as a reaction against the institutional / creedal focus of the state Protestantism churches of the Magisterial Reformation. Of course the sentiment that mere affiliation / lip service is not enough, evolved into the American Revivalist emphasis on emotional conversion (which a believer might try to re-experience at every service).
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“Christianity itself needed to be regarded as an ellipse with two foci, rather than a circle with one center. One focus was justification or the forgiveness of sins; the other, ethical striving for the attainment of the perfect society of persons. But there was no conflict between these ideas; for forgiveness meant the divine companionship that enabled the sinner after every defeat to arise again and resume his work at the ethical task.” – Richard Neibuhr, from “Christ and Culture”.
We seem to bounce between the hysteria of legalism and the passivity antinomianism. I think this quote from Neibuhr gets at the heart of the problem. It is not an either or, but a both-and. The only way to saunter – making forward progress calmly and peacefully – is to live each day in the shadow of the cross. Luther got in all sorts of trouble by stating this in his famous “sin boldly” quote. The point is not that we kick back and do whatever we please, but to seek to please God and to love our neighbor, knowing in advance that we will do so imperfectly. But we do so in the constant knowledge and confidence in God’s grace, promise, and forgiveness.
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AND he has links to Desiring God, the Resurgence, and Paul Washer on his blog. Cool. Love the book. Love the spirit of it. But yes, it should not be a burden to bear, but a joy to pursue, as Piper is constantly saying. Edwards, incidentally, was pretty wound up about his own piety and salvation as a young convert. He said that the rigor of his pursuit of holiness involved “too great a dependence on my own strength; which afterwards proved a great damage to me.” The reformed tradition has actually been a great help to me on this topic, particularly Mike Horton’s emphasis on the external gospel, what Christ has done for us in history. “Do more, try harder” should not be the regular diet of the sheep. It’s been said that imperatives minus indicatives equals impossibility. Let’s not waste don’t waste your life by reducing it to a vacuum imperative.
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I’m just going to throw this out there..but is one of the benfits of the New Calvinism the fact that we are just now finally getting away from the wasteland left behind by Finney and his like?
Chaplain Mike inspired this question with his comment on the Passion article, “It seems to me that, especially since the 1970′s, evangelical religion has swung almost completely to the pietistic end of the spectrum.” and where it goes from there.
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I love “sauntering vs. moping into the Kingdom.” What a great way to describe it!
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Are we not recipients of a one way relationship? God for us through Christ. Receiving grace through his word, baptism, and blood, his gifts for us. Never earned or deserved.
We then love others in one direction.
No matter how much I read it really seems to come back back to the Cross.
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Amen! What an awesome mentor. My discipleship leader was pushing me to be a bible translator because I loved languages. I ended up being a teacher…
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While I agree this is a valid and needed reminder for many (maybe even the majority of people who read this blog) I must say one of the more defining prayers in my life has been that God would give me the strength to not hold on to anything in my life tighter then I would be willing to let go of for His purpose. This is often time coupled with a prayer that the Spirit would illuminate my life and give me convictions for the next steps in sanctification.
These “Don’t waste your life”-esque prayers seem to guide me from one season of life to the next to be more devoted to Jesus.
The currents of this world are so powerful that I feel to linger in a state of relaxation for too long is a dangerous thing. We are so easily caught up in the trappings of this world and 10 years pass in a blink.
As I cling to God’s grace and continue to comprehend the weight of His glory the urgency of the race we are in compels me to train and race harder. Yes, season of rest are necessary, but it should not be our neutral state.
In conclusion, I needed this post! Thank you for your heart to lead an examined life Sean!
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“Am I on a path of sacrifice and reckless faith in God, or do I speak like I desire those things while hiding behind comfort and security?”
Sean is, no doubt, in the minority these days. It always encourages me when I hear young men ask questions like this. We, older Christians, should be continually asking the same questions.
I have no comment on the content, just one on the story.
Sean is, I’m sure, as much of a blessing to his mentor as his mentor is to him.
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What a lucky man he is to have such a mentor, truly an aberration.
It seems to be an inherent job hazard of the discipleship industry . . . using wasting your life as a yoke of guilt manipulation. I’ve been both the victim and the perpetrator. With verbiage such “You were ________ (fill in the blank; sleeping, eating, sitting, playing basketball, pooping) while people were going to hell?†or “What have you done for Jesus today?†or “What difference has your life made for God’s glory? None? I didn’t think so.†“Okay, let’s check your Daytimer and see if you’ve been wasting your life.”
Praise God (and I mean this with the greatest of sincerity) for such a mentor that he describes. Maybe there is great hope in the future of discipleship.
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