Sully Notes 15: Books in 25 minutes or less
Sully
Notes are more than a book review. They are meant to provide you with direct quotes from some books I've
read in the last year, so you can get a taste of the overall theme of
the book and then begin to chew on what your life might look like if you
applied what you read.
Here is the link to the previous Sully Notes 15:
The Hole in Our Holiness | Sully Notes 15: Part 2 of 3
Chapter Four | The Impetus for the Imperatives
"In his Reflections on the Psalms, C.S. Lewis pondered how anyone could 'delight' in the law of the Lord. Respect, maybe. Assent, perhaps. But how could anyone find the law so exhilarating? And yet, the more he thought about it, the more Lewis came to understand how the psalmist's delight made sense. 'Their delight in the Law,' Lewis observed, 'is a delight in having touched firmness; like the pedestrian's delight in feeling the hard road beneath his feet after a false short cut has long entangled him in muddy fields.' The law is good because firmness is good. God cares enough to show us his ways and direct our paths." – pg. 50
" ... the Christian is no longer under the law, but under grace (Romans 6:14; 7:6). The law of Moses was only a temporary tutor, leading us to Christ (Galatians 3:23-26). On the other hand, we know the law is holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12) and that God still expects us to obey his 'perfect' and 'royal' law (James 1:25; 2:8). The same Paul who says we are not 'under the law' (1 Corinthians 9:20) also says he is 'under the law of Christ' (1 Corinthians 9:21). Christians often speak of the three uses of the law. The first is to lead us to Christ by convicting us of sin. The second is to restrain wickedness in the world. The third us is to help us learn the nature of the Lord's will, acting as a kind of blueprint for holiness." – pgs. 50-51
" ... 'law' means differing things in the Bible. It can refer to the Old Testament Scriptures, the Torah (i.e., the first five books of the Bible), the Mosaic law, or simply what God requires his people to do. So while we are not 'under the law' in the sense that we are condemned by the law or bound to the Old Covenant of Moses (2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:13), we are 'under law' in so far as we are still obligated to obey our Lord and every expression of his will for our lives (1 Corinthians 9:21). The law of God cannot save – that's legalism. But everything in the Bible is for our edification, that we may be equipped for good works (2 Timothy 3:16-17)." – pg. 52
"We usually think of law leading us to the gospel. And this is true – we see God's standards, see our sin, and then see our need for a Savior. But it's just as true that gospel leads to law. In Exodus, first God delivered his people from Egypt, then he gave the Ten Commandments. In Romans, Paul expounds on the sovereign free grace and the atoning work of Christ in chapters 1-11, and then in chapters 12-16 he shows us how to live in light of these mercies. In John 4, Christ tells the Samaritan woman about the living water welling up to eternal life, and then he exposes her sin and instructs her to worship God in spirit and truth. ... the good news of the gospel leads to gracious instructions for obeying God." – pg. 53
"Some ... pit love against law, as if the two were mutually exclusive. You either have a religion of love or religion of law. But such an equation is profoundly unbiblical. For starters, 'love' is a command of the law (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:36-40). If you enjoin people to love, you are giving them law. Conversely, if you tell them law doesn't matter, then neither does love, which is the summary of the law." – pg. 53
"The irony is that if we make every imperative into a command to believe the gospel more fully, we turn the gospel into one more thing we have to get right, and faith becomes the one thing we need to be better at. If only we really believed, obedience would take care of itself. No need for commands or effort. But the Bible does not reason this way. It has no problem with the word 'therefore.' Grace, grace, grace, therefore, stop doing this, start doing that, and obey the commands of God. Good works should always be rooted in the good news of Christ's death and resurrection, but I believe we are expecting too much from the 'flow' and not doing enough to teach the obedience to the law – from a willing spirit, as made possibly by the Holy Spirit – is the proper response to free grace. ... (For example) If you are fighting pride, God might assure you that he gives grace to the humble or remind you that you follow a crucified Messiah. He can highlight your adoption, justification, reconciliation, or union with Christ. God can stir you up to love and good deeds with warnings and promises, with love and fear, with positive or negative examples. He can remind you of who you are, or who you were, or who you are becoming. God can appeal to your good, the good of others, or his own glory." – pgs. 55, 61
"(The Heidelberg Catechism (1563) gives four reasons for doing good:
(1) to show we are thankful for what God has done,
(2) so he may be praised through us,
(3) so we may be assured of our faith by its fruits, and
(4) so that by our godly living our neighbors may be won over to Christ (Q/A 86)." – pg. 57
Chapter Five | The Pleasure of God and the Possibility of Godliness
"Acting like holiness is out of reach for the ordinary Christian doesn't do justice to the way the Bible speaks about people like Zechariah and Elizabeth, who 'were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord' (Luke 1:6). It doesn't take seriously the Lord's commendation of Job as 'a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil' (Job 1:8). And there's Paul, who frequently commends his churches and his ministry partners for their obedience and godly example." – pg. 65
"God expect us to be holy and gives us the grace to be holy. After all, he created us for good works (Ephesians 2:10), and he works in us to will and to work for his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Christians can be rich in good works (1 Timothy 6:18; Acts 9:36). We can walk in a way worthy of our calling (Ephesians 4:1). We can be trained to live in a way that is holy and acceptable to God (Romans 12:1-2). ... (And) God does does not expect our good works to be flawless in order for them to be good. If God only accepted perfect obedience from his children, the Bible would have nothing good to say about Job or David or Elizabeth or anyone else except for Jesus. I like what the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) says about good works. On the one hand, sanctification will always be imperfect in this life. There will always be remnants of corruption in us. But by the power of the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, true believers will genuinely grow in grace. Our good works are accepted by God, not because they are 'wholly unblameable and unreproveable in God's sight,' but because God is pleased through Christ to accept our sincere obedience, although it contains many weaknesses and imperfections. God not only works obedience in us by his grace, it's also by his grace that our imperfect obedience is acceptable in his sight. And even the smallest act of obedience is an event worth celebrating." – pgs. 66-68
"It is not impossible for God's people to commit righteous acts that please God. ... '(People) often cite Isaiah 64:6 which says our righteousness is as filthy rags. It is true ... that none of God's people before or after the cross, would be accepted by an immaculately holy God if the perfect righteousness of Christ were not imputed to us (Romans 5:19; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21). But that does not mean that God does not produce in those 'justified' people (before and after the cross) an experiential righteousness that is not 'filthy rags.' In fact, he does; and this righteousness is precious to God and is required, not as the ground of our justification (which is the righteousness of Christ only), but as an evidence of our being truly justified children of God.' ... Those who bear fruit in every good work and increase in the knowledge of God are fully pleasing to God (Colossians 1:10). Presenting your body as a living sacrifice pleases God (Romans 12:1). Looking out for your weaker brother or sister pleases God (Romans 14:18). Obeying your parents pleases God (Colossians 3:20). Teaching the Word in truth pleases God (1 Thessalonians 2:4). Praying for the governing authorities pleases God (1 Timothy 2:1-3). Supporting your family members in need pleases God (1 Timothy 5:4). Sharing with others pleases God (Hebrews 13:16). Keeping his commandments pleases God (1 John 3:22). Basically, whenever you trust and obey, God is pleased." – pgs. 68-69
"Why do we imagine God to be so unmoved by our heart-felt attempts at obedience? He is, after all, our heavenly Father. What sort of father looks at his daughter's homemade birthday card and complains that the color scheme is all wrong? What kind of mother says to her son, after he gladly cleaned the garage but put the paint cans on the wrong shelf, 'This is worthless in my sight'? What sort of parent rolls his eyes when his child falls off the bike on the first try? There is no righteousness that makes us right with God except for the righteousness of Christ. But for those who have been made right with God by grace alone through faith alone and therefore have been adopted into God's family, many of our righteous deeds are not only not filthy in God's eyes, they are exceedingly sweet, precious, and pleasing to him." – pg. 70
"(We also need to remember) It's true that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1), but this does not mean God will condone all our thoughts and behaviors. Though in Christ he overlooks our sins in a judicial sense, he is not blind to them. Scripture is clear that God is displeased when his people sin. We can 'grieve' the Holy Spirit of God (Ephesians 4:30). Though God is always for us in Christ (Romans 8:31-34), Christ can still have things against us (Revelation 2:4). The fact that God disciplines his children (Hebrews 12:7) means he can sometimes be displeased with them. But there's a flip side too. The fact that God disciplines his children means he loves us enough to correct us. If God never took note of our sin, he would never discipline. And if he left us without discipline, we would be illegitimate children and not true sons (Hebrews 12:8). Love does not equal unconditional affirmation. Love entails the relentless pursuit of what is for our good. And our good is always growth in godliness. 'Those whom I love,' Jesus said to the church at Laodicea, 'I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent' (Revelation 3:19). ... When we sin, our union with Christ is not in jeopardy. But our communion is. It is possible for believers to have more or less of God's favor. It is possible for us to have sweet fellowship with God, and it's possible to experience his frown – not a frown of judgment, but a 'for-us' frown that should spur us on to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24)." – pgs. 73-74
"At the end of 2 Corinthians Paul challenges his readers to, 'Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith' (2 Corinthians 13:5). Many of us take this as a stern warning to figure out if we are real believers. And no doubt some of us need the wake-up call. But look at what Paul says next in that verse: 'Test yourselves,' he says. 'Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?' ... Paul challenged the Corinthians to examine themselves because he expected them to pass the test. Of all the crazy things Paul said, 1 Corinthians 4:4 may be the most jolting. Here's the apostle Paul – Mr. Wretched Man That I Am, Mr. There is No One Good, No Not One – and he tells the Corinthians, 'I am not aware of anything against myself.' Seriously?! You can't think of anything, Paul? Not a single idol buried somewhere under ten layers of your subconscious? Now let's not miss the next line: ' but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.' So Paul isn't claiming to be okay just because he feels okay. But he is saying he has a clear conscience. He obeys God and sticks close to his Word. This doesn't mean he's perfect. No doubt, he's bringing his sins daily before the Lord to be cleansed from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9; Matthew 6:12). But he's not walking around feeling like a spiritual loser. He's not burdened with constant low-level guilt because he's not doing enough or because he detected a modicum of pride over lunch." – pgs. 75-76
"The Bible teaches that holiness is possible. This is good news, not bad news. You have permission to see evidences of grace in your life. You are allowed (and expected) to be obedient. You will never be perfect in this life. You cannot do anything to earn God's love. But as a redeemed, regenerate child of God you don't have to be a spiritual failure. By the mercies of God you can 'present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship' (Romans 12:1)." – pg. 77
Chapter Six | Spirit-Powered, Gospel-Driven, Faith-Fueled Effort
"According to 1 Peter 1:2, we are saved 'according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit,' that we might be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled by his blood. Sanctification in this verse has two senses. The Spirit sets us apart in Christ so that we might be cleansed by his blood (definitive sanctification), and he works in us so that we can be obedient to Jesus Christ (progressive sanctification). Through the Spirit we are given a new position and infused with a new power. Or to put it in Pauline language, since we are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit, by the same Spirit we ought to put to death the deeds of the flesh (Romans 8:9-13)." – pg. 81
"The work of the Spirit often connected with power (Acts 1:8; Romans 15:19; 1 Corinthians 2:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:5). This power can manifest itself in signs and wonders, in spiritual gifts to edify the body, and in the ability to bear spiritual fruit. The same Spirit who was present at creation and caused you to be born again is at work to empower your inner person (that is, your will or heart) so that you might resist sins you couldn't resist before and do the good things which would otherwise be impossible. Defeatist Christians who do not fight against sins because they figure they were 'born this way' or 'will never change' or 'don't have enough faith' are not being humble. They dishonor the Holy Spirit who strengthens us with supernatural power. But that's not all the Spirit does to sanctify us. The Spirit is power, but he is also a light. He shines into the dark places of our hearts and convicts us of sin (John 16:7-11). He is a lamp to illumine God's Word, teaching what is true and showing it it to be precious (1 Corinthians 2:6-16). And the Spirit throws a spotlight on Christ so that we can see his glory and be changed (John 16:14). That's why 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, 'And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.' ... To summarize, then, the Spirit is a light to us in three ways:
(1) He exposes sin so that we can recognize it and turn away.
(2) He illumines the Word so that we can understand its meaning and grasp its implications.
(3) He takes the veil away so that we can see the glory of Christ and become what we behold.
Or to put it another way, the Spirit sanctifies by (1) revealing sin, (2) revealing truth, and (3) revealing glory. When we close our eyes to this light, the Bible calls it resisting the Spirit (Acts 7:51), or quenching (1 Thessalonians 5:19) or grieving the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). ... If we give in to sin or give up on righteousness, the fault is not with the Spirit's power but with our preference for the darkness of evil rather than the Spirit's light (John 3:19-20)." – pgs. 81-83
" ... the gospel encourages godliness out of a sense of gratitude. This is the thought behind Romans 12:1-2. In view of God's mercies on display in Romans 1-11 (e.g., justification, adoption, predestination, atonement, reconciliation, preservation, glorification), our grateful response should be obedience to the imperatives in chapters 12-16. As John Stott remarks, 'It is not by accident that in Greek one and the same noun (charis) does duty for both 'grace' and 'gratitude.'" – pg. 83
" ... the gospel aids our pursuit of holiness by telling us the truth about who we are. Certain sins become more difficult when we understand our new position in Christ. If we are heirs to the whole world, why should we envy? If we are God's treasured possession, why be jealous? If God is our Father, why be afraid? If we are dead to sin, why live in it? If we've been raised with Christ, why continue in our old sinful ways? If we are seated in the heavenly places, why act like the devil of hell? If we are loved with an everlasting love, why are we trying to prove our worth to the world? If Christ is all in all, why am I so preoccupied with myself? This is what Martyn Lloyd-Jones called talking to yourself instead of listening to yourself. It's easy to become convinced that we can never change or that God is ready to kick us to the curb after we've screwed up in the same way for the millionth time. But don't listen to yourself; preach to yourself. Go back to the gospel. Remember that there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Remember that the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you (Romans 8:11). Remember that you are a child of God, and if a child then an heir (Romans 8:16-17). Remember that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). God gives more grace (James 4:6). Draw near to him, recognize who you are in him, and keep on working to cleanse your hands and purify your hearts (James 4:8). ... By faith we are justified. And by faith we make every effort to be sanctified. Faith is operative in both – in justification to receive and rest, and in sanctification to will and to work." – pgs. 84-85
"Justification is not the only remedy for sin. Understanding what God has done for us will not smash every idol. There are longings in our souls that will be satisfied only by the promise of future blessing. How else can we make sense of the hope of glory? God is constantly making promises in the Bible, and these promises are meant to fuel the engine of obedience. ... (With) the Sermon on the Mount, these three chapters (Matthew 5-7) are filled with commands. ... In my experience, Matthew 5:8 – 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God' – has been the most helpful verse in the Bible in battling the temptation to list. The key is that Jesus fights pleasure with pleasure. Sexual impurity can be pleasing (in the moment), but Jesus promises a greater blessing for the pure of heart: they will see God. ... the promises continue throughout the world's most famous sermon. Many are warnings. If you murder, you'll be liable to judgment (Matthew 5:21), and whoever says, 'you fool' will be liable to hell (Matthew 5:22). If you don't curb your lust, you can end up there too (Matthew 5:29-30). Don't forgive, and you won't be forgiven (Matthew 6:15). Walk down the easy path, and you'll face destruction (Matthew 7:13). Build your house on the sand by ignoring Jesus' words, and your house will fall (7:26-27). These are all promises – albeit negative promises – meant to empower our obedience. Jesus promises blessings too. If you uphold the commandments, you'll be great in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:19). If you enter the narrow gate and walk down the hard path you'll find life (Matthew 7:14). If you hear the words of Jesus and do them, you'll have true security (7:24-25). Jesus wants to motivate us by the thought of reward – real, eternal, lasting reward (Matthew 6:1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 16, 18, 19-20). He understands that the fight against sin is a fight to trust in our heavenly Father. That's why worry is not just a personality quirk, but a sign of unbelief (Matthew 6:30). If we have faith in God's future grace, we will seek first the kingdom of God and trust that God will give us what we need (Matthew 6:33). Our Father promises to give good things to those who ask him (Matthew 7:11)." – pgs. 86-87
" ... essentially what spiritual warfare is: believing the truth from God instead of the lies from the devil. Satan is the father of lies, and his basic weapon is deception. He lies about God. He lies about your sin. He lies about your forgiveness. ... That's what Ephesians 6 is all about. Put on the belt of truth. Take up the shield of faith. Wield the sword of the Spirit. In spiritual warfare you stand fast against the schemes of the devil by standing fast on the Word of God (like Jesus did in the desert)." – pgs. 87-88
"It is the consistent witness of the New Testament that growth in godliness requires exertion on the part of the Christian. Romans 8:13 says that by the Spirit we must put to death the deeds of the flesh. Ephesians 4:22-24 instructs us to put off the old self on put on the new. Colossians 3:5 commands us to put to death what is earthly in us. First Timothy 6:12 urges us to fight the good fight. Luke 13:24 exhorts us to strive to enter the narrow gate. First Corinthians 9:24-27 speaks of running a race and disciplining the body. Philippians 3:12-14 talks of pressing on and straining forward. Second Peter 1:5 flat out commands us to 'make every effort.' Your part as a born-again believer is to 'toil, struggling with all his energy' as Christ powerfully works within you (Colossians 1:29). We must never forget that according to Jesus the reward of eternal life goes to those who conquer and overcome (Revelation 2-3). Christians work – they work to kill sin and they work to live in the Spirit. They have rest in the gospel, but never rest in their battle against the flesh and the devil. The children of God have two great marks about them: they are known for their inner warfare and their inner peace. ... some Christians are stalled out in their sanctification for simple lack of effort. We need to know about the Spirit's power. We need to be rooted in gospel grace. We need to believe in the promise of God. And we need to fight, strive, and make every effort to work out all that God is working in us. Let us say with Paul, 'I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me' (1 Corinthians 15:10)." – pgs. 88-91
Chapter Seven | Be Who You Are
"Only by knowing who we are in Jesus can we begin to live like Jesus. ... Union with Christ may be the most important doctrine many have never heard of. As Christians, we know we've been saved by Christ, we should like Christ, and we can have a relationship with Christ. But we almost never consider how all this depends on our union with Christ. ... Union with Christ ... is the best phrase to describe all the blessings of salvation, whether in eternity past (election), in history (redemption), in the present (effectual calling, justification, and sanctification), or in the future (glorification). Every blessing is received in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). No aspect of our salvation can be excluded from our union with him. ... Over two hundred times in Paul's letters and more than two dozen times in the writings of John we see expressions like 'in Christ,' 'in the Lord,' or 'in him.'" – pgs. 94-95
"Union with Christ implies three things: solidarity (Christ as the second Adam in our representative), transformation (Christ by the Holy Spirit changes us from the inside out), and communion (Christ abides with us as our God). Union with Christ is like marriage, where we are joined to Christ in a covenant of love. It is like a body where we as members are joined to our living Head. Or you might say union with Christ is like a building, where we are the house and Christ dwells within us. These biblical analogies are earthly ways of describing the heavenly reality of our union with Christ." – pg. 96
"Just as the three persons of the Trinity share a union but are three distinct persons, and the two natures of Christ are united but remain distinct natures, so Christ has union with us without obliterating our own unique personhood. We do not become gods. ... deification (also called theosis) has always been central to an Eastern Orthodox understanding of salvation. But Orthodox theology has been careful to distinguish between God's 'essence' and his 'energies.' We participate in the active life of God, not in the ineffable nature of God. Even Calvin said the purpose of the gospel is 'to make us sooner or later like God; indeed it is, so to speak, a kind of deification.' But he makes it clear that 'deification' does not mean losing ourselves in God. Becoming like God means growing in the qualities and virtues of God. There is no mixture of human and divine. Our humanity is fully retained, but it is also set on a process of being fully restored. We cannot become God, but we can become like him. ... union with Christ is possible because of the Son's descent to earth, not because of our ascent into heaven. The basis of our union with Christ is Christ's union with us in the incarnation. He became one with us so that we might become one with him." – pgs. 97-98
" ... the pursuit of holiness is also the pursuit of Christ. We aren't interested in being virtuous just to be good people. Our first love is Jesus. Holiness is not ultimately about living up to a moral standard. It's about living in Christ and living out of our real, vital union with him. ... Apart from our union with Christ every effort to imitate Christ, no matter how noble and inspired at the outset, inevitably leads to legalism and spiritual defeat. But once you understand the doctrine of union with Christ, you see that God doesn't ask us to attain to what we're not. He only calls us to accomplish what already is. The pursuit of holiness is not a quixotic effort to do just what Jesus did. It's the fight to live out the life that has already been made alive in Christ. If I had to summarize New Testament ethics in one sentence, here's how I would put it: be who you are. ... (Remember) God doesn't say, 'Relax, you were born this way.' But he does say, 'Good news, you were reborn another way.' ... In Christ, we are new creations so that we might live for him and not for ourselves. 'And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised ... Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come' (2 Corinthians 5:15, 17). ... Do not strive after holiness because you cower in dread of God. Strive after holiness because you are confident you already belong to God." – pgs. 98, 100-103
"Some people think all religions are the same. Every religion, they say, teaches you to love your neighbor, help the poor, deny yourself, and tell the truth. Even if it were true that all religions had basically the same ethics, there would still be the issue of motivation. Why do these good things? Why be a 'good' person? Is it to earn your way into heaven? Is it to support family values and civilization? Is it to get better karma? Is it to find enlightenment or rid yourself of cravings or achieve Nirvana? Is it to be released from the cycle of birth and rebirth? Or is being good important because it helps you feel better about yourself? The religions of the world don't agree on the rationale for our ethical behavior. For Paul, the motivation starts (but doesn't end) with your identity in Christ. Look at Romans 6 and see what is objectively, definitively, irreversibly true of you as a Christian. You were baptized into Christ Jesus (Romans 6:3). You were crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6). You died with Christ (Romans 6:8). You were buried with Christ (Romans 6:4). You were raised with Christ (Romans 6:4-5). When 1 Corinthians 10:2 says the Israelites 'were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,' it doesn't mean they were literally immersed in him or sprinkled with him. It means they were joined to him. They participated with Moses in the exodus – they as his people and he as their representative and head. In the same sense we are baptized into Christ. Whether our physical baptism takes place as an infant and is later appropriated by faith, or takes place as an adult with a profession of faith right then, we are meant to see in the sacrament a sign of our union with Christ." – pgs. 102-103
"The Bible is realistic about holiness. Don't think that all this glorious talk about dying to sin and living to God means there is no struggle anymore or that sin will never show up in the believer's life. The Christian life still entails obedience. It still involves a fight. But it's a fight we will win. You have the Spirit of Christ in your corner, rubbing your shoulders, holding the bucket, putting his arm around you and saying before the next round with sin, 'You're going to knock him out, kid.' Sin may get in some good jabs. It may clean your clock once in a while. It may bring you to your knees. But if you are in Christ it will never knock you out. You are no longer a slave, but free. Sin has no dominion over you." – pg. 105
Next post: Sully Notes 15 | The Hole in Our Holiness Part 3 of 3
– Sully
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