As I listen to messages today I find a new lingo for what it means to be a Christian.  In the past we talked about being born-again, committing your life to Christ, and surrendering all.  Today we like to talk about taking a journey together. 

What I am curious about is in the past there was an emphasis upon that one time decision that we would call personal conversion.  It was likened to getting one’s “ticket” to heaven.  If you wanted to place your faith in Christ, it simply required believing in a serious of facts (death, burial, resurrection) and praying a prayer.  The moment of repentance and faith was clear.  I find this new lingo often, not always, leaving out the explicit need for conversion or a moment of faith.  I am hearing about bringing people to church so they can share our journey together but it is not always clear to me what kind of journey this is.

 I heard a message geared to college students at a large evangelical church over the summer (I made myself wait months before I posted on it) that was supposed to be a talk on discipleship (Luke 14:25-27).  The speaker never mentioned repentance or denying oneself or even placing one’s faith in Christ as necessary for discipleship.  Discipleship was boiled down to walking together as a people with a common identity.  

Now, I like the fact that the church is thought of as a people with a common identity.  But what in the world is it except for a people who have repented of their sins, believed in Christ, and therefore, commit to one another because they are all children of God in Christ.  

So why the post?  The past lingo could be faulted for not emphasizing discipleship and ignoring the need for surrounding oneself with other believers after getting the “ticket.”  The present lingo could be faulted with moving past the need to make one’s faith commitment to Christ explicit and necessary.  I simply want us to be aware and clear in what we are declaring about the gospel.  It is a personal faith in Christ and what he has accomplished for us so that we repent of our old life and commit to walk with other Christians.  In other words, take the “ticket” and enjoy the ride.  

School is back in session.  Welcome back U of L students.  If you are looking for a church home, we are located one block from the campus.  Our service time is 10:45am.  

On the first Sunday of the month we serve college students lunch at 1pm. (Sept 7 and 21–this month we will do it twice).

We also lead Crusade Bible studies on campus on Monday and Wednesday evenings.  If you are interested in participating in these please call us or come to the Crusade meeting on Thursday night to find out more information.  Ask for Andy.

We are a church that is trying to be active as evangelists on the campus.  We also want to invite students into our lives and homes to care for them.  We do not have a separate worship or class for college students because we want you all to be part of the church body.  We believe the church is to be made up of all types and ages so we can learn to walk together by faith.  

We look forward to meeting you and will be cheering for Hunter Cantwell to lead the Cards to a Big East title.

This past Sunday evening I had the privilege of preaching from Deut. 10:12-13; one of the best passages from the OT.  It is probably the best summary of Deuteronomy’s message to the nation of Israel.  I spent the last half of my sermon listing four descriptions that help explain what exactly it means when we are commanded to “love God” (Deut. 4:37; 5:10; 6:4-5; 7:9, 12-13; 10:12-13, 15, 18; 23:5; 33:3).  I would like to share them here. 

A.   It is unique to the God of the Bible.  There is no other world, religion where you find this commandment.  It wasn’t true for the pagan idols in Israel’s time nor is it now.  Allah does not command Muslims to love him.  He commands them to fear and obey him but not love him.  So this commandment is unique because it reflects the covenantal relationship between God and his people.  Only God chose and redeemed his people in love; thus, it is not unexpected that they would love him in return.  After all what does the New Testament say but that “We love because he first loved us.”

B.    It encompasses a person’s entire being.  We see this partially in 10:13.  But we find it elsewhere that we are to love God with all of our “heart, soul, and might.” Every last ounce of our inner being, with all of our emotions and will are to be fixed upon God.  Furthermore, we love God with a rational love.  Our intellect is informed about God and directed toward him.  And, lastly, all of our physical capacities and functions should be expressed in such a way that shows we are concerned about God’s name being honored.  So we love God with our entire being.

C.   It is the summary and foundation of the entire law.  Jesus himself cites a similar command from Deut. 6:4-5 stating that the entire law is summarized and founded upon this covenantal love between God and his people.  God is not finally concerned about whether or not our religion is about following a list of dos and don’ts.  He is concerned about the heart.  He desires a heart that obeys out of love and faith.  He tells Israel to circumcise their hearts (10:17).  (Which leads to the last description.)

D. It is demonstrated in obedience.  This was true of Jesus who perfectly loved and obeyed God.  And it ought to be true of us.  We show that we love God when we obey him.  But no longer is God’s law in a wooden box but on our hearts.  So our hearts love to obey him.  And our obedience testifies to the truth of the gospel in our lives – that by faith we live a transformed life in obedience to God…that we have been saved to good works.  It is the identifying marker that we have come to know God and have been born of God.

You’re probably asking yourself, “What is a word cloud?” That was my thought exactly when Justin Taylor pointed out this really cool website called Wordle.  Wordle takes large portions of texts that you provide to create a “word cloud.”  The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes.

The coolest thing is that Wordle allows you to use your clouds however you please.  Here is an example of Psalm 119.

Here are some fairly new books worth mentioning that I’ve added to my “wish list.” While I’m noting book lists, check out Dr. Mohler’s summer reading list.

New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ by Tom Schnreiner (NT Theologies would be a massive task to take on.)

The Gladiators: History’s Most Deadly Sport by Fik Meijer (HT: MH. This is a “guys” book. I gave it as a gift to one of the biggest “guys” I know.)

Minority Report: Unpopular Thoughts on Everything from Ancient Christianity to Zen Calvinism by Carl Trueman (Trueman is a blast to read. I just wish I was British so I could better understand his humor. That’s why I have Bruce.)

Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal: A Biblical, Historical and Theological Proposal by David Dockery (Large work for dirt cheap…$9.99. So what’s the state of the SBC? HT: JT)

The Fidelity of Betrayal: Towards a Church Beyond Belief by Peter Rollins (You’ve got to read some things you don’t agree with.)

Fear Not! Death and the Afterlife from a Christian Perspective by Ligon Duncan with J. Nicholas Reid (It won’t be long before my generation will have to deal with the death of our parents. What will you say?)

We have one life to live. Yet most pastors collect books as though they have 100 lives.* Well, if you could stream line your reading to take in some of the Christian “classics”, where would you begin? What would make the cut? Thankfully Mark Dever and Michael Thate have done the work for us by compiling a “Christian Classics Curriculum”.

*I’m all for LARGE libraries, especially among pastors. Half of the books I have will never be read from front to back. Nonetheless, many of them will be referenced at one point or another in my life. So, pastors, keep building your library.

We are going to start a new Christianity Matters course in a couple of weeks on contemporary issues in theology.  (Check back in a few days for more information.) One class will be on “The New Perspective.” There is alot of talk about it, but distilling it to a few finer points isn’t too easy. If you want a helpful start then here is a good essay by Simon Gathercole. If you want the essay in an interview format then go here. The book to read is Justification and the New Perspective on Paul by Guy P. Waters.

(Bruce, I haven’t forgot about your question on Severe Mercy.)