know others, know him.

c.s. lewis was part of a really tight group of friends of about four guys. when one of the four, charles williams, died, lewis thought that he would get more of ronald (j.r.r. tolkien) because he would not be sharing ronald with charles. but he found that when he died, he actually was getting less of him because lewis himself could not bring out the things in him that charles and his humor could. he suddenly realized that it took a group of friends to know ronald; one is not enough to call everything out. it takes different people. it takes a family to know an individual. but what about Jesus? lewis says that you cannot know Jesus by yourself. we need solidarity with people of different "races" and theologies in Christ--specifically, different denominations, but also all those immediately around us. we need each other. we need to know each other or we won't know him. (keller sermon)

i really like this, because i think it is something that is so opposite to my way of thinking. i so often think that my way is right, that it is better than all others, and that anything else cannot be right. in the past couple years, my way of thinking about God and theology has changed so much and i think that so much of the time i see this as a great thing. but while this is a good thing, i elevate myself and the doctrines and beliefs that i share with others around me above anything that i had previously thought or subscribed to.

while i am entitled to think that i may be more "right" about something than someone else, that doesn't make me any better than someone or necessarily give me a higher authority on a certain topic. i think lewis' experience excites me because it opens up Jesus. it crushes the boundaries that have been set by different subsections of the body of Christ; it takes away the tendency to distance ourselves from others who may not see things exactly the way we do. and just as importantly, if we are truly knowing and searching others around us, then we are guaranteed to know Jesus in a light we otherwise may not have seen. we are all made in God's image and given different qualities and strengths for a reason; this is what makes up the body. we must be willing to know each other so that we can know him more truly.

believe: to accept as true, genuine, or real (v).

"to believe God is to look at what God has said and to let that define reality for you." -- tim keller.

this has been my constant prayer, but what does this really look like, how does this define my life? here's some practical things i've been learning, thanks to mr. keller:

1. believing God means to not go on feelings or appearances. it is going on something despite our weakness and despite our feelings and perceptions; ultimately a death to self-trust. look at abraham: "he did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of sarah's womb" (romans 4:19). i mean, his body was completely hopeless. abraham heard what God said and simply believed him. sometimes it is so easy to make things more than they are--to hear what God is saying but to question it, to doubt it, to let other factors get in the way. but when He has spoken He has spoken.

2. when you are truly believing God, you will focus on facts about Him. how often do we just sit and think about God, to really consider his power? do we really know what his power entails? all through isaiah, we are shown of his might. he holds the waters in the hollow of his hand and encloses the dust of the earth in a measure. he weighs the mountains in a scale; the earth's inhabitants are like grasshoppers. there is no limit to his power--our lives should reflect this. "faith is not the absence of thinking, but rather is a profound insistence on acting out of measured reflection, instead of just reacting to circumstances."

3. trust the bare word of God. even when there is nothing else to go on, we need to take God at his word--and we need to know his word. if we reason on the basis of what we know about God, it's easier to deal with things and easier to overcome any struggles of weakness. we are called to act on God's promises and word even when it is hard--faith is living as if these promises are true. it's doing things because they please the Lord, because we believe him even when circumstances are saying otherwise.

faith looks at God--not itself--and holds on to the faithfulness of God.

i need to be knowing who God is more and more so that i can be believing him more and more. i desire to live in this reality because i know it is the best for me; he has made these promises to me and they are true, every moment of my life.

by his blood alone.

"the doctrine of propitiation is precisely this--that God loved the objects of his wrath so much that he gave his own son to the end that he by his blood should make provision for the removal of his wrath." -- john murray.

sometimes this can be just too much to think about. propitiation (according to merriam-webster) literally means to appease or pacify the anger or agitation of, or to regain the favor or good will of. Jesus' death pacified the wrath of God toward our sin, but the glory of it is that he gave his son to remove his own wrath... therefore, there is no opportunity to call God an injust God or to call him a "blood-thirsty" God (as I've heard recently). God's own action propitiates his own wrath.

sometimes i think it can be easy to see God as one or the other -- a father who loves us or the judge and king of the universe -- one who is just by also one who is justifier. this can be so dangerous, because unless our God is a God "of both holy anger and sacrificial love," our view of the gospel and of God himself becomes so distorted. if we see God as simply one who is pouring his wrath out on us, we don't see his grace or his love and have no motivation to live a decent life. we cannot measure up to his standards and righteousness, we are never able to live up to what he has called us to be or who he has told us we are. but on the other hand, if we see God who is wholly and completely love without any aspect of wrath at all, then we live our life with a certain liberation yet have nothing to rely on. you can compare it to a parent who is completely permissive to their child, setting no limits and giving no guidance, never confronting their children--and this is so destructive. this "loving" view of God makes us feel like orphans.

we need both of these views of God because he is both. that is the wonder of the cross--that in one stroke statisfies fully both the love of God and the justice of God which demands punishment for our sin.


*tim keller's romans study made me think a lot of this, not myself.