Extreme Makeover

Note: You can find the following spiritual parable, which is reproduced here with permission, in Soul Physicians.

Once upon a time there lived a beautiful Swan. Swan reflected the Creator, related lovingly, ruled humbly over Swandom, and rested contentedly. 

Until Swan ate poisoned Swan food. Then everything changed. Swan’s beauty was corrupted, love became a chasm of distance, rule turned to captivity, and rest disintegrated into shameful condemnation.

Until the Great Swan Prince restored order. Then Swan changed again. A new creation. Re-created. Regenerated. Reconciled. Redeemed. Justified.

Only Swan still swam like an ugly Duckling. Thought like an ugly Duckling. Quacked like an off-key Duckling.

Once Swan saw Swan’s reflection mirrored in Swan Lake. Startled, Swan was confused. The reflection seemed to reflect a titanic change—change for the good, for the best, forever.

“No. Can’t be,” Swan reflected. “I’m just an ugly Duckling saved by grace. I’m not perfect, just forgiven. Changes are occurring, but no drastic inner change has already occurred. Must be something wrong with this water reflecting a distorted image of me. Must be something wrong with how I see myself. Too arrogant.”

So Swan returned to Duckyville. Yielded again to Ugly-Duckling Theology, to Worm Theology. Living as if still corrupt.

Swan actually felt quite smug in Duckyville. “I know who I am. Sinner Swan. No arrogance in me. Forget about myself. Don’t think highly of myself. Wretched Swan that I am.”

That is, until Ambassador Swan arrived to represent Creator. “Hear ye! Hear ye! I have come to preach the good news of regeneration and redemption.”

Ambassador’s message struck a chord with Swan. Reminded Swan of that silly second when his reflection seemed to indicate that real change had already occurred.

Preaching regeneration, Ambassador said, “You’re a new creation. Created in my image. You have a new nature. A saint you are—Saint Swan. A new you exists. New purity. New capacities. New righteous gowns. New life. Restoration. New nature.”

“But, but, but,” sputtered Swan. “Saint? Thought I was a sinner.”

“Was is right,” Ambassador concurred. “But you are a saint now.”

“Not only that,” Ambassador continued, “you’re also salt, light, wise, righteous, noble, good, holy, blameless, without spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. You are dead to sin, buried with Christ, your old Swan crucified with Christ. United with Christ, raised with Christ, and alive to Creator.”

Preaching redemption, Ambassador shared, “You’re free from sin. You have victory over sin. New power to live holy because you are holy. New inclination to love because you have been renewed in the image of the One who is Love.”

“But, but, but,” stammered Swan. “Free? Thought I was a slave.”

“Was is right,” Ambassador concurred. “But you are a free Swan now. Free to fly. Free to shepherd. Free to rule. Free to empower. Free to enjoy victory over sin. Freed from sin’s power. Emancipated.”

Join the Conversation

In Christ, are you still an ugly duckling, or are you a beautiful swan?

Tags: Christian Living, Regeneration, Salvaton, Soul Physicians, Ugly Duckling

Our Father’s Full Provision

Too much Christian living is old covenant living. We consume ourselves with trying to become what we already are, when our present task is to be who we already are.

Too much Christian ministry is old covenant ministry. We minister to Christians as if they are still non-Christians. We counsel saints as if they are still unsaved. We disciple one another as if we are still under the old covenant of law and not the new covenant of grace through which we enjoy our new nurture and our new nature.

Our new covenant salvation in Christ implants within us a new nature and a new nurture. We are cleansed (new purity) and invited in (new family). Sanctification does not involve making myself a saint, but living out my sainthood. It does not involve making myself a child of God, but enjoying my new sonship. The key to our victory is our faith in our new identity. The following narrative speaks to the new you in Christ.

The Vilest Offender

Imagine the vilest offender. As cruel as Hitler, as depraved as Manson, as corrupt as Jack the Ripper. Desperately wicked. Self-deceived. Anti-social. Amoral. Mr. Mass Murderer. The day his trial begins, every major news network, cable news station, news magazine, and newspaper in the country, and hundreds around the world, join the coverage.

Shocking every reporter, every spectator, every member of the jury, and even his own legal team, Mr. Mass Murderer pleads guilty. Begs forgiveness. Asks for mercy.

The Amazing Grace of Justification

Imagine the worldwide outrage as the judge responds, “Not guilty!”

“What a charade! Fool! He just said he was guilty. What is wrong with you? Have you gone mad? Retrial! Ethics probe! He must pay for his crimes.”

“His crimes have been paid for,” the judge retorts. “By my son. I have judged my son in place of Mr. Mass Murderer. They’ve exchanged places. My guiltless son, charged with nothing—his good standing I now transfer to Mr. Mass Murderer who is now free to go.”

The Amazing Grace of Reconciliation

“But he’s still evil through and through. A man like him can never change. He’s a danger to society. He must be locked up. Looked after.”

“He will live with me,” the judge replies. “Enjoying all the privileges my son enjoyed. I’ve adopted Mr. Mass Murderer into my family. He’s my adult son.”

The Amazing Grace of Regeneration

“That guarantees nothing. All your good intentions, all the love in the world, all the good nurture and best environment in the world does not guarantee that Mr. Mass Murderer will not continue his rampage.”

“I’m not finished. Hear me out,” the judge insists. “I’ve consulted the best medical, psychiatric, and psychological experts on the planet. Mr. Mass Murderer will receive a heart, brain, and soul transplant along with a DNA graft infusing into his very being my very nature.”

The Amazing Grace of Redemption

Momentarily silenced. Totally stunned. Then a hand shoots up. “But that only means that he has a clean start. What about all his old acquaintances, his old habits? They will still come around clamoring for his attention, demanding his loyalty and affection.”

“Fair question,” the judge agrees. “We’ve thought of everything. I’ve jailed all his old acquaintances. His foes are defeated. Plus, we’ve infused his new heart, brain, soul, and DNA complex with core power to remain free from and victorious over these past tempters.”

Living Out Our Complete Salvation

You’ve not been watching The Twilight Zone. Not The Outer Limits. Not even reality TV. But reality. Spiritual reality.

God our Judge justifies us, declaring us not guilty, forgiving us our trespasses, and reckoning his Son’s righteousness to our account. The amazing grace of justification.

However, God the Judge could have stopped here—forgiving us and then leaving us on our own. Left to our same old nurture we would return to our old haunts—the world, the flesh, and the Devil. We would continue our maddening quest for relationship apart from God.

But God the Judge takes his legal robes off, replacing them with relaxed family attire and comfy slippers, inviting us into his home, into his family—reconciliation. Forgiveness (justification) as great as it is, would have been hollow had we remained separated from Father. The Judge becomes our adoptive Father, granting us access to his home and all the privileges of adult children. The amazing grace of reconciliation.

Justification and reconciliation combine to form the first perfection of the new covenant—our new nurture. However, as the story of Mr. Mass Murderer correctly indicates, new nurture without new nature is insufficient to change us.

The Judge of the criminal and the Father of the adult son becomes the Creator, Parent, Progenitor, Begetter, Life-giver of a newborn infant—regeneration. Like Father, like son. Born again of incorruptible seed. Born from above to reflect the image of the Creator. Born with a new nature—new soul, mind, will, spirit, emotions. Born with a new heart—new capacities, disposition, inclinations, purity. The old dies. The new lives. The amazing grace of regeneration.

As amazing as all this is, we still need one more salvation grace—redemption. Freedom from the power of sin. Freedom from bondage and slavery to sin. We need victory. Resurrection power. The Judge of the criminal, the Father of the adult son, the Creator of the newborn infant, is also the Champion, Victor, Warrior, General, and King of the overcomer, of the empowered, freed, victorious soldier. Set free from the power of sin and death, united with the resurrection power of Christ. Victorious over the world, the flesh, the Devil, sin, and death. The amazing grace of redemption.

Join the Conversation

In your life and ministry, are you living out the amazing grace of our complete salvation in Christ: justification, reconciliation, regeneration, and redemption?

Note: This post is excerpted from Soul Physicians.

Tags: Gospel, Salvation, Sanctification, Soul Physicians

A Conversation about Brian McLaren’s A New Kind of Christianity

Responding to Brian McLaren’s Question # 5: The Gospel Question

Welcome: You’re reading Part 7 of my blog series responding to Brian McLaren’s book A New Kind of Christianity (read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6). Many have engaged Brian’s thinking by focusing on a systematic theology response (visit here for a boatload of links). My focus is on pastoral theology or practical theology. As a pastor, counselor, and professor who equips the church for biblical counseling and spiritual formation, I’m asking: “What difference does our response to each question make for how we care like Christ (biblical counseling) and for how we live like Christ (spiritual formation)?”

The Gospel of Brian

Brian’s trek toward his new kind of Christianity began fifteen years ago when he repented of his belief that the Gospel was about justification by grace through faith (p. 138). He now proclaims that the Gospel is not about solving the problem of the Fall and original sin (p. 139), or about avoiding hell and ascending to heaven after death (p. 139). It is the “good news” of the liberating king who sets God’s people free from oppression (p. 138). The Gospel is helping the poor and the downtrodden, healing the planet, and stopping war (p. 140). The Gospel is the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God is the “peace revolution, new love economy, sacred ecosystem, beloved community or society, dream, dance, and movement” (p. 277).

Mike Witter summarizes these two chapters well in his post What Is the Gospel?

“How does Brian think salvation happens? He dismisses penal substitution and justification by grace through faith, but doesn’t offer anything in their place. All that’s left, although he doesn’t spell this out, is that we are saved by following the example of Jesus the liberator, who came to show us how to love our neighbor. Brian’s understanding of sin is insufficiently developed, which leads to a corresponding weakness in his explanation of salvation. He needs to clearly explain what sin is, why everyone has it, and how Jesus saves us from that sin.”

The Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul—The Gospel of Jesus

The biblical Gospel can be summarized by four vital components—each central to salvation and to sanctification: justification, reconciliation, regeneration, and redemption.

*Justification offers us forgiveness and cleansing for our sin—Christ’s solution for the penalty of sin—new pardon.

*Reconciliation offers us the way back to God from our state of rebellious relational alienation—Christ’s solution for the partition caused by sin—new peace.

*Regeneration offers us a new nature (as new creations) from our state of total depravity—Christ’s solution for the pollution of sin—new purity.

*Redemption offers us new freedom from enslavement to sin—Christ’s solution to sin’s prison—new power.

For all of Brian’s talk of hope and peace, if there was no original sin, then there’s no need for salvation. Omitting original sin doesn’t bring hope; it results in despair.

Biblical counseling and spiritual formation are Christ-centered and Gospel-Centered. They seek to anwser the age-old question, “How can we change?” I’m unclear what Brian’s answer to that question is. Perhaps it’s that Christ’s example so motivates us that we naturally change.

As any sinner (i.e., all of us) can tell you, change is not natural. It is supernatural. How do people change? We change because we have already been changed—by Christ, through salvation.

Perhaps Brian mistakenly concludes that “the old kind of Christianity” sees salvation as only focused on justification. As vital and absolutely essential as justification is, our complete salvation through Christ equally involves reconciliation, regeneration, and redemption. Without these four “gowns of salvation” we are powerless to change (see Soul Physicians, pages 337-424 for practical teaching on our salvation in Christ).

Brian believes that we can’t get a coherent doctrine of anthropology, sin, and sanctification from Romans (p. 276). Think about those three categories—they’re Creation, Fall, and Redemption. They’re the categories of people, problems, and solutions. To use the systematic theology concepts, they’re anthropology, hamartiology, and soteriology.

They’re each central to biblical counseling and spiritual formation. True biblical psychology is the study of the soul—the nature of human nature (people), the study of what went wrong with the soul—sin (problems), and the study of how God in Christ conquers our spiritual problem—salvation/sanctification (solutions). (See Soul Physicians, 425-499 for how to apply our salvation to our progressive sanctification—growth in grace). Brian’s gospel robs biblical counseling and spiritual formation—robs us blind and leaves us blind.

In the spirit of conversation, I’d ask, Brian, how do people change? Without justification, reconciliation, regeneration, and redemption, Brian, how do you help people to follow Christ’s example? Where do people find the power to live Christlike lives? What is your model of growth in grace? What is your process for progressive sanctification?

The Rest of the Story

In our next blog post, we respond to Brian’s answer to the church question. “What do we do about the church?”

Join the Conversation

How do people change?

Tags: A New Kind of Christianity, Brian McLaren, Gospel, Salvation, Sanctification

The Story

At RPM Ministries our story is all about changing lives with Christ’s changeless truth.

We’re always asking people, “Want to change lives?”

But, what if your life is unchanged? What then? How do you participate in life’s greatest adventure of empowering others to live a changed life if you remain powerless to change?

Then our question for you is entirely different. The new question, really the first question, is “Want a changed life?”

How do people change? Why do people need to change? Change to what?

The story that answers those questions is the story God is telling in the Bible. His story is summarized below. To read about it in narrative form, click below on the image of The Story.

When you’re done, tell us what you think. Ask us any questions that you have. Contact us at rpm.ministries@gmail.com

Tags: Christ, Christianity, Gospel, Salvation, The Story

I Miss the Depth of the Old Hymns

I confess that in the 1990s I led a church through the change process from traditional hymns and a choir to praise choruses and praise teams.

I now confess that I miss the depth of the old hymns. Yes, some of the modern praise music is improving, led by theologian/songwriters like Keith and Kristyn Getty (In Christ Alone). They’re all too rare, however.

Listen, really listen to most of the praise choruses that we sing in most of our Evangelical church services. Honestly, they could be to almost any “god.” There’s often little in the lyrics to indicate we are praising the Trinitarian, holy-loving, Creator-Redeemer who offers salvation in Christ alone by faith alone through grace alone.

And listen to what you don’t hear much anymore in our praise choruses: Christology, hamartiology, and soteriology.

You say, “What in the world is ‘Christology,’ ‘hamartiology,’ and ‘soteriology’!?”

Proves my point.

Christology: The doctrine of Christ–Who He is and what He has done.

Hamartiology: The doctrine of sin–human sinfulness and our inability to save ourselves.

Soteriology: The doctrine of salvation–cleansing from our guilt and sin by faith alone through grace alone.

I picked up an old hymnal just now and randomly thumbed through it. Consider the lyrics about salvation for guilty sinners in Christ alone.

The Solid Rock: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.”

My Faith Has Found a Resting Place: “My faith has found a resting place, not in device nor creed; I trust the Ever-living One, His wounds for me shall plead. I need no other argument, I need no other plea, it is enough that Jesus died, and that he died for me.”

Nothing but the Blood: “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

Grace Greater Than Our Sin: “Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt, yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured, there where the blood of the lamb was spilt. Grace, grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within, grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that is greater than all my sin.”

There Is a Fountain: “There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins; and sinners plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains.”

We don’t sing about blood, about guilt, about sin and sinners much anymore. We don’t sing about Christ and salvation by faith through grace much anymore.

We sing about an anonymous, nameless God who is wonderful and loves us. And that makes us feel good. But does it glorify the Trinitarian God of the Bible who in holy love sent His sinless Son to die for our sins and to be raised for our justification?

I miss the depth of the old hymns.

Christ-Esteem: The world talks about “self-esteem.” But God’s Word teaches us about “Christ-esteem”—how God views us, sees us, accepts us, and loves us through Christ. Knowing how God relates to us because of our relationship to Christ is vital to glorifying God, defeating the lies of Satan, and ministering powerfully.

As you read the following summaries:

*Meditate on the verses and on the truth they share about you.

*Reject the lies of Satan about how God views you.

*Thank God for who you are to Christ.

*Select one verse/truth per day and specifically apply it to your life and relationships.

My Relationship to God through Christ

Matthew 6:26—I am are very valuable to Christ.

Matthew 9:2; Mark 2:5—I am God’s forgiven son/daughter.

Matthew 9:36-38—I am the Good Shepherd’s shepherded sheep.

Matthew 10:31; Luke 12:7—I am of great worth to God.

Matthew 12:12—I am of much value to Christ.

Matthew 18:10-14—I am God’s precious, protected little one.

Mark 3:34-35—I am Christ’s brother or sister.

Luke 6:35—I am a son or daughter of the Most High God.

Luke 12:4—I am Christ’s friend.

Luke 20:36; John 1:12; Romans 8:14-17; 1 John 3:2—I am a child of God.

John 1:13—I am a child born of God.

John 3:6—I am born of the Spirit.

John 3:16—I am so loved by Father that He gave His only begotten Son to die for me so that I could live with Him forever.

John 8:35—I am God’s forever son/daughter.

John 10:28-30—I am eternally secure in God’s holy love.

John 13:33—God says of me, “You are my child.”

John 15:5—I am a branch abiding in Christ the Vine.

John 15:9—Jesus says of me, “As My Father has loved Me, so I have loved you.”

John 15:14—Jesus says to me, “You are my friend.”

John 15:15—Jesus says to me, “I no longer call you servant, but friend.”

John 16:27—Jesus whispers to me, “The Father Himself loves you.”

John 17:23—Jesus says of me, “The Father loves you as He loves me.”

Note: Excerpted from Soul Physicians: http://bit.ly/7vaE

Note: Knowing our identity in Christ is vital to glorifying God, defeating the lies of Satan, and ministering powerfully. As you read the following summaries:

*Meditate on the associated verses and on the truth they share about you.

*Reject the lies of Satan about your identity.

*Thank God for who you are in Christ.

*Select one verse/truth per day and specifically apply it to your life and relationships.

My Identity in Christ

Romans 6:8—I live with Christ.

Romans 6:11—I am dead to sin.

Romans 6:11—I am alive to God.

Romans 6:13—I have been brought from spiritual death to spiritual life.

Romans 6:14—Sin shall not be my master.

Romans 6:14—I am not under law, but under grace.

Romans 6:18, 22—I have been set free from sin.

Romans 6:19—I am a slave to righteousness, righteousness masters my being.

Romans 6:22—I am a slave to God.

Romans 7:4—I have died to the law.

Romans 7:6—I serve Christ in the new way of the Spirit.

Romans 7:22—My inner being delights in God’s law—His holy standards.

Romans 7:25—In my innermost mind, I am a slave to God’s law.

Romans 8:1—I will never suffer condemnation because I am in Christ.

Romans 8:2—I am set free from the law of sin and death in Christ.

Romans 8:4—I have met the righteous requirements of the law in Christ.

Romans 8:5—My mindset is on spiritual affections and passions.

Romans 8:9—I am not controlled by the flesh, but I am controlled by the Spirit.

Romans 8:29—I am predestined to be conformed to the image of the Son.

Romans 8:37—I am more than a conqueror in Christ.

Romans 9:23—I have been prepared in advance by God to be glorious.

Romans 10:9, 10, 13—I am saved in Christ.

Romans 15:14—I am full of goodness in Christ.

Romans 15:14—I am complete in knowledge in Christ.

Romans 15:14—I am competent to disciple others in Christ.

Romans 15:16—I am sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:16—I am acceptable to God in Christ.

Note: Excerpted from Soul Physicians: http://tinyurl.com/d8grf6