Believing In Nonsense

I came across something last week that I had heard before. The idea was credited to John Piper, and it was basically this: "We read whole books, and should read whole books, but rarely does a whole book change us. What grabs us and makes an impact is a chapter, or more often a paragraph, or a sentence, or a phrase." The idea is that reading books is worthwhile but most often what we come away with and are shaped, or influenced by, are just one or two things within that book.

So I had that thought hanging out someplace in the back of my mind while I was reading According To Plan: The Unfolding Revelation Of God In The Bible, by Graeme Goldsworthy. It is an introduction to the field of biblical theology. It's a pretty good, and very readable book, that walks through the revelation of God's plan of redemption, beginning with creation and ending, presumably, with Christ. I'm a bit past halfway in my reading of it.

And so I was reading about the people of God, having left slavery in Egypt and headed for the Promised Land, when they receive the Law and are called to live in obedience to it. Goldsworthy writes this:

"Salvation or redemption means being restored to a position of sonship and fellowship with God. To claim to have received the gift of friendship with God while persisting in a life marked by alienation and enmity is clearly nonsense."

That sentence in bold just stopped me in my tracks. Goldsworthy cuts to the chase in saying how impossible it is to claim to have faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord, and then continue to live each day as if you are your own savior and lord. To claim one as true but to live for all practical purposes as if it's not is "clearly nonsense."

Have you ever known times of prayer, where perhaps you confessed of a sin, repented of it, and almost as soon as your prayer ended your mind turned to thoughts of getting back to it. I know that I have. The biblical phrase for this is:

            "a dog that returns to his vomit."

We could praise God for many specific things but the ones that come to mind as I wrote this is his mercy and forgiveness. I was reading Psalm 130 earlier today, where the Psalmist writes:

"If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O LORD, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared."

So I can praise God that when in those times I am living on the wrong side of the tracks in my relationship with him, that he is forgiving when I come back to him. Or, to refer to the biblical phrase above, when I see how disgusting the thing I am "eating" truly is, he has forgiveness as I came back to him. Which is infinitely better than to continue believing and living in what is truly, and clearly, nonsense.

Note: It appears that one of our cats had an upset stomach sometime today.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.