We live in a culture obsessed with the idea of “tolerance.” Any viewpoint must be accepted —unless it rejects other viewpoints — and whoever is most earnest wins. This idea of tolerance must be thoughtfully challenged, argues D. A. Carson, both for the good of the church and for the good of the broader culture. Otherwise, poorly defined tolerance drifts ironically toward true intolerance.

 Carson examines how the definition of tolerance has changed. It now has less to do with recognizing the right of another to disagree with us, and more to do with not saying that others are wrong. It is impossible to deploy this new tolerance consistently, so that actual practice is often whimsical and arbitrary. Worse, the word “tolerance” has almost become an absolute good, and “intolerance” an absolute bad. Tolerance and intolerance have become merely rhetorical terms of approval and disapproval.

 Despite many negatives about the new, often ethically silly definitions of tolerance, from a Christian perspective there have been gains as well. In fact, Carson says, the nature of the Christian revelation is such that some tension in our understanding and practice of tolerance is inevitable.

 In this extremely readable volume, Carson uses anecdotes and quotes to illustrate his points and ends with practical advice on exemplifying and promoting the virtue of civil civic discourse.

 Here is a clip to give you a foretaste of the things Carson addresses in the book in detail.

There are lots of issues involved in the current debate about sanctification and none of them are new. Some of the questions that arise are: How do we use the law? How do we preach the gospel? What is grace? What are God-honoring motivations for obedience? What does it mean to be Christ-centered / Gospel – centered? Can we expect people to make any real and marked spiritual progress in life? Many more questions could be added that are directly and indirectly involved in this discussion. And I certainly won’t answer all of those questions here.  But one important aspect of this debate can be highlighted in a couple quotes that are taken from Tullian Tchividjian in his book “Jesus + Nothing = Everything,” where it is claimed that “Sanctification is the daily hard work of going back to the reality of our justification” (p. 95). Again he says, ”Sanctification is the hard work of giving up our efforts at self-justification” (p. 172). 

Left by itself, this is wrong.

And yet, these statements are only wrong because of one word… the word “the.” If I can put it this way, these statements are not wrong because they are something other than the truth. They are wrong because they are something less than the truth. Sanctification is more than “the art of getting used to your justification” “or “going back to your justification.”

Tullian says many good things in his book which awaken the Christian to fresh appreciations of the grace that is ours in the gospel. Amen to that! After all, it is quite true and critically important that Christians know that their sanctification is in Christ and from Christ, not in themselves or merely in their own works of trying harder to be godly (1 Cor. 1:30-31; Gal. 3:1-6).  It is also true that sanctification is entirely by grace. Our sanctification does not stand as a testimony to our own righteousness. It does truly stand as a testimony of the ongoing significance of what God has done for us in Christ.

But….there is something seriously defective with our understanding of sanctification if there is nothing added to this. Christians have now been joined to Christ and are therefore now living their lives as new creations (2 Cor. 5:17), who are now God’s workmanship (Eph. 2:10), who bear fruits that are apparent to others (John 15:1-8, 16). This also is an evidence of God’s grace in our lives. A true understanding of grace recognizes with Scripture that “the grace of God has appeared…training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Titus 2:11-12).

The popularity of Tchividjian’s book, however, points to the fact that the somewhat lopsided view of sanctification presented there is scratching people where they itch. I think this is true for a couple of reasons.

(1) It is true (and in many circles we don’t say it enough) that the gospel is necessary for our sanctification. We now stand in gospel “grace” (Rom. 5:1). We are to “grow in grace” (2 Pet. 3:18). We continue to come to the “throne of grace” to have our spiritual needs met (Heb. 4:16). We are still being saved by the gospel (1 Cor. 1:18). As Christians, we can heartily agree with the words of the Psalmist: “If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared” (Ps. 130:3-4). When we don’t hear this kind of thing, it leaves Christians with a dreary form of performance-based legalism that thirsts for grace (whether we know it or not). Trumpet the word of grace in a strictly law-soaked environment and many a happy saint you will see! May the church have no lack of preaching the cross and the imputed righteousness of Christ. And may thirsty saints continue to drink deeply at the same well of free grace apart from human works that we hold out to non-Christians (Is. 55:1-3). These are blessed benefits of our union with Christ.

(2) At the same time, itching ears often love to be told that there is no real hope that we will experience any genuine moral transformation over the course of our lives. And, it is quickly added, that should not cause us anxiety because grace is after all free, not based on our works. As Kevin DeYoung has commented, we hear about the liars and the thieves and the adulterers and the idolaters, and the greedy, and professing Christians say, “Oh, yeah, that is totally me, totally me!” What? Do we fail to realize that Scripture describes these people as those who will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-10)? If that description really sums up our moral state, then, according to Paul and the rest of the New Testament, it means we are not a Christian.

There definitely has to be some sense in which we are humble about the continuing presence of sin in our lives on this side of heaven. Hiding sins is the habit of hypocrites. If any man says he has no sin he is a liar (1 John 2:4). Confessing and forsaking sins is the habit of Christians (1 John 1:9). But we also must be able to say in a good conscience that “such were some of you” (1 Cor. 6:11). To be a “new creation” (Gal. 6:15) means we are no longer what we once were. As Christians, we first experience the definitive divine action of sanctification when we are regenerated and then we are progressively sanctified throughout our Christian lives (2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 12:1-2).

Here is a big picture perspective. God’s grace to us in our union with Christ means that we are justified in Christ, adopted in Christ, and sanctified in Christ. Theologians have called these the forensic, the filial, and the transformative aspects of our salvation. All three of these categories are essential aspects of what God does in and for a Christian through their union with Christ. It seems that some today are downplaying the second two categories of what Christ does in our salvation, while they lift the first category of justification up to the heavens. When there is an unbalanced emphasis like this, it is not an example of Christ-centered or gospel centered preaching, no matter how much they talk about Christ or his cross. It does not promote Christ-centered or gospel-centered living to reduce the doctrine of salvation to justification. We must have full gospel preaching for the long-term happiness and holiness of the church.

This is actually a reoccurring discussion in the life of the church over the centuries. An important historical precedent for today’s debate can be seen in the Marrow Controversy of the 16th century. For background on that and helpful connections with today, check out Sinclair Ferguson’s 3-part sermon

The dinner is this Saturday at Sam Yoder’s Conference Center, from 5-9pm. The Facebook page can be found here. Tickets are $45 per couple and must be purchased in advance. These can be obtained by contacting either The Pregnancy Help Center at 302-698-9311 or contact 302-242-5423 for other ticket locations.

Details:

• Sam Yoder’s Conference Center: 89 Hunting Quarter Road, Houston, Delaware
•  Semi-formal to formal event for guests ages 16 and older
• Special guest speakers and music will be a part …of the program
• Dinner, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverages will be included in the ticket price. The following dinner will be served buffet style:
  - Your choice of stuffed chicken breast with white sauce or roast beef with gravy
  - Your choice of roasted herb potatoes or green beans and a dinner roll
  - Your choice of tea, lemonade, water, and/or coffee
  - Your choice of cake or cupcake for dessert

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1:18)

“Has God not made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God to save those who believe.” (1:20b-21)

“And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (2:4-5)

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned…For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (2:14, 16)

Cornelius Van Til comments on the difference between Christian and non-Christian thinking:

“Reformed Christians should realize that the non-Christian may have, and often does have, a brilliant mind. It may act efficiently, like a sharp circular saw acts efficiently. We may greatly admire such a mind for what, in spite of its basic principle and because of the fact that God has released its powers in his restraining grace, it has done. For all that, it must not be forgotten that this mind is still, be its name Aristotle, a covenant breaker in Adam.

            Aristotle knew how to use logic. [Yet] He came to the conclusion that God is not the Creator of man, knows nothing, is not a person. His conclusion was consistent with his premise. His logic was involved in his metaphysics as his metaphysics was involved in his logic.”

- The Defense of the Faith, p. 293.

No human being, regardless of their intelligence or ignorance, has access to “brute” facts. That is, no human being has access to uninterpreted facts. And our interpretation of all facts is based on our assumptions about God’s existence and involvement in the world. We all look at the world around us but we each see it from the vantage point of either faith or unbelief. Then we build our understanding up from that point. This is often not a conscious process, but it is a reality nonetheless. This bottom-line presupposition determines how we understand all other things.

Grace and Truth Community Church, Saturday Sept 24, 9am-12:30pm

Another thing that Jesus does now that he is risen and ascended into heaven is to give gifts to the church (Eph. 4:7-12). So how do these two things go together? How do the priorities of the kingdom affect our use of the spiritual gifts that the risen Christ gives us? Edmund Clowney gives some helpful remarks here:

“We use our gifts in order to serve God, not in order to advance ourselves, attract the admiration of others, or even find satisfaction and fulfillment. We cannot demand that the Lord provide precisely the socket into which our gifts may best be plugged. Our first goal is to get the job done, and only secondarily to find the best use of our gifts.” The Church, p. 65-66.

For instance, we don’t hear of Paul complaining that he had to be a tent-maker in order to support himself even though that might not seem to us like the best use of his time. After all, God was in control of that. He was happy to totally give himself to the opportunities before him. And God is in control of the opportunities that each Christian has to serve him. So we also ought to “redeem the time” by making the most of every opportunity (Col. 4:5).

Since some are unfamiliar with this debate, the author, William Evans, first takes time to outline some of the recent exchanges. Then he takes a critical look at some of the issues. He has a discerning eye and does an excellent job of clarifying some of the mistakes that are being made. I recommend his thoughts for your consideration.