Opening Up...

Friends have been asking me for years to "write what I feel" here. I seldom get to do so. Preaching and expositions don't count. They want me to write what's on my mind and in my heart. Sometimes, evading these things makes you want to write dissertations on some theological or sociological issue, rather than attempt to dissect what's really inside you.

That can be a scary thing, as we know: baring your heart online. Man, I've even heard of blogs where people dump all their hang-ups and graphically describe their pains, hurts and abuses (no I am not talking about pornographic blogs here).

Not only is it a scary thing to do, but I am also wary of what I would be dumping online for all and sundry. It isn't so much about "baring all," but being responsible for what you say or think. Some people are quite impressionable, you see, and you might do harm when all you really wanted to do was unwind.

It is a common thing in today's generation to "be yourself" without regard for what others may see, think, feel or do. "Self expression rules!" they say.

That, to me, is a clear sign of an irresponsible person. Having walked that road before, I am painfully aware of the damage I have done to many people's lives because of my inability to see beyond my nose and feel beyond my own feelings.

As a Christian, I believe I am compelled by a Higher Authority to be more circumspect in these matters, so I could not simply "tell it all." This does not make me a stuck-up prude or hypocrite. Of course I have feelings! I have joys and pains, struggles, victories and defeats! I am not wearing a "happy face" for the world to see and applaud, but I know that not all will understand, so some things are better left between me and a few, and some things are only between me and my God.

That is a comfort: to have a Gd who cares and listens. To know that life is not random chance and all the hurts are temporary. To the one who knows God, Psalm 115:3, which says Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.

is not a threat but an assurance that everything is in control. Nothing happens without His knowledge and everything has a purpose. I will cry and be hurt, but joy will come in the morning. The Maker of time has made sure that it will not be always night, and even then, He gives us “songs in the night” (Job 35:10, Psalm 77:6).

Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

(Psalm 73:25-26)

EVERYBODY HURTS (R.E.M.)

When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)
When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on

'Cause everybody hurts. Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts. Don't throw your hand. Oh, no. Don't throw your hand
If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you are not alone

If you're on your own in this life, the days and nights are long,
When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on

Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
Everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes. So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on
Everybody hurts. You are not alone

A Short Survey on Repentance

The word "repent" seems to have fallen on hard times in some evangelical circles. People are invited to "accept Christ" or "pray to receive Him" but rarely will you hear nowadays an explicit call to repent. Paul, in his farewell speech to the elders of the Ephesian church, however, told them:

I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. (Acts 20:21, NIV)

A few sentences after that, Paul also tells them:

Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. (Acts 20:27, ESV)

There are also some teachers who claim that repentance is merely a synonym for faith. To them, repenting is simply "changing one's mind about Christ," that is, from belief to disbelief. Prominent in this so-called "free grace" school are the founder of Dallas Theological Seminary, Lewis Sperry Chafer and DTS professors Zane Hodges and Charles Ryrie.

While this holds a lot of truth in it, the assertion ignores repentance as it relates to man's condition as a sinner and man's problem: sin. While we should indeed change our minds about Christ, we are also contingently to change our minds about what God hates: sin.

When this view surfaced in my own home church, I was forced to do a quick survey on repentance. What follows is part of what I have covered. It includes various kinds of references written by different theologians coming from different denominations.

BIBLE DICTIONARIES:

The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary:

Repentance (Gk. Metanoia, a “change” of mind). In the theological and ethical sense a fundamental and thorough change in the hearts of men from sin and toward God. Although faith alone is the condition for salvation (Ephesians 2:8-10; Acts 16:31), repentance is bound up with faith and inseparable from it, since without some measure of faith no one can truly repent, and repentance never attains its deepest character until the sinner realizes through saving faith how great is the grace of God against whom he has sinned. On the other hand, there can be no saving faith without true repentance.

Repentance contains as essential elements (1) a genuine sorrow toward God on the account of sin (2 Corinthians 7:9-10; Matthew 5:3-4; Psalm 51); (2) an inward repugnance to sin necessarily followed by actual forsaking of it (Matthew 3:8; Acts 26:20; Hebrews 6:1); and (3) humble self-surrender to the will and service of God (Acts 9:6).

New Bible Dictionary, 2^nd Edition:

In the NT the words translated “repent” are metanoeô and metamelomai. Im Gk. They usually mean “to change one’s mind”, and also “to regret, fell remorse” (i.e. over the view previously held). This note of remorse is present in the parable of the tax collector (Luke 18:13), probably in Matthew 21:29, 32; 27:3 and Luke 17:4, and most explicitly in 2 Corinthians 7:8-10. But the NT usage is much more influenced by the OT sûb; that is, repentance is not just a feeling sorry, or changing one’s mind, but a turning round, a complete alteration of the basic motivation and direction of one’s life. That is why the best translation of metanoeô is often “to convert”, that is, “to turn around.

Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary:

There are three Greek words used in the New Testament to denote repentance.

The verb metamelomai is used of a change of mind, such as to produce regret or even remorse on account of sin, but not necessarily a change of heart. This word is used with reference to the repentance of Judas (Matthew 27:3).

Metanoeo, meaning to change one's mind and purpose, as the result of after knowledge.

This verb, with the cognate noun metanoia, is used of true repentance, a change of mind and purpose and life, to which remission of sin is promised.

Evangelical repentance consists of (1) a true sense of one's own guilt and sinfulness; (2) an apprehension of God's mercy in Christ; (3) an actual hatred of sin (Psalm 119:128; Job 42:5, 42:6; 2 Corinthians 7:10) and turning from it to God; and (4) a persistent endeavor after a holy life in a walking with God in the way of his commandments.

The true penitent is conscious of guilt (Psalm 51:4, 51:9), of pollution (Psalm 51:5, 51:7, 51:10), and of helplessness (Psalm 51:11; 109:21, 109:22). Thus he apprehends himself to be just what God has always seen him to be and declares him to be. But repentance comprehends not only such a sense of sin, but also an apprehension of mercy, without which there can be no true repentance (Psalm 51:1; 130:4).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia:

The word μετανοέω, metanoe´o¯, expresses the true New Testament idea of the spiritual change implied in a sinner's return to God. The term signifies “to have another mind,” to change the opinion or purpose with regard to sin. It is equivalent to the Old Testament word “turn.” Thus, it is employed by John the Baptist, Jesus, and the apostles (Matthew 3:2; Mark1:15; Acts 2:38). The idea expressed by the word is intimately associated with different aspects of spiritual transformation and of Christian life, with the process in which the agency of man is prominent, as faith (Acts 20:21), and as conversion (Acts 3:19); also with those experiences and blessings of which God alone is the author, as remission and forgiveness of sin (Luke 24:47; Acts 5:31). It is sometimes conjoined with baptism, which as an overt public act proclaims a changed relation to sin and God (Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3; Acts 13:24; Acts 19:4). As a vital experience, repentance is to manifest its reality by producing good fruits appropriate to the new spiritual life (Matthew 3:8).

The Psychological Elements:

The Intellectual Element:

Repentance is that change of a sinner's mind which leads him to turn from his evil ways and live. The change wrought in repentance is so deep and radical as to affect the whole spiritual nature and to involve the entire personality. The intellect must function, the emotions must be aroused, and the will must act. Psychology shows repentance to be profound, personal and all-pervasive. The intellectual element is manifest from the nature of man as an intelligent being, and from the demands of God who desires only rational service. Man must apprehend sin as unutterably heinous, the divine law as perfect and inexorable, and himself as coming short or falling below the requirements of a holy God (Job 42:5, Job 42:6; Psalm 51:3; Romans 3:20).

The Emotional Element:

There may be a knowledge of sin without turning from it as an awful thing which dishonors God and ruins man. The change of view may lead only to a dread of punishment and not to the hatred and abandonment of sin (Exodus 9:27; Numbers 22:34; Joshua 7:20; 1 Samuel 15:24; Matthew 27:4). An emotional element is necessarily involved in repentance. While feeling is not the equivalent of repentance, it nevertheless may be a powerful impulse to a genuine turning from sin. A penitent cannot from the nature of the case be stolid and indifferent. The emotional attitude must be altered if New Testament repentance be experienced. There is a type of grief that issues in repentance and another which plunges into remorse. There is a godly sorrow and also a sorrow of the world. The former brings life; the latter, death (Matthew 27:3; Luke 18:23; 2 Corinthians 7:9-:10). There must be a consciousness of sin in its effect on man and in its relation to God before there can be a hearty turning away from unrighteousness. The feeling naturally accompanying repentance implies a conviction of personal sin and sinfulness and an earnest appeal to God to forgive according to His mercy (Psalm 51).

The Volitional Element:

The most prominent element in the psychology of repentance is the voluntary, or volitional. This aspect of the penitent's experience is expressed in the Old Testament by “turn”, or “return,” and in the New Testament by “repent” or “turn.” The words employed in the Hebrew and Greek place chief emphasis on the will, the change of mind, or of purpose, because a complete and sincere turning to God involves both the apprehension of the nature of sin and the consciousness of personal guilt (Jeremiah 25:5; Mark 1:15; Acts 2:38; 2 Corinthians 7:9-10). The demand for repentance implies free will and individual responsibility. That men are called upon to repent there can be no doubt, and that God is represented as taking the initiative in repentance is equally clear. The solution of the problem belongs to the spiritual sphere. The psychical phenomena have their origin in the mysterious relations of the human and the divine personalities. There can be no external substitute for the internal change. Sackcloth for the body and remorse for the soul are not to be confused with a determined abandonment of sin and return to God. Not material sacrifice, but a spiritual change, is the inexorable demand of God in both dispensations (Psalm 51:17; Isaiah 1:11; Jeremiah 6:20; Hosea 6:6).

Repentance is only a condition of salvation and not its meritorious ground. The motives for repentance are chiefly found in the goodness of God, in divine love, in the pleading desire to have sinners saved, in the inevitable consequences of sin, in the universal demands of the gospel, and in the hope of spiritual life and membership in the kingdom of heaven (Ezekiel 33:11; Mark 1:15; Luke 13:1-5; John 3:16; Acts 17:30; Romans 2:4; 1Timothy 2:4). The first four beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-6) form a heavenly ladder by which penitent souls pass from the dominion of Satan into the Kingdom of God. A consciousness of spiritual poverty dethroning pride, a sense of personal unworthiness producing grief, a willingness to surrender to God in genuine humility, and a strong spiritual desire developing into hunger and thirst, enter into the experience of one who wholly abandons sin and heartily turns to Him who grants repentance unto life.

Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary:

REPENTANCE a turning away from sin, disobedience, or rebellion and a turning back to God (Matthew 9:13;Luke 5:32). In a more general sense, repentance means a change of mind (Genesis 6:67) or a feeling of remorse or regret for past conduct (Matthew 27:3). True repentance is a godly sorrow for sin, an act of turning around and going in the opposite direction. This type of repentance leads to a fundamental change in a persons relationship to God.

In the Old Testament the classic case of repentance is that of King David, after Nathan the prophet accused him of killing Uriah the Hittite and committing adultery with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. Davids prayer of repentance for this sin is found in Psalm 51.

In the New Testament the keynote of John the Baptists preaching was, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 3:2). To the multitudes he declared, Bear fruits worthy of repentance (Matthew 3:8; Luke 3:8). When Jesus began His ministry, He took up Johns preaching of the message of repentance, expanding the message to include the good news of salvation: The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel (Matthew 4:17;Mark 1:15).

In Jesus preaching of the kingdom of God is seen the truth that repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin: by repentance, one turns away from sin; by faith, one turns toward God in accepting the Lord Jesus Christ. Such a twofold turning, or conversion, is necessary for entrance into the kingdom (Matthew 18:3). Unless you repent, said Jesus, you will all likewise perish (Luke:13:3, 5). This is the negative, or judgmental, side of Jesus message. The positive, or merciful, side is seen in these words: There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10).

After Jesus crucifixion and resurrection, His disciples continued His message of repentance and faith (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 20:21; 26:20). Repentance is a turning from wickedness and dead works (Acts 8:22; Hebrews 6:1) toward God and His glory (Acts 20:21;Revelation 16:9), eternal life (Acts 11:18), and a knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 2:25).

Repentance is associated with prayer (1 Kings 8:47), belief (Mark 1:15), baptism (Acts 2:38), and conversion (Acts 3:19) and is accompanied by humility (Matthew 11:21). Repentance is Gods will and pleasure (Luke 15:7; 2 Peter 3:9), as well as His command (Mark 6:12; Acts 17:30). It is a gift of His sovereign love (Acts 5:31; 11:18; Romans 2:4; 2 Timothy 2:25), without which we cannot be saved (Luke 13:3).

NIV Compact Dictionary of the Bible:

In the NT repentance and faith are two sides of one coin (Acts 20:21). They are a response to grace. Jesus preached the need for the Jews to repent (Matthew 4:17), and required his apostles/disciples to preach repentance to the Jews and Gentiles (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 17:13). Repentance is a profound change of mind involving the changing of the direction of life. The positive side of repentance is ocnversion, the actual turning to God or Christ for grace.

STUDY BIBLE NOTES:

NIV Study Bible

Acts 3:19. Repent. Repentance is a change of mind and will arising from sorrow for sin and leading to transformation of life. Turn to God. Subsequent to repentance and not completely identical with it. See 11:21 n(“believe and turn”) and 26:20 (“repent and turn”; see also 9:35; 14:15; 15:19; 26:18; 28:27). In the strictest sense, repentance is turning from sin, and faith is turning to God. However, the word “turn” is not always used with such precision. Your sins…wiped out. Your sins will be forgiven as a result of repentance.

SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGIES:

Systematic Theology (Wayne Grudem, 1^st Ed., Chapter 35: Conversion)

Repentance is a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ…Repentance, like faith, is an intellectual understanding (that sin is wrong), an emotional approval of the teachings of Scripture regarding sin (a sorrow for sin and a hatred of it), and a personal decision to turn from it (a renouncing of sin and a decision of the will to forsake it and lead a life of obedience to Christ instead. (p.713)

Scripture puts repentance and faith together as different aspects of the one act of coming to Christ for salvation. It is not that a person first turns from sin and next trusts in Christ, or first trusts in Christ and then turns from sin, but rather that both occur at the same time. When we turn to Christ for salvation from our sins, we are simultaneously turning away from the sins that we are asking Christ to save us from. If that were not true our turning to Christ for salvation from sin could hardly be a genuine turning to him or trusting in him. (p.713)

Therefore it is clearly contrary to the NT evidence to speak about the possibility of having true saving faith without having any repentance for sin. It is also contrary to the NT to speak about the possibility of someone accepting Christ “as Savior” but not “as Lord,” if that means simply depending on him for salvation but not committing oneself to forsake sin and to be obedient to Christ from that point on. (p.714)

When we realize that genuine saving faith must be accompanied by genuine repentance for sin, it helps us understand why some preaching of the gospel has such inadequate results today. If there is no mention of the need for repentance, sometimes the gospel becomes only, “Believe in Jesus Christ and be saved” without any mention of repentance at all. But this watered-down version of the gospel does not ask for wholehearted commitment to Christ – commitment to Christ, if genuine, must include a commitment to turn from sin. Preaching the need for faith without repentance is preaching only half of the gospel. It will result in many people being deceived, thinking that they have heard the Christian gospel and tried it, but nothing happened. They might even say something like, “I accepted Christ as Savior over and over again and it never worked.” Yet they never really did receive Christ as their Savior, for he comes to us in his majesty and invites us to receive him as he is – the one who deserves to be, and demand to be, absolute Lord of our lives as well. (pp.716-717)

Christian Theology (Millard Erickson, 2^nd Ed. , Chapter 45)

The negative aspect of conversion is the abandonment or repudiation of sin. This is what we mean by repentance. It is based on a feeling of godly sorrow for our sin. In examining repentance and faith, we should remember that they cannot be separated from one another. (pp.947-948)

As we examine this matter of repentance, we cannot avoid being impressed with its importance as a prerequisite for salvation. The large number of verses and the variety of contexts in which repentance is stressed make clear that it is not optional but indispensable. That people in many different cultural settings were urged to repent shows that it is not a message meant for a few specific local situations. Rather, repentance is an essential part of the Christian gospel. (p.949)

Real repentance is sorrow for one’s sin because of the wrong done to God and the hurt inflicted upon him. This sorrow is accompanied by a genuine desire to abandon that sin. In the case of true repentance, there is regret over the sin even if the sinner has not suffered any unfortunate personal effects because of it. (p.950)

The Bible’s repeated emphasis on the necessity of repentance is a conclusive argument against what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace” (or “easy believism”). It is not enough simply to believe in Jesus and accept the offer of grace; there must be a real alteration of the inner person. If belief in God’s grace were all that is necessary, who would not wish to become a Christian? But Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). If there is no conscious repentance, there is no real awareness of having been saved from the power of sin. (pp.950-951)

Grudem strongly repudiates the “non-Lordship salvation” of Lewis Sperry Chafer and Zane Hodges, endorses John MacArthur’s “The Gospel According To Jesus” and identifies Hodge’s teaching with the Sandemanians. He also notes that not all in Dallas Seminary or all within Dispensational theology hold this view.

Erickson names Zane Hodges’ book Absolutely Free! A Biblical Reply To Lordship Salvation and counters the view that “repentance and acceptance of the lordship of Christ is not necessary for salvation.”

OTHER BOOKS:

The Gospel According To Jesus (John F. MacArthur Jr.):

The Greek word for repentance, metanoia, literally means “to think after. It implies a change of mind, and some who oppose lordship salvation have tried to limit its meaning to that. But the definition of repentance cannot be drawn solely from the etymology of the Greek word.

Repentance as Jesus characterized it in this incident (cf. Luke 18:13) involves a recognition of one’s utter sinfulness and a turning from self and sin to God (cf. 1 Thessalonians 1:9). Far from being a human work, it is the inevitable result of God’s work in a human heart. And it always represents the end of any human attempt to earn God’s favor. It is much more than a mere change of mind – it involves a complete change of heart, attitude, interest and direction. It is a conversion in every sense of the word. (p.32)

Repentance is a critical element of saving faith, but one must never dismiss it as simply another word for believing. The Greek word for “repentance” is metanoi, from meta, “after” and noeo “to understand.” Literally it means “afterthought” or “change of mind,” but biblically its meaning does not stop there. As metanoia is used in the NT, it always speaks of a change in purpose, and specifically a turning from sin. In the sense Jesus used it, repentance calls for a repudiation of the old life and a turning to God for salvation.

Such a change of purpose is what Paul had in mind when he described the repentance of the Thessalonians. “you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God,” (1 Thessalonians 1:9). Note the three elements of repentance: a turning to God; a turning from evil; and the intent to serve God. No change of mind can be called true repentance without including all three elements. The simple but all to often overlooked fact is that a true change of mind will necessarily result in a change of behavior.

Repentance is not merely being ashamed or sorry over sin, although genuine repentance always involves an element of remorse. It s a redirection of human will, a purposeful decision to forsake all unrighteousness and pursue righteousness instead. (pp.162-163)

Studies on the Sermon of the Mount (D. Martin Lloyd Jones):

Repentance alters the character of the whole man. As D. Martin Lloyd-Jones said, “Repentance means that o\you realize that you are a guilty, vile sinner in the presence of God, and that you are hell-bound. It means that you begin to realize that this thing called sin is in you, that you long to get rid of it, and that you turn your back on it in every shape and form. You renounce the world whatever the cost, the world in its mind and outlook as well as its practice, and you deny yourself, and take up the cross and go after Christ. Your nearest and dearest, and the whole world, may call you a fool, or say that you have religious mania. You may have to suffer financially, but it makes no difference. That is repentance.” (quoted by John MacArthur in GATJ, pp.164-165)

Evangelism And The Sovereignty of God (James I. Packer):

A man must know that, in the words of the first of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses, ‘when our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said “Repent”, He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance,’ and he must also know what repentance involves. ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me… whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same (but only he) shall save it.’ (Luke 9:23-24) ‘If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also (i.e. put them all decisively second in his esteem), he cannot be my disciple… whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26,33)

The repentance that Christ requires of His people consists in a settled refusal to set any limit to the claims which He may make on their lives. Our Lord knew-who better?-how costly His followers would find it to maintain this refusal, and let Him have His way with them all the time, and therefore He wished them to face out and think through the implications of discipleship before committing themselves. He did not desire to make disciples under false pretences. He had no interest in gathering vast crowds of professed adherents who would melt away as soon as they found out what following Him actually demanded of them.

In our presentation of Christ’s gospel, therefore, we need to lay a similar stress on the cost of following Christ, and make sinners face it soberly before we urge them to respond to the message of free forgiveness. In common honesty, we must not conceal the fact that free forgiveness in one sense will cost everything; or else our evangelizing becomes a sort of confidence trick. And where there is no clear knowledge, and hence no realistic recognition of the real claims that Christ makes, there can be no repentance, and therefore no salvation. (pp. 72-73)

More pictures of Aeon

The God-Centered Ground of Saving Grace

Our Goal: The Grace of God or the God of Grace?

In the material I received about the aims of this conference, one sentence seemed to me tremendously important: "Our goal [in this conference] is to examine the nature of God as evidenced through His bountiful grace." What was so characteristically Ligonier about that – and I believe Biblical – was the order of things: "examine the nature of God as evidenced through his grace." The goal is God through grace. Not grace through God.

I wonder if that difference sounds significant to you. I think it's immensely significant. Because one of the great divides in American religious life today, as I see it, is whether God is made a means to grace, or grace is made a means to God.

Does the quest of our lives and the longing of our hearts and the labor of our minds terminate on God, in whom we live and move and have our being, so that grace is indescribably precious because it carries us safely to him?Or is God brought in alongside our planning, and our techniques and methods and political strategies and therapies and treatments as a means to the experience of various forms of grace?

I want to press this because I believe it makes a tremendous difference whether our ultimate treasure is the grace of God or whether our ultimate treasure is the God of grace. It seems to me that the most fundamental question standing before American evangelicalism today is whether we put God or ourselves at the center of grace. And my passion today is to plead for the God-centeredness of saving grace; that we cherish saving grace because it brings us to God, rather than cherishing God because he brings us grace.

Ten Biblical Illustrations of God-centered Saving Grace

So what I would like to do is press home the God-centeredness of saving grace by looking at 10 Biblical illustrations of it.

1. The God-centeredness of saving grace is seen in its origin.

There is a profound inability that comes with being an infinite, all-glorious God. There are things that God cannot be in himself as God. He cannot be deficient or defective or needy. Therefore he cannot respond to us out of need for our value, our works or our distinctives. God can only relate to us out of fullness and self-sufficiency, and therefore, out of freedom. And that fullness is the origin of saving grace. That's the point of Romans 11:33-36:

Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, [so as to become] His counselor? Or who has first given a gift to Him that it he should be repaid? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

God can never be negotiated with, because there is no value, no currency, no asset outside of God that hasn't come from God and that does not already belong to God. And this reality of God's absolute self-sufficiency is the origin of grace.

Let me pose a question for you to ponder: If the repayment of our debt to God's grace is impossible (Romans 11:35) since the repayment of that debt would nullify grace and turn it into a business transaction, should we describe our moral life in the terms of duty understood as repaying what we owe to grace?

Second question: does not a gratitude ethic run the risk of minimizing grace by leaving it mainly in the past and neglecting the moral significance of its ongoing, inexhaustible future provisions? Is the duty of the next hour's obedience to be lived in the power of our gratitude for past grace or in the confidence of future grace? Would God get more glory if Moses left Egypt out of gratitude for past grace in his being rescued from the bulrushes? Or would God get more glory if Moses left those fleeting pleasures because he counted abuse suffered for the Christ to be greater wealth of grace than the treasures of Egypt, since he looked to the reward of even more future grace (Hebrews 11:24-26)?

In a word: is the origin of grace in the infinite self-sufficiency of God glorified best by a past-oriented ethic of debt and duty or a future-oriented ethic of hope and joy? As much as I would love to linger here and make my case, it is my duty to move on – and since I hope in God's ongoing grace to multiply the loaves and fishes of those few words, I leave that with joy.

So, the first illustration of my point is that the God-centeredness of saving grace is seen in its origin - the self-sufficiency of God.

2. The God-centeredness of saving grace is seen in the ultimate gift that grace brings, namely, God.

In the explosive, radiant, overflowing fountain of God's self-sufficiency there is an impulse to be known and loved and admired and enjoyed. That impulse is the grace of God. The gift that this impulse moves God to share with his creation is himself. Grace is the impulse of the fountain to overflow, but the water that overflows is God. What could be more God-centered than a God who thinks that the best gift he can give his people is himself?

As a hart longs for the flowing streams,
So longs my soul for thee, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
For the living God.
When shall I come and behold the face of God?
(Psalm 42:1-2)

O God, thou art my God, I seek thee,
My soul thirsts for thee,
My flesh faints for thee
As in a dry and weary land where no water is.
(Psalm 63:1-2)

Whom have I in heaven but thee?
And on earth there is none that I desire beside thee.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
But thou art the strength of my heart
And my portion forever.
(Psalm 73:24f)

I will go to the altar of God,
To God, my exceeding joy.
(Psalm 43:4).

What is overflowing in saving grace is God himself. The God-centeredness of saving grace is seen in the fact that the best gift grace can give is God.

3. The God-centeredness of saving grace is seen in the basic response God demands to the gift of himself, namely, joyful trust.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:24, "Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy." As though faith and joy were almost interchangeable. He wrote to the Philippians (1:25) that God's purpose was for Paul to remain with them for "the advancement and joy of [their] faith." He commanded believers to "rejoice in the Lord" (4:6) just like the psalmist commanded, "Delight yourself in the Lord" (Psalm 37:4). In other words, the fundamental command of grace is to be satisfied with God.

The reason for this is that no other command could be more gracious and more God-centered than this.

Yesterday I attended the speaker's luncheon and R.C. Sproul presented Russell and Lisa Johnson with a beautiful gift and tribute for helping make this conference happen – a sort of "well done, good and faithful servants." The Johnson's sacrifices on our behalf, in these last 15 months, were mentioned. After the applause died down, Dr. Sproul asked for a speech from the Johnson's. He got one. Four words: "It was our pleasure."

Why did Lisa Johnson say that? Why didn't she say, "It was our duty. Thank you for recognizing our sacrifices. It was our duty to endure them?" The answer is very simple and very profound. R.C. Sproul would not have felt honored by that speech. But he was greatly honored by the statement that serving his vision was their pleasure.

So it is with our serving God. The response of delight gives God more honor than the response of mere duty. "Lo, I come; in the roll of the book it is written of me; I delight to do thy will, O my God; thy law is within my heart" (Psalm 40:8). One of the most breathtaking discoveries that I have ever made is that the centrality of God's glory and the satisfaction of my soul are not at odds. God's zeal to be glorified and my passion to be satisfied do not have to conflict. They come to simultaneous fulfillment in the act of God-exalting, soul-satisfying worship.

The God-centeredness of saving grace is seen in the basic response that God demands for the gift of himself, namely, joyful trust.

Of course no one responds to God in this way on his own. We've seen that in previous lectures. Sin and evil hold sway in every human heart apart from saving grace.

4. The God-centeredness of saving grace is seen in the Biblical description of what that grace rescues us from.

Here's the way God describes us in our sin, according to Jeremiah 2:12-13:

Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

So the essence of evil is to turn from God as the Fountain of living water and to try desperately, with every toy and relationship and job and entertainment and recreation and project and enterprise – even religious ones, to find life and satisfaction for our souls. That's what saving grace must rescue us from – the suicidal love affair that we have with everything but God. Even the definition of sin highlights the God-centeredness of saving grace.

When God decides, sovereignly and graciously, to overcome that suicidal slavery to sin in our hearts, the way he does it is intentionally designed to preserve and exalt his own supremacy and centrality in the process of salvation. The Biblical pictures of our rescue put God unmistakably at the center and give him all the glory.

5. The God-centeredness of saving grace is seen in God's raising us from spiritual death.

In Ephesians 2:5-6 Paul says, "We who were dead in trespasses, God made alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him."

Paul pushes the phrase, "by grace you have been saved," into this sentence and breaks the flow: "God made us alive – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up." Why does he do that? Because being raised from the dead, spiritually, cannot be our doing. It isn't something we perform in order to be acceptable to God. If it is going to happen, Another must do it to us and for us, freely. Absolutely freely. That means: by grace. Paul pushes this phrase obtrusively into the sentence because grace pushed itself obtrusively into our dead lives and made us alive.

If you have one whisper of genuine desire for God in your heart, it is the work of God and the triumph of grace. We did not barter or deal or work or hope or believe. Nothing in us merited or constrained the life-giving work of God. It was entirely grace – absolutely free and unconditional. It was not based on our prior choice. It created our choice.

6. The same centrality of God in saving grace is seen in the effectual calling of God.

Paul says (in 2 Timothy 1:9), that this calling "was not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity." (See also John 11:43; Ephesians 5:14; Romans 8:30; 1 Corinthians 1:23-24)

7. The centrality of God in saving grace is seen in the sovereign act of new creation.

A new creation happens when God says to a soul blinded by the god of this world, "Let there be light . . . and [creates in the darkened soul] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6).

8. The centrality of God in saving grace is seen in God's sovereign act of begetting his own children.

We did not choose to be begotten any more than we chose to be raised from the dead or called or created. We were born "not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1: 12-13).

9. And the centrality of God in saving grace could be seen in the cross of Christ.

We see the centrality of grace in the cross. Paul says (Romans 3:24-25) that when God gave his Son to be a propitiation by his blood, he did it to demonstrate his own righteousness in order that he might be both just and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus.

Everything God has done to rescue us from our suicidal love affair with everything but God, is an act of God-centered grace.

10. Instead of lingering over any of these, let's close by focusing our attention on the first and primal act of saving grace – the centrality of God in the grace of election.

If God exalts his own sovereign rights to raise some sinners from spiritual death, call them, create them, beget them, and atone for their sins, then he must be making choices according to some principle or some purpose. Ephesians 1:4 says that God made these choices before the foundation of the world. Romans 9:11 makes clear that the choices are made without reference to us doing anything good or evil. So the saving grace of election is not based on anything we will do or be.

What does God base his choices on? What's guiding him as he elects? Romans 9:11 says that the reason God set his favor on Jacob and not Esau, before they were born and had done nothing good or evil, was this: "that God's purpose (prothesis) which accords with election, might remain."

What purpose? What purpose is God jealous to preserve in unconditional election? The answer is given 11 verses later in Romans 9:22-23, "What if God, desiring to show his wrath and make known his power, has endured with much patience, the vessels of wrath made for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for the vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory?"

In other words, the "purpose" behind unconditional election is that God might make known the incomparable riches of his glory for the enjoyment of the vessels of mercy. The riches of that glory, which God means to lavish upon the vessels of mercy forever and ever, are the whole panorama of God's perfections, including his wrath and power. The glory of God's mercy will shine brighter against the backdrop of judgment. The intensity of our joy will be greater because we behold the full range of God's perfections in the history of redemption.

Because of God-centered grace, the two great passions in the universe do not collide: God's passion to be glorified and our passion to be satisfied. In the end, God will be perfectly glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

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By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.Used with permission.