Radical Virtues

Great piece from Relevant - Christianity's Five Most Countercultural Virtues: Why the Teachings of the Bible Are Still So Radical by Stephen Mattson

Many Christians present the Gospel to non-believers using a strategy that emulates the secular world. They adopt trends, styles and behaviors to repackage biblical truths to fit cultural norms.

This isn’t all bad—and is sometimes even necessary for the advancement of the Gospel—but cultural accommodation can become so idolized that Christianity loses its uniqueness. But, the core of our faith produces characteristics that are entirely unique.
Here are five Christian virtues that continue to be radically countercultural:

Patience

“If we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (Romans 8:25).

In a world obsessed with real-time data, fast-developing news stories, viral momentum and constant movement, it’s become increasingly hard to wait—simply to be still.
Being patient is a countercultural act of trusting in God and accepting the fact that some things are beyond our control.

When our society values continuous work, efficiency, action and interaction while also trivializing rest, silence and stillness, it can be increasingly difficult to step away from everything. Unplugging, taking a break, waiting and listening for God to speak is a surprisingly radical accomplishment.

Meekness

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5 ).

We live in a noisy culture that rewards those who are the loudest, most flamboyant and noticeable. Rants, arguments, yelling and splashy disruptiveness are the new norm.
Even the Christian message has been co-opted by arguing factions fighting to become the most powerful, influential and visible, but through this process they prove themselves to be an ordinary and mediocre variation of the world around them.

Sensationalism is how our society markets, advertises and communicates within an environment that values fame, recognition and attention.

But meekness isn’t a form of weakness. It’s actually a unique source of strength, allowing people to not be susceptible to populist hate, mainstream rage, reckless hyperbole, irrational fear, foolish violence, ignorant propaganda, racist rhetoric and systemic injustice.
Being gentle and quiet within a frenzied civilization that’s quick to judge, accuse, worry and destroy allows us to center ourselves upon God. Meekness proves itself by working and serving without seeking personal recognition while simultaneously glorifying God—a profoundly extraordinary act of worship.

Lewis on Christian Living

C. S. Lewis' Top 5 Tips About Christian Living by Holly Mthethwa at Crosswalk:

Simply put, Christian living is God’s way of living. We could make an endless list of what a Christian does and doesn’t do. 

It would likely include things such as: read the bible daily, pray daily, love one another, or attend church. And, while all of those things are highly important aspects of living life God’s way, it often helps to look at some specific ways we can live a Christian life in direct relation to the obstacles we’re facing today. 

C.S. Lewis, a well-known apologist and Christian thinker, wrote well before our time, but he wrote highly applicable and practical truths about Christian living that still ring true today.

While Lewis provides a wealth of wisdom, here are five tips relevant in today’s age taken from his book “Mere Christianity.”

A Christian living in any era, but especially in today’s age: 

1. Possesses True Humility 

“True humility isn’t thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.” –C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

We have a Gospel message and a Gospel mission, and we’re walking the tightrope between promoting a message that points to Jesus and promoting ourselves. While not always bad, we’re living in an age where self-promotion, selfies, and self-help books are prevalent. We battle with either thinking too highly of ourselves or not thinking highly enough—both of which consume us with “self.”

Lewis’s words are beautifully simple and powerful. To be truly humble, Christians must think of themselves less.

2. Chooses Truth Over Originality 

“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.” – C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

We’re told to just “be you” by nearly every person we encounter. And, while it’s important to remain true to oneself, we can become consumed with being unique, original, or different. 

I love Lewis’s advice: when we simply tell the truth according to scripture, we become original without ever noticing it. A Christian in today’s world chooses truth over originality.

3. Pursues God Over Happiness

“And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” – C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Whether I’m logged online or driving in the car, I’m confronted by people, places, and things promising happiness. I want to be happy—we all do—so I often find myself chasing the next thing I believe will make that happen. If I can just {fill in the blank}, I’ll find true happiness.

The Christian living in today’s age chases God over the pursuit of happiness. Catching glimpses of God becomes more important than grasping feelings of happiness. The irony is that it’s when we seek God that we experience true and lasting joy. 

4. Understands Progress Often Means Turning Back

“Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turn, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.” –C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Turning back or turning around is essentially the definition of repentance, which means to turn away from sin and turn to God. 

In today’s world, we applaud progress. We want to climb higher, faster, longer. We blaze ahead, often knowing we’re going in the wrong direction. We know that if we make a wrong turn, the GPS will re-route us.

The Christian living in today’s world knows that the man who realizes he is on the wrong road and turns back soonest is the most progressive.

5. Listens to the Holy Spirit

“It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. And so on, all day. Standing back from all your natural fussings and frettings; coming in out of the wind.” –C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

We’re busy, we’re overwhelmed, we’re stressed, and we’re anxious. We listen to our to-do lists, our well-meaning friends, and ourselves. 

The Christian living in today’s world—the one who truly wants to live for Christ—pauses to listen to the Holy Spirit every moment of every day. She slays busy and stays quiet, even among the chaos.

As always when we talk about living a life that reflects the fullness of Christ, it’s important to remember that it is only by God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit that we’re able to live a life pleasing to God.

Humble Theology

There can be no such thing as a truly Christian thinker who is not humble. I loved this piece from The Gospel Coalition - Theology Is For the Humble by Brandon Smith

Christians need theology like we need to breathe. And like breathing, it’s so integral to who we are that we don’t even realize we’re doing it. We can’t avoid theology, nor should we. Without theology, our faith is a corpse.

Not every Christian is a professional theologian teaching in the classroom or from the pulpit. But every Christian does theology. Theology, simply put, is attempting to explain and tie together truths mined from Scripture. Any time we make statements about truths from Scripture (Jesus is the Messiah; God is sovereign; humanity is sinful; salvation is by faith alone; etc.) we do theology.

According to the Bible, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9). In order to be saved—to truly live—theology must be involved. It’s unavoidable.

In the oldie-but-goodie Doing Theology in Today’s World, J. I. Packer writes an essay on the importance of doing theology with humility, quoting Martin Luther at length. Here’s just a snippet of Luther’s points:

"Firstly, you should know that the Holy Scriptures constitute a book that turns the wisdom of all other books into foolishness. Secondly, take care that you do not grow weary or think that you have done enough when you have read, heard, and spoken [the Bible’s words] once or twice, and that you then have complete understanding. Thirdly, [learn] not only to know and understand, but also to experience how right, how true, how sweet, how lovely, how mighty, how comforting God’s Word is, wisdom beyond all wisdom.
Working at a Bible college for three years and spending seven years (so far) as a student in biblical and theological training, it’s always said that doing theology is a humble person’s task. Pride puffs up, leaving the theologian with nothing but Spirit-less fodder for intramural debates. Humility, on the other hand, allows for God-exaltation to happen in one’s life and work."

As a person grows in knowledge of Scripture, pride creeps into our hearts like a quiet mouse in a dark kitchen looking for a feast. We want to be right and to show others we’re right, and so we begin to forget that none of this is about us. We forget that the only reason we can even attempt theology is because God graciously revealed himself to us. And if we don’t turn on the light of the gospel and remind ourselves of God’s glory and beauty, pride will set up shop in our hearts for an extended stay. Theology will become about us.

Learning God-Talk

Theology literally means words about God. God-talk. So doing theology is no small thing! We’re attempting to describe the character, acts, and will of an infinite, perfect being with our own finite, imperfect language. So in order to even attempt doing theology humbly, let me encourage you to consider three things.

1. There is no such thing as a presupposition-free theology.

We all bring contextual baggage to the text, interpreting through particular lenses and with predetermined biases. We do all we can to be objective, but we must understand that we don’t read the Bible in a vacuum. This means we need to be aware of and honest about our blind spots.

2. There is no such thing as a perfect theology.

Nobody, nowhere has it all figured out. The reason there are seemingly endless theological systems and nuances is because nobody’s theology is inerrant. The mantra “always reforming” should be actually true for us. This means we should always be willing to be wrong and to learn from others, since we’ll never “arrive.”

3. There is no such thing as a “personal” theology.

Theology is not kept to ourselves and shouldn’t be kept to ourselves. First of all, our words and actions reflect our theology. Good theology creates good ethics. You can’t hide bad theology. Second, if theology is about God, then it should be shared. As ministers of reconciliation, messengers of good news, we shouldn’t hide our theology under a bowl. Rather, our theology should convict and drive us toward a lived-out faith. This means we need to be careful what we believe and how we speak as we imperfectly point toward the perfect One.

Sharing the Gift

Every Christian should care about theology. Doing theology is seeking to know and love God better, and using that knowledge to know and love others better. When we tell someone, “You are a sinner, but Christ loves you and died for you,” we should do so humbly. Christ has been gracious to involve us in his mission, not only exhorting us to “go” but promising he “will be with us always, until the end of the age” (Matt. 28:19–20).
We didn’t invent theology—we don’t own it. We don’t deserve theology—we receive it as a gift. We don’t hoard theology—we share it.

An Important Reminder

Where To Start

From Radio Free Babylon (Click image to enlarge)

Humility of the Proud

Thomas Merton on Humility:

Lord, You have taught us to love humility, but we have not learned. We have learned only to love the outward surface of it — the humility that makes a person charming and attractive. We sometimes pause to think about these qualities, and we often pretend that we possess them, and that we have gained them by “practicing humility.”

If we were really humble, we would know to what an extent we are liars!

Teach me to bear a humility which shows me, without ceasing, that I am a liar and a fraud and that, even though this is so, I have an obligation to strive after truth, to be as true as I can, even though I will inevitably find all my truth half poisoned with deceit. This is the terrible thing about humility: that it is never fully successful. If it were only possible to be completely humble on this earth. But no, that is the trouble: You, Lord, were humble. But our humility consists in being proud and knowing all about it, and being crushed by the unbearable weight of it, and to be able to do so little about it.

• Thomas Merton

Thoughts In Solitude

HT: Internet Monk

More Like Him

From Radio Free Babylon

(Click on image to enlarge)

High Price

“The cost for the recipient of God’s grace is nothing — and no price could be higher for arrogant people to pay.

— Dan Allender, quoted by World Harvest Mission in Gospel Transformation

HT: Of First Importance

Underqualified

From @DailyKeller

Foundations

“Do you wish to be great?  Then begin by being.

Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric?  

Think first about the foundations of humility.

They higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation.”

      - St. Augustine

HT: SBC Voices

Hasty Reading

From Challies.com

The Most Difficult Audience

From Twitter @EugeneCho

Less

 HT: Challies.com

The Lower Place

"Seeking the highest place is in direct contradiction to the teaching of the Lord. Christ instructed His disciples, “But when thou art bidden [to a wedding feast], go and sit down in the lowest room” (Luke 14:10). If we are going to do the Lord’s work in the Lord’s way, we must take Jesus’ teaching seriously: He does not want us to press on to the greatest place unless He Himself makes it impossible to do otherwise. Taking the lower place in a practical way (thus reflecting the mentality of Christ who humbled Himself even to death on a cross) should be a Christian’s choice."

 - Francis Schaeffer, The Lord's Work in the Lord's Way (No Little People)

HT: Francis Schaeffer Studies

Humble Boldness

"And here is the source of true kindness. The salvation of Jesus humbles us profoundly – we are so lost that he had to die for us. But it exalts and assures us mightily — we are so valued that he was glad to die for us. Because we are sinners totally accepted by grace, we have both the humility and the boldness necessary to serve others for their sake, not ours. "

        — Tim Keller, "The Grace of Kindness"

HT: Of First Importance

Take Yourself By the Ears....

If… you feel and are inclined to think you have made it, flattering yourself with your own little books, teaching, or writing, because you have done it beautifully and preached excellently;

If you are highly pleased when someone praises you in the presence of others;

If you perhaps look for praise, and would sulk or quit what you are doing if you did not get it – if you are of that stripe, dear friend,

Then take yourself by the ears, and if you do this the right way you will find a beautiful pair of big, long, shaggy donkey ears.

Then do not spare any expense!

Decorate them with golden bells, so that people will be able to hear you wherever you go, point their fingers at you, and say, “See, see! There goes that clever beast, who can write such exquisite books and preach so remarkably well.”

That very moment you will be blessed and blessed beyond measure in the kingdom of heaven. Yes, in that heaven where hellfire is ready for the devil and his angels.

To sum up: Let us be proud and seek honor in the places where we can. But in this book the honor is God’s alone…

- Martin Luther, “Experience Makes the Theologian,” in Trials of Theology, 30, cited from Luther’s Works: Career of the Reformer, IV, vol. 34, 285-88.

HT: Trevin Wax

Both Wicked and Valued

Some Tim Keller wisdom on self-image for Christians:

When Jesus invites Peter to follow him, he’s not just saying, ‘Would you like to sign up for a few courses with me?’ He wants him to live with him. He wants him to be his family. Therefore, when the salvation of Jesus Christ comes into your life, you see yourself as more wicked and sinful than you ever dared believe, and yet you sense you’re more valued and loved and affirmed than you ever dared hope at the same time.

That is a mark, infinitely greater self-worth, infinitely greater realism about your flaws at once, which is the selfquake, which is the unique self-image, which is the transformation of identity that happens to anyone into whose life this salvation comes. I say it every so often, but it has been a while so I’ll say it again. If you were saved by works, if you go to heaven through your performance, then you might be bold but not humble when you’re living up or you’ll be humble but not bold and confident when you’re failing, but you can never be bold and humble at once.

If you are more wicked than you ever dared believe and you’re more loved and affirmed than you ever dared hope at the same time because your relationship with God through Jesus Christ is based completely and sheerly on his grace, on his call, then it means you can’t be into either superiority or inferiority at all, because at the same moment you have infinite self-worth from his affirmation and you have infinite realism about your sin.

You can’t get an inferiority or superiority. There is a boldness and a humility about you at once. It is absolutely different.

The First and Last Precept

“A saying of Chrysostom’s has always pleased me very much, that the foundation of our philosophy is humility. But that of Augustine pleases me even more: ‘. . . so if you ask me concerning the precepts of the Christian religion, first, second and third, and always I would answer ‘Humility.’”

            - John Calvin, Institutes, 2.2.11.

HT:Ray Ortlund,  Rick Ianniello

From the Dust to the Heavens

From @DailyKeller on Twitter

Grace Over Pride

"Pride isn't just exaggerating stories or accomplishments. Pride is an inflation of the soul. It is an exaggeration of my very being. It is sinister, it is relentless, it is crippling. there is only one thing in the universe strong enough to actually haul pride out by the roots...

...If it is true that pride is inflation of the soul, then the only time we are our true self is when we are devoid of pride. Grace is the only thing in all the universe with the power to destroy the pride that grows so relentlessly in my soul."

               - Joe Coffey in Red Like Blood: Confrontations With Grace, pages 79, 81