I'm After an Image, but not that Image

Romans 8:29 - For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Certainly there is much theology in this verse. Some would even debate exactly what is being taught here. However, it is very clear that God plans for those who believe in Christ to be conformed into the image of Christ. That is what we are becoming as believers. We are called to the image of Christ.

However, I do not see that in myself. Over the years I have come to realize more and more that I am a very prideful person. Though I would like to think that has changed for the better, the fact remains I'm still prideful. This is clearly evident in my desire to have an image. I want to be seen as something. I want people to know who I am for something. As a pastor I can make that sound very spiritual. I didn't realize the pride of the following statement until recently, but it has been my thought for some time, "I want to be known as a sinner conformed to the image of Christ." Doesn't that sound great?

The problem is the first five words of that statement: I want to be known. It shows that my goal is not so much for Christ to be seen as it is for ME to be seen in Christ. Pride is such a difficult sin to combat because it's prevalent in all of life. As a prideful sinner I can take the best of things and try to twist it and turn it for my own glory. Of course it would be great for people to see you as conformed (or conforming) into the image of Christ. We are saved for that purpose. But the point is that they see the image of Christ, not us.

I have concluded that I am after an image, but it's not the right image. I (we) must fight against our sinful, prideful desires to be known and live for Christ's image to be displayed through us. He gets all the glory because He is the One worthy of being seen.

We're NOT all God's Children

To be a child of God is a special privilege. I have heard many people over the years talk about how everyone is God's child. There is a great problem with that: It's not what the Bible says. In fact, in Galatians 4 Paul talks about becoming a child of God by saying in verses 4-5, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." If we were already children of God, then we would not need to be adopted into His family. To say everyone is a child of God is to diminish what Christ accomplished on the cross for those who would believe. In fact, those who are actually children of God (through adoption) have evidence that they are children called the Holy Spirit, "And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God" (Gal. 4:6-7). We must rejoice that God in His sovereign mercy would redeem a people and adopt them as children into His family. We must plead with others that they would renounce their own self-righteousness (which is no righteousness) and embrace the righteousness of Christ. And we must rejoice that those who have faith in the finished work of Christ are sons of God through faith.

Wow, It's been a Month

I just realized yesterday that I haven't posted anything on here in a month. I will work on that. For now let me say that I have recently been pondering the glorious truth of justification by faith alone in Christ alone. I have been preaching through Galatians and have been sweetly encouraged of God's sovereign grace in salvation. I am completely undeserving of such grace.

This was so Helpful

This message by Mahaney at the God Exposed Conference at SEBTS was so helpful for me. I encourage everyone to listen, and especially pastors. It's 80 minutes long and I think it will change your life and ministry.

Expository Faithfulness from Sovereign Grace Ministries on Vimeo.

Free Yard Sale

This past Saturday our church had a yard sale where everything was free. Our hope was to bless the community with items that may help them and to share information about our church, and more importantly, our Lord. There are several reasons this event encouraged me as a pastor.

The first reason is that it wasn't my idea. Several months ago a lady in our congregation brought up the idea of having people from the church donate items that could be used in a give away for the community. Immediately I thought and heard from others that there were several variables that we need to think through. For instance, what if someone pulled up with a truck and said they wanted it all since it was free. So we decided we had to organize this thing to make sure we were actually accomplishing our goal of blessing those who needed the items and were able to meet as many people as possible. We started with one idea, and then changed it first thing Saturday morning. We changed it to say that everyone could take up to 10 items. However, after about 20 minutes we stopped telling people of the limit and just trusted the Lord would take care of that. He did! We were able to bless around 75-100 people through this outreach.

The second encouraging thing I saw as a pastor was that the people of First Baptist were eager to give for this event. We talked about it for a couple of months and ended up with a lot of items to give away. We had a wide range of things (some that I didn't think would go and they did!), because our people stepped up with a heart to give to this community for the sake of the gospel.

A third encouragement was that I saw the church being intentional not to withdrawal to themselves, but to actually go talk with the visitors who came. There were a lot of great conversations going on that included talks about the Lord and invites to the church. But it went even further. Our people were genuinely taking the time to ask questions to get to know the people better. As a pastor I saw a genuine desire to get to know the visitors as much as possible in that brief window of time.

A fourth encouragement was the emphasis on being faithful. While it's certainly true we hope some of those who came would come and visit with our church and sit under the preaching of the Word, that was not our first concern. We were glad to be obedient and faithful to being a witness to the grace of God through Christ in our lives. The conversations I had Sunday and Monday with our church were all positive about the event. We were glad to have been used by God to bless others and pray that our labors would bring Him glory by bringing others into His kingdom.

There are other things for sure. We learned some things that will be improved upon for next time. We are already planning to do this again in, God-willing, the Spring of next year. But I am thankful that we didn't wait until we had every detail worked out and end up not doing it because of all the questions. First Baptist Church committed to blessing whomever we could and I am thankful to have been a part of this.

Are you a Church or a Club?

This 2 min. video from Piper is very challenging for the church.

Choosing Thomas

This video has been posted on several blogs lately, but I found it powerful and worth posting here. Take 10 minutes to watch this please.

Owen Daniel Alston

After many months of thinking, praying, and discussing a name for our new son, we've settled on Owen Daniel. Several years ago I heard John Piper talk about picking and learning from a great (dead) theologian. Years ago I decided that theologian would be John Owen for me. John Owen was a great gift to the church as his works are still read and enjoyed by many today. He had an unbelievably sharp mind and a love for Christ and His glory that surpassed that of many others. Therefore, we named our son Owen. Daniel, of course, is from the Daniel in the Scriptures. In his youth Daniel stood firm in his faith against the temptations to turn away. He rejected the goods and the decrees of the king in order to remain faithful to his Lord. His faith was strong at such a young age that it almost cost him his life.

My prayer for Owen Daniel has been that his mind would be as sharp and his faith as strong as these men. I have prayed that God would see fit to raise him up to be a devoted follower of Christ and a great gift to the church. We rejoice that this blessing is here and that, by God's grace, he's been entrusted to our care and upbringing. While I have no idea what it is that God will call Him to be, I pray it's a follower of Christ before everything else. May God be gracious in this and raise up young Owen Daniel to stand firm in his faith and to lead others in the ways of the Lord. I pray God would see fit to display His glory throughout his life. Thank you Lord for this gift. We commit him to you.

Tears of the Saints

What do you look For?

I would like some input from as many people as possible about this question: What do you look for in a church? Please comment for me. I am thinking through what the Bible says about the church, but would also like to hear from people what they think the church should be/do. So please help me, what do you look for in a church?


Update: I'd like to hear from both those who attend church and those who do not.