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I am currently re-reading Horatius Bonar's book Words to Winner's of Souls. Live upon the Christ mentioned in this paragraph:
'The one true goal or resting place where doubt and weariness, the stings of a pricking conscience, and the longings of an unsatisfied soul would all be quieted, is Christ Himself. Not the church, but Christ. Not doctrine, but Christ. Not forms, but Christ. Not ceremonies, but Christ; Christ the God-man, giving His life for ours; sealing the everlasting covenant, and making peace for us through the blood of His cross; Christ the divine storehouse of all light and truth, 'In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3); Christ the infinite vessel, filled with the Holy Spirit, the Enlightener, the Teacher, the Quickener, the Comforter, so that "of his fullness we have all received, and grace for grace" (John 1:16) This, this alone is the vexed soul's refuge, its rock to build on, its home to abide in till the great tempter be bound and every conflict ended in victory.'
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cliff January 29th, 2009
Loved this reminder from the great Puritan: the mystery of the Bible is Christ Himself. We were created for God. Our greatest need is God. As Piper puts it, "God is the Gospel." I've been dwelling on this reality as a few of the things I'm reading have been driving this point home. And I can't help but wonder why so many of us in the church miss this. So many who profess to embrace the gospel (at least the justification aspect which is certainly part of it and the forgiveness of sins in Christ) do not take the following step or dig deep enough to consider what God's ultimate goal is in justifying us and forgiving us our sins. There seems to me to be a disconnect from what the Isrealites knew in the Old Testament and what we know today in the 21st century. For example, the Aaronic blessing comes to mind. "May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May He turn His face toward You and give You peace." In other words, the Israelites understood that the highest blessing you could ask for yourself or someone you loved was that the Lord would turn His face to them, which they understood as God dwelling with them. They realized the highest good for a person was the presence of God Himself. With that foundation and understanding in place, the question then became for them, what must we do to obtain the this greatest of all goods, namely, God Himself? Enter the Messiah! Now 2000 years later, for various and asundry reasons, the modern day church seems to be building the gospel structure without laying this great and necessary foundation. In summary, it's as if the Israelites knew that God Himself was their greatest good and highest joy, but we were waiting for something to ensure this blessing for them. Now, many today are giving away the so-called gospel message without having laid the all-important foundation. They are offering what, exactly? Perhaps that's why so many are filling in the blank on the their own.