Often the church needs to have a reality check about its goals. It is easy to hope for and dream of more from our work than what happens.
The church often looks to accomplish great things. While the dream of accomplishing great things is beautiful often the reality of what is possible to accomplish at times may be more mundane.
Often making small and steady progress is realistic. Often it is easy to feel as if small and steady progress is not enough.
Often small and steady progress accomplishes far more than dreams of grandeur. All progress brings glory to God.
It is often our sin which makes us feel that slow and steady progress is insufficient. Often authentic ministry brings glory to God, but does not stroke the pride of the minister by bringing praise and acclaim.
The goal of a minister should always be to bring glory to God. Ministry is successful or unsuccessful on this measure alone.
Showing posts with label progress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label progress. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Mankind, Culture, and Progress
Often in our world we are convinced by the uniqueness of the current age. Technology has created a world which is so different it has created a fundamental disconnect from the past.
Really we just need to study history to see our folly. At many points the world said "ah yes this has fundamentally changed the world forever" and yet nothing really changed.
We often over estimate the uniqueness of our day. The problems of today are not much different than those one hundred years ago or one thousand years ago. The fundamental problem is always the heart of mankind which is similar in every age.
Certain issues are more prevalent in certain ages than others, but the heart manifests its wickedness in every age. Often there is progress on certain issues in certain cultures but often on other issues there is regress.
This is why the bible insists that there is nothing new under the sun. Many things changes but the fundamental problem of man's alienation from God because of his sin is always the same.
Some people often tend to go the opposite direction of seeing progress and instead focus on regress, thinking that the past was better than the present. It is really a similar failure in which the past is not understood.
It is not to say that a culture might be better or worse in a given age, but fundamentally every culture has severe issues to work through if the culture wishes to believe the fact or not. Some issues are worse than others, but the fundamental issue of the human heart remains if it is acknowledged or not acknowledged.
Post: Historical Progress or Lack There of
Really we just need to study history to see our folly. At many points the world said "ah yes this has fundamentally changed the world forever" and yet nothing really changed.
We often over estimate the uniqueness of our day. The problems of today are not much different than those one hundred years ago or one thousand years ago. The fundamental problem is always the heart of mankind which is similar in every age.
Certain issues are more prevalent in certain ages than others, but the heart manifests its wickedness in every age. Often there is progress on certain issues in certain cultures but often on other issues there is regress.
This is why the bible insists that there is nothing new under the sun. Many things changes but the fundamental problem of man's alienation from God because of his sin is always the same.
Some people often tend to go the opposite direction of seeing progress and instead focus on regress, thinking that the past was better than the present. It is really a similar failure in which the past is not understood.
It is not to say that a culture might be better or worse in a given age, but fundamentally every culture has severe issues to work through if the culture wishes to believe the fact or not. Some issues are worse than others, but the fundamental issue of the human heart remains if it is acknowledged or not acknowledged.
Post: Historical Progress or Lack There of
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Historical Progress or lack there of
In some parts of the world there seem to be this notion that man is somehow progressing. Modern man is better than he was in the past in some sense.
It is rather hard to understand such a perspective other than that it is based on an evolutionary mindset. Clearly if one actually looks at the world today we can see that the progress of humanity is clearly an illusion.
Scientific progress has taken a large amount of people out of extreme suffering, but it has in no way changed peoples hearts. If we simply turn on the news we see that man has a bad heart.
More importantly if we look inside our selves in a truthful manner we will also see that darkness exists within. That argument we got in yesterday where the other was "at fault" if we are truthful we will often see that we almost always have more responsibility then we like to admit.
The bible says the heart is deceitful above all things. This isn't bad news if we understand it, because God's offer of grace quickly follows.
Really the great danger in life if not accepting that we are sinners, because God offers his grace freely to sinners. The great danger in life is simply to refuse to admit that we are sinners. God actually has very little interest in those who perceive they have everything "together."
It is rather hard to understand such a perspective other than that it is based on an evolutionary mindset. Clearly if one actually looks at the world today we can see that the progress of humanity is clearly an illusion.
Scientific progress has taken a large amount of people out of extreme suffering, but it has in no way changed peoples hearts. If we simply turn on the news we see that man has a bad heart.
More importantly if we look inside our selves in a truthful manner we will also see that darkness exists within. That argument we got in yesterday where the other was "at fault" if we are truthful we will often see that we almost always have more responsibility then we like to admit.
The bible says the heart is deceitful above all things. This isn't bad news if we understand it, because God's offer of grace quickly follows.
Really the great danger in life if not accepting that we are sinners, because God offers his grace freely to sinners. The great danger in life is simply to refuse to admit that we are sinners. God actually has very little interest in those who perceive they have everything "together."
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Suspicion of Self
There is a healthy suspicion of self that comes with a healthy Christian faith. In life a lot you find that you are not always the person you had imagined yourself to be.
The good news for progress in the Christian faith in sanctification is to first admit when you are the person you had not hoped yourself to be. Most people who progress few steps in sanctification always act as if the sin they have done was an aberration rather than that it says something about oneself.
The excuses are easy, "I was too tired" or "I had a bad day." Certainly there is truth in these statements, but underneath them is that our sin does say something about our heart. We were not simply unjustly angry because we were too tired, the tiredness simply allowed an opportunity for something of our sin nature to slip out.
Many Christians fear viewing themselves as sinners. As if the perfect work of Christ can be undone by some action they have done.
The reality is that we have started with an infinite debt, and have been sanctified by a grace which is even more infinite. Your righteousness is not in yourself it is in heaven seated at the right hand of God.
We don't have to pretend that we have no sin, because to grow it is necessary to first admit what we struggle with. God's love is not dependent on our works rather God's love is dependent on his love for Jesus who has already paid the price.
The good news for progress in the Christian faith in sanctification is to first admit when you are the person you had not hoped yourself to be. Most people who progress few steps in sanctification always act as if the sin they have done was an aberration rather than that it says something about oneself.
The excuses are easy, "I was too tired" or "I had a bad day." Certainly there is truth in these statements, but underneath them is that our sin does say something about our heart. We were not simply unjustly angry because we were too tired, the tiredness simply allowed an opportunity for something of our sin nature to slip out.
Many Christians fear viewing themselves as sinners. As if the perfect work of Christ can be undone by some action they have done.
The reality is that we have started with an infinite debt, and have been sanctified by a grace which is even more infinite. Your righteousness is not in yourself it is in heaven seated at the right hand of God.
We don't have to pretend that we have no sin, because to grow it is necessary to first admit what we struggle with. God's love is not dependent on our works rather God's love is dependent on his love for Jesus who has already paid the price.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Christian Life
"Be killing sin or sin will be killing you" – John Owen
How true. If we are not progressing with our relationship with the Lord we are probably regression in our relationship with the Lord. All of our actions shape who we are and who we will become positively or negatively.
How true. If we are not progressing with our relationship with the Lord we are probably regression in our relationship with the Lord. All of our actions shape who we are and who we will become positively or negatively.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Lack of Progress
Machen on progress or lack there of:
“Scientific investigation, as has already been observed, has certainly accomplished much; it has in many respects produced a new world. But there is another aspect of the picture which should not be ignored. The modern world represents in some respects an enormous improvement over the world in which our ancestors lived; but in other respects it exhibits a lamentable decline. The improvements appear in the physical conditions of life, but in the spiritual realm there is a corresponding loss. The loss is clearest, perhaps, in the realm of art. Despite the mighty revolution which has been produced in the external conditions of life, no great poet is now living to celebrate the change; humanity has suddenly become done. Gone, too, are the great painters and the great musicians and the great sculptors. The art that still subsists is largely imitative, and were it is not imitative it is usually bizarre.”
“Scientific investigation, as has already been observed, has certainly accomplished much; it has in many respects produced a new world. But there is another aspect of the picture which should not be ignored. The modern world represents in some respects an enormous improvement over the world in which our ancestors lived; but in other respects it exhibits a lamentable decline. The improvements appear in the physical conditions of life, but in the spiritual realm there is a corresponding loss. The loss is clearest, perhaps, in the realm of art. Despite the mighty revolution which has been produced in the external conditions of life, no great poet is now living to celebrate the change; humanity has suddenly become done. Gone, too, are the great painters and the great musicians and the great sculptors. The art that still subsists is largely imitative, and were it is not imitative it is usually bizarre.”
Friday, November 24, 2006
C.S. Lewis on Human Progress
C.S. Lewis about the claim that humans are making moral progress:
“For example, one man said to me, ‘three hundred years ago people in England were putting witches to death. Was that what you call the Rule of Human Nature or Right Conduct?’ But surely the reason we do not execute witches is that we do not believe there are such things. If we did – if we really thought that there were people going about who had sold themselves to the devil and received supernatural powers from him in return and were using these powers to kill their neighbors or drive them mad or bring bad weather – surely we would agree that if anyone deserved the death penalty, then these filthy quislings did? There is no difference of moral principle here: the difference is simply about matter of fact. It may be a great advance in knowledge not to believe in witches: there is no moral advance in not executing them when you do not think they are there. You would not call a man humane for ceasing to set mousetrap if he did so because he believed there were no mice in the house.”
“For example, one man said to me, ‘three hundred years ago people in England were putting witches to death. Was that what you call the Rule of Human Nature or Right Conduct?’ But surely the reason we do not execute witches is that we do not believe there are such things. If we did – if we really thought that there were people going about who had sold themselves to the devil and received supernatural powers from him in return and were using these powers to kill their neighbors or drive them mad or bring bad weather – surely we would agree that if anyone deserved the death penalty, then these filthy quislings did? There is no difference of moral principle here: the difference is simply about matter of fact. It may be a great advance in knowledge not to believe in witches: there is no moral advance in not executing them when you do not think they are there. You would not call a man humane for ceasing to set mousetrap if he did so because he believed there were no mice in the house.”
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