Well said, the extent of what God has done and is doing for the Elect astounds me. I am sure that when folks like us get to heaven we will look back on all He has done and just fall on our knees in worship.
His Grace and Mercy will be evident and that it occurred every moment of our lives. The magnitude of what He accomplished on the cross will be plain, and I cannot help but imagine that the feelings of love for who He is and what He has done will be overwhelming.
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Christmas Eve I attended a church where my daughter was a featured musician so I of course listened to the sermon. The punchline, if you will, of the sermon was that the reason Jesus came is that any parent who loved his child would do this.
My daughter quick to mention afterward in the car, that in fact, we were not His children when He came, but were, in fact, children of wrath. Second, the deeper meaning, due to poor theology, was lost - that God glorifies Himself, that He came to seek and save those who had no use for Him, that He was building His bride, that He was displaying His character of redemption, and so on.
Theology matters.
Yes...
...and show how we may obtain meaning and happiness.
Yes...
If we look for the answers to life's deepest questions within ourselves, we will never find satisfactory answers;
Yes...
...but if we look to the One who made us,
Yes...
...and conform our lives to his words and commandments, then we will find certain answers to all of our questions.
Uh, not really. I mean, yes, Jesus emphasized doing God's will (John 7:17), but the way this is worded isn't the real New Testament emphasis.
This is what is called a "law" orientation--trying to conform our lives to his words/commandments.
That is in contrast to a gospel orientation: at best, we don't conform to His Words; instead the power of His Word transforms us (Romans 12:1-2).
When the New Testament talks about "conformation," it's usually in two contexts:
(1) God does the conformation to His Son's likeness (Rom. 8:29) -- not us & He accomplishes the overall sovereign conformation according to His purposes/will (Eph. 1:11)
(2) Our role is to keep from conforming to the world (Rom. 12:2) and our desires (1 Pet. 1:11)
The difference in all this, outlook wise? Hey, if all we needed was...
...God's law,
...God's commandments,
...God's will,
...and God's word,
then Jesus dying on the cross was irrelevant.
The gospel is that we were at enmity with God;
He brought at-one-ment (atonement), reconciliation, & harmony thru Christ's death on the cross;
And it also allowed the Holy Spirit to come & inhabit us, live and operate through us--so that the transformation is both external (the gospel of the cross & the Word) AND internal (Holy Spirit initiating an inside-out transfo).
This is in contrast to a strict external, law-oriented conformation approach.
Therefore, theology is not just an interest or hobby that we can add to our list of favorite activities and diversions. It pertains to the whole of our lives, and must shape and inform our thoughts and activities in every sphere of our existence. Without the knowledge of God, the knowledge of ourselves becomes distorted and futile, and any meaning and ultimate satisfaction becomes utterly impossible.
Theological study is