Enjoy the Silence

Just in case some might be wondering why the silence for the past few weeks, I would like to assure all that Fongster has not given up on blogging! I've been doing some reading on books on Biblical Theology, and I'm trying to think through how we can better teach Biblical Theology in our churches in such a way that it doesn't just lead to an increase in knowledge (I'm more knowledgable now about the covenants etc, about Israel and her significant events etc.); but how that knowledge can even excite us about our Christian lives NOW. Part of it invovles trying to see how Biblical Theology could be bridged with Systematic Theology (with her generally 7 agreeded areas of doctrine of Revelation, God, Creation and Man, Christ, Salvation, Church, and Eschatology). This invovles doing some reading and research on my part, and that's always hard while one is juggling church and family responsibilities. So till something is ready, there will be a (hopefully brief) period of silence.

Enjoy the silence!

I Can Change!

Most of you know I've been reading You Can Change by Tim Chester (Nottingham:Inter-Varsity Press, 2006). Just finished it last night. Here's 7 reasons why I like it and strongly encourage as many of us to read it as possible (believe me... there's no commission earned on this!)

1. The book is organised into chapters that each address a key question as we think about change (or sanctification). They are as follows:

a. What would you like to change?

b. Why would you like to change?

c. How are you going to change?

d. When do you struggle?

e. What truths do you need to turn to?

f. What desires do you need to turn from?

g. What stops you changing?

h. What strategies will reinforce your faith and repentance?

i. How can we support one another in changing?

j. Are you ready for a lifetime of daily change?

Together, the questions provide a comprehensive treatment of what is involved in change.

2. The book is heavily grounded in good theology, and it's not 'ivory-tower' theology, but theology that's got 'feet'! In that sense, Tim shows us 'everyday theology'.

3. All throughout the book, Tim reminds us that change is ultimately God's work. This comes through his explanation of concepts such as 'sanctified by faith' (see blog below) and his emphasis of the liberating work of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. While one might worry that this might lead to quietism and passiveness on our part, Tim shows that the opposite is true - recognising it is the work of God actually leads us to desiring and wanting to respond to Him and the Spirit's leading!

4. Tim's analysis of issues and problems is not on the surface, but goes very deep. Often very probing, sometimes hurtful, but almost always true. For example, he challenges us to think through why we want to change - to prove myself to God, other people, or even myself? He gets us to think through how we are going to change - are we going to rely on our own righteousness, the law, or the liberating work of our Trinitarian God? He gets us to go deep into understanding how our struggles and temptations never cause sin, but rather the root cause is always our heart and its sinful desires; and he challenges us to turn away from sin by desiring God more than our sinful desires.

5. He never grounds change or sanctification as an individual project, but locates change in a community context, and in this sense, he is much against the individualism of our day, which we sometimes carry over into our Christian thinking - even in this area of change and sanctification.

6. He is a realist. He gets us to realise change is a lifetime task, and not only that, but is also a daily task. But at the same time, because of what Christ has done and because Christ is coming back, he gets us to see change is possible - I can change! While all this time under-girding this whole process in a lifetime of grace.

7. There is a 'change project' at the end of every chapter in the book which gets us to think through questions relating to what he has just covered with regards to one area which we would like to change. This makes You Can Change an excellent resource for reading with another person. Just read the chapter beforehand, and come together to discuss and pray!

Enough reasons?

Thanks Tim for putting out what I found to be an extremely helpful book.

Suffering as a Kidnapper... but also as a Teacher

Here's a little excerpt on suffering that I came across. It's from Paul Tripp, a Christian counsellor, who writes about his daughter's recovery from a car accident, in which she was hit and crushed against a wall, leaving her seriously injured. Paul writes in one entry in his blog:


It's hard not to look at the day as a day of futile activity accompanied by needless discomfort. You can't honestly look at the day and make sense out of it... Suffering transports you beyond the boundaries of your reason and your control... Suffering is a kidnapper that comes into our lives, blindfolds us, and takes us to where we do not want to be.
But suffering is not just a kidnapper, it is also a teacher... It points you to the fact that there is little you can actually control. It instructs you as to where reliable comfort and sturdy hope can be found. Like a patient teacher with a resistant student, suffering pries open your hands and asks you to let go of your life. Suffering invites you to find security, rest, hope, and comfort in Another, and in so doing, assaults the irrationality of personal sovereignty that is the delusion of every human being. In that way, suffering is not just a kidnapper, and not just a teacher, it is also a liberator. Suffering frees us to experience a deeper comfort and hope than we have ever had before (From nicolenews.blogspot.com, June 11, 2006, as quoted in Tim Chester, You Can Change (Nottingham:Inter-Varsity Press, 2008), 161).


What deep words! But also... what true words for us who believe!

We've heard of 'Justified by Faith', but 'Sanctified by Faith'?

In his book on sanctification, You Can Change (Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press, 2008), Tim Chester has an interesting section which he entitled ‘Sanctified by Faith’. Below is an excerpt which hopefully captures the gist of what he is saying:

Sometimes people say conversion is all God’s work, but sanctification is a co-operation between us and God. Neither statement is entirely true. Conversion is all God’s work, but we have a responsibility to respond with faith and repentance. It turns out faith and repentance are also God’s work in us, his gift to us. God opens blind eyes; God grants repentance (Mark 8:18-30; 2 Corinthians 4:4-6; 2 Timothy 2:25). That’s why conversion is entirely an act of God’s grace. But, at God’s initiative and with God’s help, we’re involved. And it’s the same with sanctification. Sanctification is God’s work. But we are not passive. We have to respond with faith and repentance. Again it turns out that faith and repentance are God’s work in us. So salvation from start to finish is God’s work, in which we are active participants through faith and repentance by the grace of God. We work hard, but then say with Paul, ‘It was not I, but the grace of God that was with me’ (1 Corinthians 15:10, ESV). ‘Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose’ (Philippians 2:12-13) (p.62-63).

Tim then goes on to explain the differences between justification and sanctification, going very much with Reformed Theology’s definitions and distinctions. Yet, quoting John Calvin, he says that while justification and sanctification should be distinguished, they shouldn’t be separated. And the reason is because of our union with Christ by faith. We are justified because we’re united to Christ. But that union with Christ also brings about a change of life. Tim goes on to conclude:

What both justification and sanctification have in common is that they place through faith in Christ. ‘The Bible teaches that we are sanctified by faith [here he quotes Anthony Hoekema]’. By faith we find God more desirable than anything sin offers. By faith we continue to be united to Christ, the source of our new life. By faith we embrace the new identity that is ours by grace. By faith we follow the desires of the Spirit. Sometimes the Reformed and evangelical traditions treat sanctification as a human achievement made in response to the divine act of justification. We’re justified by faith in Christ’s work, but, it’s supposed, we’re sanctified by our own efforts or even by law-keeping. Our emphasis on sanctification by faith is, I believe, more faithful both to the Reformed tradition and to the Bible. We begin the Christian life through faith and repentance, and we continue the Christian life through faith and repentance (p.64).


I like what Tim has written here. Though he might have slightly overstated the case a little with his statement ‘Sometimes the Reformed and evangelical traditions treat sanctification as a human achievement made in response to the divine act of justification’ (or perhaps it’s just a style of writing), I think he has a point there. More often than not, in pastoral situations, we often find ourselves presenting sanctification that way – sanctification as thanksgiving, duty, obligation, fear of final judgement etc. With the end result that we end up emphasising on our human response in sanctification, at the expense of God’s grace, at the expense of faith that it is God who will change us. Rather, if we start emphasising sanctification by faith (just as much as it is justification by faith), not only do we lay a much firmer foundation for our sanctification, but we anchor our human response in that much surer foundation as well. In that sense, sanctification by faith could really be said to be submitting ourselves to be ‘led by the Spirit’ – not passiveness and inactivity on our part, but rather action and response that is in step with the Spirit’s leading. And when one allows the Spirit to lead in sanctification, rather than law or any form of disciplinary regime, one always finds sanctification a much more joyous and enjoyable process. Maybe we need to start preaching more of ‘sanctified by faith’!

But Tim’s section has triggered me and led me to another conclusion – how right Calvin is when it comes to the ‘application of salvation’ in one’s life. Instead of following some strict ordo salutis (order of salvation) like regeneration -> repentance -> faith -> justification -> sanctification -> glorification; Calvin instead sees justification and sanctification as the double ‘distinguishable but inseparable’ benefits of faith-union with Christ, which the Spirit has brought us into through the Word held out to us. We can’t have one without the other; we can’t have justification without sanctification or sanctification without justification, because Christ is not divided. And if it is through faith that one is brought into this union, then it is by faith that we receive both these double benefits – it is by faith we are justified, and it is by that same faith we are sanctified. Another reason why Calvin is such a delight to read – he seems to get it right all (or at least most) of the time!

Understanding Biblical Freedom

Romans 6:1-7 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

I’ve been doing a bit of thinking of this idea of freedom. Seems like the world’s definition of freedom means being freed up to do anything we want, being freed up to live authentically and truthfully, consistent with who we are or who we really want to be. Seems like the world’s idea of freedom is tightly bound up with human autonomy. Seems like Philosopher Michel Foucault has summed it up by stating that the greatest good is an individual’s freedom to maximise pleasure.


Enter the biblical definition of freedom – where it is so radically different from the world’s definition. In fact, at first glance, it doesn’t seem like freedom at all – at least from the world’s point of view. How can freedom restrict how we live our lives? How can freedom prevent us from truly living according to our desires and pleasures? How can freedom be there when we are actually submitting ourselves to another person? The world throws these questions at us.

This is where the biblical definition of freedom needs to be held together with another key truth or doctrine – that of original sin or what John Calvin calls ‘the natural corruption of our human natures’ (Inst. 2.1.11). We need to realise that as we are, we are not really who we were created or intended to be. When the world tells us we are really free when we are free to live in accordance with our natural desires and pleasures, we need to realise that’s a lie – because those desires and pleasures are far from natural in the way God intended it, but they only natural in the sense that they have been naturally corrupted by the Fall. Think deeper – when we act freely according to our pleasures and desires, that is actually not manifesting freedom, but instead it is manifesting slavery – slavery to our corrupted natures, slavery to sin. Peter Jensen summarises the issue well


“[...] the nature of freedom [...] is not [...] the capacity for complete self determination. Human beings are never free from other powers that determine their lives. The problem of freedom is not the choice between having a master and masterless; it is the problem of which master we have. Christian freedom is liberty from the false powers of sin and death, with their ways of thought and their evil consequences, and submission to the true Lord, who made us for himself and loves us.” (Peter Jensen, The Revelation of God (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2002), 149).

In this sense, the glory and wonder of biblical freedom shines through. As the Spirit works in us to transform and conform us to the image of God’s Son; as the Spirit reworks and retransforms those desires within us, biblical freedom is being freed up to do what we want (in accordance with these new desires that the Spirit puts in us). Biblical freedom is being freed up to live authentically and truthfully with our new found natures, consistent with who God made us to be. Biblical freedom is being freed to live for God. As Tim Chester states, “Telling a slave to be free is to add insult to injury. But telling a liberated slave to be free is an invitation to enjoy new freedom and privileges.” (You Can Change (Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press, 2008), 55)

So the next time you and I are tempted to sin in the name of worldly freedom, REMEMBER – don’t believe the lie! Because more than anything else, you and I who are in Christ are the ones that are really free!