This week we are working through Chapter 7 of Because He Loves Me. Thank you for grace as I struggled through long power outages last week. We are still in the midst of them, but God is good!
So let’s begin…..
In the chapters up till now, we’ve been reading about the wonderful truths found in the gospel, and how they can transform our thinking, hearts, and our identity. As Elyse says at the beginning of this chapter, “We’re going to be shifting from looking primarily a how God’s love transforms us at the level of our identity to how it transforms our daily life.”
She goes on to say, “please remember that your growth in holiness is firmly bound to your appreciation of the gospel and God’s love, for it is only an appreciation of his love that can motivate genuine obedience.”
The theme of this chapter is, “Be who you are.” What does that mean? It brings to us the “beautiful balance between the indicative (who you are in Christ) and the imperative (who you’re becoming in Christ).” Meaning, what God through Christ has already proclaimed you to be, married with how you are being transformed in the things God in Christ has called you to become.
It is a “…beautiful synergy that not only tells us what to do, but also plants within our souls the only motive that will empower God-pleasing compliance: what God has already done. We’ve already been forgiven in Christ.”
Essentially, we learn how to mesh what we are in Christ with the expectations for holy living he has for us. Elsye says is this way, “The wonderful pronouncements God has made about us cannot and must not be disconnected from the wonderful expectations he has of us. In other words, gospel-declaration must not be severed from gospel-obligation.”
It is through the lens of grace and only through the lens of grace that we can and should pursue holiness and the good works that is mentioned in Titus 2:12-14
“The grace of God trains us to renounce ungodliness, live temperate, godly lives, and be zealous for good works. Yes, God rules sovereignly, and in the life of his beloved ones he rules with sovereign grace, mercy, and love. But we mustn’t assume that his grace trumps the expectation that we should be holy, for he is holy and his Holy Spirit indwells us. Yes, God is sovereign over our sanctification, but recognition of that truth doesn’t excuse us from zealously pursuing it.” see Phil 2:12-13
I learned a lot from this chapter, and as I continue to study through this book, my thinking and heart is being continually transformed.
How about you? What are you learning?
What were you challenged by in the chapter this week? How do you find your heart and mind being transformed by God’s Word?
You are welcome to join the conversation by leaving your thoughts in the comments, or if you are a blogger, you can link up a blog post below.
Join us next week at Grace Laced as Ruth takes us through Chapter 8!
