From Edmund P. Clowney, via Take Your Vitamin Z:
“We are not called to build the kingdom of glory, but to carry a cross in the kingdom of grace. To forget the cause of missions is to forget the purpose of Christ in a world still spared from destruction. The purpose of your life must be the purpose of Christ’s death.”From Martin Luther, via Strawberry-Rhubarb Theology:
How would you fill in the blank? "It ought to be the primary goal of every Christian to ________________." Pursue personal holiness? Lead others to Christ? Serve others in love? Cultivate the spiritual disciplines?And back in January I read this:
Here's Luther's answer: "It ought to be the primary goal of every Christian to put aside confidence in works and grow stronger in the belief that we are saved by faith alone" (The Freedom of a Christian [trans. M. Tranvik; Fortress 2008], 55).
From Martin Lloyd Jones, via On Earth as it is in Heaven:
Our supreme need, and our only need, is to know God, the living God, and the power of his might. We need nothing else. It is just that, the power of the living God, to know that the living God is among us and that nothing else matters.I certainly find these summaries helpful and thoughtful and convicting, but reading two in one day made me wonder - is it possible to condense the Christian faith in that way? How different is primary goal from purpose? If our supreme need is to know God, shouldn't our primary goal be to know God? Growing stronger in the belief that we are saved by faith alone is only one part (albeit a big part) of knowing God more, isn't it? Might there be dangers associated with writing such summaries and definitions? Are they necessary risks? What other questions should I be asking? How would you have defined the Christian's purpose, primary goal, and supreme need? Anyone care to explain the nuanced difference between purpose and primary goal for me?
3 comments:
You articulate here an issue I've tried to consider before. It happened actually in the Theology of Worship class with that reading on every minister's definition of worship, where each one said "worship is simply [...]." It appears to me with such a myriad of simply-s that worship is not a simple concept at all.
Similarly for goals of Christians and purposes of lives, though it would seem to me that they are closer linked than may be thought. I think all these men have been great leaders and have helped shed light on specific areas of the Christian life and ministry, but they look to the same God. If we define our purpose as fulfilling the greatest commandment as in Mark 12:30, Matt 22:37, and Luke 10:27 each of those quoted bits fall together more easily and appear to be perspectives on that commandment. Perhaps I give these men too much credit if they oversimplify and generalize. Great questions. Let me know when you get a worthwhile answer.
no, I cannot answer that question. But I do resonate with that thought that it may not be possible to condense the Christian faith into such a simple answer. I mean, Paul couldn't really do it.
As I read the first quote from Clowney, what I thought to myself is that carrying the cross in the kingdom of grace IS building the kingdom of glory. I may be way off there, but if Christ's kingdom is not what the world expects it to be, isn't it going to be built as we carry our crosses? The whole Valley of Vision prayer gets at that.
And doesn't the WSC Question 1 answer that? The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Rather simple upon first reading, but then you must delve into "What does that look like? How do I glorify God and enjoy him forever?"
And (to continue my rambling... I've been thinking about such things lately myself)sure, Luther's answer seems true, having given it 30 seconds of thought, but doesn't Scripture have woven throughout it the idea that if yes, you are growing stronger in your belief that you are saved by grace alone, then that belief is going to manifest itself in good works, in building the Kingdom? (like in Ephesians 2:8-10)
You're a sharp piece of iron, Carol Miner.
So to recap: "The purpose of our life is the purpose of Christ's Death," and/or, "it ought to be the goal of every christian to put aside confidence in works and grow stronger in [grace]," and "our supreme and only need is to know the living God."
Whence the confusion? These points are basically all one in the same. "The Purpose of Christ's Death" {1} is "salvation by faith [grace] alone" {2}, and that is the "power of his might" {3}. However, to keep them nuanced, we can interpret each a little differently.
If {1} is true, what does it mean? "The purpose of my life must be the purpose of Christ's Death"... hmm. Well, the purpose of Christ's death, in its most ultimate sense, was to redeem sinners; and I can't do that in my life. So, on the ultimate level, {1} is nonsense. But on a lesser level, if the point is to bring sinners into relationship with God, then yes, that is the purpose of the church, and by extension, My purpose. But, then again, we are not responsible for bringing about atonement. So, that still falls a little short. I think what he's saying is: "The purpose of my life must be [the message of] the purpose of Christ's death." Indeed. So, I take {1} as primarily an emphasis on evangelism.
As for {2}, Luther is talking about one's own belief, and growth in that faith; not evangelism. That is the big difference there, I think.
And {3}, Martin Lloyd Jones, is making a much more objective statement of salvation. Whereas {1} and {2} address subjective faith (i.e., the christian "life"), Lloyd Jones states clearly: being sinners, we need (whether we feel it or not) nothing more than to know God.
I think our next step is to ask, what does the bible say about "the purpose of our life," what ought to be our "primary goal," and "our supreme need." Another time.
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