Small is the Kingdom Big

By Ed Stetzer:

Americans are obsessed with big things. If something is big, it must be better. It has strength. It has legitimacy. Yet, that’s an American value, not a biblical one.

Jesus confused a lot of people when He showed up and announced that the kingdom of God had come near. Then, he confused even more people when he described it as small.

Small Is Incarnational

The kingdom of God broke into the world with the birth of Jesus Christ. The Son of God came into the world in an unexpected way, showing up in the form of a baby. In the smallest of packages, the full authority of heaven resided. It happened in the middle of nowhere. The Roman Empire was vast, and the city of Rome was an exquisite crown jewel. Israel was a little province in the middle of nowhere on the eastern side of the Mediterranean, and the little town called Bethlehem was virtually unnoticed by the rest of the world. In the most obscure of places, in the most unlikely of circumstances, the King of Kings was born. So when Jesus talked about small things, we ought not to be surprised, because He modeled that in His incarnation.

It should not bother us to describe the kingdom of God as small because Jesus says the same thing:

“‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown it’s taller than the vegetables and becomes a tree so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.’ He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into 50 pounds of flour until it spread through all of it.’” (Matt. 13:31-33, HCSB).

Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a tiny mustard seed dropped into the soil and to an insignificant portion of yeast mixed into pounds of flour. Each has a potential impact that is beyond their appearance.

Small Is Subversive

Church leaders in America also tend to think big is good and bigger is better, but Jesus says that small is reflective of the kingdom of God. It starts as something small, but it will not stay small and, ultimately, it will change everything. A revolutionary movement begins with only a handful of subversives, but eventually expands so widely that it can overthrow a king with an army. The subversive kingdom starts small, but ultimately overwhelms the Devil and his minions when Jesus returns as reigning King, replacing the deepest darkness with brilliant light.

Jesus is unembarrassed, unashamed and unperturbed by describing the Kingdom using small things. That is His point. He says the mustard seed “is the smallest of all the seeds.” He is emphasizing the smallness of the kingdom of God. But more to the point, He is describing how small can be subversive.

Small Is Normal

Small churches are normal (the typical church has less than 100 in attendance) and can easily reflect the kingdom of God. So, why are so many embarrassed by them? Why do pastors sometimes aspire to leave them (and go on to bigger things)?

Too many church leaders are like the teenage girl who thinks the beautiful actress she sees every day on TV is normal. It is a skewed view of reality. Actually, what’s normal (and very valuable) is small churches living on mission in their contexts, being about the business of the kingdom of God.

I think we have forgotten the value of small. We need to relearn that “normal” churches are used by the extraordinary kingdom for subversive effects on the culture.

The Basis of Our Assurance

By Michael McKinley:

The old saying is that good preaching should “afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted”.  The gospel message should so both things — challenge proud sinners to repent and assure the repentant sinner of God’s grace.  It’s my hope that Am I Really a Christian? will both challenge nominal Christians and help encourage those who are genuinely God’s children.

In some previous posts, I’ve argued for taking seriously Paul’s command to examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith.  But it’s also important to think about how we can have confidence that we are genuine believers.

In fact, the Bible encourages us to pursue assurance. The apostle John even wrote his first letter “to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13). But how can weak, sinful, wavering people like us be confident that we genuinely belong to Christ?

Well, for starters, the only foundation for an assurance of salvation is Jesus. Specifically, we should look to three things about Jesus: what he was like, what he has done, and what he has promised.

1. Christ’s character: Jesus is marvelously patient, forbearing, and kind to sinners.  And all spoke well of him,and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. (Luke 4:22)
2. Christ’s work: We can have assurance before God because Jesus died, rose again, and is seated in heaven. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. (Hebrews 10:19-22)
3. Christ’s promises: Jesus tells us that he will never cast out anyone who comes to him. We never need to fear that our sin or unloveliness will make him draw back from us.All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. (John 6:37)

Jesus is the foundation of our assurance.  Because of who he is, what he has done, and what he has promised, we can have confidence in our salvation.

Our Robbing Addiction

In his book The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification, Walter Marshall succinctly puts his finger on what our default mode is and how it can rob us of the joy of our salvation:

By nature, you are completely addicted to a legal method of salvation. Even after you become a Christian by believing the Gospel, your heart is still addicted to salvation by works. In your heart you still want to make the duties of the law come before the comforts of the Gospel. You find it hard to believe that you should get any blessing before you work for it. This is the mindset you tend to fall into: You sincerely do want to obey the laws of God. Therefore, to make sure you obey the law of God you make all of God’s blessings depend upon how well you keep his law. Some preachers even tell you that you had better not enjoy the blessings of the Gospel! They tell you to diligently obey the law first and that only by doing this will you be safe and happy before God. Just keep in mind, however, that if you go this route, you will never enjoy your salvation for as long as you live in this world.

(HT: Tullian Tchividjian)

Justification & Sanctification

Ed Stetzer writes:

The following list is taken from C.J. Mahaney’s work, Living the Cross Centered Life (pages 118-119). Mahaney’s comparisons offer a helpful way to look at the two doctrines.

• Justification is being declared righteous. Sanctification is being made righteous – being conformed to the image of Jesus.
• Justification is our position before God, a position that becomes permanently ours at the time of our conversion. Sanctification is our practice that continues throughout our life on earth.
• Justification is immediate and complete upon conversion. You’ll never be more justified that you are the first moment you trust in the Person and finished work of Christ.
• Sanctification is a progressive process. You’ll be more sanctified as you continue in grace motivated obedience.
• Justification is objective – Christ’s work for us. Sanctification is subjective – Christ’s work within us.

(HT: Rick Ianniello)

Cheer up! You’re worse than you think

I love this application of the gospel by Bob Glenn:

One of the occupational hazards of pastoral ministry is that you are often the subject of people’s destructive criticism, gossip, slander, misrepresentation, foolish inferences, ignorant speculations, and the like. And any pastor who’s being honest with himself – even a hard-nosed guy like me – will admit that the hurtful things people say are just that – hurtful. They hurt.

How do you heal the hurt? How do you prevent the hurt from festering, from becoming a root of bitterness toward your enemies?

The answer is to remember this: you are far worse than your enemies make you out to be! They don’t know the half of it.

Now they may not be correct or truthful in what they are saying about you, but you (and your spouse) could tell them things about yourself that would make their mouths hang open in shock and disbelief. You could tell them things about yourself that would make their petty criticisms pale in comparison. After all, what is wrong with you is so wrong, that it took the one perfect person who ever lived to die for you and suffer God’s wrath for you.

Now I know that this may not seem all that encouraging – in fact, you might think that it would only make matters worse. You’re already wounded. Why pour salt into the wound?

And let me say that it would be very discouraging if you stopped with bringing to mind what a mess you are. So don’t stop short. Go farther. Go all the way to the cross and realize that even though you are far worse than your enemies think you are, Jesus went to the cross willingly. He was not reluctant to die for you: “No one takes my life away from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:18)! Even though you are a million times worse than any of your enemies know, Jesus doesknow, and he loves you anyway. The cross proves it.

The late Jack Miller used to put it this way: “Cheer up! You’re worse than you think.” In a strange way, this does put a smile on my face. As bad as people may think I am, I’m worse than they think, even worse than I think, but Jesus knows me fully and loves me so much that he went to the cross in my place.

The Missionary God

Jesus Christ is both the missionary God and the human representative who fulfilled the mission for which we were created. The whole story of the Bible turns on the merciful determination of this Triune God to redeem and to restore sinful creatures and the creation that lies in bondage because of the curse. In spite of every failure, disloyalty, and unfaithfulness of the human partner in the covenant, God will complete his mission. And in the person of Christ, he has also fulfilled the mission that he assigned to humankind in Adam: to lead creation into the everlasting blessing of immortality, forgiveness, righteousness, andpeace.

— Michael Horton The Gospel Commission (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Baker Books, 2011), 26

(HT: Of First Importance)

What makes an Evangelical?

A couple of posts from Todd Pruitt:

In a recent interview Phil Johnson was asked, “What is the biggest problem facing evangelicalism today and how should we respond?”

Johnson answers:

The greatest problem I see is the ever-broadening boundary of the evangelical movement and (corresponding to that) the increasingly ambiguous definition of evangelicalism. Evangelicals are too concerned with gaining collective clout and publicity and not concerned enough with being evangelical (being faithful to the gospel). Many of evangelicalism’s most visible and popular leaders and institutions—including evangelicalism’s self-styled “house organ,” Christianity Today magazine—have been tearing down evangelical boundaries instead of guarding them. Consequently, a host of dangerous influences have infiltrated the evangelical movement and people in the pews don’t see the danger, because it’s considered impolite to be critical of a fellow “evangelical.” In an era where everyone from Benny Hinn to Brian McLaren wears the evangelical label, it is sheer folly to be so blithely accepting of everything and everyone who claims to be evangelical. That attitude has already ruined the evangelical testimony and done much to render the evangelical movement spiritually impotent.

How should we respond? We need to recover our love of the truth, our courage in standing for it, and our will to defend it.

Similarly, Carl Trueman:

[Evangelicalism] seems less sure of its identity than at any point in its history. I never cease to be shocked by how little I have in common with many others in the United Kingdom who now claim the name evangelical. One can deny that God knows the future, one can deny that the Bible is inspired, one can deny that justification is by grace through faith, one can deny that Christ is the only way to salvation – one can do all of these things and still remain a member in good standing of certain high-profile evangelical bodies.

The confusion such a situation represents indicates both the doctrinal and, perhaps more importantly, the moral void that lies at the heart of so much…evangelicalism at this time, when few if any are willing to take the difficult decision to stand firm on the non-negotiable aspects of the faith. We desperately need a deeper grasp of the importance of these issues if we are not to sell our heritage for a pot of stew.

From Reformation: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Contentment

From Stephen Altrogge’s recent book on contentment:

“The gospel of Christ is the fountain-head of contentment. In the gospel we have access to infinite blessings. But if we don’t drink often we will always be thirsty. The moment I feel the saltwater-like thirst of discontentment, I need to plunge again into the gospel. I need to stop and stare and wonder and laugh at the goodness of God in the gospel. I need to spend time working on my gospel math, calculating the infinite distance between what I deserve and what I’ve received. To marvel that a prodigal like me could be embraced by the Universe Maker as a son. To imagine the gutter of misery I would by lying in if Christ had not rescued me. If I want to overcome contentment, I need to spend time wallowing in the gospel.” (p. 70)

(HT: Dane Ortund)

Beirut Bound

Tomorrow I head out to Lebanon for a couple of weeks ministry. I’ll be teaching in a bible college and at least one church. I’m looking forward to sharing fellowship with my good friend Elie, a former Masters student with me several years ago. It’s only been six weeks, or so, since I started treatment for a DVT, and long-haul flights are not recommended within four months of diagnosis. So, two short-haul should be ok! I would nonetheless value prayer for myself and the family while I’m gone. Many thanks!

Update: It’s now grown to preaching in four churches. Wonderful!

Marks of a True Christian

From Kevin DeYoung:

How can you tell the difference between a true Christian and a false professor or heretic?

Wilhelmus à Brakel in The Christian’s Reasonable Service (1700) lays down six propositions to get us started.

Proposition1: A Christian must have a great love for the truth; all splendid pretense void of love for the truth is deceit.

Proposition 2: A Christian must have great love and esteem for the church.

Proposition 3: The Holy Scriptures are the only rule for doctrine and life.

Proposition 4: Regeneration is the originating cause of spiritual life, and of all spiritual thoughts and deeds.

Proposition 5: A Christian avails himself of faith.

Proposition 6: All of man’s felicity, here and hereafter, consists in communion with and the beholding of God.

To be sure, the list could be longer, but à Brakel is trying to warn against “Quietists,” “fanatics,” and “Boehmists” in particular. In any case, propositions 1 and 2 seem particularly relevant for our day. And proposition 6 sounds like John Piper.

As you read blogs and follow folks on twitter and keep up with the latest video to go viral, be sure to save time for godly dead guys.

“Am I Really a Christian?”

Thabiti Anyabwile asks:

Have you ever asked yourself that question? “Am I really a Christian?”

Does asking yourself that question make you an insecure or perhaps doubtful Christian? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Perhaps asking yourself that question is the healthiest and wisest thing you could do spiritually. Or to put it another way, is there any wisdom in never asking yourself that question? Could it be that the most foolish thing we could do is never ask and answer that question with biblical grit?

Mike McKinley’s new book, asks and helps answer the question Am I Really a Christian? I’m excited about this book and when you read you will be, too. I’m excited because Mike has lovingly, winsomely, soberly, and helpfully offered a diagnosis of that most deceptive and damaging of spiritual problems: nominalism. How would we know if we’re “Christians” in name only? And if we discovered we were, what should we do next? For answers, check out Mike’s book and the new website which offers helpful videos and information. Here’s one:

What is a nominal Christian? from Crossway on Vimeo.

Check the website and check the book. I’m sure the book will be a great blessing to someone who may be need to face this question with soberness and hope.

Our Churches Are the Proof of the Gospel

Mark Dever:

“Many Protestants have begun to think that because the church is not essential to the gospel, it is not important to the gospel.  This is an unbiblical, false, and dangerous conclusion.  Our churches are the proof of the gospel.  In the gatherings of the church, the Christian Scriptures are read.  In the ordinances of the church, the work of Christ is depicted.  In the life of the church, the character of God himself should be evident.  A church seriously compromised in character would seem to make the gospel itself irrelevant.

The doctrine of the church is important because it is tied to the good news itself.  The church is to be the appearance of the gospel.  It is what the gospel looks like when played out in the lives of people.  Take away the church and you take away the visible manifestation of the gospel in the world.  Christians in churches, then, are called to practice ‘display evangelism,’ and the world will witness the reign of God begun in a community of people made in his image and reborn by his Spirit.  Christians, not just as individuals but as God’s people bound together in churches, are the clearest picture that the world sees of the invisible God and what his will is for them.”

Mark E. Dever, ‘The Church” in A Theology for the Church, edited by Daniel L. Akin (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2007), 836.

Timmy Brister comments:

The gospel is absolutely essential to the church.
The church is incredibly important to the gospel.

Therefore, the recovery of the gospel is essential to the health of the church, and the importance of the local church is crucial to the advance of the gospel.  May God gives us a passion for churches to be driven by the gospel, and may God grant churches an unrelenting ambition to make it unmistakably visible in our world for the glory of Jesus’ name.

(HT: Timmy Brister)

JI Packer on Regeneration and Sanctification

The concept [of sanctification] is not of sin being totally eradicated (that is to claim too much) or merely counteracted (that is to say too little), but of a divinely wrought character change freeing us from sinful habits and forming in us Christlike affections, dispositions, and virtues.

Sanctification is an ongoing transformation within a maintained consecration, and it engenders real righteousness within the frame of relational holiness.

Relational sanctification, the state of being permanently set apart for God, flows from the cross, where God through Christ purchased and claimed us for himself (Acts 20:28; 26:18; Heb. 10:10).

Moral renovation, whereby we are increasingly changed from what we once were, flows from the agency of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:13; 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 6:11, 19-20; 2 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 4:22-24; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:13; Heb. 13:20-21). God calls his children to sanctity and graciously gives what he commands (1 Thess. 4:4; 5:23).

Regeneration is birth; sanctification is growth.

In regeneration, God implants desires that were not there before: desire for God, for holiness, and for the hallowing and glorifying of God’s name in this world; desire to pray, worship, love, serve, honor, and please God; desire to show love and bring benefit to others.

In sanctification, the Holy Spirit “works in you to will and to act” according to God’s purpose; what he does is prompt you to “work out your salvation” (i.e., express it in action) by fulfilling these new desires (Phil. 2:12-13). Christians become increasingly Christlike as the moral profile of Jesus (the “fruit of the Spirit”) is progressively formed in them (2 Cor. 3:18; Gal. 4:19; 5:22-25). . . .

Regeneration was a momentary monergistic act of quickening the spiritually dead. As such, it was God’s work alone.

Sanctification, however, is in one sense synergistic—it is an ongoing cooperative process in which regenerate persons, alive to God and freed from sin’s dominion (Rom. 6:11, 14-18), are required to exert themselves in sustained obedience.

God’s method of sanctification is neither activism (self-reliant activity) nor apathy (God-reliant passivity), but God-dependent effort (2 Cor. 7:1;Phil. 3:10-14; Heb. 12:14).

Knowing that without Christ’s enabling we can do nothing, morally speaking, as we should, and that he is ready to strengthen us for all that we have to do (Phil. 4:13), we “stay put” (remain, abide) in Christ, asking for his help constantly—and we receive it (Col. 1:11; 1 Tim. 1:12; 2 Tim. 1:7;2:1).

(HT: Justin Taylor)

The soul and substance of the divine message

“The heart of the gospel is redemption, and the essence of redemption is the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ. They who preach this truth preach the gospel in whatever else they may be mistaken; but they who preach not the atonement, whatever else they declare, have missed the soul and substance of the divine message.”

CH Spurgeon – Spurgeon at his Best, p.17

The Critical Difference Between Monergism and Synergism

John Hendryx writes:

This is the one point that monergism establishes and synergism in all its formsdenies: namely, that sinners are impotent to lift a finger toward their own salvation, but that salvation, from first to last, whole and entire is of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be all glory for ever; amen

Remember, divine election, by itself, has never saved anyone. It marks out certain individuals for salvation; it is God’s “blueprint” of what he intends to do in time through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. God the Father elects, the Son redeems them, and the Spirit applies the work of Christ to the same. The Trinity works in harmony to bring about God’s purposes of election… and He gathers them through the preaching of the gospel, the seed which the Spirit germinates and brings to life. Again, salvation is of the Lord.

Synergists teach that ‘salvation depends on human will’, but the Bible teaches that ‘it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” (Rom 9:16) and that we “were born, not of…the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:13)

Explaining the Gospel

From James Grant:

Last month 9Marks asked a roundtable of pastors and theologians two questions about the gospel:

• You are standing on stage before 100,000 people from every nation on earth and asked to share the gospel in 100 words or less. What would you say
• You are standing before a small crowd from your church’s neighborhood and asked to share the gospel in 100 words or less. What would you say?

The answers came from the following people:

• Peter Adams—Melbourne, Australia
• Greg Gilbert—Louisville, KY
• Liam Goligher—London, England
• Michael Horton—Escondido, CA
• Michael Nazir-Ali—Rochester, England
• Frank Retief—Cape Town, South Africa
• “Ed Roberts“—Central Asia
• Mack Stiles—Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Adrian Warnock—London, England

You can click on the name above, or view all the answers on one page.

Calvin on Remaining Sin in the Regenerate

Helpful realism from the reformer–

The children of God are freed through regeneration from bondage to sin. Yet they do not obtain full possession of freedom so as to feel no more annoyance from the their flesh, but there still remains in them a continuing occasion for struggle whereby they may be exercised; and not only be exercised, but also better learn their own weakness. . . . [T]here remains in a regenerate man a smoldering cinder of evil, from which desires continually leap forth to allure and spur him to commit sin.

In regeneration, Calvin goes on to say,

the sway of sin is abolished in them. For the Spirit dispenses a power whereby they may gain the upper hand and become victors in the struggle. But sin ceases only to reign; it does not also cease to dwell in them.

–John Calvin, Institutes, 3.3.10-11

Sin dwells, but no longer reigns, in believers.

(HT: Dane Ortlund)

Hallowed be Your Name

John Piper unpacks the first and ultimate petition of the Lord’s Prayer:

(HT: Todd Pruitt)

Looking for a Church? – Church Shopping Through the Ages

By  Don Sweeting:

Church shopping. I hate the phrase. It sounds so . . . consumeristic! But at one point in our lives, most of us do it. Even pastors do it before they are pastors. If they have a break from pastoral ministry and move, or retire, they do it again. So guess what we’ve been doing this year in the wake of a move and a job change? That’s right . . . church shopping.

What should you look for in a church? Here’s what most of the “church shoppers” I’ve recently talked to include on their lists. Prime consideration number one: They are looking for a certain style of music—“traditional service with a strong choir” or “hot band with great worship” (meaning music). After that comes the theological preference they are looking for. They also want a pastor who is a “good communicator.” They scope out churches that have strength in a favorite ministry area. “I’m looking for a strong ________ministry,” (fill in the blank—“youth,” “children’s,” “men’s,” “women’s,” “singles,” “young married’s.” Sometimes it is the building that matters—does it have enough parking, a gym, and coffee stations? Sometimes they want a small church where they can know everyone. Other times they are looking for a Walmart-like “full-service church.”

We are all familiar with these lists. But we may not be familiar with the ancient lists, used for centuries, to help Christians identify a good church. They may help us reshape our own lists.

Let Their Lists Refine Yours

The first list comes from Scripture in Acts 2:42. It describes the early church and says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” That’s a great starting point. You could even look at verses 42-47 to round out the list.

A second list comes from the Nicene Creed of the early church (AD 325/381). The creed concluded by identifying four marks of the church—“one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.” These four marks are found in the writings of the early church fathers. “One” describes the unity of the body of Christ—its belief in one God, one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. The focus here was more the spiritual unity than organizational unity. “Holy” was a reminder of the Bible’s words, “Be holy as I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:15-16). This does not mean a church is free from sin, but that it is set apart for God’s redemptive and sanctifying work. Next comes the word “catholic.” This did not mean Roman Catholic, but catholic as in “universal.” The idea was not so much inclusiveness as it was “mainstream.” In the early church, catholic Christians were those who believed what all Christians everywhere believed—as opposed to what Marcionites or Arians, for example, believed. “Apostolic” focused on the origins and beliefs of the church. The church’s teachers were apostolic; that is, they were rooted in and in continuity with what the early apostles (the authorized representatives of Jesus) taught.

A third list comes from the Reformed churches of the Protestant Reformation. The marks of the visible church include the Word rightly proclaimed, the sacraments properly observed, scriptural discipline faithfully practiced, and loving fellowship joyfully maintained. Reformed churches began their list with the faithful preaching of the Word—was it true to Scripture and centered on  the gospel? They highlighted the right use of the sacraments—that is, were they correctly understood and practiced according to the Scriptures? Spiritual discipline was practiced. Disciples need discipline. The discipline conceived here involved both pastoral care and correction in order to keep the church on track. Can this kind of discipline be found in the church? Maintaining loving fellowship was also important—because the mark of the Christian is love. Is the love of Christ seen in this church?

Chances are you will find yourself church shopping at some point in your life. Maybe you are church shopping now. Before you jot down your own list, learn from some of the believers who have gone before you. Let their lists refine your own.

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Don Sweeting’s blog, The Chief End of Man.

Six reasons why the deity of Christ matters

Chris Morgan and Robert Peterson, drawing upon Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli, propose six reasons – for starters – why the deity of Christ matters so urgently:

1.  The divinity of Christ is the most distinctively Christian doctrine of all.

2.  The essential difference between orthodox, traditional, biblical, apostolic, historic, creedal Christianity and revisionist, modernist, liberal Christianity is right here.

3.  The doctrine works like a skeleton key, unlocking all other doctrinal doors of Christianity.

4.  If Christ is divine, then the incarnation, or “enfleshing” of God, is the most important event in history.

5.  There is an unparalleled existential bite to this doctrine. For if Christ is God, then, since he is omnipotent and present right now, he can transform you and your life right now as nothing and no one else possibly can.

6.  If Christ is divine, he has a right to our entire lives, including our inner life and our thoughts.

This new Crossway book is presented here.

(HT: Ray Ortlund)