THERE is a book on the shelf to my left titled How People Change by Timothy Lane & Paul Tripp (CCEF) that parallels what we have been studying in The Complete Green Letters. It repeats many of the themes we have been looking at from a different perspective and wording in explaining and reinforcing the growth principles under review. I’ve often thought I’d like to review this book next on this blog, once we’re done with The Complete Green Letters – …we’ll see.
ANYWAY, I mention it here as we open to our next chapter of study – “Romans 7 – Reckoning,” noting that in Chapter 1 of How People Change, it introduces an interesting point concept: The Gospel Gap. I’d love to dive into the detail of what that means, but suffice it to say here that the authors open their discussion making the point that there is a “gap” or hole with many in the Christian community in understanding the power of the gospel in every aspect of the believer’s life. In summary – my words, not theirs – we are really good at presenting the gospel to the lost unto salvation, but after that there is a failure in understanding how the gospel – what Christ did on the cross in its totality (including Rom. 6) – is to be applied to the Christian’s daily walk. Herein they quote 2Peter 1:3-9.
His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
FROM here they point out that we already possess everything needed for “life and godliness,” yet there is the necessity to increase in the effective and productive “knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” If this does not occur, a nearsighted blindness occurs having forgotten what Christ performed on our account on the cross. Lane and Tripp point out three kinds of blindness that ensues, blindness to:
1) Our identity to Christ, and all that that entails.
2) God’s provision “in Christ” for the “here and now” aspect of my daily walk, “Not I, but Christ” (Gal 2:20).
3) God’s process to effect real change and growth.
WHAT I find interesting about this analysis is not only its insightfulness, but their assessment of the hazards encountered when this gospel gap is ignored saying, that God “wants us to be a community of joy, but he is willing to compromise our temporal happiness in order to increase our Christ-likeness.” Lane and Tripp go on to explain that whenever this “message of Christ’s indwelling work to progressively transform us, the hole [gospel gap] will be filled by a Christian lifestyle that focuses more on externals than on the heart.” They explain what those “externals” look like, and why they are so attractive and distractive, even destructive to the Gospel’s complete call of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).
WELL, this has been a lengthy opening and introduction to “Romans 7 – Reckoning.” And as such I would have you read just the first paragraph below, and then ask you to read Romans 7 in its entirety between now and my next posting. Better yet read it in the context of both Roman 6 and 8 as well.
In the inexorable riches of Christ,
Joe
Neh. 8:10, Isa 30:15, Jas 1:2; Prov. 21:30
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Chapter 46—Romans 7 Reckoning – Part 1
If believers knew more fully the deliverance of the first part of Romans Seven, they would experience less of the defeat of the latter part! This vitally important chapter has to do mainly with the principle of law. ……To be continued
