Recovering Strong Convictions of Faith


Genuine Christian faith must be shaped by God’s revealed truth rather than by cultural preference, personal desire, or the pursuit of popularity. I am called to recover the convictions that originally gave evangelical Protestantism its strength.

Christian faith begins with God’s truth

Historic evangelicalism was built around two central convictions:

  • The inspiration and authority of Scripture.

  • The centrality of Christ’s substitutionary work on the cross.

The spiritual lesson is that Christianity does not begin with my feelings, needs, or opinions. It begins with God speaking through Scripture and accomplishing salvation through Christ. Faith is therefore received from God rather than invented by the individual.

Application: I should ask not merely, “What works for me?” but, “What has God revealed to be true?”

Truth must govern the whole Christian life

I need to distinguish between merely carrying the label “Protestant” and actually living according to historic Protestant convictions. Identifying with a Christian tradition is easy; faithfully submitting my beliefs and conduct to Scripture requires courage.

This teaches that spiritual commitment is more than affiliation. I may attend church, use Christian language, or identify as evangelical while still allowing culture to determine what I believe.

Application: Genuine discipleship involves obedience, repentance, and perseverance—not simply religious identity.

God is not created by my inner experience

A major concern is the modern tendency to reduce God to an “inside God”—a God defined by private feelings, self-esteem, or personal fulfillment—instead of worshiping the transcendent Creator who stands outside and above me.

The spiritual truth is that God is not a projection of the self. He does not exist merely to affirm my choices or make me feel fulfilled. He confronts, judges, saves, and transforms me.

Application: I should evaluate my spirituality by whether it leads me toward worship and surrender to God, not merely toward emotional comfort.

The church must resist consumer Christianity

The evangelical world is divided among classical evangelicals, marketers, and emergents. Churches can become overly concerned with relevance, success, image, or meeting consumer expectations.

This does not mean that churches should be indifferent to people or communicate poorly. Rather, it means that the church must not change the substance of the gospel simply to gain approval or popularity.

Application: The church’s success should be measured by faithfulness to Christ, biblical truth, and spiritual maturity—not primarily by size, entertainment value, or public influence.

Doctrine is spiritually important

The decline of biblical doctrine weakens the church. Doctrine is not merely abstract information; it tells me who God is, what sin is, what Christ has done, and how I should live.

Without doctrine, spirituality becomes unstable and easily shaped by cultural trends. Clear teaching protects Christians from confusing personal preference with divine truth.

Application: Studying theology and Scripture is part of spiritual growth. Christians need both heartfelt devotion and accurate understanding.

Christ’s cross must remain central

I need to recall the importance of Christ’s penal substitution: Christ bore the judgment deserved by sinners so that those who trust in him may be forgiven and reconciled to God.

The spiritual lesson is that Christianity is not primarily a program for self-improvement. Its foundation is God’s saving action through Christ’s death and resurrection.

Application: My hope before God rests not on achievement, religious performance, or self-esteem, but on Christ’s finished work.

My Notes on Chapter 1, “The Beginnings,” in David Wells’s The Courage to Be Protestant

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wrestling With God

Image
But does not God do man an injustice by requiring in His law what man cannot do?  No,  for God so created man that he was able to do it.  But man, at the instigation of the devil,  in deliberate disobedience robbed himself and all his descendants of these gifts.  One could say that in this Lord’s Day at least in the questions our flesh, that is our sinful nature, is speaking.  For not only now but also throughout all centuries it has continually carried on a dialogue with God in finally seeking to justify itself over against Him.  That is the sinful nature that never lets itself be cornered or captured but always comes up with some sort of response, or even better, knows how to devise yet another query.  It always knows how to avoid the snare and to escape the threat of defeat.  How consistently it maintains this is understood by everyone who knows himself well.  What the Heidelberg describes here takes place in everyone’s life: wrestlin...
Read more

By God's Word at Last My Sin I Learned

Image
From where do you know your sins and misery?  From the law of God. The knowledge of misery is a knowing by faith  or as we might also call it: a faith knowledge.  We come to know this in the relationship of faith in Jesus Christ, and without that relationship it does not exist.  With that we are assured that there is no knowledge of misery,  in the sense that it is meant here,  without the knowledge of redemption.  Faith focuses on the whole of God’s Word and can never accept one aspect of the truth of God without the other.  We can never submit in faith to the judgment of God without that same faith taking hold of the gospel of redemption.  God’s Word and faith are certainly distinct, but faith from its very beginning embraces God’s entire revelation in its various dimensions,  even if it is only in embryo.  Therefore, we cannot possibly address the matter of our misery except in terms of the knowledge of faith.  Without faith...
Read more

His Eye is on This Sparrow

Image
Jesus also preserves me in such a way   that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head;  indeed, all things must work together for my salvation.  For the Bible Tells Me So... John 6:39,40 “This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”  John 10:27-30 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”  2 Thessalonians 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.  1 Peter...
Read more