One of the more interesting observations I have made from years of counseling is that I do not teach people so much about the truth of God’s Word as much as teach them how to apply the truth of God’s Word.

What is most interesting about this observation is that many of these counselees have spent a good portion of their lives in various kinds of biblical studies or other theological training. Some of my counselees would be considered lifetime Sunday school attenders. Others have been committed to the “Women’s Bible Study” meetings of their local church for a decade or more. While others have been faithful attenders to the assorted “Men’s Meetings” that their church offers.

While I’m not saying that any of these meetings are wrong and I’m not on a campaign to dismantle or dissolve any of these meetings, I am saying that something is amiss if our seemingly endless and consistent pursuit of knowledge is not leading us to transformative application.

Always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. – 2 Timothy 3:7 (ESV)

Typically, what I do in counseling is teach the individual how to apply the bible knowledge that has been accumulated through the years.

Something Is Wrong!

It is not a guarantee that effective transformation will come through “over-participation” in bible studies. Having someone preach or teach to you is not the same as you effectively preaching to yourself what you already know to be true.

When training my counselors, I often tell them the following: “Be careful about telling your counselees what to do. Lead them to the place of discovering and applying God’s truth for themselves.” God asked Adam where he was when Adam was “lost.” God knew where Adam was, but Adam was not fully aware of where he was. God was provoking Adam to think and respond to him rather than telling him what he needed to know. (Genesis 3:9)

Telling a child that 2 + 2 = 4 is not as effective as letting the child wrestle through the learning process. Application is a key component in teaching or counseling. Telling someone the truth is one thing, but leading them to discover the truth is far superior. If they discover it and own it, it will be theirs for the rest of their lives. Similarly, sitting in the Sunday meeting and soaking up the Sunday message will lose its effectiveness if there are no processes in place for the Christian to work the sermon deep into the core of his/her being.

There have to be contexts for the application of God’s Word after God’s Word is preached or God’s Word will lose its effectiveness. It seems as though that for some there is an over-reliance or “mystic” reliance on the Holy Spirit to make the truth real, practical and effective in their lives after they have heard it.

After years of counseling, I would say that some of the brightest and most knowledgeable Bible students can be no different than the Sunday school beginner when it comes to living in the fullness and joy that God offers through the Gospel.

If the Christian is not regularly applying the truth, he will not be living an effective Christian life. Countless Bible studies are no substitute for taking one sermon or lesson and working it into your life. In fact, too many studies can desensitize you to the truth you are trying to learn. – Charlie Boyd

This brings us to Psalm 103

David is doing something remarkable in Psalm 103. Quite simply he is “preaching to himself” the benefits of God. David is taking his soul to task by reminding himself of two specific things:

• What he knows to be true about God
• How he has personally experienced what he knows to be true about God

While it is true that faith comes by hearing the Word of God, it would not be wise to think that being within earshot of the truth is good enough. David was a student of God’s Word and a man after God’s heart, but he knew that in order to be transformed by God’s word that he needed to work the truth into the fabric of his soul until he owned it.

How have you experienced God?

The most profound experience that any believer can have with God is his experience of God through the Gospel. The singular truth that has made God more real to me than anything else, in over 25 years of walking with him, is the Gospel. The transformative reminder of the Gospel is the one thing that has buoyed me through some of life’s most heart rendering challenges.

• The Gospel reminds me that God loves me
• The Gospel reminds me that I should not fear
• The Gospel reminds me that everything will be okay
• The Gospel reminds me that my worst problem in life has been resolved
• The Gospel reminds me that God will go to infinite lengths to take care of me

Forget Not His Gospel!

This is what David told himself…

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. – Psalm 103:1-2 (ESV)

What do you tell yourself?

These are part of my notes from the 08.29.10 sermon preached at Southside Fellowship

Application Questions

1. What contexts do you have to apply God’s Word to your life?
2. Do you have authentic, honest, and transparent relationships that help you apply God’s Word to your life?
3. Are you more apt to “listen” to yourself or “talk” to yourself?
4. What specific ways have you “preached to yourself” today?

Other Related Posts

1. Too Many Bible Studies, Pastor. Too Many Bible Studies, 1.0
2. Too Many Bible Studies: Here’s What We Do, 2.0
3. The Best Bible Study Ever, 3.0
4. The Missing Element in Bible Studies, 4.0

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Our family’s favorite gospel-centered song has been recorded in a video. This is the song we sing in our hearts and our home. It is the song that quickly brings us to the place we need to be. It is succinct, clear, and powerful. Now it has been put into a compelling video that profoundly testifies to the goodness of our great God. Enjoy-Adore-Be amazed!

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Recently I met with my friend Dan. He said he has been walking his son through this idea of leaving people better off after you encounter them. His parenting idea was so encouraging to me that I told him, “I feel a blog post coming on.” Hence this post!

I am always on the prowl, looking for ways my Gospel-centered friends are connecting the Gospel to real life. God has been merciful to me by giving me a heightened awareness for this kind of thinking and living. Therefore, when someone makes a Gospel-centered statement, as Dan did, then I want to draw attention to it by thanking him for making it and then by seeing how I can apply it to my life.

When Dan said, “You always want to leave people better than when you first meet them” my mind went immediately to the Gospel. God the Father planned to regenerate me. His planning included the execution of His Son on the cross. And the Son’s act of kindness accomplished my redemption.

According to Dan’s statement, Christ left me better off than when He found me. Dan was communicating the powerful effect of the Gospel on my life. When you are acted upon by Christ, you are inevitably and irresistibly left better off than you were prior to His engagement with you.

Let’s Play a Gospel Game

Here is a fun game you can play today. And maybe this “game” can be so woven into the fabric of your daily, practical life that it becomes who you are as a person. Here’s the game: see how many people you can model the Gospel before today.

Here are some practical, Gospel-motivated illustrations of how to leave others better off than when you found them:

• Hold the door open for someone today.
• Tell the cashier at a restaurant how grateful you are for her service to you.
• Identify and communicate at least three ways in which you appreciate your spouse.
• Identify and communicate at least three ways in which you appreciate your child.
• Send your pastor or small group leader (or both) an email expressing your gratitude for them.
• Send a friend an email expressing your gratitude for them.
• Let someone go ahead of you in the line at the grocery store.
• Take some food or dessert to your neighbor.
• Post an encouraging “status” on your Facebook page.
• Say “thank you” to at least five people today.
• Pray for a friend and let him/her know specifically what you prayed for.

My prayer is that my life becomes one long happy trail of people who were better off after meeting me. (For those of you who have not been blessed by an encounter with me, I am truly sorry.)

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Early in my Christian life I heard someone say, “The Bible was not given to increase your knowledge but to guide your conduct.” Later I came to realize that this statement was simplistic at best and erroneous at worst. The Bible is far more than a rulebook to follow. It is primarily the message of God’s saving grace through Jesus Christ, with everything in Scripture before the cross pointing to God’s redemptive work and everything after the cross–including our sanctification–flowing from that work.

There is an element of truth in this statement, however, and the Holy Spirit used it to help me to see that the Bible is not to be read just to gain knowledge. It is, indeed, to be obeyed and practically applied in our daily lives. As James says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).

With my new insight, I prayed that God would use the Bible to guide my conduct. Then I began diligently to seek to obey it. I had never heard the phrase “the pursuit of holiness,” but that became my primary goal in life. Unfortunately, I made two mistakes.

Click GOSPEL to read the entire article.

You may also be interested in…

1. A Case Study: Poor Counseling Advice: You Need to Please God
2. The Danger of Trying to Please God, 1.0
3. The Blessing of Not Trying to Please God, 2.0
4. Pleasing God is Not Primarily About Your Obedience, 3.0
5. Pleasing God Through Gospel-Motivated Obedience, 4.0

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Free Counseling Advice via Twitter

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Paul said if anyone preached another Gospel, other than the Gospel that he preached, that person should be accursed. (See Galatians 1:6-9.) It is important to know that the Gospel Paul preached was not just an evangelistic Gospel. There is no doubt that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation, but for Paul, the Gospel is also the sustaining and motivating power that transforms those who have already been regenerated by its power.

What It Is

The Gospel is a Person. The Gospel is about a relationship. The Good News is the Christ: It is all that He was, is and will be and all that He did, is doing and will do. I agree with Mike Bullmore when he said that a right understanding and application of the Gospel is the greatest need in the church today. It is the profound misunderstanding and misapplication of this point that has sent Christians scurrying from the local church in search of help for their problems.

The Danger of the Principle-Driven Lifestyle

Principles do not transform. Principles give temporary shape to your life, according to the proportion and the degree to which you use them. Principles can give light. Principles can inspire. Principles can give direction. Principles can help you. But principles are not meant to bring sustainable transformation. Principles can be analogous to the parts of a car. The Gospel, on the other hand, is the engine or power source that all else is dependent upon. The issue is not about either/or, but about priority and preeminence.

Preeminence means surpassing all others; very distinguished in some way. -Dictionary

While you can get good principles from many churches, it is the rare church that understands the Gospel as the practical motivating force behind all they do. For Paul, all roads flowed out of the Gospel and all roads led to the Gospel. Sadly, many churches miss this essential fact. Their teaching would present the Gospel as the essential means to get to Christ, which it is, but would teach obedience as the primary means for sanctification. These are principle-driven Christians.

The Gospel Answers the “Why” Question Regarding Our Sanctification

If you live in such a way that the Gospel is the reason why you do what you do, then you are well on your way to a right understanding and application of the Gospel. This is what I call living in the good of the Gospel.

The following are some examples of how the Gospel is the only right answer for “why” we do what we do. If these ten sample behaviors are motivated by the Gospel, then the person modeling them is enjoying and benefiting from the Gospel:

1. The Gospel is the reason you serve your spouse.
2. The Gospel is the reason you ask your son or daughter to forgive you.
3. The Gospel is the reason you forgive others, either attitudinally or transactionally.
4. The Gospel is the reason you work at your job for the glory of God.
5. The Gospel is the reason you think the best about others, rather than suspect the worst.
6. The Gospel is the reason you ask more questions rather than make more statements when confused.
7. The Gospel is the reason you are regularly seeking someone to encourage.
8. The Gospel is the reason you pursue others to speak honestly into your life.
9. The Gospel is the reason you can’t wait to serve someone.
10. The Gospel is the reason you express so much gratitude to others.

A right understanding and practical outworking of the Gospel is by far the most important attribute when looking for a local church.

Articles in This Series

1. How to Find a Local Church, 1.0
2. The #1 Priority for Any Local Church, 2.0
3. The Second Question to Ask a Local Church, 3.0
4. You Better Believe Worship Matters, 4.0
5. Ministries, Programs & Amenities of Religion - 5.0
6. Fellowship! What is Missing in Most Local Churches – 6.0
7. Thoughts on Pursuing Others Relationally – 6.1

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Being Cross-centered has been a very popular expression the past few years. Not only is it popular, but it is charged with some explosive, transformative teaching that I believe every Christian should avail themselves to. Paul said he had made the decision to know nothing among the Corinthians, but Jesus Christ and him crucified. (See 1 Cor. 2:2)

The beloved apostle was communicating a very powerful message to the Corinthian believers because they needed something better than what they had. They needed a better understanding of the Cross of Christ.

I suppose if First Corinthians was all we had of Paul’s writings we could make a strong case for the Cross-centered life. But Paul’s theology is more robust than just being Cross-centered.

As a former Cross-centered fanatic, there was always a tension between me and my resurrection fanatics that I could not really settle in my soul. The solution for me was to choose to be Cross-centered 51-weeks out of the year and then be resurrection-centered on Easter Sunday.

This appeased the doctrinal tension only slightly because on Easter Sunday I felt as though I was not thinking highly enough of the Cross.

Over the past few months I have been coming into a fuller awareness that the tension between the Cross and the resurrection is really an artificial tension that does not need to exist. In Paul’s theology it was not an either/or doctrinal choice. Paul was Cross-centered AND resurrection-centered. Both of these strong doctrinal, Christological ideas are best found articulated and folded into the term “Gospel-Centered.”

To say that Paul was primarily Cross-centered truncates his comprehensive theological understanding and practical outworking of the complete Gospel in his life. To say that Paul was resurrection-centered does similarly. It would be more accurate to say that Paul was Gospel-centered. This term removes the artificial tension that could exist between the Cross-centered and resurrection-centered groups.

Christ is not just about the Cross and the Tomb

Gospel-centered goes even further than the Cross and the Tomb. The term Gospel communicates our understanding of the person and work of Christ from eternity past to eternity future. It is all that Christ was and all that he will be. The word Gospel is far better.

In First Corinthians Paul was very clear that he decided to know nothing, but Jesus Christ and him crucified. However, in Second Corinthians Paul’s focus in chapter one was on the resurrection of Christ. It was his understanding of the resurrection of Christ NOT the Cross of Christ that helped him through one of the more difficult times of his life.

Being Gospel-centered opens all the vistas of the Savior (past, present and future) and brings more power and dimensions to any situational difficulty. The Gospel offers me hope as I learn about the pre-incarnate Savior who planned my salvation. (See Eph. 1:3-10) The Gospel unfolds the crucified Savior to me as I wrestle through personal suffering and the need for redemption. Or it may be more appropriate to bring the resurrected Savior to bear when I’m despondent or depressed. And still yet, the Gospel brings encouragement to me when my longing is for the ruling Savior in eternity future.

Paul was more than Cross-centered. Paul was Gospel-centered. The more I have come into a better and fuller understanding of this Gospel, the more I have grown in my sanctification. The tension between the Cross and the Tomb does not exist for me. Thankfully, neither have been reduced in my thinking, but both are coexisting in an explosive and transformative way.

Read this article on how Paul thought through the resurrection in order to give him hope during one of the most difficult times in his life.

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This is a true story. The name has been changed, but the circumstances have not. I have “Jean’s” permission to share her story.

In 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 we read Paul’s journey from depression to recovery.

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. – Apostle Paul

Sentence of Death

Things were going so bad for Paul and his team that he had judged the situation by placing a death sentence on himself and the team. This is not an unusual occurrence for people who feel pressed beyond their strength to overcome. When things get so bad, in certain situations, death seems like a viable option for some. To continue in life, muddling along from desert to desert is exhausting, hopeless and has an inevitable end, so they think. This is the judgment of death that we can place on ourselves and Paul was such a person who felt the full force of this judgement.

Jean has also been pressed beyond measure, to the point where she is despairing of her life. The challenge of dying seems easier than the challenge of living. Her position is not as hopeless as she feels, but the counselor will have to remind himself that it is her perceived position nevertheless, and it is very real to her regardless of his more objective assessment of the situation. Therefore, counseling her from her illogical and unwise position will be very hard and will take much patience.

For example, the obvious counsel for a depressed person is to go take a walk, enjoy the sunshine, stop watching so much TV and engage the culture around her. The problem with this kind of counsel is that it is impossible for a person with a self-proclaimed death sentence.

Paul said, “We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.” To be utterly burdened beyond [your] strength means you are beyond your ability to do anything about it. Therefore, taking a walk in the park or reading a book is nearly impossible.

Anti-Self-Reliance

Paul understood what was happening to him. He said that the things that were happening to him were to make [him] rely not on [himself] but on God who raises the dead. Paul got it. He probably didn’t like it, but he got it. Paul was a doer, a get-it-done kind of guy, but he felt himself sinking beyond his ability to help himself.

The problem with this kind of get it done, self-sufficient, do it my way worldview is that if you persist in it, you’ll end up trusting and glorying in yourself rather than God. This can never be.

Therefore God, in his kindness to us, brings us to a place where there are no other options for us, but to trust in someone who is outside of ourselves. And though the psychology of what is going on is easy to understand, it is one of the more challenging situations to walk a person through.

Reliance in the Gospel

Almost all counsel seems too small, too trite, too wrong and generally inadequate. And to say that Jean’s problem is a lack of reliance on the Gospel sounds more appropriate for a bumper sticker on a car than a solution in the counselor’s office. Nevertheless, it is the solution that Jean needs to hear more than anything else.

Paul got it. He said the reason the things were happening to him and his team was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. Paul found the solution for his despair in the Gospel. He knew, as noted in Romans 1:16, that the Gospel was the “power of God.” And in 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 Paul further unpacked his theology of suffering even more, where he said that his weakness was God’s kindness to him that allowed God’s strength to be made perfect.

The Gospel is the person and work of Christ that is working effectively in the life of a person to give him something that transcends the circumstances of his life. The Gospel, in this case study with Paul, encouraged him by telling him that if God can raise his Son from the grave then he is completely trustworthy and powerful enough to not only teach him to stop relying on himself, but to rely on Him who has incredible power, as demonstrated through the resurrection of the Savior from the grave.

Perfect love does cast out fear and the greatest witness to perfect love is the Gospel. (See 1 John 4:18 & John 3:16)

Conclusion

Jean would rather hear more about 7 Habits for Overcoming Depression, though she knows intuitively that whatever you ask her to do from a practical perspective, she probably wouldn’t be able to do anyway. But to tell her to trust God is even worse than trying to motivate her to practical achievements. The Gospel will fall flat for Jean. She will tell you that she can’t do the practical things you ask and that to apply the Gospel to her life makes little sense to her. Nevertheless, the counselor must stand firm and not be ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God.

He will have to be incredibly patient. Her self-focused and problem-centered mindset will seem unmovable to the counselor and any attempts to move her will be met with resistance. But he must be determined to graciously and compassionately lead her to a clearer understanding and appreciation for the Gospel while practically helping her see it in ways that were not clear to her before.

Truly, the Gospel is a stumbling block to the Jew and foolishness to the Greek and, in the beginning, Jean will not get it either. 1 Corinthians 1:18-25.

Articles in this series

1. A Case Study on Suicide
2. Suicide – 1.0
3. Suicide – 2.0
4. Suicide – 3.0
5. Suicide – 4.0 The End

Related Articles on the Dangers of Self-Esteem

1. Loving Me: The Hidden Agenda of Self-Esteem, 1.0
2. To Lower Your Self-Esteem is Good, 2.0
3. Self-Esteem & the Tale of Ugly Betty, 3.0
4. The End of the Road for High Self-Esteem is Suicide, 4.0
5. Case Study: Sally’s Search for Self-Esteem, 5.0
6. Did J. B. & Paul Struggle with Self-Worth, 6.0

Related Articles on Big Sinners vs. Little Sinners

1. Problem: Big Sinners vs. Little Sinners – 1.0
2. Churches with Big Sinners & Little Sinners – 2.0
3. Adult Sinners with Big Problems – 3.0
4. Acknowledged Sinners with Inexpressible Gratitude – 4.0
5. Big Sinners, Little Sinners & the Worst Sinners – 5.0

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In the last post I discussed one of several reasons why a Child May Rebel Against Their Parents and God. Kids, like us, are made in the image of God and parents have a responsibility to shape the child for God, with the hope and prayer that when the kid is old enough to understand, he/she will ask God to regenerate them. (See John 3:7)

I mentioned in the earlier post that sometimes we parents can hinder the child from getting to God. We can do this in several ways. Here is a sampling, that is meant to be in no way an exhaustive list: parents can be distant, angry, abusive, critical, divorced and impatient with their children.

Someone may ask that if the weight of the kid’s salvation lies to such a degree on the parent, how can any kid be saved? Truly, this is not only an excellent question, but it is a humble acknowledgement that we all are flawed. At our best, we are broken images of God’s original design. But this is where we can find wonderful encouragement in the power of the Gospel. There is no kid so messed up that he/she cannot be saved, whether his/her parents got it right for the most part or royally botched things up.

I was reminded of this recently when I read a brief excerpt about the childhood of Ravi Zacharias…

I came to know Christ on a bed of suicide when I was seventeen–desolate, desperate. My father just finished telling me I’d be a total failure in life. I was born a failure, he said. Somebody brought a Bible to my bedside. I’m so thankful to my heavenly Father that my dad lived long enough to write a letter to me–my dad died fairly early–and said, “Will you ever forgive me for the things I said?” And yet, in the dark of the soul, I found the heavenly Father to be closer than I’d ever realized.

In Paul Miller’s book, A Praying Life, where I found the quote, Miller followed up by saying,

Because we live in a fallen world, God has to use broken images of himself, such as a father. In fact, all the images God gives us of himself in Scripture are flawed…The fact that we know our king or father is flawed means we know what a good father should do. Because we are created in the image of the triune God, we have the instinctive knowledge of how a father should love. If we didn’t know what a good father was, we couldn’t critique our own. Modern psychology can unwittingly trapped us in our pasts. It is just another form of fatalism that kills our ability to see the story God is weaving in our lives. pp. 177-178, A Praying Life, by Paul Miller

The Gospel is the hope for any parent who may be struggling with the guilt of what they have done to their children. God is greater than our biggest failures. And the Gospel is also the hope for any kid, who thinks there is no salvation for him, because of what he has done. The Gospel is bigger than our most abominable sins.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. -Romans 1:16 (ESV)

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Sandra was relieved and encouraged to know that she did not have to please God to gain his good opinion and that her standing before God is as secure today as it was when he first acted upon her at regeneration. However, because her life has always been wrapped up in people-pleasing, she was unclear as to what Gospel-motivated obedience looked like.

This kind of thinking was a complete paradigm shift for her. Because of her legalism, she learned rote behavior. She did what others did and made sure she never deviated from what others did while self-righteously judging those who did not hold to her list of dos and don’ts. She lived in a fear-based culture that did cookie-cutter religion.

Sandra was breaking the mould, but still perplexed as to how to practically obey God just for the joy of it. Once the counselor understood the real problem, he took a series of verses and showed her how the Bible writers connected practical behavior to the Gospel. Here is a short list:

Gospel Motivated Mercy

Then his master summoned him and said to him, You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you? -Matthew 18:32-33

There is an assumption from the Master that this guy should have remembered what happened to him in the courtroom. If he had remembered the Gospel, he would have gone out and modeled that same kind of Gospel-mercy to the man who owed far less than what he owed. The Master is asking him a rhetorical question that could be paraphrased this way:

Because I had mercy on you by the Gospel, you should have done the same to your friend. You should have been obedient because I had mercy on you. That is what I would expect from any of my children. And that kind of obedience would please me.

Gospel-Motivated Forgiveness

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. -Ephesians 4:31-32

In the verse above, Paul is also teaching us that our motive for obedience is tied to the Gospel. We should not be bitter or angry or slandering because of the model we see through Christ, who forgave us (the Gospel). A person who understands the Gospel rightly will forgive.

Gospel-Motivated Love

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her… – Ephesians 5:25

A husband who understands the Gospel will love his wife sacrificially. He will learn her, love her and then properly lead her. His sacrifice for her would be unending and his affection for her would be unceasing. In short, he would be like our dying Savior.

Gospel-Motivated Humility

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. – 1 Timothy 1:15-16

Quite frankly if you do not see yourself as the biggest sinner you know, then you need to do some Gospel-work in your soul. Paul considered himself to be the chief of sinners. He was #1 in his book. He who is forgiven much is thankful much. The most thankful Christians are those who never forget that God did not get a good deal when he got them.

Gospel-Motivated Suffering

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. – 1 Peter 2:21

Peter connected personal suffering as a thing that brings pleasure to God, particularly when our suffering is not because of our sin. It is the Christian’s privilege and opportunity to share in the sufferings of Christ. And Christ is our model for our suffering. The more we understand the Gospel, particularly the suffering aspect of the Gospel, the more we will be motivated to glorify God while we suffer.

Christian Maturity Begins When We Can Make Gospel-Connections

For the first time in Sandra’s life she is beginning to make Gospel-connections to her practical life. She now understands that the Gospel was not just for her to get saved (Justification), but the Gospel has a huge impact on how she lives (Sanctification). Today, she reads the bible with a “new pair of glasses” as she recently said. Sometimes she gets frustrated when she thinks of all the years of “Cross-less” Bible reading and living.

Now she gets it. She is resting in the Gospel because God saved her and she is motivated to serve him because God saved her. Whenever she feels self-righteous, unforgiving, unloving or when she begins to complain because of some form of suffering, she immediately preaches the Gospel to herself and very quickly rights the ship.

Sandra is free in Christ!

Other Articles in This Series

1. A Case Study: Poor Counseling Advice: You Need to Please God
2. The Danger of Trying to Please God, 1.0
3. The Blessing of Not Trying to Please God, 2.0
4. Pleasing God is Not Primarily About Your Obedience, 3.0
5. Pleasing God Through Gospel-Motivated Obedience, 4.0

Checkout some of our training videos on our YouTube Channel

Free Counseling Advice via Twitter

Free Counseling Advice via Weekly eBlast

Checkout Counseling Solution’s Membership Training Site

What Pleases God?

It would be better to say, “Who pleases God?”

And a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased. -Mark 1:11

Christ pleases God. Anything the Son does pleases the Father. Jesus came to do the will of the Father and he completed that task perfectly. The Father received the finished work of the Son and now a way has been made for us to please the Father by accepting the Son’s work.

A Christian, who is madly in love with the Son, is pleasing the Son’s Father. The way we fall madly in love with the Son is by accepting his finished work on the Cross.

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. -Isaiah 64:6

Sandra is a Christian. However, she is not living in the good of the Gospel reality. Rather than accepting what is pleasing to God (the Son), she is trying to please him by her obedience. For example, she will tell you that she feels more spiritual when she goes to the church meeting. Sandra is a legalist. She believes her activity for God gives her more of God. She feels more spiritual when she is doing. Therefore, when she misses her prayer time or bible reading, or a church meeting she feels less spiritual.

To Do or Not To Do

If she has her morning prayer time and things go well that day, she will subtly contribute God’s favor on her day somewhat based on her prayer-time-obedience. Conversely, if she does not have her prayer time and things don’t go well, she feels as though her lack of prayer caused her day to go bad. This is heresy.

Her friends will jokingly reveal their heretical theology as they observe her bad day by saying, “You must not be prayed-up today.”

As you can see, when her biblical counselor gave her a list of things to do to please God, Sandra initially was excited about the list because she is a people-pleaser. However, as time went by, she could not juggle her list of spiritual disciplines with the rest of her life and, therefore, discouragement and then depression set-in. From her perspective, God was not pleased with her and she was basing this on her poor performance.

According to Sandra’s functional theology, she could control God’s pleasure by what she did rather than what the Son did. The best way she could please God would not be by doing more work for him, but by repenting of her work and accepting the Son’s work.

Comprehension Test: do you understand what you just read

If you have processed this series correctly (you’ll need to read 3.0 & 4.0 as well), then you will conclude the following: Nowhere in this series have I said we should not please God. This series is not primarily about what we do for God, but why we do what we do for God. Do we keep his commandments? Of course we do. That is not the main point of these posts. Do we seek to please the Father? Of course we do.

The BIG IDEA of these posts is that in counseling most people believe that the Gospel is for salvation and obedience is for sanctification. This is untrue. The Gospel is for salvation AND for sanctification and if you have the Gospel right you will not only be saved right, but you will obey right.

If the title of my blog post was longer it could say something like this, The Blessing of Not Trying to Please God by Our Works, As Though Our Works Merit God’s Favor. We do not obey because we are trying to please God. We obey because of our crazy love for the Savior’s obedience. And our crazy love for the Savior (Read: Our Obedience) pleases the Father. At the end of the day, the Father is pleased with our obedience if our obedience is biblical.

Other Articles in This Series

1. A Case Study: Poor Counseling Advice: You Need to Please God
2. The Danger of Trying to Please God, 1.0
3. The Blessing of Not Trying to Please God, 2.0
4. Pleasing God is Not Primarily About Your Obedience, 3.0
5. Pleasing God Through Gospel-Motivated Obedience, 4.0

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