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Chapter 6: The Wisdom and the Power of God

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my

burden is light." —Matthew 11:28–30 (English Standard Version)

By Joshua Greever

Essential Questions

What are repentance and faith, and why are they the necessary response to the gospel?

What are some of the benefits of belonging to Jesus?

What are the key characteristics of the Christian life, and how do the means of grace relate to the Christian life?

What is the Christian hope for restoration, and how does it affect our lives here and now?

Introduction In review, the biblical story includes four acts that demonstrate the wisdom of God: creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. The last chapter analyzed the third act of the biblical story: redemption. Jesus accomplished his mission to redeem, for God the Son incarnate lived a righteous life, died an atoning death, was raised from the dead, and ascended to the right hand of the Father to bring humanity to God. This chapter explores the fourth and final act of the biblical story: restoration. This act is related to Jesus's redemptive work as it focuses on applying that redemptive work to people's lives, which brings them restoration. Specifically, this chapter explores the final act of the story and analyzes the necessary personal response to Jesus's redemptive mission and the blessings of restoration to those who belong to Jesus. Additionally, the key characteristics of the Christian life and the hope for final restoration will be discussed.

Repentance and Faith: The Necessary Response to the Gospel Jesus's accomplishment of his redemptive mission necessitates a response from people and gives them the necessary warrant to do so. So, what kind of response is appropriate to the message of the gospel? The New Testament speaks of the necessary response in

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two ways: repentance and faith. Far from being unrelated to each other, repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin: Repentance turns away from sin, and faith turns toward God.

Repentance and faith are necessary to be saved, apart from which there is no hope of salvation. Not only is Jesus the only Savior (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), but his saving benefits are applied only to those who repent of their sins and trust in him. The clear and consistent message of the New Testament is similar to what Paul told the Philippian jailor: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household" (Acts 16:31). The story of a centurion named Cornelius is helpful here because he appears as a relatively good and devoutly religious man prior to believing in Jesus (Acts 10:1–2), yet, despite these good things, his sins were not forgiven nor was he saved from God's judgment until Peter came and told him the gospel of Jesus, at which time Cornelius believed, received the Holy Spirit, and was baptized (Acts 10:44–48, 11:14). This story clarifies that even relatively good and devoutly religious people need to confess Jesus as Lord in order to be saved.

Repentance Repentance is a definitive turning away from one's sins. It is an inward change of heart that recognizes the heinousness of sin, perceiving what it really is—namely, an act of rebellion against God. It recognizes God's view of sin and, in agreement with the divine perspective, turns away from sin to live in new ways honoring to God (Acts 3:19, 14:15). Repentance is not equivalent to mere regret or sorrow for the misery sin brings (2 Corinthians 7:10). Rather, it recognizes sin as idolatry—as wrong-headed and misdirected worship—and turns away from it to serve the living God (1 Thessalonians 1:9). Also, repentance is an inward reality that is expressed outwardly in one's lifestyle. It is not the product of behavioral modification techniques, for it flows from a new heart that has new desires and a new will. But precisely because of this new internal reality, it will manifest itself in one's lifestyle. As John the Baptist said, "Bear fruits in keeping with repentance" (Luke 3:8; cf. Acts 26:20). This can be seen in the story of a tax collector named Zacchaeus. When Jesus arrived and Zacchaeus repented of his extortion and theft, he was quick to make restitution to those whom he had cheated (Luke 19:8; cf. Luke 3:10– 14). Hence, while Christians do not repent perfectly, they repent truly and genuinely, which is evident in their observable and substantial obedience to God. Moreover, given the definitive nature of repentance initially expressed at the moment of conversion, it is not surprising that, while they continue to sin, genuine Christians also continue to repent of and confess their sins throughout their lives (James 5:16; 1 John 1:8–10).

Repentance is a necessary response to the gospel, as it is the condition for forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Repentance is said to "lead to life" (Acts 11:18; cf. 2 Corinthians 7:10), and Jesus warned the Jewish crowds, "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3, 13:5). The relationship between confessing sins and forgiveness is clearly stated in 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (cf. Acts 2:38, 8:22). Indeed, when the Apostle Paul preached the gospel at Athens, he argued that the arrival of God's great act of redemption in Christ mandates "all people everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30). Hence, given that repentance is a condition for eternal life, when a sinner repents, even heaven itself is said to rejoice (Luke 15:7, 15:10).

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That repentance is a condition for forgiveness does not mean that one's repentance merits God's favor, as though one can bargain with God for salvation; salvation is owed entirely to God's grace and mercy. Indeed, even our repentance owes to God's kindness toward us (Romans 2:4), and God is praiseworthy for our every genuinely good decision and act (Philippians 2:13). Nevertheless, repentance is a necessary condition for forgiveness, which God graciously grants people to fulfill. As the early Christian Augustine of Hippo stated in a prayer regarding strength to live rightly: "Give what you command, and then command whatever you will" (Rotelle, 1997, p. 263).

Faith As the flip side of the coin to repentance, faith turns to God and, with confidence, takes him at his word. In contrast with doubt, it trusts God's character and promises. Faith includes mentally agreeing with certain doctrinal truths about God, such as God's existence and attributes (Hebrews 11:6; James 2:19) or that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God incarnate (1 John 2:22–23, 4:2–3). Thus, the content of Christian doctrine is rightly called "the faith" (1 Timothy 4:1, 4:6; Jude 3). Yet mere mental agreement with a doctrinal statement is not sufficient for saving faith because even the demons who recoil from God believe at least some right doctrine about God (James 2:19). Such faith is insufficient to save a person and is useless and lifeless (James 2:14–26). Saving faith also includes notions of personal trust in God, which takes God at his word, receives him with joy, and rightly senses his goodness, grace, and loveliness. The book of Hebrews describes faith as "fleeing for refuge" (Hebrews 6:18) in God and "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). The Apostle Paul said Abraham's faith was clear in that he was "fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised" (Romans 4:21). The Westminster Confession of Faith (Schaff, 1919) rightly claims that "The principal acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone" (p. 630).

In this sense, faith, in itself, cannot save, but, rather, it is the object of our faith that saves. Faith by itself—a kind of bare faith without any content or object—can neither save nor transform. Put another way, faith is only as good as its object; it is what or whom one trusts that determines the effectiveness of one's faith. Faith is a lifeline, but it is effective as a lifeline only if it is tethered to an object that can give life. For this reason, Christian faith is not self-directed or inward-focused, but its object is God (1 Peter 1:21). Christians do not believe in themselves, as though all the strength they need to have fullness of life and joy is found within themselves. Rather, Christians look outside of themselves for righteousness and life, which can be found in Christ alone. Hence, Christians reject all efforts to bring themselves to God, and instead they cast themselves on God's mercy and find assurance of such mercy by resting on Christ's redemptive work alone (Luke 18:9–14; Titus 3:3–7). This is why so often the Apostle Paul dichotomized faith and works as mutually exclusive options (Romans 3:21–22, 4:4–5, 9:30–10:4; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8–9).

This notion of faith is the only kind of response befitting the nature of the gospel, for Jesus's redemptive mission (as seen in the previous chapter) is all-sufficient for our righteousness and life. The gospel is extraordinarily good news because, unlike other religions whose faith is fundamentally inward-focused and self-dependent, the Christian gospel holds forth the invitation to anyone and everyone to "receive the abundance of

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grace and the free gift of righteousness" (Romans 5:17) in Christ. The good news is not for only some kinds of people but for all kinds of people, such "that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21). As the story of the early Christians made clear, forgiveness and eternal life are not conditioned on one's past sinfulness or one's ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or gender (Galatians 3:28; Revelation 5:9–10). Because the invitation and warrant for faith is grounded in Christ's accomplished work of redemption and not through our own merits, the good news is free to anyone who will receive it. As Isaiah 55:1 says, "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." The good news of the gospel, therefore, is that God himself has done for us what we could never have done for ourselves and that we receive the benefits of the gospel freely by faith in Christ alone. The eighteenth century hymnwriter Augustus Toplady (1941) put it well in his hymn "Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me":

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, From Thy riven side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure, Cleanse me from its guilt and pow'r.

Not the labor of my hands Can fulfill Thy Law's demands; Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears forever flow, All for sin could not atone, Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hands I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress, Helpless, look to Thee for grace: Foul, I to the fountain fly— Wash me, Savior, or I die! (p. 553)

How Can I Be Sure That I Am a Christian?

A frequent concern among Christians is whether they genuinely are Christians, that is, whether they have genuinely repented of their sins and trusted in Jesus and will be free from God's condemnation on Judgment Day. This concern is, of course, a good one, for what could be more important than obtaining salvation (Mark 8:36)? Further, this question rightly assumes that it is possible for people to be deceived into thinking of themselves as Christians, when, in reality, they are frauds and do not belong to Jesus at all (Matthew 7:21–23). So, how can a Christian be assured of their final salvation?

The book of 1 John was written for such Christians: "I write these things 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). The book outlines three tests of assurance: confession of right

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doctrine, obedience to Jesus's commands, and love for one another (1 John 2:22– 23, 3:4–10, 4:7–21). If a person passes these tests, so to speak, they receive greater assurance that they are genuinely a Christian. But John also clarifies that Christians' assurance is based finally not on what they do but on God's promise to save because of Christ's redemptive work. When Christians sin, their assurance is rooted in Jesus's atoning death and righteous intercession for them (1 John 2:1–2). The basis and motivation for Christians’ love for others is the atoning death of Christ for them prior to any love they had for God (1 John 4:10, 4:19). Hence, whereas the tests of assurance corroborate and confirm a Christian's sense of assurance, the basis is God's promise to save because of Christ's redemptive work.

Belonging to Jesus by Faith Alone When people repent of their sins and trust in Christ for forgiveness, righteousness, and eternal life, they are placed in union with Christ and belong to him. Because they proclaim Jesus as Lord, all the benefits of Jesus's kingship are applied to them. All that he is for them, and his accomplished work of redemption is infallibly applied to them. When they belong to Jesus, Paul said Christians have "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3–14), such as election, adoption, redemption, and inheritance. They have eternal life, freedom from condemnation, the love of God, holiness, grace, new creation, and forgiveness (Romans 3:24, 6:23, 8:1, 8:39; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 1:4; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:32). Paul said to early Christians in Corinth, "You are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30).

This section will more closely explore the multifaceted ways in which Christ's work of redemption is applied to those who belong to him. Specifically, this section will focus on how belonging to Christ brings people justification in God's sight, adoption as God's child, life as a new creation in God’s image, and consecration into God's service.

Justified in God's Sight Because of Jesus's righteous life and atoning death, those who belong to him by faith are accounted by God as righteous. Being counted as righteous is often described in the New Testament with the term justification or justified. This term derives its sense from the courtroom setting in which a judge renders a verdict that either acquits (justifies) or condemns the defendant; therefore, it does not refer to a process whereby a person is transformed over time, becoming more and more righteous. Rather, justification is God's acquittal of a sinner in the divine courtroom; it is God's legal declaration that entails both full and final forgiveness of sins and the free gift of God's own righteousness to the sinner (Romans 3:21–22, 10:3–4; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Indeed, because of the penalty and power of sin in people’s lives, the basis of this divine declaration of righteousness can only come from outside of them, namely, in Christ alone (1 Corinthians 1:30; Philippians 3:9). Because of Christ's righteous life as the Last Adam (Romans 5:18–19) and his atoning death that paid the penalty for sin (Romans 3:25), God's righteousness comes to people freely, and God is seen as both "just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Romans 3:26).

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Hence, people are justified by faith in Christ alone and not by their own efforts (Romans 3:20–22; Galatians 2:16). People do not and cannot earn God's acquittal by virtue of their own merits; it is only by faith in Christ that they can be declared righteous before God. This is why the Old Testament figure of Abraham was such a powerful example of justification apart from works for the early Christians. Abraham had been an idolater, a worshiper of false gods, when God chose him and promised him descendants and land (Joshua 24:2). Moreover, Abraham lacked the power to bring God's promises of descendants to fruition because he was too old to have children, and his wife Sarah was barren (Romans 4:19). Nevertheless, despite Abraham's lack of righteousness and strength, he trusted in God's righteousness and strength, and his faith was the means by which God counted him as righteous (Genesis 15:6); therefore, God's justification of Abraham was a justification of the ungodly (Romans 4:5) and provided the paradigm for all those who, like Abraham, look outside of themselves to God for righteousness and strength (Romans 4:9–25; Galatians 3:6–9).

Adopted as God's Child Those who belong to Jesus by faith are also adopted into God's family. Jesus's identity as God's Son means that those who belong to him share in his status as God's sons and daughters. To be sure, according to his divine nature, Jesus is the unique Son of God inasmuch as he is the only begotten Son of the Father, and, in this sense, people do not attain to his divine status. Nevertheless, just as Adam, Israel, and the son of David were considered to be God's sons (Exodus 4:22–23; 2 Samuel 7:14; Luke 3:38), according to his human nature, Jesus's identity as the Last Adam, the Faithful Israelite, and the Son of David, those who belong to Jesus share in his status as God's son in this sense. More specifically, those who belong to Christ form the new humanity because he is the Last Adam (Ephesians 2:15), they are the true people of God because he is the Faithful Israelite (1 Peter 2:9–10), and they will reign with Christ forever because he is the Son of David (Revelation 22:5).

Accordingly, after his resurrection, Jesus spoke of his disciples as "my brothers" and confirmed for Mary Magdalene that Jesus's Father was also her Father (John 20:17). Similarly, inasmuch as he took on a human nature to bring people to God, he is "not ashamed to call them brothers" (Hebrews 2:11). Therefore, our adoption into God's family is through Christ (Ephesians 1:5), demonstrates God's remarkable love for us (1 John 3:1), and makes us heirs of all God's promises (Galatians 3:26–29). In connection with our sonship, we are given the Holy Spirit by whom we call God our Father and through whom we are bound to the Son (Romans 8:14–17; Galatians 4:6), and whose presence with us is the seal and guarantee that we are heirs of God's promises (Romans 8:23; 2 Corinthians 1:22, 5:5; Ephesians 1:13–14).

Adoption into God's family through Christ also means Christians are brought together into a familial relation that transcends other ties of kinship. In Paul's letters to the Thessalonians, he often called them brothers because of this new reality (1 Thessalonians 1:4, 2:1, 2:9, 2:17, 4:1, 5:27; 2 Thessalonians 1:3, 2:1). In the churches, older men function in fatherly ways, and older women function in motherly ways toward the younger men and women, who, respectively, function as sons and daughters (1 Timothy 5:1–2).

Created Anew in God's Image

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Another benefit of belonging to Jesus is the gift of new creation life according to God's image (Ephesians 4:23–24). This new life is transformative, but it is not the product of behavioral modifications or self-help manuals. It is much more than mere moral improvement, although it certainly exhibits a moral change. Rather, when a person belongs to Jesus, the new life he or she experiences is described in terms of death and resurrection, for the old person dies and the new one comes to life. As Paul said, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Galatians 5:24), and they are raised to walk in new life (Romans 6:2–4; Galatians 2:20). This does not mean that Christians never sin or struggle to fight temptation, as Christians still live in the fallen world, and sin still "clings so closely" (Hebrews 12:1). But, because they belong to Jesus, their citizenship is now in heaven (Philippians 3:20), Christ is their life (Colossians 3:4), and they have already begun to experience Christ's own resurrection and ascension (Ephesians 2:5–6). Therefore, sin no longer reigns in their hearts because they are free from sin's enslaving power (Romans 6:15–23).

For such people, the life of the new Garden of Eden, the new creation order, has dawned in their hearts (2 Corinthians 5:17). Christians already experience in their hearts the life of the age to come—which Jesus calls the "new world" in Matthew 19:28—by the resurrecting power of God's Spirit (Titus 3:5). In a conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus described this reality as being "born again" or "born from above" (John 3:3, 3:5). This reality was something Nicodemus should have understood because it was one of the key promises of the new covenant in the book of Ezekiel, in which God promised his people:

I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Ezekiel 36:26–27)

This vision of new life, which is linked with resurrection life in Ezekiel 37, occurred in Acts 2 at Pentecost when Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit on each of his followers. This experience, which marked the dawn of the age to come, produced new life in Jesus's followers and filled them with joy and peace. Thus, now that Jesus has accomplished his work of redemption and is exalted to the Father's right hand, everyone who belongs to him receives the Holy Spirit and experiences within their hearts new resurrection life, which comes from God (John 1:12–13; 1 John 5:1). They have new desires, new joy, and new peace (John 14:27, 15:11, 16:33), and they are led by God's Spirit within them (Romans 8:4–13; Galatians 5:16–26). Even though their bodies are still mortal and experience the pains of this world, they are renewed daily in their hearts and minds as they long for the consummation of God's promises (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 4:16; Ephesians 4:23–24).

Consecrated Into God's Service Those who belong to Jesus are consecrated into God's service and begin to share in his holiness. Holiness is a term referring to a person's devotion or consecration to God, which finds expression in every aspect of his or her life. Holiness was a crucial theme in the Old Testament, as Israel was called to be holy to the Lord (Leviticus 11:44–45). Given Israel's sin, God established a priesthood to represent the people as holy to the Lord. God also established a holy place initially in the construction of the tabernacle, and then later during the monarchy in the construction of the temple. In both the tabernacle and the temple, the structure signified that certain places were holier than others. In the Holy of Holies, which

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was the holiest place, no one could enter except for the high priest, and he could enter only once a year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Hence, the structure of the tabernacle and temple demonstrated the complete holiness of God and God's inaccessibility to humans because of their sin. At the same time, God's establishment of the priesthood and the sacrificial system exhibited his mercy toward Israel, even as it constantly reminded the people of their need for forgiveness and their need for hearts fully devoted to God.

The New Testament authors clarify that the Old Testament holy places, priesthood, and sacrifices find their fulfillment in Jesus. As Immanuel, which means "God with us," Jesus is the new and final temple where God's presence is found (John 2:21; Colossians 2:9). As a priest, Jesus is superior to the Old Testament priests because he, being completely undefiled and untainted by sin, did not need to offer sin offerings for his own sin (Hebrews 7:26–28). Unlike the Old Testament priests for whom death prevented them from continuing in the priesthood, Jesus will never die again but, "by the power of an indestructible life" (Hebrews 7:16), will remain a priest forever at God's right hand (Hebrews 7:23–25). And unlike the Old Testament priests who functioned as priests in the earthly tabernacle or temple, Jesus appears as our priest in the true and heavenly temple (Hebrews 8:1–5, 9:11). Finally, Jesus's sacrificial death on the cross was superior to the Old Testament sacrifices in that his death brought inward cleansing, definitive consecration, and final forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:13–14, 10:1–18). Hence, Jesus is superior to and fulfills the Old Testament's holy places, priesthood, and sacrifices.

Because of this, those who belong to Jesus share in his holiness and are consecrated to God as God's temple, priests, and sacrifices. Jesus is the cornerstone of God's new temple, and Christians—and churches made up of gathered Christians—are stones that make up the new temple (1 Corinthians 3:16–17; Ephesians 2:20–22; 1 Peter 2:4–5). Further, in belonging to Jesus, Christians become priests fully consecrated to him (1 Peter 2:5, 2:9; Revelation 1:6, 5:10). By Jesus's sacrifice, they, as priests with unhindered access, may draw near to God's throne in heaven for the purposes of worship and prayer, and they can do so with full assurance of faith that God will provide timely mercy and grace (Hebrews 4:14–16, 10:19–22). Finally, in belonging to Jesus, Christians are free to offer sacrifices, not of atonement, but of thanksgiving and praise (Hebrews 13:15–16). In every area of life, Christians can please God as fragrant sacrifices when they love one another like Christ (Romans 12:1; Ephesians 5:2). To be sure, Christians do not do this perfectly, and they often fall short of a lifestyle completely devoted to God. Nevertheless, the command to holiness that Christians are called to exhibit is rooted in the fact that, by their union with Christ, they have already been made holy priests and God's temple (2 Corinthians 6:16– 7:1). They are already saints and, thus, are called to live as such (1 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 5:3).

The blessings of justification in God's sight, adoption as God's child, life as a new creation in God’s image, and consecration to God's service derive from the Christian's union with Christ and are inaccessible apart from Christ. When people belong to Jesus, they begin to have a share in the blessings of restoration applied to them because of Christ's redemptive work, and this frees them to live in ways pleasing to the Lord.

The Christian Life

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The previous section explored some of the multifaceted ways in which Christ's work of redemption is applied to those who belong to him. This section will focus more explicitly on the key characteristics of the Christian life, which is an outflow of belonging to Christ by faith. Specifically, the focus here is on what personal obedience to Jesus entails and how God has provided various corporate and personal means of grace (sometimes called sacraments) to sustain our faith, hope, and love.

When a person belongs to Jesus, his or her life is transformed. As mentioned previously, it is not faith itself that can accomplish anything, but, rather, it is the object of one's faith that matters. Given that the object of a Christian's faith is Christ, the result is that the life of Christ will have its effect in that person's life; therefore, Paul's powerful claim is true for every Christian:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Faith in Christ leads to personal holiness and obedience to Christ because, in the power of the Spirit, the righteous character of Christ is lived out in the Christian's life. Put simply, what matters is "faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6) and "keeping the commandments of God" (1 Corinthians 7:19), a point that the authors of Hebrews, James, and 1 John went to great lengths to demonstrate (Hebrews 11:8–19; James 2:14–26; 1 John 2:3–11, 3:4–18). The absence of personal obedience to Christ demonstrates that the person is a fool and lacks true religion and heavenly wisdom (James 1:19–27, 3:13–18); they will not see the Lord or inherit God's promises to his people (Hebrews 12:14; 1 Peter 3:8–12).

Further, because the content of faith in Christ includes the belief that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9), the goal of the Christian life is twofold. First, Christians live for the sake of Jesus. Christians are servants of the Lord Jesus and, therefore, live for him (2 Corinthians 4:5). In the book of Acts, the apostles counted it worthy to suffer dishonor, face imprisonment, risk their lives, and even die for the sake of Jesus's name (Acts 5:41, 9:16, 15:26, 21:13). Christians seek first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33), deny their own comforts for the sake of following Christ (Luke 9:23–24), and seek to be faithful servants of Christ (Matthew 25:21; 1 Corinthians 4:2). Christians do all that they do in the name of the Lord Jesus (Colossians 3:17) and for the glory of God in Christ (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Second, the goal of the Christian life is to become more like Jesus. Because of Adam's sin in Genesis 3, the image of God was distorted in every human and needs to be restored to its original beauty and glory. In his righteous life, Jesus perfectly exemplified the image of God in his character and actions. As the Last Adam and head of the new humanity, Jesus, in his character and actions, is the standard to which Christians strive to attain (Philippians 3:10–20). While different religions have other visions for what constitutes success in life or what is the best way to achieve the good life, Christianity holds that success or the good life is conformity to Christ in his character and actions (1 Peter 2:21; 1 John 2:6). As individuals are conformed to Christ, the image of God is restored in them so that they are transformed in their character (Ephesians 4:23–24). This is sometimes called glorification, which expresses the Christian's hope of one day perfectly glorifying God and exemplifying the image of God (Romans 5:2, 8:30; 2 Peter 1:3–4). While this chapter will more closely analyze how God conforms his people to Christ, for now, it is worth noting

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that God sovereignly ordains all things that come to pass, such that even suffering Christians' experiences produce greater conformity to Christ (Romans 5:3–5; 1 Peter 1:6– 7). In the case of Christians, such suffering is not God's condemnation but reflects God's loving discipline of his people so that they may share his holiness (Hebrews 12:10). When Paul famously said that "for those who love God all things work together for good" (Romans 8:28), he meant that everything that happens in a Christian's life—whether easy or not—brings about everlasting good, which is defined as conformity to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).

More specifically, however, God uses regular means of his grace (i.e., sacraments) to conform his followers to the image of Christ. The phrase means of grace in this chapter refers to God's gifts to his people through his Spirit, both specially in the church (e.g., baptism, communion) and generally in their lives (e.g., Bible reading, fasting, prayer). These means of grace strengthen and confirm their faith in Christ as well as enable them to worship him in right ways. The following subsections will more closely analyze baptism, communion, the Word of God, and prayer as crucial components for the Christian life.

Baptism The first corporate means of grace that Jesus instituted for the sake of the church is the rite of baptism (Matthew 28:19). Jesus himself was baptized in the Jordan River at the outset of his public ministry, hence the command to baptize disciples is a command to imitate Christ. While there are some disagreements among Christians regarding whether infants should be baptized or whether baptism is only for believers, all Christians agree that baptism is symbolic of God's cleansing work through the gospel.

Although its origins are obscure, baptism likely is linked with the Old Testament's ceremonial washings by which Israel or Israel's priests would become ritually clean and consecrated to God (Exodus 19:10–15, 40:12–13; Numbers 8:5–7). The primary symbol was one of cleansing of sin and uncleanness for the purpose of worship and service. In the ministry of John the Baptist, whose renewal movement called the Jews to repent, baptism served this function, as the Jews would confess their sins at their baptism in the Jordan River (Mark 1:4–5). This ritual cleansing, thus, demonstrated a repentant heart that was ready for God's kingdom.

Similarly, Christian baptism is a rite that symbolizes cleansing or washing from sin. It derives its meaning from Jesus's death and resurrection, which is the basis for final forgiveness of and cleansing from sin. Baptism is God's gift to Christians and to the church as a reminder of God's promise to forgive sins and grant new life for all those who belong to Jesus. Further, while one should distinguish between conversion, which is what happens when someone goes from not believing in Jesus to belief, and baptism (1 Corinthians 1:14–17), and while Christians will disagree over whether infants in particular should be baptized, the New Testament shows that baptism is closely linked with conversion. And all Christians agree that new believers who profess faith in the gospel are to be baptized. In the book of Acts, for instance, those who repented and believed were baptized (Acts 2:38, 2:41, 8:38, 9:18, 10:47–48). The Apostle Paul also linked baptism with being united to Jesus's death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:2–4), such that he conceived of every Christian as having been "baptized into Christ" (Galatians 3:27; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:13). The early church did not have a category for a person who was not

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baptized but who still claimed to be a Christian. As New Testament scholar Robert Stein (1998) has shown, it was part of the multifaceted language the New Testament uses to describe conversion.

When a new believer is baptized, one can think of three actors or agents. First, at baptism, the baptized person confesses their faith in Christ and makes an "appeal to God for a good conscience" (1 Peter 3:21; cf. Hebrews 10:22–23), which makes baptism a proclamation of the person's faith in Christ. Second, in keeping with the Great Commission, the church is responsible to baptize new disciples. The person's proclamation of faith is made in the presence of witnesses, namely, the church. Indeed, because of this public element of baptism, churches throughout the centuries have seen baptism as the entry rite into fellowship and accountability with a local church. Third, baptism expresses God's promise to us, on the basis of the death and resurrection of Christ, to forgive, cleanse, and transform all those who belong to Christ. Baptism is, therefore, a significant means of grace for the individual and the church, not because the waters of baptism in themselves wash away sins but because baptism powerfully displays the gospel of the crucified and risen Lord Jesus. In this sense, baptism is the necessary first step of obedience for the new believer. Because this is the case, it should not be a recurring event in an individual's life; it is a unique, singular event in accord with the definitive nature of conversion.

Communion Another corporate means of grace Jesus established for the church is communion, which is sometimes called the Lord's Supper or the Eucharist. It was instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper on the night Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples prior to his crucifixion (Matthew 26:26–29; Mark 14:22–25; Luke 22:14–20). According to the Apostle Paul,

the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23–26)

Jesus interpreted the Passover meal in light of his death, which brought about a new covenant relationship between God and his people. Jesus also commanded his disciples to "Do this in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:24) and that doing so would proclaim "the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26).

From this text, there are three aspects of this meal. First, like Passover for Israel (Exodus 12), communion functions as a commemorative celebration and proclamation of the gospel. It celebrates Jesus's once-for-all sacrifice as the Passover lamb that definitively averted God's judgment for our sins, covered our sins, and brought us into a new covenant relationship with God. Second, unlike baptism, communion should be a regular occurrence in the life of a church. While the New Testament is not explicit on the matter, Jesus's command to "Do this in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:24) and Paul's open-ended invitation ("as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup" [1 Corinthians 11:26]) would appear to commend regularity and frequency. Indeed, many churches throughout the

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history of Christianity have celebrated communion on a weekly basis. Third, communion functions as a fellowship meal, indicating that God's people are reconciled to him and to one another. In antiquity, eating and drinking with people often showed friendship and fellowship among people. Similarly, eating and drinking in the context of worship showed fellowship or participation with the one being worshiped, whether God or an idol (1 Corinthians 10:18–21). Likewise, communion in the context of the gathered church demonstrates fellowship or participation with Christ and with one another (1 Corinthians 10:16–17, 11:17–34). Hence, communion is a meal for the gathered community of believers, and, as such, only followers of Jesus should partake of it. Jesus's establishment of communion is a means of grace for Christians in that it regularly proclaims the gospel of the death of Christ, and it affords us the enjoyment of fellowship with God and one another for those who belong to Christ.

Why Should I Join a Church?

Even among Christians, the question is often asked, "Why should I join a church?" The false argument runs along these lines: Because the benefits of the gospel are received by faith in Christ on the basis of what Christ did for us, and because the church cannot in itself bring a person to God, participating in the life of a local church is not necessary. While it is true that the church in itself cannot save a person from God's judgment, it does not follow that it is unnecessary to the Christian life. Rather, in addition to the points made in this chapter regarding the church as a means of grace to God's people, it can be added that the church, as the gathered people of God, exists to worship God. It is the gathering of the new humanity on Earth—those who belong to the new creation—in order to praise God who ransomed them from their sins and brought them into a new covenant relationship with himself (Revelation 5:9–10). They gather to "proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).

Moreover, Christians gather to encourage and equip one another for service to the Lord Jesus. The Apostle Paul used the metaphor of a human body to describe the complementary nature of church members (1 Corinthians 12:12–31). Just as the body is a whole organism equipped with many complementary parts, the church also is fundamentally united in that it belongs to Jesus, who is the head, and the members of the church have received different gifts from the Holy Spirit, such as teaching and service, which complement the church as a whole (Romans 12:3–8; 1 Corinthians 12:28). Hence, far from seeing the church as unnecessary, the church is the place where Christians properly and necessarily express their gifts from the Holy Spirit for the encouragement of God's people (Ephesians 4:11–16).

Thus, failure to belong to and participate in the life of the church hinders Christians' access to certain God-given means of grace, limits their joy of worship, and produces local bodies of Christ that are distorted and lack necessary encouragement from those gifted to do so. Indeed, the New Testament has no category for a person who claims to be a Christian but is not part of the local church. Local church attendance, participation, and service is a necessary part of the Christian life.

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The Word of God Another means of grace, both corporate and personal, is the Word of God. In the Bible, God's word is portrayed as powerful. Through his word, he created all things (Genesis 1:3) and sustains all things (Psalm 29; Hebrews 1:3), and, through his word, he gives eternal life (John 5:25, 6:63, 6:68). In the book of Revelation, Jesus is depicted with a sword protruding from his mouth, which depicts Christ's powerful word that judges his enemies (Revelation 1:16, 19:15). Similarly, Paul stated that God's Wo