Mad Gospel Skills - Identifying Idols
Thursday, May 05, 2011
For followers of Jesus, embracing the Gospel of grace is the end of striving. Grace is the end of striving to perform and become acceptable to God. The Gospel is simply this: Jesus lived the life we, in all our earnest and most disciplined strivings, could never live, and died the death we deserved. Scripture drives the point home in 2 Cor 5:21 - “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” But in the glow of the brilliance and beauty of grace a new striving emerges: A striving to find our satisfaction in Jesus and to rest him alone - “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matt 11:28
Idolatry is a major reason - dare I say THE reason - we find the satisfying rest in Jesus alone so elusive. In the first commandment God makes it clear: “You shall have no other gods before me…” and Romans 1:25 reveals that we will worship and serve either God or something we create (idol) - “...because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” And finally, Tim Keller notes: “...every personality, community, and thought-form will be based on either God Himself or on some god-substitute, an idol.”
The glow and beautiful brilliance of the Gospel compels us to be relentless in removing whatever idols we have in our hearts that setup a barrier to resting in Jesus. We need to strive to identify idols, repent and rest in Jesus alone. The following are 11 diagnostic questions that David Powlison asks to help people identify their idols. These questions will help develop the skill of asking the deep heart level questions that lead to applying the Gospel to life for yourself and others as you strive together to rest in Christ.
11 Ways to Find Your Idols
- What do I worry about most?
- What, if I failed or lost it, would cause me to feel that I did not even want to live?
- What do I use to comfort myself when things go bad or get difficult?
- What do I do to cope? What are my release valves? What do I do to feel better?
- What preoccupies me? What do I daydream about?
- What makes me feel the most self-worth? Of what am I the proudest? For what do I want to be known?
- What do I lead with in conversations?
- Early on what do I want to make sure that people know about me?
- What prayer, unanswered, would make me seriously think about turning away from God?
- What do I really want and expect out of life? What would really make me happy?
- What is my hope for the future?
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Recommended Reading
You'll find most of my recommended books available in the Guest Center at Southwood.
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How do we mortify sin? How do we address the sin in our lives that reignite like a trick birthday candle we thought we had already blown out of our lives? This is a careful and thoroughly theological book that is hopeful without avoiding honesty. It is practical without being legalistic. It gets to the root of the sinful areas of our lives without offering a prescriptive regimen to hide behind avoiding the grace that has the only true power to teach “us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” Titus 2:11-14
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Small groups would be easy if weren’t for the people in the group! This book will help equip you to see your own sin first and provide the courage and humility to address it in others.
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This is a collection of letters written by Jack Miller to people experiencing real-life concerns and struggles. Through these gracious and honest letters you will learn how to humbly offer to others (and yourself!) hope, repentance, and courage that flows from the truth of the gospel of grace. Though this isn’t a “how to” book full of nifty steps to Your Best Gospel Life Now. It’s a glimpse into the heart of a person who has found food at the Cross, and you watch (and learn) as he humbly points others to the feast.
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This 31 day devotional will bring you to the foot of the cross to remember and celebrate the truth of the gospel of grace, and develop skills that will help “inform, free, gladden, and enliven your soul every day.” Becoming proficient in applying the Gospel of grace to our own hearts is a key skill that is well worth our effort to develop.
Recommended Listening
- Christ PCA - Nashville
Scott Sauls and CPC StaffListen to sermons from Senior Pastor Scott Sauls and other CPC pastors at a sister church.
- Lookout Mountain PCA
Joe Novenson and LMPC StaffCheck out sermons by Senior Pastor Joe Novenson and other LMPC pastors at a sister church.
- Steve Brown Etc.
Steve BrownSteve Brown’s unique blend of orthodoxy and controversy, humor and profundity, and a refusal to play religious games will give you permission you have needed to stop being so uptight. And even if it’s for 30 minutes, you just might experience radical freedom, infectious joy and maybe even a bit of surprising faithfulness.
Recommended Links
- Tim Chester: reformed spirituality and missional church
Tim ChesterTim has an incredible way of applying the Gospel of grace that is both practical and honest with a consistent skillful affinity to point us to Jesus. He is director of The Porterbrook Institute; a church planter with The Crowded House in Sheffield, UK; and the author of over a dozen books including Total Church and You Can Change.
- Of First Importance
Living Each Day in the Good of The GospelHere you will find a growing collection of gospel-centered quotes to help reorient your thoughts toward the splendor and grandeur of the person and work of Jesus.
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