Some people have a sneaky way of recommending books to read.

Pastor Steve Bunyard (Pastor of Outreach at RHCC) simply carries around a copy of a book that he wants you to read. The book catches your eye and you ask him, “Hey, Steve, what book are you reading?” Then it is too late. He has the hook in your mouth and you know that you will be going to http://www.christianbook.com and you are going to order that book so you can start reading ASAP.

That is how I discovered and devoured Radical: taking back your faith from the American dream by David Platt. I highly recommend this book as a good read to review your thoughts on being a Christian in America. Platt warns you to examine how your faith guides your life or how your culture invades and possibly overwhelms your faith. I took this book to heart and am praying through changes in my life.

Here is my summary of Radical: taking back your faith from the American dream by David Platt:

“God has designed our lives for a collision course with the world.” (p. 83) No matter in which walk of life we find ourselves, God wants us “to spend all of our lives for the sake of all of God’s glory in all of the world.” (p. 83)

Platt questions the validity of “pray a prayer after me” Christianity. He sees the Bible clearly teaching the follower of Jesus to give up everything that they have and take up his cross and follow Jesus against the tide of family and the world. He challenges each believer to focus on discipleship and becoming a reproducing disciple-maker.

Platt drives to the core when he challenges every American believer to review their personal view and feelings about death. If we view death as a reward as we are instantly escorted into the presence of Jesus and leave the cares and struggles of our earthly life behind, then we are good to go in our discipleship. Our faith needs an adjustment if we are found clinging to family, possessions, positions, friends, comforts, safety, security, and our very lives.

We have nothing to fear as we rest in His sovereign control over every minute of our day. (p. 173)

We can remain secure because we know that he loves us and cares about every detail of our life. (p. 174)

Our greatest security is found in the faithful provision of our all-knowing God who is also able and willing to meet our needs in every way. (p. 174)

We have to work to believe with Paul that “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) Death can be a reward only if dying really is gain. Your life is free to be radical only when you see death as reward. The key is realizing that this world is not your home. (p. 175-179)

We are radically His when we only know security in Him and we find satisfaction only in His presence.

“When we consider the promises of Christ, risking everything we are and everything we have for His sake is no longer a matter of sacrifice. It’s just common sense. Following Christ is not sacrificial as much as it is smart. Jim Elliot once said, ‘He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.’” (p. 181)

Platt spends the final chapter of the book challenging the reader to put their new found radical faith into practice via a radical experiment. He gives the reader 5 challenges to undertake in the next year. This is a very practical step for each reader to take.

I was recently given a copy of The Prodigal God by Tim Keller and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a quick read teaching on the familiar parable contained in Luke 15. Keller helps the reader to set aside the common views about this parable and truly understand what Jesus was saying to us when he taught with this story. Both brothers in the story are in spiritual dead ends and the father represents God who wishes to give his lavish love and provision to both his boys; all they need to do is accept it.

Here is my summary of The Prodigal God by Tim Keller:

We are saved individually by the application of the cosmic payment of our sin debt through Christ’s loving sacrifice of Himself on the cross.

However, if we view our relationship with God as simply transaction recipients with a cosmic judge, then we can dwell in our pre-Christ fear and neediness. We can remain either a younger brother slave, seeking fulfillment and meaning and joy in everything except God, or an older brother slave to self-reliance and wooden “adherence” to God’s law.

The answer is for every believer to embrace the beauty of Jesus’ self-less, loving sacrifice for us and dwell on God’s goodness and favor. Our fear and neediness are eliminated as we dwell on His beauty and love for us.

The faith way forward is to abandon myself to his grace and “taste and see” that the Lord is good. His love must become more real to you than the love of anyone else. You must see, with the eyes of your heart, His dazzling majesty, goodness and purposeful love for you. At that point, there is no room in your heart for worry or anxiety, you trust in the kind Lord of the Universe to simply be Himself and take care of you.

Our understanding of the sheer, costly grace of God in our salvation drives out the selfishness of the younger brother and also the self-righteousness of the older brother. This gospel wakes us up to the plight of those around us and we seek out ways to provide safety, food, clothes and comfort to those caught in crushing social systems while at the same time seeking to share the gospel.

We must continually and personally appropriate the gospel, “making it more and more central to everything we see, think and feel. This is how we grow spiritually in wisdom, love, joy, and peace…The basic operating principle of the gospel is ‘I am accepted by God through the work of Jesus Christ—therefore I obey.” (p. 128) However, our heart seeks to return to self-righteous mode. We have a fleshly instinct to look to other things besides God. Therefore, we must take the gospel more deeply into our understanding and hearts so that God can continue the permanent change of our hearts. We must feast on the gospel, “digesting it and making it part of ourselves. That is how we grow.” (p. 130)

“All change comes from deepening your understanding of the salvation of Christ and living out of the changes that understanding creates in your heart. Faith in the gospel restructures our motivations, our self-understanding, our identity, and our view of the world. Behavioral compliance to rules without heart-change will be superficial and fleeting.” (p. 133)

The qualities of the God’s provision in Christ well understood, often revisited, and deeply reflected upon will change us from the inside out. “That is why Martin Luther wrote, ‘The truth of the Gospel is the principle article of all Christian doctrine…Most necessary is it that we know this article well, teach it to others, and beat it into their heads continually.’” (p. 134)

We live out our faith within a community of believers in which we find our place. Each of us must be deeply involved in the church with strong relationships of love and accountability. “Only if you are part of a community of believers seeking to resemble, serve and love Jesus will you ever get to know him and grow into his likeness.” (p. 143)

Keller teaches us that in the parable of the lost son, both sons are lost and find themselves in spiritual dead ends; the younger in the dead end of sensuality and reckless waste and the older in the dead end of self-reliance and “self-righteousness”. God is the prodigal father, the one who lavishes his abundant love and provision on both his sons. We enter into full relationship with God when we live our lives through Him; through His love; through His lavish salvation and provision for all our needs far above anything we can think or ask.