Day Thirty - Shaped for Serving God
As Mr. Warren further develops his concept of service, he further deepens the tension between it and his concept of sanctification. He devoted the entirety of Chapter 28 to expounding his idea that God is “never in a hurry.” (p. 218) Good fruit ripens slowly, he tells us. His conclusion is that God “…will use your entire lifetime to prepare you for your role in eternity.” (p. 222) Now we are told that from eternity past God designed and prepared each individual for a unique ministry that they are to fulfill in their lifetimes. “Before God created you, he decided what role he wanted you to play on earth. He planned exactly how he wanted you to serve him, and then he shaped you for those tasks. You are the way you are because you were made for a specific ministry.” (p. 234) Before, our whole lifetime is devoted to preparing for our role in eternity; now eternity prepared us for our role on earth that is to occupy our lifetime.
In the framework of such tension, there is the mistaken impression that the whole point of this life is preparation for the next (p. 36, 39), so that, “you will never feel completely satisfied on earth, because you were made for more.” (p. 50) This mistaken impression then is balanced by the compensating mistake that the whole point of this life is to make a contribution (p. 227), because, “It is through ministry that we discover the meaning of our lives.” (p. 232) In truth human life is neither fully devoted to preparing for eternity nor is it fully devoted to temporal service. Mr. Warren’s approach provides no true wisdom, but leaves the reader with only a constant struggle to try to find a balance between two opposing ideas. Given that Mr. Warren’s emphasis in this cyclical tension has shifted from the former mistake to the latter, this commentary accordingly turns to consider particularly his idea of service.
Mr. Warren announces that he has created the acrostic SHAPE to help us to remember the five factors he says determine our suitability for service. The letters of the acrostic signify Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experience. (p. 236) In the remainder of the current chapter Mr. Warren expounds upon the first two of these factors, reserving discussion of the rest to the following chapter.
In Mr. Warren’s SHAPE scheme, the S indicates Spiritual gifts. Rightly, he declares, “You can’t earn your spiritual gifts or deserve them…They are an expression of God’s grace to you.” (p. 236) However, it is apparent that he does not fully or accurately embrace the idea of the grace of God, as he subsequently declares, referring to spiritual gifts, “An unopened gift is worthless.” (p. 237) In order to grasp a fully biblical idea of the “spiritual gift,” it is necessary to appreciate the difference between two different Greek words that are translated “gift.”
One term is dorea, together with another derivative doron, from the root do. This means “gift” in the sense of offering or sacrifice. Employing this term, Redemption often is called the “gift” of God, for example in Jn. 4:10, Rom. 3:24; 5:17, Eph. 2:8; 3:7. The other terms is charisma, from the root charis, and means “gift” in the sense of grace bestowed. We see this sense of the term in, for example, Rom. 1:11; 11:29; 12:6, I Cor. 7:7; 12:4, I Tim. 4:14, II Tim. 1:6, I Pet. 4:10. The distinction of meaning between these two terms is not watertight, but is sufficiently clear to teach us that the spiritual gift is God’s sovereign endowment. It is the source of human power and initiative; it does not need to be “opened” by human power or initiative; nor by any human power or initiative can it be rendered “worthless.”
In Mr. Warren’s scheme of the worthless, unopened gift, the church is “cheated” when the spiritual gift is neglected. This is based upon his idea of the utter uniqueness of the individual. “If you don’t make your unique contribution to the Body of Christ,” he says, “it won’t be made.” (p. 241) This represents yet another example of how Mr. Warren’s purposes are in tension with one another. When his emphasis was upon the church, then the church became everything. In this context he told us that, “…none of us can fulfill God’s purposes by ourselves.” (p. 130) and that, “…the fellowship of the church is more important than any individual.” (p. 150) Now, his emphasis is upon the individual, and now, in tension with his prior view, the individual becomes everything. Now he tells us that each individual has a totally unique contribution to make, which he alone can make.
In reality, our sovereign God is able to bring His will to pass in human history. What He means to accomplish in the church will be accomplished. In His sovereignty and power He bestows gifts upon his children so they might minister in various ways. But no one is indispensable, and God depends upon no man or body of men for the accomplishment of His will. If one is negligent or unfaithful in service, God will raise up another to accomplish the ministry. It is true that many spiritual giants throughout history have had very great and unique ministries, and we are grateful for this and rely heavily upon their heritage. However, many others also have had ministries just as great, though with little or no notoriety or celebration. Also, we cannot say whether those whose ministries we celebrate rose to their prominence due to God’s providence in closing a gap left by a very gifted but unfaithful servant whose name we never knew. From the other end of things, it is an unbearable burden to be told that God expects you to make a totally unique contribution to the church and that if you do not make it, it will not be made. It is an unbearable burden because it is not true. Who knows how many, as a result of this book, will unknowingly forgo meaningful service that is within their grasp because they are engaged in a quest to discover that totally unique contribution that will give meaning to their lives. Granted, Mr. Warren emphasizes that the ideal of service often is fulfilled in common or menial things, but provides no guidance for one to discern whether the thing he sees a hundred other people doing might nevertheless be his “unique contribution.”
Mr. Warren concludes this chapter with a discussion of his idea of “heart.” Says he, “The Bible uses the term heart to describe the bundle of desires, hopes, interests, ambitions, dreams, and affections you have. Your heart represents the source of all your motivations.” (p. 237) He provides no Scripture reference for this assertion. His idea of heart is a great deal more elaborate than the actual biblical idea. In the Old Testament the term that usually is translated heart sometimes is translated kidney. Conversely, the term that usually is translated kidney sometimes is translated heart. In both cases the terms are of obscure origin, and they generally are understood to mean “inner man.” In the New Testament the term kardia sometimes is translated mind. The most that can be made of the biblical concept is to think of the heart as the religious seat of the inner man. Rather than consisting of the sum total of one’s desires, hopes, interests, ambitions, dreams and affections, the biblical heart consists of the core motive that explains why all these things are what they are. Mr. Warren came closer with his statement that, “Your heart represents the source of all your motivations.”
Mr. Warren considers the heart to be a factor in what “shapes” a person for service because, in his view, “Your heart reveals the real you.” (p. 237) He cites Proverbs 27:19 in support of such a view, “As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects man.” His use of this Proverb implies the normalcy of the human heart. That is, he seems to assume that whatever is found in the heart will suit one for a particular service to God. In this view of things, the Proverb merely explains that there is a variety of outward service because there is a variety of what may be found in the heart. However, presupposing the normalcy of the heart does not alter the true nature of the heart - it only leads to a false view of man’s basic problem. The outlook here is very similar to what Mr. Warren expressed in Chapter 18, that the sum of our hurts, faults, feelings, failings, flaws, pain, trouble, etc. comprises “who we really are.” (p. 140) Rather than to see these things as our enemy, they are normalized as aspects of the “real” self. Likewise, in the current chapter Mr. Warren suggests that whatever is found in the heart comprises the “real” self and points to the proper avenue of service to God.
The biblical teaching concerning the human heart is quite contrary to this. In order to understand a truly biblical idea of the heart, it is necessary to come to terms with a truly biblical idea of sin, and this Mr. Warren never has done in this book. In the original ideal of Creation, the heart, as the religious seat of the inner man, was created in the image of God. Whatever arose in the heart in its original estate did, indeed, eminently suit the man for God’s service. But, man did not strive in his original estate. He willfully rebelled against the Law of God and thus fell into sin. And, sin corrupted the heart. The corruption of sin spoiled the human being and, indeed, spoiled all of nature (“cursed is the ground because of you” Gen. 3:17). In the estate of sin, what is found in the heart does not suit a man for God’s service, but suits him for God’s wrath. In the estate of sin the heart is deceitful and desperately sick (Jer. 17:9, see also Ecc. 9:3 and Mat. 15:19). In the days of Noah, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen. 6:5) Thus, God saved Noah and his family through the Arc, while bringing the judgment of death upon all mankind. Corresponding to the rescue of Noah, God determined in Christ that out of the mass of fallen humanity He would save His people from their sins.
By the prompting of God’s redeeming grace David is convicted of his sin (Ps. 51:5) and pleads, “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” (Ps. 51:10) Jeremiah delivered the Word of the Lord that His people would return to Him with their whole heart, for as the Lord said, “I will give them a heart to know Me.” (Jer. 24:7) This He accomplished in the death and burial and resurrection of Christ. For we who are in Christ, “…the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us, for while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Rom. 5:5-6) “Now, He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.” (II Cor. 1:21-22) “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying ‘Abba! Father!’” (Gal. 4:6) This grace of God in redemption shall banish from our hearts all sin, evil, pain, and suffering in eternity (Rev. 21:4). As we live out our lives on earth we still inhabit a corrupted earth and live among corrupted people, and, indeed, still suffer to a degree the corruption of our own nature in sin. The grace of God in our hearts does not immediately nor completely restore our hearts to the original ideal of Creation. The Spirit of God in our hearts gives us hope and power to build up righteousness amid corruption. We are sealed, not perfected. His Spirit is our pledge of the perfection to come. The expectation of temporal perfection is a grave mistake. God will “…establish [our] hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” (I Thes. 3:13) Our perfection comes at the coming of our Lord. As we walk in this life, in the hope of this pledge and in the grace of redemption, it is God Himself in whom we trust and not in the heart. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” (Pr. 3:5) “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool.” (Pr. 28:26)
The foregoing presents a very sketchy summary of the biblical teaching concerning the heart, but it is sufficient to show that Mr. Warren’s teaching is a regrettable departure from it. He suggests that the heart possesses an inherent soundness and that “Listening to your heart” (p. 237) is a viable method of discerning your Christian ministry. A truly biblical teaching is that he who trusts in his own heart is a fool. A truly biblical idea is that the redeemed heart possesses not an inherent soundness, but an acquired soundness. The temporal heart may be redeemed, but is not perfected. The acquired soundness of the redeemed heart prompts greater and more consistent trust in the Redeemer, but never justifies trust in the heart itself. “Listening to the heart” is the way of Hollywood. The godly one devotes himself to listening to the Word of his God.
In the framework of such tension, there is the mistaken impression that the whole point of this life is preparation for the next (p. 36, 39), so that, “you will never feel completely satisfied on earth, because you were made for more.” (p. 50) This mistaken impression then is balanced by the compensating mistake that the whole point of this life is to make a contribution (p. 227), because, “It is through ministry that we discover the meaning of our lives.” (p. 232) In truth human life is neither fully devoted to preparing for eternity nor is it fully devoted to temporal service. Mr. Warren’s approach provides no true wisdom, but leaves the reader with only a constant struggle to try to find a balance between two opposing ideas. Given that Mr. Warren’s emphasis in this cyclical tension has shifted from the former mistake to the latter, this commentary accordingly turns to consider particularly his idea of service.
Mr. Warren announces that he has created the acrostic SHAPE to help us to remember the five factors he says determine our suitability for service. The letters of the acrostic signify Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experience. (p. 236) In the remainder of the current chapter Mr. Warren expounds upon the first two of these factors, reserving discussion of the rest to the following chapter.
In Mr. Warren’s SHAPE scheme, the S indicates Spiritual gifts. Rightly, he declares, “You can’t earn your spiritual gifts or deserve them…They are an expression of God’s grace to you.” (p. 236) However, it is apparent that he does not fully or accurately embrace the idea of the grace of God, as he subsequently declares, referring to spiritual gifts, “An unopened gift is worthless.” (p. 237) In order to grasp a fully biblical idea of the “spiritual gift,” it is necessary to appreciate the difference between two different Greek words that are translated “gift.”
One term is dorea, together with another derivative doron, from the root do. This means “gift” in the sense of offering or sacrifice. Employing this term, Redemption often is called the “gift” of God, for example in Jn. 4:10, Rom. 3:24; 5:17, Eph. 2:8; 3:7. The other terms is charisma, from the root charis, and means “gift” in the sense of grace bestowed. We see this sense of the term in, for example, Rom. 1:11; 11:29; 12:6, I Cor. 7:7; 12:4, I Tim. 4:14, II Tim. 1:6, I Pet. 4:10. The distinction of meaning between these two terms is not watertight, but is sufficiently clear to teach us that the spiritual gift is God’s sovereign endowment. It is the source of human power and initiative; it does not need to be “opened” by human power or initiative; nor by any human power or initiative can it be rendered “worthless.”
In Mr. Warren’s scheme of the worthless, unopened gift, the church is “cheated” when the spiritual gift is neglected. This is based upon his idea of the utter uniqueness of the individual. “If you don’t make your unique contribution to the Body of Christ,” he says, “it won’t be made.” (p. 241) This represents yet another example of how Mr. Warren’s purposes are in tension with one another. When his emphasis was upon the church, then the church became everything. In this context he told us that, “…none of us can fulfill God’s purposes by ourselves.” (p. 130) and that, “…the fellowship of the church is more important than any individual.” (p. 150) Now, his emphasis is upon the individual, and now, in tension with his prior view, the individual becomes everything. Now he tells us that each individual has a totally unique contribution to make, which he alone can make.
In reality, our sovereign God is able to bring His will to pass in human history. What He means to accomplish in the church will be accomplished. In His sovereignty and power He bestows gifts upon his children so they might minister in various ways. But no one is indispensable, and God depends upon no man or body of men for the accomplishment of His will. If one is negligent or unfaithful in service, God will raise up another to accomplish the ministry. It is true that many spiritual giants throughout history have had very great and unique ministries, and we are grateful for this and rely heavily upon their heritage. However, many others also have had ministries just as great, though with little or no notoriety or celebration. Also, we cannot say whether those whose ministries we celebrate rose to their prominence due to God’s providence in closing a gap left by a very gifted but unfaithful servant whose name we never knew. From the other end of things, it is an unbearable burden to be told that God expects you to make a totally unique contribution to the church and that if you do not make it, it will not be made. It is an unbearable burden because it is not true. Who knows how many, as a result of this book, will unknowingly forgo meaningful service that is within their grasp because they are engaged in a quest to discover that totally unique contribution that will give meaning to their lives. Granted, Mr. Warren emphasizes that the ideal of service often is fulfilled in common or menial things, but provides no guidance for one to discern whether the thing he sees a hundred other people doing might nevertheless be his “unique contribution.”
Mr. Warren concludes this chapter with a discussion of his idea of “heart.” Says he, “The Bible uses the term heart to describe the bundle of desires, hopes, interests, ambitions, dreams, and affections you have. Your heart represents the source of all your motivations.” (p. 237) He provides no Scripture reference for this assertion. His idea of heart is a great deal more elaborate than the actual biblical idea. In the Old Testament the term that usually is translated heart sometimes is translated kidney. Conversely, the term that usually is translated kidney sometimes is translated heart. In both cases the terms are of obscure origin, and they generally are understood to mean “inner man.” In the New Testament the term kardia sometimes is translated mind. The most that can be made of the biblical concept is to think of the heart as the religious seat of the inner man. Rather than consisting of the sum total of one’s desires, hopes, interests, ambitions, dreams and affections, the biblical heart consists of the core motive that explains why all these things are what they are. Mr. Warren came closer with his statement that, “Your heart represents the source of all your motivations.”
Mr. Warren considers the heart to be a factor in what “shapes” a person for service because, in his view, “Your heart reveals the real you.” (p. 237) He cites Proverbs 27:19 in support of such a view, “As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects man.” His use of this Proverb implies the normalcy of the human heart. That is, he seems to assume that whatever is found in the heart will suit one for a particular service to God. In this view of things, the Proverb merely explains that there is a variety of outward service because there is a variety of what may be found in the heart. However, presupposing the normalcy of the heart does not alter the true nature of the heart - it only leads to a false view of man’s basic problem. The outlook here is very similar to what Mr. Warren expressed in Chapter 18, that the sum of our hurts, faults, feelings, failings, flaws, pain, trouble, etc. comprises “who we really are.” (p. 140) Rather than to see these things as our enemy, they are normalized as aspects of the “real” self. Likewise, in the current chapter Mr. Warren suggests that whatever is found in the heart comprises the “real” self and points to the proper avenue of service to God.
The biblical teaching concerning the human heart is quite contrary to this. In order to understand a truly biblical idea of the heart, it is necessary to come to terms with a truly biblical idea of sin, and this Mr. Warren never has done in this book. In the original ideal of Creation, the heart, as the religious seat of the inner man, was created in the image of God. Whatever arose in the heart in its original estate did, indeed, eminently suit the man for God’s service. But, man did not strive in his original estate. He willfully rebelled against the Law of God and thus fell into sin. And, sin corrupted the heart. The corruption of sin spoiled the human being and, indeed, spoiled all of nature (“cursed is the ground because of you” Gen. 3:17). In the estate of sin, what is found in the heart does not suit a man for God’s service, but suits him for God’s wrath. In the estate of sin the heart is deceitful and desperately sick (Jer. 17:9, see also Ecc. 9:3 and Mat. 15:19). In the days of Noah, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen. 6:5) Thus, God saved Noah and his family through the Arc, while bringing the judgment of death upon all mankind. Corresponding to the rescue of Noah, God determined in Christ that out of the mass of fallen humanity He would save His people from their sins.
By the prompting of God’s redeeming grace David is convicted of his sin (Ps. 51:5) and pleads, “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” (Ps. 51:10) Jeremiah delivered the Word of the Lord that His people would return to Him with their whole heart, for as the Lord said, “I will give them a heart to know Me.” (Jer. 24:7) This He accomplished in the death and burial and resurrection of Christ. For we who are in Christ, “…the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us, for while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Rom. 5:5-6) “Now, He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.” (II Cor. 1:21-22) “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying ‘Abba! Father!’” (Gal. 4:6) This grace of God in redemption shall banish from our hearts all sin, evil, pain, and suffering in eternity (Rev. 21:4). As we live out our lives on earth we still inhabit a corrupted earth and live among corrupted people, and, indeed, still suffer to a degree the corruption of our own nature in sin. The grace of God in our hearts does not immediately nor completely restore our hearts to the original ideal of Creation. The Spirit of God in our hearts gives us hope and power to build up righteousness amid corruption. We are sealed, not perfected. His Spirit is our pledge of the perfection to come. The expectation of temporal perfection is a grave mistake. God will “…establish [our] hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” (I Thes. 3:13) Our perfection comes at the coming of our Lord. As we walk in this life, in the hope of this pledge and in the grace of redemption, it is God Himself in whom we trust and not in the heart. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” (Pr. 3:5) “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool.” (Pr. 28:26)
The foregoing presents a very sketchy summary of the biblical teaching concerning the heart, but it is sufficient to show that Mr. Warren’s teaching is a regrettable departure from it. He suggests that the heart possesses an inherent soundness and that “Listening to your heart” (p. 237) is a viable method of discerning your Christian ministry. A truly biblical teaching is that he who trusts in his own heart is a fool. A truly biblical idea is that the redeemed heart possesses not an inherent soundness, but an acquired soundness. The temporal heart may be redeemed, but is not perfected. The acquired soundness of the redeemed heart prompts greater and more consistent trust in the Redeemer, but never justifies trust in the heart itself. “Listening to the heart” is the way of Hollywood. The godly one devotes himself to listening to the Word of his God.
posted by S. C. Mooney at 12:05 AM
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