"We are neither to seek to preserve our holiness by escaping from the world nor to sacrifice our holiness by conforming to the world."
John Stott is one of my favorite Christian authors. The amount of wisdom that simply permeates the pages of his books continues to convict and encourage me.
I'm reading his latest (and probably last) book The Radical Disciple. While nothing so far has been new to hear, it's serving as a good reflection point for me to evaluate who I am in Christ.
These are the characteristics of radical disciples:
1. Nonconformity--escapism and conformism to the world are both forbidden.
2. Pluralism--can be done, but only with affirming the UNIQUENESS and FINALITY of Christ.
3. Materialism--the Church is too captivated with this secular trend; a preoccupation with material things can smother the spiritual life (Phil 4:11; 1 Tim 6:6; Job 1:21).
4. Ethical Relativism--this has permeated the Church with slipping moral standards (cohabitation, sex outside of marriage, etc). Are there any absolutes left?=causes confusion both inside and outside the Church. ONLY absolute is that JESUS IS LORD--this must remain our basis.
"We are not to be completely rigid in decision making but to seek sensitively to apply biblical principles in each situation."
5. Narcissism--this excessive, unbounded admiration of "self" is a result of the New Age movement which teaches that the solution to our problems is within, rather than with Jesus. This permeates the Church, too. Self-love is one of the signs of the last days? 2 Tim 3:2
A lot to reflect about...
