Appealing to Hearers of the Gospel

D. A. Carson surveys Motivations to Appeal to in Our Hearers When We Preach for Conversion, and then provides four theological and pastoral reflections on this survey. His conclusion:

... all of the biblically sanctioned motivations for pursuing God, for pursuing Christ, say complementary things about God himself, such that failure to cover the sweep of motivations ultimately results in diminishing God.

Thus, the motivations characterized by fear are bound up with the truth that God is holy, that he is rightfully our Judge, that he gathers some into his presence and casts others into outer darkness, that his knowledge of us is perfect, extending not only to a grasp of our motives but even to a full-bore knowledge of what we would have done under different circumstances (a form of so-called “middle knowledge”). The burden of guilt reminds us that God does not grade on the curve, and unless we are justified by the one who is himself just while justifying the ungodly, there is no hope for us.

And so we could work through the list. The point to be made is simple: any failure to appeal to the full range of biblically exemplified and biblically sanctioned motivations not only means that there are some people we are not taking into account, but, more seriously, that there are elements in the character and attributes of God himself that we are almost certainly ignoring.

Getting to the Heart of Conflict

Remley Gorsuch at the Peacemaker Ministries blog has a series of posts on "Getting to the Heart of Conflict." From the Introduction:

The heart’s central role in conflict is vividly described in James 4:1-3. If you understand this passage, you will have found a key to preventing and resolving conflict.... [It] describes the root cause of destructive conflict: Conflicts arise from unmet desires in our hearts. When we feel we cannot be satisfied unless we have something we want or think we need, the desire turns into a demand. If someone fails to meet that desire, we condemn him in our heart and quarrel and fight to get our way. In short, conflict arises when desires grow into demands and we judge and punish those who get in our way.

There is a series of posts looking at the progression of conflict one step at a time:

1. Part II - I Desire
2. Part III - I Demand
3. Part IV - I Demand (cont.)
4. Part V - I Judge
5. Part VI - I Punish
6. Part VII – The Cure for an Idolatrous Heart
7. Part VIII – Deliverance from Specific Idols
8. Part IX – Replace Idol Worship with Worship of the True God

One Way ... Only Way

Melinda at Stand to Reason shares R.C. Sproul's "tactic when he's been accused of being closed-minded for thinking Jesus is the only way to salvation." Read the explanation here.

Love One Another

Justin Taylor outlines Tim Keller's teaching on How to Love One Another: Affirm, Share, and Serve.

Affirm
1. Affirm one another’s strengths, abilities, and gifts.
2. Affirm one another’s equal importance in Christ.
3. Affirm one another through visible affection.

Share
4. Share one another’s space, goods, and time.
5. Share one another’s needs and problems.
6. Share one another’s beliefs, thinking, and spirituality.

Serve
7. Serve one another through accountability.
8. Serve one another through forgiveness and reconciliation.
9. Serve one another’s interests rather than our own.