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Shaping Your Life with God’s Word · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to the deep dive from Reformed thinking.
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This is where we take some significant sources and well, we
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pull out the key insights for you.
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It's kind of a shortcut to getting informed.
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Yeah, whether you're prepping for something, trying to get up
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to speed on a topic, or maybe you're just curious.
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We're here to help you get the truth quickly but also
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thoughtfully, hopefully sparking some of those aha moments
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without all the usual information overload.
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That's the plan, and today we're looking at something really
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central to Christian life, to spiritual vitality, God's grace,
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and you know, the different ways his Word works.
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We've got some solid sources in front of.
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Us you do insights from people like David Mathis, John Piper,
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John Frame, really rich stuff. OK, so what's our goal today?
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What are we aiming for in this deep dive?
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Well, the mission is really to understand how God's grace is
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the foundation, the bedrock for the Christian walk, and then how
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his Word in all its forms, really.
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Forms. Like from his first
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self-expression all the way to the written Bible and even this
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practice of speaking the gospel to ourselves.
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How all that gives believers the nourishment they need.
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So this dive should give you some practical stuff for your
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own spiritual growth and hopefully joy all.
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Right, sounds good. Let's unpack this.
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Let's start trying to understand the sustaining nature of God's
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grace. The foundational role of God's
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grace. So our sources, they kick things
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off by laying down a foundational idea, something
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absolutely key for anyone following Christ.
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What's that starting point? Look.
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Like it really comes down to this.
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The Christian life, from the very second it starts right
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through to the end, is completely dependent on God's
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grace. It's not just how you get in,
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it's a constant sustaining force.
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OK, constant. Yeah, the sources are really
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clear that believers step into spiritual life purely by grace.
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They point to verses, you know, like Ephesians 2.5.
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By grace, you have been saved. It hammers home that entering
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faith is a pure gift. Totally unearned.
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Totally unearned, undeserved, not something you achieve or
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work for. It's just given God's favor, his
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loving invitation, something we could never manage on our own.
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So Grace opens the door. But I think sometimes, maybe
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often, it feels like Grace was just for that moment of
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conversion, like the entry ticket.
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Is it more than just the welcome mat?
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How does it keep someone going through, well, life, which gets
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messy? That's a really good point.
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And yeah, the sources definitely address that.
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Grace doesn't just stop once you're in, it keeps going.
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Acts 13.43 talks about believers continuing in grace.
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So think of it less like a single event and more like, I
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don't know, the spiritual atmosphere you live in.
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Always there. Like air?
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Exactly. And this same grace, it's what
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helps people survive trials, big ones.
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The sources mentioned 2nd Corinthians 12.9 Paul finding
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God's grace sufficient when he was weak.
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Right, my grace is sufficient for you.
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Yeah, that one in Hebrews 4.1 CN finding grace to help in time of
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need. So when things get tough, when
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life presses in, it's God's grace that gives the strength to
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endure. It keeps you from being totally
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overwhelmed. It does.
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It keeps your head above water, spiritually speaking, even when
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you feel like you're drowning. It's the lifeline.
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OK, so it's a lifeline for the big storms, but what about just
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Tuesday? You know, the normal grind, the
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little frustrations. Does Grace show up there too?
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Absolutely. It strengthens believers for
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everyday life. That's key.
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How so? Well, think about Second Timothy
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2.1 being strengthened by the grace in Christ Jesus, or
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Hebrews 13.9 grace establishing the heart.
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This shows it's practical, it's daily.
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It gives you that inner resilience, that spiritual
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energy you need for the ordinary routines, the small annoyances,
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the demands that just grind you down.
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Like patients with difficult people, maybe?
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Yes, exactly. Or perseverance for tedious
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tasks. Grace is where you draw that
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from, and it builds on itself too.
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Grace allows believers to grow, to mature spiritually.
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So. It's not static.
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Not at all. Second, Peter 3.18 urges us to
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grow in grace and knowledge, so grace fosters that development,
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moving us towards becoming more like Christ.
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It's like a river, not a stagnant pond, Always moving,
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nourishing, shaping. It's active.
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That paints a really full picture of grace.
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It definitely changes how I think about my daily walk, not
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just the beginning. But here's something that comes
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up. If it's all grace, does my
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effort even matter? Does it cancel out my will to
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try to grow? That's a really sharp question,
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and the answer the sources give is actually quite freeing.
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OK, what's fascinating is that even your ability to choose, to
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make an effort to seek God more, that capacity itself is enabled
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by His grace. So grace enables the effort.
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Precisely, think of First Corinthians 15.10.
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Paul says By the grace of God, I am what I am.
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I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I but
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the grace of God that is with me.
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Right, I remember that. So see, our efforts aren't
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fighting against grace. Grace there are the results of
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it, an outflow. Grace doesn't just save us, it
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makes us want to live for God and then gives us the spiritual
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drive to actually do it. That changes everything.
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It takes the pressure off thinking I have to generate this
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energy myself. It really does.
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It fights against spiritual pride because any good impulse,
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any effort starts with God. And it also fights against, you
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know, just giving up because it empowers us to strive, knowing
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the striving itself is a gift. A response to him working in US.
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Yes, and this includes the desire and the action to use
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what our sources call the means of God's grace.
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Means of grace. OK, that sounds significant.
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What does that cover? How does that fit in?
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So the means are like the channels, the designated
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pathways God uses to give His grace to us.
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OK, our sources focus on three main ones.
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God's voice. That's his word, His ear.
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That means prayer and his people fellowship the church community.
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Word prayer fellowship. Got it.
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These are vital practices, not ways to earn grace, let's be
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clear. But conduits for grace to flow,
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shaping US, strengthening us. And is one more foundational
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than others? Well, what's really interesting
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in our sources is that they highlight God's Word as the most
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basic principle here, immersing our lives in His Word.
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More basic than prayer or fellowship.
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It seems so in the sense that it's often presented as the
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primary initiating place where God reveals Himself and provides
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the actual content for prayer and fellowship.
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It's like the spring feeding the other streams.
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The multifaceted nature of God's.
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Word. OK, so the word is presented as
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really foundational, maybe even more than prayer or fellowship
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as a means of grace. But you said Word in all its
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forms. Our sources break that down,
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don't they? Let's start with what they call
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the word original. Yes, exactly.
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Before we jump into how we engage with, say, the Bible
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day-to-day, we need to grasp this bigger idea.
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God's Word is a general principle, like it's part of who
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He is. So Word original isn't the Bible
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yet? Not specifically, it's more the
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basic concept that God speaks, He reveals himself, He
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communicates with us, It's his nature to express himself.
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OK John Frame, who he mentioned describes God's word as his
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powerful authoritative self-expression.
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Think about it like this. You get to know a friend through
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their words, right? What they talk about, how they
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say it. Sure reveals their personality,
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their thoughts. Right.
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It's similar with God. His speaking unveils who He is,
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His character, His plans, His heart.
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It's his being revealed through his own utterance.
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And this original voice, the self-expression, it has massive
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significance even for creation. Oh.
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Huge. This original voice is critical
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because it starts everything. Yeah, our sources point out that
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both the first creation, Genesis 1.3, Let There Be light and
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boom, light exists. Right, he speaks things into
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being. Exactly, and the new creation to
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a Corinthians 4.6 talks about God commanding light to shine in
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our hearts. Both start with God's voice.
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He initiates by speaking. So his word isn't just
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description, it's action. It creates reality.
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Precisely. It's effective.
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And here's what's really mind blowing.
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This powerful self revealing voice didn't just produce words,
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Our sources show it ultimately became a person.
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God, self-expression is so rich, so complete.
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It's not just a personal utterance.
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It is a person which leads us right into the next aspect.
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And that would be the Word Incarnate.
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This sounds like where Jesus comes in.
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Very central. Actually central this is God's
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ultimate final complete self revelation to humanity, embodied
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in his son, Jesus Christ the. Word made flesh.
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Exactly. John 1.1 in the beginning was
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the Word, and the Word was God. Then John 1.14 and the Word
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became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is that Word.
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He's the one who is. John 1.18 says has made the
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Father known because no one had seen God directly.
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So Jesus is God showing himself to us.
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Perfectly put. He's God's ultimate
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self-expression. Remember Jesus himself said
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whoever has seen me has seen the Father in John 14.9.
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He's the visible image of the invisible God, makes him
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understandable, tangible. It's like trying to explain
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color to someone blind from birth, then suddenly showing it
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to them. Jesus is the showing.
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That's a great analogy. And it's not just about
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revelation showing us God. Our sources connect him directly
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to grace itself. How so?
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He's actually called the grace of God Incarnate.
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In Titus 2 point O1 it talks about the grace of God
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appearing, bringing salvation. His whole life, his mission, his
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being embodies God's unmerited favor.
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He didn't just bring grace, He is grace walking around.
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So not just a concept, but a person.
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Yes, not a word thing, but a word person.
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It shows how personal God's self revelation is and through His
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perfect life, His death on the cross, Hebrews 2.9 says He
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tasted death for everyone. He fulfilled what humanity was
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meant to be. He defeated sin and death.
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He did triumphed over them, and now, as First Corinthians 15
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tells us, He's at the Father's right hand, reigning until
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everything is under His feet. He is the divine human word our
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souls need for survival, for strength, for growth.
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OK, but that raises a question you hinted at earlier.
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He's in heaven now. How do we access this living
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word today? Right.
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And that's the bridge to the word evangelical.
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This is the connection we need now.
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The gospel message itself. Exactly, the word evangelical is
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the good news about Jesus actively proclaimed shared.
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This is actually the most common way word is used in the New
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Testament. The message of the gospel where,
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like Colossians 3.16 says the word of Christ.
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So when Paul talks about preaching.
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Yes, for Paul. Preach Christ, proclaim Christ,
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speak the Word. They're basically
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interchangeable. You see that in Philippians one
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His whole mission, he said in Acts 20.24 was to testify to the
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gospel of the grace of God, and he calls that same gospel the
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word of His grace just a few verses later.
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So it's more than just information, it's a declaration.
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It's a life changing declaration of what God did in Jesus, a
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dynamic call. It's how we hear about who Jesus
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is and what he's done, the verbal sharing of that reality.
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And this word evangelical, this gospel message, how does it keep
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working in someone's life beyond just getting them started?
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Good question. The sources show this word of
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truth. The gospel is Colossians 1.5 and
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Ephesians 1.13 call. It doesn't just convert people,
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it keeps bearing fruit. It grows and believers lives.
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It changes things ongoingly. Absolutely.
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It's called the word of life in Philippians 2, something we hold
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on to tightly. It's active, dynamic,
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continually shaping believers, feeding them spiritually.
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It's how we keep encountering Jesus, because it's all about
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Him. And this connects to that paper
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quote you mentioned. Yes, John Piper's point is
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crucial here. He says the central strategy in
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the Christian fight for joy is to preach the gospel to
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yourself. Hearing the word of the Cross
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and preaching it to ourselves is the central strategy for sinners
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in the fight for joy. Wow, central strategy, that's
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strong. It is.
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It highlights this ongoing personal application of the
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gospel, not just for conversion, but for every single day,
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especially when we're struggling to find joy in this world.
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OK, so this gospel message is spoken past person to person,
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but how does it stay reliable over centuries?
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How do we know it hasn't been, you know, twisted or watered
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down like a game of telephone? That's a critical concern, and
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that's precisely where the Word written becomes indispensable.
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It's the anchor, the Bible, the Bible.
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It's the essential place this side of heaven for God's Word in
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written form. It serves as God's inspired,
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inerrant, infallible revelation of Himself.
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Let's break those down quickly. Inspired.
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Inerrant. Infallible.
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Sure, inspired means it's God breathed originating from Him.
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Inerrant means it's without error in everything it affirms
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is true. Infallible means it cannot fail
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in its ultimate purpose. Basically, it's completely
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trustworthy. And our sources argue that
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without the Bible, we'd quickly lose the real gospel, the real
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Jesus, the true God. It protects the truth from human
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error, misinterpretation, maybe even deliberate changes over
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time. It's the fixed reference point.
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So the written word safeguards the integrity of God's original
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self-expression, making sure we graph the Incarnate word, Jesus,
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and the evangelical word, the Gospel, accurately.
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How should that affect how believers actually live?
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Well, to really soak our lives in these words of life, the call
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is to be people of the book. Not just owning a Bible,
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presumably. No, not just letting it sit on a
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shelf. It means constantly immersing
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ourselves in God voice as preserved in scripture, letting
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it seep into our thoughts, our feelings, our choices.
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The Scriptures are the primary way God gives us His ongoing
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grace through His Spirit. They perfectly preserve and
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display God's self-expression in the gospel.
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All its details, richness, nuances, you've got the full
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picture there. Exactly.
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Every context, every layer of meaning about Jesus and the
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gospel. And importantly, the Scriptures
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provide the actual material for that practice.
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Piper mentioned speaking the gospel to ourselves.
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So the content comes from the Bible.
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Right. The content we use drawn
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directly from God's revealed truth, It gets applied to our
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lives thinking about Jesus, person and work.
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And that's what strengthens the soul, roots us in reality.
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It gives us the specific truths to speak into our own hearts.
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OK, that connects it all. God's original voice, embodied
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in Jesus, proclaimed in the Gospel and preserved in writing.
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So how do we individually practically engage with all this
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day-to-day? Right, that brings us to the
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final category. Our sources mention the word
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pervasive. This describes all the many
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varied ways we actively immerse ourselves in God's voice through
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His written word. So not just one method.
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Not at all. It refers to countless creative
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routines, Things like, you know, reading through the Bible in a
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year or maybe focusing deeply on one book for a few weeks.
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Memorization too. Yes, memorizing verses or
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passages, even whole chapters or books.
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Hiding God's Word in our hearts, meditating on single verses,
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letting the meaning really sink in.
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Thinking about how it applies. Identifying specific
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applications for your life, definitely, but also listening
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to sermon podcasts that faithfully teach the word.
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Reading good biblically solid articles or blogs online.
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Maybe taking a Bible study class.
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Reading Christian books that explain and apply scripture.
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The options are huge. It sounds like the key isn't the
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specific method, but the overall goal.
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That's it. The principle is to soak our
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lives lives in the voice of God and diversifying the portfolio
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of access points, finding lots of different ways to let God's
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voice wash over you, get into your thinking and actions like
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saturating a sponge. From multiple taps, we're
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encouraged to fashion rhythms of life that help you revolve
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around having God's Incarnate Word, by God's gospel Word,
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through God's written Word, structuring our days and weeks
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to keep coming back to God's revealed truth.
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So being intentional. Intentionality.
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Yes, and ingenuity. Finding creative ways to shower
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our days with His voice, using different routines to regularly
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grab hold of His life, giving words.
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It's active, it's dynamic, enabled by grace, keeping us
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connected to the source of life, making God's Word readily
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available, always speaking. The practice of preaching the
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gospel to yourself. OK, we keep coming back to that
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John Piper quote about speaking the Gospel to yourself being the
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central strategy for joy. Let's dig into that habit more.
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What's it actually fighting against inside us?
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Yeah, this practice is so important for getting our inner
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responses lined up with the theology we say we believe.
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Because let's be honest, in this fallen world, how we react often
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gets disconnected from what we know is true, sometimes without
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us even noticing. How so?
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Well, emotions like anger, fear, panic, discouragement,
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impatience, they can whisper a kind of false gospel in our
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ears. A false gospel.
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Yeah, messages that pull us away from the truth.
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Like when fear grips you, it might be whispering that God
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isn't really in control or he doesn't love you enough to
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handle this situation. That directly contradicts the
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gospel of a sovereign, loving God.
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Right, right. Or discouragement, telling you
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you're not good enough, that your past mistakes define you.
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Exactly. Those are false gospels,
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messages undermining God's character or who we are in
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Christ. So it's like an internal battle
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against these voices, these lies, Yeah, not just passively
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accepting them. Totally.
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The sources say the battleground is between our ears.
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Instead of just listening to yourself, letting your worries
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and fears dictate how you feel and act, you have to start
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talking. Meaning, start preaching to
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yourself. Yes, actively counter those
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negative thoughts, those false messages with the truth of what
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God has done in Jesus. Don't let your concerns shape
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you. Shape your concerns by the good
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news. It's taking an active stand
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against those internal pressures, trying to pull down
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your faith and joy. Like arguing the case for truth
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inside your own head. That's a good way to put it,
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being your own internal advocate for God's truth against the
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lies. And this talking to yourself, it
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sounds like it works both in the moment and preventatively.
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It's not just for emergencies. That's right, it covers both.
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It's reactive when temptation hits or frustration flares up.
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For instance, let's. Say someone really wrongs you
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and anger boils up reactively. You speak truth to yourself
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about Christ's forgiveness of your sins, maybe his patience,
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His call to love enemies. It helps you restock in the
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moment. Look at the situation your sin
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through a gospel lens. Bringing truth into the
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immediate mess. Yes, but it's also proactive,
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meaning you go on the offensive by feeding your soul regularly
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before the day's challenges and disappointments even start
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hitting you. So doing it even when things
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feel OK. Especially then building up
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spiritual reserves so you're ready when trouble does come.
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It's like maintaining a deep well of water instead of waiting
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till you're thirsty and only finding a puddle.
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Sounds like it has to be more than just, you know, vaguely
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remembering a Bible verse or a nice thought.
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What makes it different from just general positive thinking?
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That's a critical distinction. Simply recalling a general truth
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like I don't know, God is good, while true, might not do much
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for the soul in that moment. Or thinking 2 + 2 = 4 true but
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spiritually neutral. Speaking the gospel to yourself
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requires pausing and actively rehearsing some expression of
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the fathers and sons love and provision of goodness and rescue
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and joy. For us, it's consciously taking
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that truth and working to let it shape your reality, your
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feelings, your motives. So it's applying the specifics
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of Jesus. Word Yes.
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His perfect life, His death for you, his resurrection power, His
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reign right now. Applying that to your specific
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situation, your inner state, it's personalizing the grand
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story of salvation for your own soul, right here, right now,
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with intention. And how does this active
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rehearsing connect back to the Bible, the written word?
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They seem very tightly woven. Inseparable really, While
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speaking the gospel to yourself isn't just reading the Bible out
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loud, the scriptures provide the non negotiable material for it.
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The content. The content comes directly from
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the Bible. It's the authoritative source
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for what we speak. It gives us the specific details
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of God's love, Christ's sacrifice, the promises of joy
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and rescue, the certainty of his return.
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We draw the actual words and concepts we need from the
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written word. It's not making stuff up, It's
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applying revealed truth. So just hearing a sermon or
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reading passively or repeating familiar phrases isn't quite it.
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It needs a deeper personal connection for real spiritual
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strength. You've got it.
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The sources are clear. It's not enough to just hear a
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canned gospel repeated over and over, or merely take in
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information without seeing it in light of Jesus and pressing it
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into our hearts. It needs to land personally.
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It needs to land. The goal is deep, personal
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application that results in genuine spiritual strength.
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It requires the Holy Spirit working through the written Word
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to apply Jesus, his person, His work, to our hearts in a way
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that actually changes our thoughts, feelings, actions.
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It's an ongoing, active process of lining up our inner world
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with the gospel truth, letting it breakthrough our defenses and
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reshape how we see everything. That's where real change
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happens, day by day. Wow.
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OK, so bringing this all together for you, the listener,
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what does this mean? We've covered God's grace as
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both the starting point and the sustainer of Christian life.
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We've looked at his Word in these different forms, the
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original voice, Jesus, the Incarnate Word, the evangelical
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gospel message, the written scriptures, and the pervasive
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ways we engage it. And we really dug into that
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practice of speaking the gospel to ourselves.
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And what this deep dive shows, I think, is how God's grace keeps
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working, enabling us not just to want to seek Him, but actually
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giving us the ability to act on that desire to engage with His
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Word in ways that build real spiritual muscle and joy.
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It's an invitation, really. It is a gracious invitation to
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immerse ourselves in how he's revealed himself, knowing that
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even the desire comes from Him. It totally reframes how we think
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about spiritual disciplines and effort, doesn't it?
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It really does. So here's something to think
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about, maybe chew on this week as you consider God's grace,
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enabling your very desire to seek Him.
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How might that change your approach?
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How might it affect how you pursue those habits of grace,
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How you actively engage with His Word?
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Could it free you up, maybe, to strive with a different kind of
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energy, a different kind of joy, knowing the striving itself is a
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gift he gives? Something to ponder for sure.
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Well, thank you for joining us for this deep dive.
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Yeah, thanks for listening. We really hope this decision is
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giving you some valuable insights and maybe some fresh
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ways to think about things. Until next time, keep seeking
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wisdom.