Beginning with the acknowledgement of my own failings, I’ve come to realize that many professing Christians stop short of having saving faith — a faith that will save them from the wrath of God. They rely instead on what Dietrich Bonhoeffer termed “cheap grace” [1] [2]—in essence, a forgiveness that one gives to oneself that eases the way for continued disobedience to God and leads to eternal separation from him. We need to understand what it means to intentionally and fervently live for Christ, submitting to his promise to transform us, and desiring him above all else. The goal of this website and its blog, Willfully Passionate ~ Learning to Live for Christ, is to serve as a resource and a place for dialog for those who want to be true followers of Jesus.
A persistent and humble desire for truth is essential for a journey aimed at learning to live for Christ. While it is right to rejoice in the revelation of truths that are new to us, it also is important to remember that there is nothing new under the sun — Ecclesiastes 1:9. That includes the content of this blog. My hope is simply to present God’s truth in a new way that will be helpful.
I look forward to God’s work in all of us as we go on this journey together, for his glory alone. For the times when we resist or reject God’s truth, I pray this prayer by an anonymous believer:
From the cowardice that shrinks from new truths,
From the laziness that is content with half-truths,
From the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth,
O God of truth, deliver us! [3]
Finally and very importantly, the content in this blog is not intended for use in evaluating the faith of others. It is a great blessing that only the Lord knows our hearts, because the burden of knowing which souls will be lost would be too great for us to bear.
Blog theme verses:
“For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.” (1 Chronicles 28:9)
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2 Corinthians 13:5)
Footnotes
[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (New York: Macmillan, 1959).
[2] Deuteronomy 29:18-20
[3] Warren W. Wiersbe, “The Bread of Life,” in Jesus in the Present Tense: The I AM Statements of Christ (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2011)