What is the good news?

The essence of the gospel is God's love, acceptance, and embrace of us are secured solely by Christ's efforts, not ours. 

Because Christ was and is perfect in every way - and credits or assigns his perfect "track record" or status and union with the Father to us - i.e. God's love and embrace of us is perfect in every way - He loves us in the same way He loves the Son of His eternal affection; as if we were faithful to him exactly the same way Christ was, when we are (and were) not. 

This indeed is good news because we are not required to achieve this status through our efforts and can not mess it up by the lack of effort either! Hard to believe, but true. 

If we truly believe this good news (gospel) - i.e. that in Christ God is now totally for us and no longer against us, (even in our current imperfect state) - the more it will galvanize us in the face of adversity and empower us to become unstoppable for God. The more we grasp this the more unstoppable we become.

If we are not unstoppable for God we have not yet fully grasped the good news that his relentless and boundless love is immovably fixed upon us. 

This gospel isn't simply about entering the Kingdom of God but living and walking in it, i.e. being empowered by God's love to live for Him today and every day!! This is fully and freely extended to us because of Christ's efforts alone.

The 2 key elements needed for this to occur...

1. The good news (gospel) itself - God's part, i.e. he has already fully and perfectly taken care of our sinful status. We don't need to and indeed, can not do this ourselves.

 and

2. The extent to which we believe (fully grasp) this good news - which is our part. Our understand is ongoing and always increasing if we are truly His child.

The first element - the good news - is accomplished only by God in and through Christ and is complete. Nothing can be added to it or be taken away from it. It is what God did - and does - (Rom 8:34b) through Christ and has nothing to do with our efforts, good behavior (or bad for that matter). It is 100% legally ours but ours practically (i.e. experientially) on a day-to-day basis, to the extent we receive and believe it.

The second element - our faith (trust) in this good news - is our part (our "work") regarding our relationship with God. 

It is work in the sense it requires us to humble ourselves and take up our cross daily. This is not easy and is ongoing until we go to be with Him eternally. This is the key to the maturing process, i.e. our spiritual formation (sometimes referred to as sanctification). 

As our trust in God and His perfect, infinite love for us (extended to us freely by grace) increases, our living (and desire to live) for God's honor also increases, i.e. the good news increasingly manifests itself in greater degrees through our words and actions as our trust in Him grows.

The effect this good news has on our day-to-day actions and conduct is small if our grasp (belief) of it is small and great if it is great.

So how do we increase our faith or remedy our unbelief? 

God must first reveal to us the desperateness of our condition without Christ, i.e. how short we come in recognizing the goodness and love of God and also how desperately broken we are without Him. 

Until we see our need for this good news (that there is no hope of being received by God without Christ) we will not desire or seek it. The more we see our desperate need, the greater the impact this good news has on us and the more it changes us. 

Illustration: who appreciates reaching the top of mount Everest most? 

God must also reveal himself to us in all his beauty and glory. The more of his beauty we see the greater our desire for him grows. The greater our desire, the greater our pursuit. 

As God reveals to us both our desperate need and His glorious beauty, our faith ¹grows. Our faith in God is only as good as our view of God (and ourselves) is clear and accurate.

And what is the condition or state we must enter into for God to reveal Himself to us most?

Humility, i.e. recognizing our desperate need of God. 

*Humility is key to seeing God.

*Seeing God is key to great faith.

*Great faith is key to great pursuit of God.

God's strength manifests itself in us most the more we acknowledge our weakness. The essence of the gospel practically is strength in and through weakness  - 'when I am weak, than I am strong."

This is bad news before it is good news.
The extent we are able to admit the bad news is the extent we will receive to good news

How do we not change?

If we change ("obey") because we think we must in order to be accepted by God - i.e. because of external pressure or reasons - it never lasts. True and lasting change only occurs because we want to change, i.e. it comes from self-imposed internal "pressure" i.e. motivation. To truly change we must have a genuine desire to change. And this is only by the Spirit, not human willpower.

"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." - Phil 2:12-13.

Change that comes about from external pressure is not true change, but merely external conformity, which results in self-righteousness, not humility. This is the essence of legalism which unfortunately is common within the Christian community. 

For a discussion on: 

How we are inclined to try and earn God's love click here.

The difference between "Cultural Christians" and grace-driven followers of Christ, click here.

The essence of God's Kingdom click here.

How God's love is conditional and unconditional click here.

Should our focus be on morality or Jesus? click here.

 

What is righteousness click here

________________________________

¹to the extent to which our trust in ourselves diminishes and our trust in God increases, we change.

A conversation regarding obedience

In Nov. of 2017 I posted the following on Facebook. 

"Why do we pursue God, out of love or fear? 

Both! 

Out of love because he first loved us. 

Out of fear because operating contrary to God's design (how and why he made us) always has an adverse effect (if not immediately, eventually)."

This resulted in an instructive conversation between Rick (a FB friend) and I. I am posting that conversation below to illustrate the misunderstanding, tension, and confusion around our pursuit of (obedience to) God in the hope of clarifying some of the dynamics of that pursuit.

Now to Rick's response and the conversation that followed:

___________________________________________________________

Rick: 

You mean you aren't a Christian Hedonist? :/ I'm not either :)

Other valid reasons to seek God...

God exists and is the source of all meaning, purpose, and value. Without God, there would be none of these in an objective sense.

God is the ultimate authority over all creation and deserves our utmost obedience to his will, his pleasure and his purpose.

God is the ultimate worth and he is worthy of our praise and worship. Our surrender to God's will is the first step towards truly worshipping God.

Jim: (In response, I sent Rick the following blog post on the dynamics of what moves us to pursue and obey God)

http://thotsaboutgod.blogspot.com/2017/02/an-anatomy-of-motivation.html

Rick quotes from the above blog article adding his comments below...

Rick: 

"An anatomy of motivation - There are two overall but opposite approaches we observe in scripture regarding our motivation to obedience. All underlying forms of motivation fall under these two. These two broader areas are...

· positive motivation
· negative motivation"

His added comments...

- These two categories of motivation are based on the idea that we can expect something good or we can expect something bad. Another option that I believe is important is to acknowledge the authority of God as a basis of motive. In this respect, it is not so much what we personally expect but who God objectively is that forms the basis. If we believe God exists, we can obey God simply because of God's authority, without even contemplating what we personally expect. For example. We are commanded to submit to God and obey God. I can do this simply because God has clearly commanded it and not necessarily for any other reason. Do you agree?

Jim:

Yes, but I believe there's a bit more to obedience than simple willpower. If you haven't read the rest of the article at the above link it hints at this. 

Paul also points out it is God who enables us to choose and desire to pursue him in vs 13 of the following: 

"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Php 2:12-13

How does he do so? By appealing to self-interest. For example, we are told in Heb 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." The appeal of this verse is not just that God exists but OUR (us/self) being rewarded. 

Another example is "to gain your life you must lose it." What's the appeal? Us gaining life. The verse simply tells us the best way that happens is by losing our life i.e. we don't find our life by seeking life but by seeking God who is life. 

There is a difference between self-interest and self-ISHNESS. Not distinguishing these causes confusion. Several posts on my blog touch on this. If interested let me know.

Rick: 

Those are interesting verses and I would not be opposed to reading your articles. Because there are so many scriptural aspects of obedience to God, to me this implies that there are many valid motives that can overlap and are not mutually exclusive. I believe that there is a danger of taking a verse like Heb 11:6 and suggesting that this one verse codifies our approach towards obedience to God. For example, there is the motive of love of God that Jesus stated was a valid motive:

"If you love me, keep my commands." John 14:16

The word love is from the Greek "agape" which is translated as a self-less benevolent and giving type of love. So in other words, our motive for obedience based on this verse is not self-interest but is based on pleasing God.

Jim:

Love is THE key motive to obedience. So the question becomes how and when do we love God i.e. what is the cause of (stirs up) our love for him. Scripture clearly teaches our love (the key motive "behind" obedience) is a RESPONSE to his love for us. 1 Jn 4:10 "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." In 1Jn 4:19 John goes on to say, "We love because he first loved us." We are not the initiators of love, God is.

This is also implied in John 15. It says without me "you can do nothing..." (vs 5) i.e. we can not bear fruit on our own. Fruit in the context is loving God and others (vs 12,17). So our loving God and others is based on and caused by our abiding in his love for us (vs 9). We can not love as God loves - i.e. sacrificially - otherwise. To say it another way, we are not the cause or source of love but the conduits of it.

Re: the Hebrews passage...it is simply an example, not a proof text. Self-interest is implied throughout scripture. His great offer is eternal life to us i.e. our eternal life. Even fear of the consequences for disobedience is the fear of US suffering. We do nothing apart from self-interest. 

Christ's very appeal to loving our neighbor is love for ourselves "...love your neighbor AS you love yourself..." He doesn't condemn our love of self (our desiring what is best for ourselves) he assumes it and makes his appeal based on that assumption.

The issue isn't our wanting what is best for us, it's how is that best accomplished. Through self-effort or in and by God i.e. through his love for us. 

I think the issue is we don't realize our greatest joy is IN God and recognizing the greatness of his glory i.e. our greatest joy (pleasure) and God's highest glory are not in opposition to each other but tied together. To say it another way, pursuing God and his highest glory IS our greatest joy (pleasure).

Rick: 

Jim Deal - "Self-interest is implied throughout scripture. His great offer is eternal life for US i.e. OUR eternal life." ...Christ's very appeal to loving our neighbor is love for ourselves "...love your neighbor AS you love yourself..." He doesn't condemn our love of self (our desiring what is best for us)

I'm sorry, but implications of our self-interest are always subservient to the interest of pleasing God in the whole of scripture, and plainly commanded as such, and to place our self-interest on equal grounds with pleasing God I believe is shown to be actually heretical based on traditional interpretations.

To take your first point, eternal life is epitomized by relationship together with God: "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (John 17:3) And relationship is defined as "being one" in the spirit: "I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one" (John 17:22) --- These verses do not imply that eternal life is based on focusing on the self or that the motive for eternal life is self-interest, rather, the focus is on interrelationship and unity for the glory of God, that is, mainly for GOD'S sake, not our own.

In your second point, you reference the second part of a two-part command and left out the most important first command: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[a] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)

Matthew Henry clarifies the primacy of scriptural value:

"As we must, therefore, love God BETTER THAN ourselves, because he is Jehovah, a being infinitely better than we are, and must love him with all our heart, because he is one Lord, and there is no other like him; so we must love our neighbor AS OURSELVES, because he is of the same nature with ourselves;" (emphasis added). Here is Matthew Henry's full commentary on this verse:

2. That the second great commandment is, to love our neighbor as ourselves (v. 31), as truly and sincerely as we love ourselves, and in the same instances, and we must show it by doing as we would be done by. As we must therefore love God better than ourselves, because he is Jehovah, a being infinitely better than we are, and must love him with all our heart, because he is one Lord, and there is no other like him; so we must love our neighbour as ourselves, because he is of the same nature with ourselves; our hearts are fashioned alike, and my neighbour and myself are of one body, of one society, that of the world of mankind; and if a fellow-Christian, and of the same sacred society, the obligation is the stronger. Hath not one God created us? Mal. 2:10. Has not one Christ redeemed us?"

If we try to ignore or deny a direct commandment, that clearly states pleasing God (with others-centered agape love) is the highest commandment, and offer that self-interest is on par with or even above the command to please God, how is this not patently heterical?

"our greatest joy (pleasure) and God's highest glory are not in opposition to each other but tied together."

This is basically a toned-down re-phrasing of Piper's maxim. However, the phrase "God is not most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him" is misleading because the true measure of God's glory is not our personal satisfaction. The highest measure of God's glory is our conformity with God's nature and will, which is most emphasized by conforming to God's nature and will, which is based on agape love and holiness.

Scripture advocates worshipping God in spirit and in truth:

"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24).

Piper completely discounts many critical aspects of worship, such as affirming and meditating on truth, and heretically demands that the worship of God is based on emotions as an end in and of themselves:

"It can be done only when spontaneous affections arise in the heart. And these affections for God are an end in themselves. They are the essence of eternal worship" (p92 DG)

Jim, I am reading a brief but excellent new book on Piper titled "Christian Hedonism? A biblical examination of John Piper's teaching" by ES Williams, and I believe that it might help you to glean from his research some of the many critical scriptural errors of CH.

Jim:

Rick W Thanks for the feedback.

I don't disagree with anything you said.

Everything must be subservient to God simply because he is the cause of all things (i.e. a more than sufficient reason if there were no other one) "... For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen..." (Rom 11:36)

Nothing in scripture (regarding our obedience) is based on FOCUSING on self.

It sounds like you are equating self-interest with selfishness and that our interests are ABOVE Gods. I've said neither.

What I am saying is our (self's) best interest is IN God. God is our (self's) best interest.

My point is in order for us (self) to know and enjoy God, "self" is not set aside but fully engaged. We (us, self) give God the greatest glory when we (self) find him our greatest joy, treasure, pursuit etc. This isn't putting self above God at all. It is self delighting IN God above all things, vs self delighting in created things over and above God the Creator (our delighting in creation above God is the essence of self ISHNESS. It is seeking to make life work WITHOUT God i.e. through what I can obtain by myself and solely for myself. It is seeking meaning, purpose, joy, etc independent of God for my glory, not his).

However our (self) finding God to be more glorious than anything else "shows him off" (brings attention to his infinite glory, i.e. glorifies him). To believe and then act as if something is more valuable than God, dishonors him. When we find God our greatest delight and pursuit we are telling others, God is more important to me than anything else and therefore could be to you as well.

Regarding the greatest commandment, this actually underscores the point I am seeking to make. Loving our neighbor flows out of loving God first (which is the fruit of his love for us). It all starts with God, is through God and is for God i.e. for his glory e.g. Rom 11:36 

End of our FB conversation. 

In this conversation, we are dealing with very nuanced points. Facebook is generally not the best place for in-depth discussion and contemplation of such things. I say this because after looking this over there are things I did not address that I could have. Therefore I offer these additional thoughts.

Regarding obedience to God out of fear i.e. respect for God, even this is based on "self-interest" i.e. I wish to honor God out of respect for him and because he is worthy of all honor/respect but why do I respect Him?  Because he is all-wise, all-powerful, and just and I don't want something bad happening to me (self) if I don't honor him as such. This isn't selfish. It is rooted in our very being as God's image-bearer. Our being a creature who desires our own best interest is actually necessary in order for us to be able to enjoy and honor God who is most high and most delightful. 

For more on this point click here. 

Rick said, "I'm sorry, but implications of our self-interest are always subservient to the interest of pleasing God in the whole of scripture, and plainly commanded as such, and to place our self-interest on equal grounds with pleasing God I believe is shown to be actually heretical based on traditional interpretations."

This is a common misunderstanding and is hardest to grasp. God's highest glory and our greatest joy are not in competition or opposed to each other or that we can only do one or the other. So there are no "equal grounds." They are tied together but not equal because everything must start with God. Nothing happens if God were not all glorious. However, our greatest joy is God's highest glory. The more we exalt him - recognize His glory - the more we experience Him as He is and the greater our joy becomes. Joy is the result of recognizing and acting upon God's greatness - His infinite glory. We find him to be our greatest joy when we lift him up (glorify him) as the highest/greatest (most delightful) being of all beings or things and the only one worthy of our honor and greatest delight. This is not an "either/or" scenario. God's glory and our delight in God go hand in hand but in that order. It always must start with God, not us. If God were not the greatest of all beings, we would not and could not find the great joy that is God himself. And we are wired this way because this is how God designed us, so we might share in His glory as He does as Father and Son in by and through the Spirit. To enjoy God most we have to be most like Him without being God i.e. we are in His image.

Rick said:

Another option that I believe is important is to acknowledge the authority of God as a basis of motive. In this respect, it is not so much what we personally expect but who God objectively is that forms the basis. If we believe God exists, we can obey God simply because of God's authority, without even contemplating what we personally expect. For example. We are commanded to submit to God and obey God. I can do this simply because God has clearly commanded it and not necessarily for any other reason. Do you agree?"

Whether Rick deliberately intends to, the implication of what he is proposing is we have within ourselves the spiritual strength to obey God by simply willing ourselves to do so without God empowering us i.e. apart from his Love/Spirit. This is placing our will as the key (central) to obedience instead of God. However, God is the driving force behind our obedience, not our will. It is God who works in us "...both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Our will is an intricate part of obedience but it is not the central part, God is. Our will is vital in deciding (choosing) to believe God is who He claims to be and does (did and will do) what He promises/claims He will do. But this is choosing to believe is anchored into who God is generally and who He is for us specifically. It is based on faith in the character of God,  not faith based on faith in itself or how great our will is.

For a further discussion on this point click here.

The following verses clearly show the will and desire to obey God come from God, not us. Yes, it is our desires but desires that God "works" in and through us by revealing to us His great glory. 

Philippians 2:12-13 English Standard Version (ESV) 

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Though we are in God's image which allows us (gives us the capacity) to honor and enjoy God, absent God's Spirit/Love we are dead to God. We are not the source/cause/initiators of sacrificial love. Only God is. We can only love sacrificially when we know God loves us sacrificially and "has our back" i.e. God honors and rewards us and all our actions when done for his honor.

For more discussions on obedience click here.  

For more discussion on how our worth is tied to God's click here. 

Obedience, the fruit of abiding.

To be ¹told we should be loving is true but alone it is not helpful. Being loving is not something we can by mere willpower, it comes from who we are. 

And who is that?  If we are in Christ, we are beloved children of God.

When we know (believe) we are loved, cherished, and valued, we will be loving. Being perfectly and infinitely loved frees us to love others. To use a biblical analogy if we abide - be, dwell, live - in the Vine we will bear much fruit. Without the love of Christ driving our conduct, we can do nothing truly honoring to God (Jn 15:5,9). We are designed for love and to love others, we only lack the power, or I should say we lack the love that empowers us to love others sacrificially.

That power is outside us and comes to us from the Source of love, i.e. God. When it does, it frees us from the need to be loved by others because we are already fully loved

by God in and through Christ, the vine. 

To follow the analogy, God the Father is the caretaker of the vine, the vine is the source of spiritual nutrients-sap to the branches. The branches bear fruit as the nutrients (love) flows through the Vine into the branches. As a result, instead of looking to others to meet our need for love - approval etc - we are freed by God's love - we can now look outward and not inward - and no longer need to tend to our own need for love because God already tends to it. And because he does we can now see the need of others and be the conduit of God's love to them. God's love for us, when we truly believe and receive it, frees us to love others i.e. fruit.

Knowing this is humbling. If or when people are inclined to praise us for our loving character or good deeds we recognize how totally bankrupt we are without God loving us 1st. Without Christ, we can not love as God loves or as we naturally love ourselves. Our actions are not flowing out or giving to others, but are designed instead to "get" or take from others. In fact, we cannot receive God's love until we see how desperately we are in need of it and how impossible it is for us to love others sacrificially - i.e. truly - without receiving God's love first. Only he can satisfy our need for love, which frees us to love others. Truly, without him, without our constant abiding in his love, we can do nothing (Jn 15:5) i.e. we can not love the way God loves.

For a further discussion on being vs doing click here

For a discussion on how our need for love is infinite click here

For a discussion on how conflict is rooted in the absence of love click here

For a discussion on how God has already proved his love click here

For a discussion on how the essence of our work in sanctification is to believe click here.

________________________________________Footnotes:

¹We think these are only words of obedience, but they are words of love and promise. Promise of what? Of his steadfast love. That he is the Vine through which this love and life flows to us causing us to be fruitful - obedient. When we believe these words we bear much fruit.

strength for self denial

To do things well for (1)others require we (2)deny ourselves.

Why? Our focus is not on our own needs and indulging in (3)self-affirming and self-comforting activities but on the (4)needs of another for their comfort and affirmation. Loving our neighbor as we love ourselves and treating others as we would have them treat us requires self-denial.

But self-denial isn't natural or even possible on our own. How do we do this?

The strength or ability to deny (5)ourselves doesn't come from us -   (8)our willpower - but can only occur when we look to and draw strength from God through increasing trust and dependence on Him. He, by his commitment of infinite love to us, is the source of our affirmation and comfort, not our efforts to self-affirm and self-comfort. 

What is it exactly we are asked to believe/trust in and how does this give us strength?

We are to recognize/believe we are of value, worth, significance, and importance objectively and personally to God i.e., we know/believe this is true because God says he feels this way about us and backed it up by His actions. 

Do we believe this? Is God ever wrong? We must have the right answer if we are to ever participate in his love and benefit from how he sees us.

Regardless of what we are feeling or experiencing, God's infinite regard/love for us has already been demonstrated and proven by sending Christ for us. His love is forever ours because of Christ. Nothing can or will ever separate us from it. 

It is through God's disposition of relentless, perfect, and infinite love we find strength. Therefore, it is God himself, who He is for us and toward us, that is the source of that strength. Because he - the sovereign creator of all things - is for us, nothing can be against us.

When we really and truly (6)“buy-in” to this, we no longer need to prove our worth - “self affirm”- by doing things to gain affirmation. We know we are already affirmed and it has nothing to do with what we do or don't do. Now we do things out of the strength we derive from that affirmation...God's affirmation. And not just a limited and temporary affirmation but an affirmation that is infinite (and will be eternal) because the source is the almighty infinite, eternal God. He is the "I AM" the only self-existing, infinite, eternal, most valuable, and glorious -- highly affirmed -- being in the universe.

What exactly is the nature of the strength we derive from God? In a word, it is simply knowing I am valuable to this God. When we fully grasp and believe this, nothing else matters. Or as Paul says it, "...if God is for us, who can be against us."

We are called to abide -- firmly remain standing -- in the belief and awareness of God's love/value for us. We are told by Christ himself to never lose sight of our being cherished and precious to him and to hold fast to this.

"As -- in the same way -- the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide -- continually remain and stand -- in my love." John 15:9. The very same love the Father has for a Son, the Son has for us.  What greater love is there in the universe than the Father's love of his Son. It is this same love he has for us. Selah -- Pause, reflect, and let that sink in.

How can we be certain God feels this way about us? He not only tells us this -- and because he is trustworthy, this alone is enough -- but He demonstrated it by His actions. 

Not just any actions but actions of infinite proportions. Looking intently into and constantly reflecting on what He and His Son denied themself of and put themself through is our proof. The closer and harder we look the more of his love we discover. 

This is why we do communion regularly, to remember and reflect on the actions Christ took to restore us back to them in all their infinite love. We are encouraged to remind ourselves (7)repeatedly of this amazing gesture of love. 

To continually reflect on these realities is to be strengthened by them. That strength empowers us to focus on others and not ourselves. "As -- in the same way -- the Father has sent me (Jesus) so I send you" i.e. in the power of knowing God's infinite love is ours and with us no matter what do, where we go, or how challenging it is. 

For a discussion on why faith is hard work click here.

For a further discussion on how the most valuable values us click here. 

For a discussion on the difference between loving vs, valuing click here.
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(1)God, our neighbor, and other brothers and sisters in Christ.

(2)Denying our self and death to self are tied together. There is no death to self without denying our self and to deny our self results in the death of self.

Death to self is not literal or absolute however i.e. we – our self – don't die but we die to self-loving, self-comforting, and self-sustaining behavior/actions as the source of our affirmation.

Death to self doesn't occur by devaluing ourselves, it is knowing our true value in Christ and loving others out of the infinite fountain of God and overflow of His love.

(3)Self-affirming activities are endless. It’s simply any activity we engage in solely to make us feel good about ourselves. This can be done through drugs, sex, food, achievement, money, entertainment, recreation, being better or different than others to make ourselves stand out in order to gain praise and on we can go. Fill in the blank.

It’s important to understand none of these things in themselves are necessarily wrong or bad. All things are created by God for His glory and our joy when understood and used properly. It’s why we seek them that becomes the problem i.e. do we see them as our gods from which we derive value, worth, significance, importance or as gifts from God because He considers us valuable, significant, important.

(4)This does not mean we find no joy in helping others, but that joy is in the other persons joy, not in the joy itself. It is an inclusive, not an exclusive joy.

(5)we - self, still need to be nourished if you will, emotionally and spiritually. This is not through self-effort but in and through God.

(6)This is a lifelong process and the essence of our spiritual development and maturity, i.e. our day-to-day sanctification. 

(7) Have you ever wondered why there is no prescribed schedule for communion. I suspect the reason God does not want us to do it as a ritual but as "oft" as we remember his love i.e. it's not an activity to impress God but one that springs forth from the worship of God. If it does not, it becomes a hoop to jump through. The exact opposite of what it's intended to do for us.  

(8) It does involve choice, but our choice is to believe God is honored in our loving our neighbor as we love ourselves and He will reward us for our faithful obedience and sacrificial love. This differs from willing ourselves to act solely to prove we can or impress others. The former is looking to and depending on God for grace to love others, and the latter is looking to ourselves with no regard for God and His will. This is subtle and not outwardly obvious because it's a matter of the heart, not our actions. 
 

Pleasing God

The master who said to his servants "...well done, good and faithful servant..." raises the question of when can we and do we please God and how. 

In one sense there is nothing we can do to make ourselves good (lovely/faithful) enough to be accepted by God. We simply are too broken (untrusting and suspicious of God) to ever live a life of complete, uninterrupted love and devotion to him unaided (i.e. on our own) that is equal to (does adequate justice to) who he is (all glorious and worthy of total honor) and what is properly due him (and which he also desires).

We can however - by the power and influence of God - out of his infinite love for us - made accessible by and through his unlimited grace - shed forth in our hearts by his Spirit - live for God's glory. In this way it is possible, and only in this way. This is in response to God and His perfect, infinite love, not the result of self generated effort i.e. willpower.

Are our wills involved? Absolutely! We have a choice and play a vital role in how we honor and please God. But it's a choice of believing (and receiving) or not believing the completeness and fullness of God's perfect love for us.

This is not a choice to will ourselves to "do or be better" e.g. "God, I am really sorry I blew it again. I am determined to do better next time. I'll prove it. Just watch and see." 

Wrong! There is nothing to prove. We all come up short. This is why Christ came!!! If we could honor God according to His glory, Christ's death would not have been necessary.

It is a choice of how much (to what extent) do we believe and receive his love for us. How much do we understand, recognize and accept that "¹it is finished" and there is nothing we will or ever can do to make it more so. It is a choice to receive and accept (bask in and even ²enjoy) his love - even when we blow it. 

And not only so, but the righteousness of Christ is also fully credited to us. If we are in Christ, the ³credit for His perfectly lived life of faithfulness is totally assigned to us - all of it! When God looks at the record of required and perfect faithfulness he sees the deeds of Christ listed as if they were ours. We are now looked upon by God as perfectly righteous/faithful/ moral.

As a result, God's love is now fully fixed (locked in) on us. He and it can never be removed (separated from us) or us from him (it).

Nor can his love be changed or added to, because of what Christ has already done for us. It is not based on what we do (or will do) for him i.e. it is not because we are deserving, but because Christ is. He earned this for us. 

Knowing this is vital to our being empowered to live for him because we can only truly love Him because he first loved us, never the other way around. Our love for (and faithfulness to) him is dependent on his love for us first and our believing and receiving (knowing) this total love. 

We are designed to be respondents to God's love, not initiators of love. God is his own cause (source) of love, we are not. How? Why? Because his love is rooted in the eternal and infinite relationship of love between the Father, Son, and Spirit. In short, we need him, he doesn't need us. 

It is vital we grasp the extent and fullness of God's love in order to be moved to love and desire (have affection for) him in return, over all other desires. The greater and fuller our understanding of this infinite love, the greater and fuller our response and the more honor and glory we bring to him.

And when we do respond (act) in this way, he is well pleased. And he is pleased not only because it brings him great honor (it puts him on greater display so others will be drawn to him) but also because it brings us great joy i.e. he is happy for us because he longs for our best i.e. he loves us. 

Matt 25:14-30

21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

• For a further discussion on the difference between willpower and affections click here. 

• For a discussion on the difference between God's objective and subjective love and presence click here

• For a discussion on experiencing and participating in God's love click here.

• For a discussion on his love being based solely on grace click 

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Footnotes:

¹"it" being the payment for and removal of all condemnation for our rebellious distrust; which is the essence of all sinful behavior.

²We enjoy the love itself. Of course, we don't enjoy grieving the one who so faithfully loves us (Jesus). However, when we understand nothing stops his love, not even our unfaithfulness, it moves us in greater love and a stronger desire to not grieve him (he is grieved for our sake, not his own). 

Our unfaithfulness only quenches a fuller experience of this unending love, not the love itself. It effects and diminishes us, not God. He remains the same. 

³Isn't it ironic of how offended we get when others receive credit for what we did?

Inspiration

Actions that come forth from the heart of one that trusts the perfect and infinitely loving God are steady (consistent), solid and strong. They come out of a heart resting in the certainty, steadiness (consistency) and absolute reliability of another i.e. In the strength derived from trusting in another's love, power, and wisdom toward them. 

Because the source (God) or object of our trust is steady, so can be the recipient (i.e. his children). The degree to which one believes in the consistency of God's love is the degree to which they will be consistent in the trust and faithfulness to this God of love. 

Actions that flow out of the heart of one who knows they are loved, are not forced. Those actions spring forth from an overflowing heart of one that knows they are infinitely loved, not from the heart of one seeking love and approval. 

These overflowing actions -- that are solid, steady, strong, and not forced -- do not result in pride but in humility, for they are inspired by and the fruit of another's reliability, strength, and kindness, not from the strength of only our willpower. To say it another way, our wills are steeled (fortified) by the one who calls us to follow him. 

·        We trust because of the absolute trustworthiness of the One trusted.

·        We love because of the infinite love of the One who loves us i.e. our love is the fruit of being loved by another i.e. God, the Source of love. 

Actions that cause us to have pride in ourselves are the fruit of self effort - aka the "flesh" - not fruit that springs forth from knowing and trusting we are relentlessly loved by another. 

Actions inspired by God's love and dependability (i.e. trustworthiness) result in humble gratitude to God. They are fruit inspired by him; from who he is  for us. He is the vine, we are the branches. 

Inspiration: 

In - comes from within. 

spiration - comes from the spirit.

i.e. inspiration is being moved by the spirit within us in response to God's Spirit of infinite love toward us. 

Inspiration generally can come either from ¹our spirit or Gods. If from ours only, it is designed to get something by giving something i.e. we give to get. If from God's, it is designed to give something because of what we have already received. 

(Even if it is only from our spirit, it is still from another in the ultimate sense, for we are created by another i.e. by God, in the image of another i.e. God. Everything we have and are is from him. This includes our spirit and all creativity that springs forth from us and out to others).

When actions (or attitudes) flow out of us from the inside they are not forced. They flow freely. They are inspired. 

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¹Some would argue we can be "inspired" by an evil spirit, particularly if we are not indwelt by God's Spirit. In this case I would say our natural abilities are engaged and utilized to create something through the outside influence of an evil spirit, for the purpose of garnering attention to ourselves. Some even deliberately try to summons and utilize this kind of influence for that end. 

Any unhealthy promotion of self, in itself, is opening up ourselves to be influenced by an "evil spirit." Evil being anything that causes harm to others (God or men) or ourselves. Actions solely for our benefit do not usually benefit others - unless it is some kind of co-dependent relationship. 

But even in a co-dependent relationship, the motive by each partner in the relationship is to get something from the other, not solely to give something to the other. It is a mutual using of the other to get what each needs and seeks. Co-dependent relationships work as long as each feels overall they are getting as much or more than they give. Once either feels they are giving more than giving, it falls apart. 

A truly loving relationship is focused on the benefit of the other out of the strength of knowing they are infinitely loved individually by the Creator i.e. a truly loving relationship can not occur without being plugged in and empowered by the infinite Source of love.

Though there my be short term gain in self exaltation and promotion there is long term harm and destruction. We simply were never designed to be - and never will be - all we are created to be through and by self effort. 

We can only truly (i.e. permanently and fully) flourish when we are operating by, under, and in the power and influence of God and his love - i.e. by God's Spirit - not in an effort to acquire love.