[Lee Grzywinski]

Hello, Faithful Readers!

As Packer finishes up the book, I like that he devotes a chapter to the careful application of Biblical truth. All the glories revealed in Christ, all the promises that are fulfilled and surely yet to be fulfilled, all the assurance of salvation we can have as adopted children of God – as wonderful and as real as these are, so too are the trials of this life real. The painful process of becoming holy is real. “God does not make [our] circumstances notably easier; rather the reverse.” We are, as Packer says, exercised by God in a “tougher school” as we mature. Yet struggle does not mean defeat! It can mean a great victory if it draws us closer to God. May we be faithful as God teaches us “the ways of adult Godliness.” And let us never forget that it is all of grace.

In the final chapter, Packer sums it all up: God is enough! His brief breakdown of Romans is so good, especially how practical he makes Romans 8. That God is for us has practical application to everything we do. But we must always remember that God is for us. He chose us (or “claimed” us, as Packer puts it), not the other way around, so how could He not be for us? In light of this, we should be willing to go “the whole way into the Christian life.” Anything less betrays some unbelief in us. “Knowing God involves a personal relationship whereby you give yourself to God on the basis of His promise to give Himself to you.” And He has given Himself to us in Christ!

[Lynne Mazza-Hilway]

Misapplied doctrine, “unreality toward God”, keeps us from truly ‘knowing God’. Stressing the rough side of Christian life, playing down the bright side or vice versa. “God can bring good out of the extremes of our own folly; He actively uses our sins and mistakes towards His ends. He is very gentle with very young Christians, encouraging and establishing them in ‘the life’. But as they grow stronger He exposes them to testing to build character, strengthen faith and prepare us to help others, thus glorifying Himself. By exposing them to strong attacks from the world, the flesh and the devil, so that our power of resistance might grow greater, leaving our spiritual infancy behind, He continues to work out His grace in those He loves.” (Boy did I need that encouragement presently, praise Him!) I love how Packer uses
the beautiful, poignant words in hymns to bring home his points.

And I love how he concludes with a culminating review of his book, using the Book of Romans, “the high point of scripture”, to highlight his points as well as offering a perspective to read and understand Paul’s letter. Packer outlines Paul’s four thoughts that really drive home who God is: He is for us, gives us all good things, including sacrificing His Son (dare we ask for more; we will never need more than He can supply), He justifies us and no one can separate us from His perfect, divine love. We are to respond by yielding to Him as ‘slaves of righteousness’ and obedience, ‘the best measure of a spiritual life’. “Those who know God in Christ have found the secret of true freedom and true humanity; the true priority for any human being (should be) learning to know God in Christ.” Amen!

[Theresa]

I thought it was so good that the author took the time to go into great detail about both extremes of the skewed impressions of becoming a Christian and how both can be damaging in different ways. It was such an encouragement for me to be reminded of how much of the Bible deals with godly people making mistakes and how God doesn’t just throw them away or give up on them but instead how He corrects their actions and uses those mistakes and failures. What a great comfort that is!

For me, the last chapter blew me away. I wasn’t quite sure how I thought the book would end but my heart was so encouraged as I read and was reminded about the adequacy of God through Romans 8. When the author talked about thinking against your feelings and to let “evangelical thinking correct emotional thinking” – that is such valuable and sound advice. The part that truly got me was when the author started talking about how we are unlike the Christians of the New Testament. The half-conscious fears, the dread of insecurity, rather than any deliberate refusal to face the cost of following Christ, which make us hold back. It caused me to examine my own fears and ways I might be holding back and how that dishonors God. And to reread his “walk through” of Romans and be reminded of those truths and how costly our redemption was. If God is for us – who can be against us? To be reminded that God will give what we need exactly when we need it. That He hears me when I cry out to Him. That God won’t ever disinherit us as His children. That nothing can separate us from His love. “Your God is faithful to you, and He is adequate for you. You will never need more than He can supply, and what He supplies, both materially and spiritually will always be enough for the present.” That has held true in my life. I am once again in awe of who God is and all that He has done.

I have thoroughly enjoyed doing this book club and reading everyone’s thoughts on the chapters. I have very much appreciated how both the book and the posts have encouraged me seek to get to know God more. 🙂

[Author]

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