At the end of this past week’s sermon, I made a point that perhaps could use a bit more explanation. I said:
“You may notice that I’m not leaving you with any specific actions steps, and I often don’t leave you with action steps. This isn’t because there are no action steps in God’s word; there are many.
This is because the root and ground and foundation and motivation behind all the action steps—the thing that must come first and that explains them all—is seeing God for who he is, and seeing him in Jesus.
And that is something that we need continually, no matter how long we’ve been following Christ.”
It is tempting to always end a sermon with a clear action step, with some charge to go “do” something. And it is probably the case, that many people come to church desiring this: “Just tell me what I need to do.”
There may be various reasons for this, some praiseworthy, and some that need corrected. In the former case, we may want actions steps because we know God rules over our lives, and that we are submit every aspect of our lives to him. This is good.
In the latter case, we may want action steps because we simply want to know how God can help us improve our lives, but we don’t really want God himself. Or, it may be that “doing” something is an easier way to respond to God, without really giving our heart and whole selves to him.
But whatever the case, there is much more to being a Christian—to living before the face of God—than finding out what we ought to do and not do. Boiling it down to doing the right things and refraining from the wrong things is called legalism: thinking that all God wants is our outward obedience, and that we can earn his love and salvation by our actions (and thus don’t need him as a Savior).
Rather, God wants our hearts, which means he is intimately interested in our loves, desires, affections, wills, and pursuits. God is about forming his people to truly love and delight in him, above all else. And when he forms in us this new, godward heart, we do seek to obey him and honor him with all that we “do” and “don’t do.”
So, back to my sermon comment. While I typically scatter clear applications of how to live throughout a sermon, and sometimes it is the main focus, depending on the text, I also aim much deeper, at the heart and will. And I believe the thing that changes and forms the heart and will is beholding God in all his glory. More specifically, I believe we are changed by God’s Spirit working through God’s word to make known God’s glory to us. The deepest and most important aspects about us—our hearts, wills, desires, affections and motivations—are formed as we encounter God in all his glory, goodness, and grace.
This point could be drawn from many parts of Scripture, but perhaps the most succinct place to see it is 2 Corinthians 4:6 (and also verse 4):
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Being a Christian can be described as truly seeing “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” And then continuing to see with increasing clarity and fullness.
So, my hope and prayer and intention in preaching (and in ministry in general) is that all present would have an “encounter” with God as they see him more clearly—or perhaps for the first time—and see him specifically in the glory of the person and work of Jesus. And that in this, they find God to be a greater and more desirable treasure than anything or anyone else (Matthew 13:44-46).
This is what we need the most. This is what leads to the greatest life change. And this is what God is up to in the lives of his people.