Leslie Wiggins of Lux Venit and I are in the beginning stages of a month-long series on the 31 chapters of John Piper's book The Purifying Power of Living By Faith in Future Grace, better known as Future Grace. We welcome you to join us in the journey.
Mere Gratitude Won't Fill Your Tank for the Next Hundred Miles
In yesterday's post, I ruminated on the danger of 'mere gratitude.' Its only orientation is backwards. Reflecting on our Saviour's finished work on the cross is paramount, of course. Remembering who I once was before the saving blood of Christ purchased me is is important, of course. We must not forget what our eyes have seen (Deut 4:9), nor forget the works of His hand (Ps 78:7), nor forget the covenant of God (Prov 2:17), nor forget the shame and affliction of separation from the father that Christ endured on our behalf (Heb 12:2).
But in Philippians 3:12-16, Paul evidently does want to forget something. But what is that something exactly? What lies behind. That's pretty exhaustive. Paul is using what as a pronoun to imply whatever. Now, I'm no Piper, but I have reason to believe that Paul may be referring to what I previously referred to as 'mere gratitude.' When a runner looks back, he or she is only looking back, which results in athletic tragedies such as John Landy's "Miracle Mile" loss to Sir Roger Bannister in the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. Landy lost because he looked back; while he was looking back, he couldn't help but fail to see Bannister pass him on the other side.
We shouldn't look back, we should press on. But how does this fit in with Piper's discussion of faith in future grace? Back to Philippians 3, where in verse 16 Paul exhorts his hearers, "Only let us hold true to what we have attained." To paraphrase, let us keep on with more of the same. The grace that has sustained us thus far is fuel for the faith to take us through the next lap and beyond. We can drink the same bottle of spiritual Gatorade for the next 5000 metres, even into eternity.
Again, I'm reminded of Piper's admonition to live between two lines of 'Amazing Grace':
Tis grace has brought me safe thus far
And grace will lead me home
You can also see it in Thomas Chisholm's famous hymn, 'Great Is Thy Faithfulness':
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside
Where's My Backup?
In this chapter Piper takes pains to show how the New Testament, even more so than the Old, identifies faith as the Christian motivator to passionate obedience. The oft-quoted Hebrews Hall of Fame notably enumerates those biblical figures whose faith drove them to obedience. He goes on to exonerate gratitude from the bad rap he subjected it to in these first two chapters, but makes no excuses about dismissing it as a motivator for radical Christian obedience.
I'm left with three observations.
Firstly, in our church we sing many, many songs which portray us as debtors to Christ, debtors to grace, debtors to mercy alone. In light of Piper's effective puncture of The Debtor's Ethic as motivation for obedience, are we right to sing that we owe God all we are? In one sense, yes: we belong to Him, we have been bought with a price (1 Cor 6:20). In another sense, no: we can never repay Him, so it would be supremely dishonourable to Him to attempt to remunerate Him for ransoming us from the wages of sin. It's a poor example, but it's akin to foisting a five-dollar bill on your parents who have just bought you a car for Christmas. It's insulting, is what it is. I suppose I have some heavy thinking to do about some lyrics.
Secondly, I get the distinct impression that even after multiple printings, possible revisions, and superb editing by Steve Halliday, Piper is sometimes left grasping for words with which to express concepts too lofty for the English language. At one point he says, "What honors never-ending, inexhaustible future grace is moment-by-moment 'payments' (not a good word) of trust." Those are his own words in his own parentheses. I was struck once again how difficult it can be to articulate heavenly realities in imperfect, human speech. No wonder Piper needs 31 chapters to explain 'faith in future grace' to us.
Thirdly, and most significantly, 'mere gratitude' doesn't magnify God to the extent that future grace does. It is easier, both experientially and theologically, to look back and say, "yes, God was in that, and that, and that. I can see how Romans 8:28 has worked in my life." But Romans 8:28 isn't solely about the past, but about the present, and...gulp...the future. In Piper's words, "faith in future grace is constantly saying to gratitude, 'There is more grace to come, and all our obedience is to be done in reliance on that future grace. Relax and exult in your appointed feast. I will take responsibility for tomorrow's obedience.' "
Leslie has posted her thoughts about Chapter 2 here.
