Habits Of Grace

The Christian life is built on three seemingly unremarkable practices: reading the Bible, prayer, and fellowship with other believers. However, according to David Mathis, such “habits of grace” are the God-designed channels through which his glorious grace flows—making them life-giving practices for all Christians. Whether it’s hearing God’s voice (the Word), having his ear (prayer), or participating in his body (fellowship), such spiritual rhythms of the Christian life have the power to awaken our souls to God’s glory and stir our hearts for lifelong service in his name. What’s more, these seemingly simple practices grant us access to a host of spiritual blessings that we can only begin to imagine this side of eternity—and the incredible joy that such blessings bring to God’s children today.

Put Yourself in the Path of God's Grace This study guide is designed to help you connect more deeply with the three crucial power sources for the Christian life: hearing God's voice (in the Bible), having his ear (in prayer), and belonging to his body (in the fellowship of the church). Created as a supplement to the book Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines by David Mathis, and intended for individual and small-group study alike, this 31-day resource includes relevant Scripture readings, discussion questions tied to specific sections of the book, and prompts for applying each lesson to your everyday life. Rehearsing and reiterating key practices outlined in Habits of Grace, this study guide will equip you to stay focused on the gospel as you cultivate your own specific life-transforming habits aimed at keeping you connected to the grace of God in Jesus.

Our God is lavish in his grace. He's free to liberally dispense his goodness without the least bit of cooperation or preparation on our part, and often he does. But he also has regular channels through which he pours out his favor. These are sometimes called "spiritual disciplines" or "means of grace." We as Christians can routinely avail ourselves of these revealed paths of blessing, positioning ourselves to go on getting as God keeps on giving. His regular channels of grace are his voice, his ear, and his body--the Bible, prayer, and fellowship. The greatest grace along these paths is knowing and enjoying Jesus himself. HEARING GOD'S VOICE The fundamental means of God's ongoing grace, through his Spirit, in the life of the Christian and the life of the church is God's self-expression in his Word, in the gospel, perfectly kept for us and on display in all its textures, riches, and hues in the external written word of the Scriptures. The Bible is for us. The whole Bible is for the whole church. There's simply no replacement for finding a regular time and place, blocking out distractions, and letting your mind and heart be led and captured and thrilled by God himself communicating through his objective written words. As you read, learn to linger over a text, whether seeking to better understand it ("study"), or to emotionally glory in that understanding ("meditation"), or to memorize a portion to help renew your mind throughout the day. As we understand and engage with Scripture's meaning, we refocus our souls for living out our day. We increasingly "have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16) as we're conformed to his image. HAVING GOD'S EAR As we go deep in God's revelation, taking it into our very souls and being changed by his truth, we respond to him in prayer. God not only bids us hear his voice; he wants to hear ours. Prayer, for the Christian, is not merely talking to God, but responding to the One who has initiated toward us. He has spoken first. This is not a conversation we start, but a relationship into which we've been drawn. Prayer makes its requests of God, but is not content to only receive from God. Prayer must have him. Prayer is ultimately about having more of God. Private prayer shows who we really are spiritually. It's essential in healing the many places we find ourselves broken, needy, lacking, and rebellious. Prayer changes hearts like nothing else. It's for all of life, and especially for our life together in community. Praying together adds power to the request, but also means more glory for the Giver when he answers. BELONGING TO HIS BODY We were made to worship Jesus together. Corporate worship is the single most important means of grace and our greatest weapon in the fight for joy. More than any other means, corporate worship combines all three principles of God's ongoing grace: his word, prayer, and fellowship. In corporate worship, our focus together is the crucified and risen Christ and the incomparable excellencies of his person and work. We experience the secret of worship--the joy of self-forgetfulness--as we become preoccupied together with Jesus and his manifold perfections. In our gatherings for corporate worship, hearing the fresh preaching of the gospel from the Scriptures is the climactic grace. It's that moment among the assembled church when God speaks most clearly and completely. In faithful Christian preaching, we not only hear about Jesus, but we meet him. The act of preaching itself is a picture of the gospel. As the preacher stands behind the Book, doing his level best to reveal Jesus afresh to his people, our Lord is put on display. When we listen, we realize that what we need is not some boost from a trusted fellow to get us over the wall, but the rescue of the Savior for the utterly helpless. And so Jesus was sent not only to die as the remedy, but to preach (Luke 4:43). Jesus himself is the person the Scriptures most often refer to as preaching. Jesus was the ultimate preacher, but after his ascension, the preaching doesn't disappear. When we turn to Acts in the Bible, preaching is alive and well as ever. The preaching of the Groom [Jesus] extends into the life of the church. GRACE WILD AND FREE In considering these means of grace and the habits that help us go on receiving God's grace in our lives, this much must be made clear: These things are never about earning God's favor. God's grace is unmeasured, boundless, wild--and free. Because of it, we're enabled to repent of our sins and to believe God's promises. It is grace to be forgiven of sinful acts and grace to be supplied the heart for righteous ones. It is grace that we are increasingly "conformed to the image of his Son" (Romans 8:29), and grace that he doesn't leave us in the misery of our sin but pledges to bring to completion the good work he has begun in us (Philippians 1:6). This flood of God's favor brings us his forgiveness and our adoption as his children. It starts us on the path of grace-empowered effort and initiative. Have you taken the first step on this journey?

Examining the influence of Thomas Aquinas and his followers upon the seventeenth century Puritan theologian John Owen, this book breaks new ground in exploring the impact of medieval thought upon Reformed scholasticism. Cleveland argues that Owen uses Thomistic ideas in two ways: first in an Augustinian fashion arguing against Pelagian and semi-Pelagian ideas of human independency; second in a Trinitarian fashion, with Thomistic ideas affecting the understanding of each person of the Trinity. The resulting theological formulation is strongly Western and Orthodox and provides a helpful model for theological formulation seeking to build upon a Western Christian foundation. The works of the Reformed theologian John Owen have long been admired for their depth and theological sophistication. In this book Cleveland fills a significant gap in Owen studies by pursuing a deeper understanding of the role that Thomas Aquinas and the school of thought known as Thomism played in Owen's theology, from his works on providence and salvation by the Holy Spirit to his Christological work.

Paul Helm breaks fertile ground in this survey of theological anthropology in the Reformed tradition. Acknowledging the rich patristic and medieval heritage available to Reformed theologians, Helm works through a representative range of authors and materials during the period 1550 to 1750 in order to identify certain ways of thinking as well as elements of development and change. Addressing topics like the relation of body and soul, faculty psychology, and moral agency, Helm develops a compelling picture of Reformed thought on human nature that is sure to encourage more studies on this topic for years to come.

This is an accessible introduction to the life and thought of John Duns Scotus (c. 1266--1308), the scholastic philosopher and theologian who came to be called the Subtle Doctor. A native of Scotland (as his name implies), Scotus became a Franciscan and taught in Oxford, Paris, and Cologne. In his writings he put Aristotelian thought to the service of Christian theology and was the founder of a school of scholasticism called Scotism, which was often opposed to the Thomism of the followers of Thomas Aquinas. In particular, Scotus is well known for his defense of contra-causal free will and logical possibility and for his account of individuation in terms of "haecceity" or "thisness." Cross offers a clear introductory account of the most significant aspects of Scotus's theological thought. Theology is here construed broadly to include Scotus's philosophical investigation of God's existence and attributes. In addition to providing a clear, though not always uncritical, outline of Scotus's positions, Cross aims to show how Scotus's theories fit into modern debates, particularly contemporary debates in philosophical theology, and to point out Scotus's historical significance in the development of theology.

Assurance was a central issue for the eminent Scottish theologian-pastor Thomas Boston long before it emerged as a focal point of the theological debate in the Marrow Controversy. In The Marrow of Certainty, Chun Tse presents the first full-length study of Boston's theology of assurance in six dimensions: trinitarian, covenantal, Christological, soteriological, ecclesiastical, and sacramental. This work not only furnishes the first-ever intellectual biography of Boston in his Scottish context and controversies, but it also cross-studies the theology of the Marrow of Modern Divinity with Boston's notes. This research argues that Boston's doctrine of assurance centres on union and communion with Christ, the architectonic principle of his theology. The book challenges the common conception that Boston's theology merely follows Calvin, the Scots Confession, the Marrow, the Westminster Standards, and Scottish federalism. Boston, most strikingly, holds in tension assurance as intrinsic to faith—itself a gift from God's sovereignty in election—while insisting on self-examination as a human responsibility. This salient mark of his doctrine of assurance originates from his assertion that Christ died for the elect alone but all—elect or not—have the warrant to receive Christ. As such, assurance is, theologically, a divine gift and, pastorally, a human endeavour. Certainty is thus both extra nos and intra nos. Boston, this study reveals, has a potent and enduring power to speak on the perennial issue of assurance, rooted in the person of Christ, whom he considers as being the covenant itself.

The Christian doctrine of justification is of immense interest to historians and theologians ,and continues to be of major importance in modern ecumenical discussions. The present work appeared in its first edition in 1986, and rapidly became the leading reference work on the subject. Its many acclaimed features include a detailed assessment of the semantic background of the concept in the Ancient Near East, a thorough examination of the doctrine of the medieval period, and an especially careful analysis of its development during the critical years of the sixteenth century. The substantially rewritten fourth edition thoroughly updates the work, responding to the latest developments in scholarly literature and user feedback. It will remain an essential resource for all concerned with the development of Christian doctrine, the history of the Reformation debates on the identity of Christianity, and modern discussions between Protestants and Roman Catholics over the nature of salvation.