"…I’ve been reading more of
Jonathan Edwards, who is a great American theologian. The one thing he
continually brings up … It strikes me over and over again, and I see it more
and more in the Scripture.
That is he says the difference between a real Christian and just a religious person, the difference between a real regenerated (he would say) Christian, a Christian with a regenerated or renewed heart by the Holy Spirit, and just a religious person is the religious person finds God useful, but the real Christian finds God beautiful. That’s the essence of the difference. In other words, he would say verse 4 is the very essence of the cry of a real Christian heart. This is the essence.
He would say a Christian and a religious person … you put them together, and they may both be obedient to God. Let me go further. They may both be very committed to God … really, really committed to God. I’ll go further. They may both be bowing to God and submitted to God. One step further. They may even be both desperately seeking God. The religious is driven, and the Christian is attracted.
That’s the difference, because, you see, the religious person may be desperate for God, but the religious person wants what God can give. In the religious person, the eye of your heart has found something so beautiful, and you’re going to God to get it. If God doesn’t give it to you, you walk away because the thing that is truly beautiful to you … You may be very committed. You may be giving yourself, but the thing that’s most beautiful to you in the whole world isn’t God himself.
Therefore, you see, religious people want God to do things for them. They’re very upset if he doesn’t. A Christian above everything else wants only one thing, and that is God himself. When God comes to Abraham, he says, “I am thy shield …” We all want that, but get this. “… and thy exceeding great reward.” The religious person says, “You’re my reward. That’s it? You’re my reward? How about physical safety? How about just a use for my gifts in my work? How about a happy family?”
God says, “I am thy reward.” A religious person doesn’t get that. They say, “That’s it?” You see, a Christian is somebody who says, “One thing. The thing I want is you. The thing I find beautiful is you.” You see, to find something beautiful is to say, “This isn’t a means to anything. This is the thing.” If you’ve ever experienced an incredibly beautiful piece of music … Now, you know, it’s different for all of us, is that not true?
A certain piece of music will just overwhelm you. You put it on, and you sit, and you listen to it. What happens? You weep. You’re overwhelmed. It washes over you, and you forget everything else. It’s sort of like your beauty sensors just can’t take any more. They’re overflowing. They’re backed up into the rest of your system. There’s nothing else you could do. This isn’t a means to anything. This is the thing itself. This is what you live for … to experience the beauty.
You don’t say, “Jesus will be really useful.” No. Useful for what? See, there has to be a bottom line somewhere. There has to be a bottom line. Everything is useful for something, but at some point, you have to rest and say, “This is it. I’m doing this. I’m doing this to get to …” What? For the Christian, God is the ultimate beauty. I was just reading one of Edwards’ sermons (a sermon he wrote when he was 20). It was on the text of 2 Corinthians 2:14.
The name of the sermon is A Spiritual Understanding of Divine Things Denied the Unregenerate. That’s the name of the sermon. Aren’t you glad you have a minister whose titles are different? A Spiritual Understanding of Divine Things Denied the Unregenerate. This is a paraphrase of a typical passage.
“The regenerate soul, the real Christian, sees a beauty and an amiableness and tastes an incomparable sweetness that is all together hidden from the unregenerate. Unbelievers may know about spiritual beauty by hearsay. They may even be able to make fine speeches about spiritual beauty. To the regenerate, God has given a glance and there breaks in upon the soul a heavenly sweetness, such a sense of the amiableness and holiness and an excellency in God and a sweet loveliness in Christ. He sees by new light that was never before let into his mind.”
That’s the difference. A Christian is somebody who actually says not, “I’m in this. I want to pray.” You see, here’s the difference. A religious person prays and says, “I get nothing out of it. God never answers my prayer.” A Christian is somebody who finds praise and contemplation of God far and away the deepest and most satisfying part of prayer."
— Timothy Keller, The beauty of God
That is he says the difference between a real Christian and just a religious person, the difference between a real regenerated (he would say) Christian, a Christian with a regenerated or renewed heart by the Holy Spirit, and just a religious person is the religious person finds God useful, but the real Christian finds God beautiful. That’s the essence of the difference. In other words, he would say verse 4 is the very essence of the cry of a real Christian heart. This is the essence.
He would say a Christian and a religious person … you put them together, and they may both be obedient to God. Let me go further. They may both be very committed to God … really, really committed to God. I’ll go further. They may both be bowing to God and submitted to God. One step further. They may even be both desperately seeking God. The religious is driven, and the Christian is attracted.
That’s the difference, because, you see, the religious person may be desperate for God, but the religious person wants what God can give. In the religious person, the eye of your heart has found something so beautiful, and you’re going to God to get it. If God doesn’t give it to you, you walk away because the thing that is truly beautiful to you … You may be very committed. You may be giving yourself, but the thing that’s most beautiful to you in the whole world isn’t God himself.
Therefore, you see, religious people want God to do things for them. They’re very upset if he doesn’t. A Christian above everything else wants only one thing, and that is God himself. When God comes to Abraham, he says, “I am thy shield …” We all want that, but get this. “… and thy exceeding great reward.” The religious person says, “You’re my reward. That’s it? You’re my reward? How about physical safety? How about just a use for my gifts in my work? How about a happy family?”
God says, “I am thy reward.” A religious person doesn’t get that. They say, “That’s it?” You see, a Christian is somebody who says, “One thing. The thing I want is you. The thing I find beautiful is you.” You see, to find something beautiful is to say, “This isn’t a means to anything. This is the thing.” If you’ve ever experienced an incredibly beautiful piece of music … Now, you know, it’s different for all of us, is that not true?
A certain piece of music will just overwhelm you. You put it on, and you sit, and you listen to it. What happens? You weep. You’re overwhelmed. It washes over you, and you forget everything else. It’s sort of like your beauty sensors just can’t take any more. They’re overflowing. They’re backed up into the rest of your system. There’s nothing else you could do. This isn’t a means to anything. This is the thing itself. This is what you live for … to experience the beauty.
You don’t say, “Jesus will be really useful.” No. Useful for what? See, there has to be a bottom line somewhere. There has to be a bottom line. Everything is useful for something, but at some point, you have to rest and say, “This is it. I’m doing this. I’m doing this to get to …” What? For the Christian, God is the ultimate beauty. I was just reading one of Edwards’ sermons (a sermon he wrote when he was 20). It was on the text of 2 Corinthians 2:14.
The name of the sermon is A Spiritual Understanding of Divine Things Denied the Unregenerate. That’s the name of the sermon. Aren’t you glad you have a minister whose titles are different? A Spiritual Understanding of Divine Things Denied the Unregenerate. This is a paraphrase of a typical passage.
“The regenerate soul, the real Christian, sees a beauty and an amiableness and tastes an incomparable sweetness that is all together hidden from the unregenerate. Unbelievers may know about spiritual beauty by hearsay. They may even be able to make fine speeches about spiritual beauty. To the regenerate, God has given a glance and there breaks in upon the soul a heavenly sweetness, such a sense of the amiableness and holiness and an excellency in God and a sweet loveliness in Christ. He sees by new light that was never before let into his mind.”
That’s the difference. A Christian is somebody who actually says not, “I’m in this. I want to pray.” You see, here’s the difference. A religious person prays and says, “I get nothing out of it. God never answers my prayer.” A Christian is somebody who finds praise and contemplation of God far and away the deepest and most satisfying part of prayer."
— Timothy Keller, The beauty of God
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