Becoming Worldly Saints

Auteur

Michael Wittmer is currently Professor of Systematic Theology at GRTS in Grand Rapids, MI. He is the author of Heaven Is a Place on Earth, Don't Stop Believing, The Last Enemy, and Despite Doubt. He and his wife, Julie, live in Grand Rapids, Michigan with their three children: Avery, Landon, and Alayna.

Texte du rabat

In Becoming Worldly Saints, Michael Wittmer addresses the tension that many Christians feel between enjoying life and living with purpose in this world, knowing that it is fallen and broken. Wittmer unpacks the biblical narrative of creation, fall, and redemption as a framework for how we can live with joy---free from guilt---in a not-yet-redeemed world.

Résumé

If following Jesus involves a life of sacrifice and suffering, is it wrong for a Christian to seek purpose and joy in this world?

Many Christians sense a tension between their desire to enjoy life in this world—the beauty of God’s creation, the rich love of deep relationships with others—and the reality that this world is fallen and broken, in need of redemption. How can we embrace and thrive in the tension between enjoying creation and promoting redemption? By living out our God-given purpose.

As “worldly saints,” created in the image of God, we are natural creatures with a supernatural purpose—to know and love God. Because we live in a world that is stained by the curse of sin, we must learn to embrace our nature as creatures created in the image of God while recognizing our desperate need for the grace that God offers to us in the gospel.

Writing in a devotional style that is theologically rich, biblically accurate, and aimed at ordinary readers, Mike Wittmer helps readers understand who they are, why they are here, and the importance of the story they tell themselves. In Becoming Worldly Saints, he gives an integrated vision that shows how we can be heavenly minded in a way that leads to earthly good, empowering believers to seize the abundant life God has for them.

Contenu
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Fables 2. God's Story Creation 3. It's All Good 4. You Are Home 5. Worldly Saints 6. More Spiritual than God 7. Where Do You Enjoy God's World? Creation Contains the Meaning of Life 8. Love God 9. Serve Others 10. Cultivate the Earth 11. Rest Every Seven Days 12. What Is Your Calling? Fall 13. The Fall Happened 14. The Fall Happens 15. The Fallout from the Fall 16. Gender Wars 17. Racism 18. How Do You Fight the Fall? Redemption 19. The Gospel of Jesus 20. It's Personal 21. It's Social 22. Already but Not Yet 23. It's Cosmic 24. It's More 25. What Now?