Well, my week as a "guest blogger" has come to an end. Justin is soon coming home from his vacation and will grace this blog once again with his intelligent and charitable presence. I know we have all been looking forward to his return. Before I leave you all, however, I wanted to respond to the many who asked me about my forthcoming book Do I Know God ? (due to be released on August 21st). I thought the best way for me to answer your questions about the book would be to post a portion of my answer to a friend who asked me last week to tell him something about it. This is what I told him:
I wrote the book to answer two basic questions: 1) is God knowable, and, if he is, 2) how can I know that I know God. The bulk of the book deals with this second question. In theological terms, it’s basically a book on assurance of salvation. Sadly, I meet so many people who are confused regarding whether or not they truly know God. In the book I say that if you don’t know God, he wants you to know it. If you do know God, he wants you to know it. The two things God does not want is for you to think you know God if you don’t and for you to think you don’t know God if you do. It’s very sobering, but the Bible makes it clear that we can possess false assurance. Jesus says in Matthew 7 that there are multitudes of people who go through life thinking they know God when in fact they don’t. They enter eternity thinking they will hear “well done good and faithful servant” when in fact they will hear, “Depart from me I never knew you.” C.S. Lewis describes this horrific event as “being banished from the presence of him who is everywhere and erased from the knowledge of him who knows all.” Scary stuff. So I try to identify 6 ways that someone might be deceived into thinking they have a relationship with God when in fact they don’t. And then I move into three ways one can know that they know God: believing God’s promises, loving God’s presence, and obeying God’s precepts. Or, to put it another way, knowing that you know God involves what you believe, what you love, and how you behave. Knowing that you belong to God, having a deep sense of your eternal security, not only provides a sure and steadfast anchoring for your soul, but it radically changes the way you live here and now. There’s nothing more vital, nothing more satisfying, than knowing God and knowing that you know God.
I also wrote this book for pastors. If a pastor would ask me, “Why should I read this book”, I would say, “This book will help you present the Gospel in such a way that those listening won’t be confused about whether or not they know God.” I give some real practical pointers regarding ways in which we as pastors tend to confuse people with some of the things we say and don’t say. It’s imperative, in my opinion, that pastors understand the need to help people rightly identify their spiritual condition. I think this book will help them do that.
It has been a true privilege to "meet" so many of you over the last week. I feel like I've made many new friends. You have encouraged me, sharpened me, and spiritually stimulated me in numerous ways. Please stay in touch. You can do this best by contacting me through our website http://www.newcityfl.com/ I'd love to hear from you. "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all" (2 Thessalonians 3:16).