Living the Cross-Centered Life |
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Study guide to Mahaney - 19 April 2009
Neil Robbie, Minister of Holy Trinity Church, West Bromwich, has applied his considerable pastoral nous to producing some study notes for C. J. Mahaney’s Living the Cross-Centered Life. If you’ve enjoyed these snippets of Mahaney’s fabulous little book, Neil’s study guide would be well worth a look.
How many times must I forgive my brother? - 17 April 2009
C. J. Mahaney on forgiving others:
When I become bitter or unforgiving toward others, I’m assuming that the sins of others are more serious than my sins against God. The cross transforms my perspective. Through the cross I realize that no sin committed against me will ever be as serious as the innumerable sins I’ve committed against God. When we understand how much God has forgiven us, it’s not difficult to forgive others. (Living the Cross-Centered Life, pp. 154-155)
A sneaking suspicion - 17 April 2009
Too many Christians feel guilty, unable to get over the sneaking suspicion that they’re just too bad for God to deal with.
Some insightful questions from C. J. Mahaney’s Living the Cross-Centered Life, to help us diagnose the problem:
Do you relate to God as if you were on a kind of permanent probation, suspecting that at any moment He may haul you back into the jail cell of His disfavor?
When you come to worship to you maintain a ‘respectful distance’ from God, as if He were a fascinating but ill-tempered celebrity known for lashing out at His fans?
Are you more aware of your sin than you are of God’s grace, given to you through the cross? (p. 125)
And finally, a quick reminder:
Don’t buy the lie that wallowing in your shame is pleasing to God. (p. 126)
Legalism - 16 April 2009
Legalism unpacked, by C. J. Mahaney:
A legalist is anyone who behaves as if they can earn God’s forgiveness through personal performance. …. It says to God, in effect, ‘Your plan didn’t work. The cross wasn’t enough and I need to add my good works to it to be saved.’ …. Legalism is essentially self-atonement for the purpose of self-glorification and ultimately for self-worship. It is the pinnacle of pride for me to assume that by my good works I could ever morally obligate God to forgive me, justify me, or accept me. (Living the Cross-Centered Life, pp. 113-114)
This present darkness - 16 April 2009
Another great one-liner from C. J. Mahaney’s Living the Cross-Centered Life:
Regardless of how dark a day becomes, regardless of the severity of the anguish we’ll experience, He’s always present… and that is sufficient. (p. 101)
Better than I deserve - 15 April 2009
The best spontaneity is planned spontaneity, and C. J. Mahaney is a master of it.
It was a crowded morning in Starbucks. I was standing with several customers who formed two parallel lines leading toward the counter. As my turn came to step forward and order coffee, the young man serving me smiled and said, ‘Hey, how are you?’ …. ‘Better than I deserve,’ I answered. (Living the Cross-Centered Life, p. 59)
Who d’you think you’re looking at? - 15 April 2009
C. J. Mahaney notes Sinclair Ferguson’s observation that evangelicals tend to be ‘far better at looking inward than we are at looking outward. Instead, we need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing, and extolling Jesus Christ’ (Living the Cross-Centered Life, p. 40).
Pastoral objectivity - 15 April 2009
C. J. Mahaney, Living the Cross-Centered Life, p. 35:
The humble are those whose first response to objective truth from God’s Word is not to ask, ‘How do I feel?’ but to say, ‘I’m not going to let my faith be determined and directed by the subjective and the experiential. Instead I confess before God that I will believe the objective truth of His Word, regardless of how I feel.’
Living the Cross-Centered Life - 15 April 2009
C. J. Mahaney’s Living the Cross-Centered Life is a wonderful book. Even Al Mohler’s foreword has some truly memorable one-liners:
I need to warn you that reading this book will not be a safe and static experience. After all, the cross isn’t about playing it safe; it’s about being found safe in Christ. (p. 9)