A full-fat faith

I was in seminary in the early to mid-2000s, and I remember during that time when I was in school,

! we saw the peak of a movement that has come to be dubbed New Atheism.

I remember discussing this a lot with other students and with our professors.

Names like Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris had become household names,

and we were discussing this because it really seemed as though secularism had finally triumphed.

A lot of people were hailing it as the end of the church, as the end of religion,

and that secularism had really won the day.

Now, 20 years later, we're seeing something that many people would have said was impossible 20 years ago.

We are seeing a resurgence of faith, particularly among the younger generations.

There was a recent study from last year that found that Gen Z are far more likely to be people of faith than their parents.

I think one statistic said that they are half as likely to be atheists compared to their parents.

One of the least religious generations next to baby boomers is actually my generation, Gen X.

But from my generation on, we see higher and higher and higher levels of faith.

And in interviews with these people who have come to faith find the same thing across the board.

You have a growing number of people who are deeply disillusioned by the empty promises of secularism,

by the trivialities, by the banality of secular humanistic life.

And these are people who are craving a sense of connection to something deeper, something bigger than themselves.

Louise Perry is a writer and podcaster who converted from her days of, she says, troubled atheism to Christianity.

In her words, she now goes to a happy, clappy church every week with her family.

And when asked why, she says simply, secularism has failed.

Secularism has failed.

And here's what I find most interesting.

These new converts to Christianity are not flocking to places where they are finding a watered down,

dumbed down, seeker sensitive version of Christianity,

which is something that was happening in also peaking around my generation,

which I wonder if there's a connection there.

I don't know.

But the phrase being used now, I read one article where somebody said,

what we're looking for is a full fat faith.

And I love that expression.

If you will pardon me, I'm going to use it this morning.

A full fat faith.

That's what people are craving.

And as it turns out, when it comes to Christianity,

and when it comes to the reality of following Jesus,

that's the only option there is.

That's the only option.

So what does that mean?

What is a full fat faith?

We're going to look at 2 Timothy chapter 2 to help answer that question.

2 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

So let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for your word.

We thank you that it has a power unto itself that comes from you.

And so we're not here merely to consider and reflect on ideas.

We're here to encounter the living God.

Through your written word, we're here to encounter your living word, Jesus Christ.

To not only see him, not only hear him, but to receive him.

Lord, and as we are preparing to receive his body and blood, so now would you give us the grace to receive his word.

We pray this in your son's holy name.

Amen.

So let me give you a little context.

Just as I know that Jeff started our series in the lectionary looking at 2 Timothy last week,

the apostle Paul is writing from prison in Rome.

He's writing to his protege, Timothy, who is a bishop over a network of churches, probably house churches in Ephesus.

And he's essentially writing to encourage Timothy, who's facing a whole array of challenges in his ministry.

And in doing so, the apostle Paul gives us this compelling vision of the Christian life,

or if you will permit it, a full-fat faith.

And so we're going to look at this vision of the Christian life.

And why would we call it a full-fat faith?

What does that entail?

And the first thing we see when we look at this passage is this.

We call it that because the Christian life, following Jesus, requires everything that we have.

It requires everything that we have.

In verses 3 to 7, Paul uses three metaphors to describe the Christian life.

He says it's like being a soldier.

It's like being an athlete.

It's like being a farmer.

Now, what do all those things have in common?

Well, they all involve people who are fully committed.

Fully committed to something bigger than themselves.

They all involve people who are willing to endure significant hardship.

They're willing to suffer.

They're willing to sacrifice in order to serve that higher aim.

So in order to live the Christian life, Paul is saying we need the single-minded devotion of a soldier.

We need to relentlessly resist anything and everything that distracts from that focus.

So success, comfort, politics.

He's not saying these are inherently bad.

But he's saying we can't allow them to entangle us.

The image is of a soldier's sword, the scabbard getting tangled up in the cloak so they can't walk because they're all tangled up.

He says we can't allow things like that, comfort, success, politics, the local crisis du jour, to entangle us, to distract us from our primary aim of pleasing the one we follow.

Likewise, he says we need the rigorous self-discipline of an athlete.

This is not a passive faith.

This is not a go to summer camp one summer and respond at the altar call and get saved and then nothing.

He says this is a faith, this is a life that requires daily focused spiritual habits.

Athletes were legally required to complete a regimen of training and you had to take a vow that said you had completed that training before you were allowed to compete.

That's what he's talking about.

So following Jesus requires daily focused spiritual habits and disciplines.

Why?

Because we are called to, with the help of the Holy Spirit, retrain our hearts to learn how to love God, to learn how to love other people.

That requires a lifetime of focused, disciplined, retraining.

And then he says we need the long view perspective of the farmer, knowing that we're not working for instant gratification.

That we are setting aside a life that focuses on immediate gain and immediate gratification.

We are, as Christians, playing the long game.

We are willing to forego.

We are willing to do without.

We are willing to sacrifice now in the immediate for the sake of that which will last into eternity.

We're investing in the kingdom.

That's what the farmer image is all about.

In the, in, in, what is the kingdom?

We're investing in the healing of the world.

We're investing in justice.

We're investing in mercy.

We're investing in the building of the church and the spread of the gospel.

We need the long view perspective of the farmer.

There is a lovely poem by Mary Oliver called A Summer Day.

And the last two lines of the poem say, tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

Now, these words have been commandeered by Instagram self-help gurus to talk about the need to live for ourselves and be true to ourselves.

But if you were to ask Jesus that question, what are we to do with our one wild and precious life?

Here's what Jesus would say.

He would say, well, whoever would save his life will lose it.

But whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

And that's the choice, really, before us.

That's the decision.

Door number one.

Follow one of the various life scripts that the culture hands out.

You can find them everywhere.

They all boil down essentially to this.

Accumulate the things that you think will make you happy.

Build a little life for yourself that is safe and comfortable.

Where your needs are met reasonably.

And then do what you can to extend your life as long as you possibly can.

But to what end, I would ask?

Do you think so that maybe you can outlive your friends?

So that you can outlive most of your family members?

So that you can find yourself one day sitting alone,

wondering what it was all for?

Or door number two.

Starting today, aim your life at Jesus Christ and give it everything you've got.

Now your life is going to be harder.

It's going to be a lot harder.

You know, we're praying this morning for Grace Drexel's father,

who's one of the most well-known pastors in China

over the vast network of house churches there,

who's been arrested.

And we have no idea what his fate will be.

We are praying for his release.

Number of people in his congregation have also been arrested.

Other pastors have been arrested.

This is a big deal.

That's a man who made this choice,

who said, door number two,

I'm going to aim my life at Jesus.

I'm going to give it everything I've got.

Now your life will be harder.

You may face things that you never imagined possible

as a result of that choice.

It may be shorter, your life may be.

But you will know what it means to be fully alive

in a way that nobody who chooses door number one can ever imagine.

And the life you gain will be a life that lasts into eternity.

So the first thing we learn about full fat faith is this.

It requires everything that we have.

Everything.

But here's the disclaimer.

Following Jesus this way is not only hard,

it is going to ask more of us than we have the strength to give.

That's a guarantee.

It's going to push us beyond our limits.

I just recently read a story about a 12-year-old girl

named Lee Rodriguez Espada.

And she signed up to run a 5K.

And she's running late the morning of the race.

And so she gets there and she sees a group of people

at the starting line.

And so she rushes up and she jumps into the group

with the people right as they say go.

And she takes off running.

And she runs mile one.

And she runs mile two.

And she runs that.

And around mile four, she starts,

this is a long 5K.

What's going on?

And she starts asking around.

And she realizes that she made a mistake

and she jumped in with the wrong group.

And they were actually running a half marathon.

So her mom's freaking out.

Where is she?

Where is she?

Right?

Well, she realizes this and she decides to keep running.

And she not only finishes the race,

but she actually gets a medal.

And her mom's like, I have no idea how she did it.

I'm so proud of her.

So she found herself running a half marathon.

And I love this story because I think

that there are a lot of times like that

that happen in the Christian life.

You know, when God allows us to face a situation

where faithfulness and obedience mean taking something on

that we never anticipated.

You know, times when we are betrayed

by someone that we love and trust.

Or times when you get a cancer diagnosis.

Or times when you lose your job.

Or having to face unwanted singleness

or unwanted fertility.

Infertility.

Or unwanted fertility.

And these things happen and we say,

hey, this isn't the race I signed up for.

You know, when I came forward

and responded to that altar call in middle school,

I wasn't signing up for this.

You know, I never agreed to this.

I'm not prepared for this.

And we say, doesn't it say somewhere in the Bible,

doesn't it say that God will never ask us

to do anything that goes beyond what we can do?

Actually, it doesn't say that anywhere in the Bible.

Actually, it says the opposite.

More is gonna be asked of you than you have to give.

And so it confronts us with this question

of where do we find strength to keep running the race?

Right?

How do we continue when we figure out

we're not in the 5K, we're in the marathon?

How do we keep going?

And the truth is, if we rely on our own strength,

we're not going to be able to finish the race.

Full fat faith not only requires everything that we have,

but it is fueled by grace.

It's fueled by grace.

Paul says to Timothy,

you then, my child,

be strengthened by the grace

that is in Christ Jesus.

Now, at first, when you read this,

be strengthened,

it sounds like Paul is telling Timothy

to strengthen himself.

You need to get stronger, Timothy.

You need to buck up.

You need to cowboy up.

You need to get ready to do

some seriously hard work for the Lord.

That's not what he's saying.

He's saying to Timothy and to us,

Timothy, you need to learn how to grow stronger

by the strength that comes from outside yourself.

The strength that comes from the grace

that is in Christ Jesus.

And this, friends,

is one of the great mysteries and wonders

of the Christian faith.

The relationship between divine sovereignty

and human responsibility.

God not only calls us to faithful obedience,

he also supplies everything that we need

for faithful obedience.

Now, that is a mystery.

But you see it all over Scripture.

2 Peter 1,

Christ, through his divine power,

has granted to us all things

that pertain to life and godliness.

God gives you everything that you need

for godliness.

Philippians 2,

work out your own salvation

with fear and trembling.

Okay?

For it is God who works in you,

both to will and to work

for his good pleasure.

Is it up to me

or is it up to God?

Yes.

This is extremely important

for us to reflect on.

God is not just concerned

with our obedience.

God is not sitting there

with the checklist.

He did this,

she didn't do that,

she did this.

God is glorified

by our dependence on him.

He is glorified

when we depend on him.

He is glorified

not only when we follow and obey,

but when we depend on him

for that obedience.

See, some of us go wrong

by trying to live lives

of obedience

without dependence.

I got saved,

it's like God was angry at me,

but then God let me off the hook

and he was willing

to kind of give me a do-over,

but now it's up to me,

I've got to get my life together,

and you live your life

with this constant sense

that God is disappointed

or angry or frustrated.

You know there's things

you should be doing,

but you're not doing them,

and so your Christian life

kind of feels like

this sense of vague guilt

and shame

that you always carry around.

That's obedience

without dependence.

That's all up to me.

And I know other people

who, you know,

we go wrong

in the opposite direction.

We live lives

that are lives of dependence,

but with no obedience.

You know,

the kind of let go

and let God approach.

You know,

we kind of treat grace

like a get-out-of-jail-free card,

and it's like,

well, God forgives everything anyway.

What does it really matter?

And we kind of do what we want.

You know,

God will get over it.

He'll forgive me.

See,

both of those

are not only unbiblical,

they fail to glorify God,

and they collapse

something that is a profound mystery,

which is this,

that on the one hand,

we are called

to use every resource

at our disposal

to pour everything we have

into following and obeying Jesus.

Give it everything you've got.

On the other hand,

we are called to depend

entirely on his grace

as we do it.

You know,

St. Augustine captures this

beautifully in his prayer,

Lord,

command what you will,

but give what you command.

I love that.

Command what you will.

Whatever you want me to do,

ask,

and I'll do it,

but give me

the ability to do it.

So,

Paul wants us

to be assured

that we can always

trust God

to give us

what we need

to obey God.

So,

he gives us

this beautiful poem.

You know,

now this is probably

an early hymn.

You know,

you can imagine

the worship music

like we just had,

beautiful worship music.

What were they singing

in the first century church?

It's probably,

this is one of the hymns.

If we had died with him,

we will also live with him.

If we endure,

we will also reign with him.

If we deny him,

he also will deny us.

If we are faithless,

he remains faithful,

for he cannot deny himself.

Maybe that's the chorus,

for he cannot deny himself.

For those who are willing

to take the risk

of following Jesus,

this hymn says,

God promises you

new life.

If you're willing

to take the risk,

if you're willing

to give it everything

you've got,

God promises new life.

He promises victory,

and he promises

that you will one day

be vindicated.

For those who reject Jesus,

God honors that decision,

and he will respond

in the same way.

But here's,

listen to where it goes.

Here's the crux,

right,

the core.

No matter how unfaithful

we might be,

God will always

be faithful to us.

No amount

of our unfaithfulness

will ever eclipse

God's faithfulness,

and our faith

and our salvation

and our sanctification

ultimately hinge

not on the promises

that we make to God,

but on the promise

that God makes to us.

He will always

give us what we need.

So you say,

well,

how do I actually do that?

How do I get grace?

How do I get strength?

This is so esoteric.

This feels so abstract.

What does this actually mean

on a daily basis?

Let me give you a few

answers to that question.

Number one,

it means pray.

It means pray.

You know,

prayer is one of the things

that we can do

anytime,

all the time,

wherever we are.

We can pray.

Particularly,

is there someone

in your life

that you feel called to love,

but you find them

very difficult to love?

You don't have to say

who it is now,

but is there somebody

in your life?

Are there people

that you struggle to love

and you just don't feel it?

Commit to praying

for that person.

Don't do anything else.

Just commit to praying

for that person every day

and see what happens.

Pray that God

would strengthen you

with the grace

that is in Christ Jesus

to love that person.

And so often,

what you will find

in your heart over time

is a softening

and an opening

of your heart

toward that person.

Another way we access

the grace,

the strengthening grace

of Christ

is through his word.

I don't know about you,

but often for me,

just spending five minutes,

ten minutes,

reflecting on Scripture

in the morning,

even if it's not

a particularly profound passage,

even if I don't have

a particularly profound experience

of doing it,

I emerge from just that

five or ten minutes

feeling more aligned

with the heart of Christ.

You know,

I think that is

the grace flowing in,

right?

A third thing I would say

is through the sacraments,

particularly the Eucharist.

You know,

what we do at this table

is not just a ritual.

We're not just here

remembering,

reflecting,

celebrating something

that happened.

We believe

and teach in this church

that this is a means

of grace.

In other words,

this is a way

that God promises

to mediate his grace

in the lives

of his people.

We believe

that Christ

is really

and truly present

in this meal.

We believe

that God strengthens

and nourishes us

spiritually

when we receive

this in faith.

One of the reasons

I'm excited

to have our own building

in a few months

is so that we can begin

to offer

midweek opportunities

for prayer

and for Bible teaching

and for the Eucharist.

this is why

I believe

friends,

church should be

among your highest priorities.

I see people

bend over backwards,

rearrange everything

to make it

to a travel sports game.

This should be

the highest priority.

This should be

the highest priority.

I guess what I'm saying

is I don't believe

that we can live

the Christian life

faithfully

because I don't think

that we have the strength

to do it on our own

and in order

to get that strength

I think that we

need to gather together

to pray

and to open God's word

and to receive

the sacraments

and I don't think

that there's another way

to do it.

I think this is the way

that God has given us.

We need to be strengthened

to live lives

of faithfulness.

God has called us

to a life

that requires more strength

than we have in ourselves

and this is what

we do every week.

We pray,

we open God's word,

we share in the sacraments.

And if you can think

of the Christian life

as this rhythm

of inhaling and exhaling,

right?

We breathe in,

we come together

as a church,

we are strengthened

and then there's an exhaling,

we go out into the world

on mission.

And then we breathe in

and we're strengthened

by grace

and then we go out

into the world

on mission.

And that's the,

that's the respiratory system

of the church,

right?

In and out,

in and out,

contemplation and action,

contemplation and action,

right?

Drawing strength,

pouring out,

right?

Being filled,

pouring out.

So a full fat faith

requires everything

that we have

and it's fueled by grace.

But what's it all for?

Last point.

According to 2 Timothy 2,

it's all meant

to be shared.

This faith,

this gospel,

this good news,

this kingdom,

this work that the Holy Spirit

is doing in the world,

this good news

of restoration and renewal

and justice and mercy

and peace and eternity,

it's all meant

to be shared.

Paul's overarching concern,

I would say,

in the pastorals

and certainly in this part

of the pastorals

is that the gospel

would continue

to reach the lost.

I love this.

He says,

essentially,

I may be bound

with chains

as a criminal,

but the word of God

is not bound.

You know,

I would love

to think that

Grace Drexel's dad

is reading

and thinking about

and praying those words

right now.

I may be bound

with chains,

but the word of God

is not bound.

Therefore,

I endure everything

for the sake of the elect,

that they also may obtain

the salvation

that is in Christ Jesus

with eternal glory.

The word of God

is not bound.

God's work

is ongoing

in the world.

So we need

a much bigger

vision of conversion,

I think.

You know,

we tend to think

of evangelism

as something

that happens out there.

You know,

Christians in here,

non-Christians out there,

and evangelism

is a kind of

this subset

of the church

that some people do.

Some people

who are good at it

go out.

You know,

people like Lisa

go out

and they evangelize

because they're good

at that kind of thing,

right?

Sorry to put you

on the spot,

but she's really

gifted at it.

And,

but the rest of us,

you know,

and maybe we learn

some apologetics

and some good arguments,

but, you know,

we need a much

bigger imagination

for the fact

that God

is always at work

converting

and bringing people

to himself

all the time

around us

day and night.

The word of God

is not bound,

right?

Conversion

is happening

all the time.

And conversion

is not only happening

out there

among the pagans,

it's also happening

in here

all the time.

Right?

The Benedictines

talk about

daily conversion

of life.

You know,

you become a Christian,

you get baptized.

That's a one-time thing,

yes,

that's true.

But then,

as the Benedictines

say,

every day of our lives

we seek to be changed

by grace

and to be turned

more toward the heart

of Jesus.

So we,

those of us

who may have thought

of ourselves

as Christians

for many,

many,

many years,

we are in need

of continual conversion,

right?

And thank God

the word of God

is not bound

because it makes

that possible.

There are also,

by the way,

children and youth

in our midst.

Our primary

evangelistic responsibility

is to them.

It's to them.

It's often said

in the church

that the church

is one generation

away from extension.

I don't know

if that's entirely true,

but don't miss

the point there.

it is up

to every generation

to pass on the faith

to the next generation.

That is one

of our primary

responsibilities.

I think if we

really believed that,

we would be

turning people away

who want to work

with our youth ministry.

We would be

turning people away

who want to work

with our kids.

That's our,

one of our

top responsibilities.

They need to be

reached with the gospel.

And,

and frankly,

with all due respect,

there are people

who come to church

who assume

they are Christians

who are not.

They're not converted.

Grew up going to church.

It's kind of what you do.

It's what your family did.

But you're not converted.

You've never really

wrestled with your sin.

You've never really

repented.

You've never really

experienced the grace

of Jesus Christ.

And you need to be

reached with the gospel.

So the point I'm trying

to make is the work

of evangelism

isn't something

that we do out there

or that certain people do.

It is the work

of the church.

We're all responsible

for it.

And it starts right here

in this room with us.

And this is why

Paul tells Timothy

in verse 2,

what you have heard

from me in the presence

of many witnesses,

entrust to faithful men,

or that could be translated

men and women,

anthropoi,

faithful people

is what the NIV says,

entrust to faithful people

who will be able

to teach others also.

So think about

how many generations,

Jeff loves to ask

this question

when we meet

with our youth ministry leaders.

He'll read this passage

and he'll say,

how many generations

are there, right?

How many,

think about it, right?

Christ passes this

on to Paul.

Paul passes it

on to Timothy.

Timothy passes it

on to others

who are faithful

and competent to teach,

who then are meant

to pass it on

to yet more people, right?

So you see generation

after generation

after generation

after generation

passing on

this body of teaching, right?

So here's the principle.

If you want to live

a full-fat faith,

if you want to be

a healthy,

growing follower of Jesus,

that involves

both receiving

and reproducing.

In other words,

you should have people

pouring into you

and you should have people

into whom you are pouring,

right?

You should always have people

you're learning from

and you should also have people

you are investing in.

Now that doesn't mean

that everybody's called

to be a pastor,

doesn't mean that everybody's

called to be a teacher,

a preacher,

that's a subset of people

in the church

and it's an important part.

The principle though

that applies to everybody

is that we should always

have people

that we are looking to

and learning from

and we should always have people

that we are pouring into

and investing in.

And that's true

for every Christian.

We need both.

So I want to encourage you

to reflect on your own life.

Who's investing in you?

If you can't think of anybody,

I want you to spend

some time on it

because there may very well

be people who are

that you're not,

you don't think of

in that category

because you're not sitting down

every week at a coffee shop

talking about how your week went.

But that's not really

what we're talking about here.

Who has taken an active

and vested interest

in your spiritual life?

Who out there is praying for you?

Who cares about

how your relationship

with God is going?

Right?

If you can't think of anybody,

make that one

of your top priorities.

This is why, friends,

we have core groups.

So I would say

if you're not in one,

join a core group.

Immediately you have people

who are there

partly because they

want to know

and invest in

your spiritual well-being.

That's the whole point

of a core group.

Our expectation and hope

is that even though

I know it's logistical,

you know,

challenging and all of that,

is that everybody

who's a member or regular

or attendee of our church

would be part of a core group.

If there's not a core group

near you or that's accessible,

talk to us

and let's talk about

starting one next semester.

You could also

prayerfully seek out

one or two other

mature believers

in the church

and just say,

hey, could we get together

from time to time

for a season?

Let's try it.

You know,

let's get together

until December.

Let's get together

until May.

And maybe we could

read the Bible.

Maybe we could read

another Christian book together.

Maybe we could

just spend time in prayer

or do daily prayer together.

Maybe we could do

the Ignatian exam.

And there are things

that you can do together

to simply have people

who know you

have an active interest

in your spiritual life.

And then I would ask

the flip side of this,

who are you investing in?

If there's no one,

I would say make that

one of your top priorities.

And the first thing

you can do

is just start praying.

Start praying

and asking God

to put somebody

on your heart.

Just say,

God,

I want to invest

in somebody

and I don't even know

what that looks like,

but please help this happen.

Please bring somebody

to mind, right?

And let me just demystify

this whole thing.

You do not need

special training

or expertise

to do this kind of thing.

You don't need to be ready

to answer somebody's questions.

You don't need to be

full of life wisdom

to tell them

how to navigate

all of life's

turns and twists.

Frankly,

if you're doing

that kind of thing,

you're kind of missing the point.

People think

that that's what they want,

but that's really

not what we need.

You know,

here's what you need

to be able to do.

Just take

an active interest

in that person's

spiritual growth.

Just care about it.

Just care about it.

Listen well,

which means

do more question asking

and listening

than answering.

You know,

be judicious

with your answers.

One of the best things

you can do

is just the phrase,

tell me more.

Tell me more.

Tell me more.

Pray for that person.

Hey,

I'm gonna pray for you

every morning

when I wake up.

You're on my list.

I'm gonna pray for you

every morning.

That's all you need.

We can't cause growth

in another person.

The Bible's pretty clear

about that.

Only God can do that.

What we can do

is create the conditions

where growth

is more likely to happen.

We can plant,

we can water,

right?

We can create the time

and the space

where we're getting together.

But God's gonna do

what God's gonna do.

And God's gonna do

what only God can do.

So friends,

as we kind of step back

and look at this passage

as a whole,

there is an invitation here.

There's an invitation

to a full-fat faith,

right?

There's an invitation

to aiming our lives

toward Jesus

and giving it all we've got.

There's an invitation

to learning how to depend

on the strength

that comes

from the grace

that God provides.

And there's an invitation

to reorder your priorities

so that you are

being invested in

and so that you are pouring

into the lives of others.

And if you want

this kind of faith,

then you are

in the right place,

right?

This is what we are committed

to here at Advent.

And I believe

it's only going to become

more true,

more realizable,

more possible

in the coming years

as we move

to our new home.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you

and we praise you.

May these words

prepare us

to receive you.

there is no one here,

I believe,

who does not feel

the need for strength.

We need to be strengthened.

We pray, Lord,

that as we pray,

as we sing,

as we open your word,

and as we receive

your body and blood,

Lord,

we pray

for that strength

to come

that we might glorify you

not only with our obedience

and faithfulness,

but because we are

entirely dependent on you.

And it's in your son's

holy name that we pray.

Amen.