{"id":302302,"date":"2011-07-06T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-07-06T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/boasting-in-the-cross\/"},"modified":"2011-07-06T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-07-06T15:00:00","slug":"boasting-in-the-cross","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/boasting-in-the-cross\/","title":{"rendered":"Boasting in the Cross"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You&#8217;ve been told not be boastful about yourself but to boast in the Cross.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2011-07-06.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"22.64M","filesize_raw":"23736002","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2822],"tags":[4929,4722,4159],"podcast_series":[7299],"cwp_profile":[8883],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-302302","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growing-in-your-faith","tag-christian-life","tag-christianity","tag-gospel","podcast_series-dont-waste-your-life","cwp_profile-john-piper","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/302302\/boasting-in-the-cross","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/302302\/boasting-in-the-cross","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"o9ruvIC8RK\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/boasting-in-the-cross\/\">Boasting in the Cross<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/boasting-in-the-cross\/embed\/#?secret=o9ruvIC8RK\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Boasting in the Cross&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"o9ruvIC8RK\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"You've been told not be boastful about yourself but to boast in the Cross.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2011-07-06.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Outside of the Easter season, how central is the cross to how you think?\u00a0 Is it central to your life?\u00a0 Here\u2019s Dr. John Piper with thoughts about the cross of Christ.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong>\u00a0 The word \"cross\" might mean something you're crucified on, or it might mean a piece of jewelry, or it might mean the last name of somebody you know, but in redemptive, historical terms, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world, He lived a perfect life, He laid Himself out voluntarily to be slaughtered on a cross, He breathed His last breath in obedience to the Father so that He was a perfectly righteous substitute, and then He raised Himself from the dead.\u00a0 He was taken up, sits at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhen I say, \"the cross,\" I mean that great redemptive work from incarnation to the installation at God's right hand.\u00a0 Yes, that's really crucial to see.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is I for Wednesday, July 6th.\u00a0 Our host is the President of FamilyLife, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 Today we'll look at the implications of the cross and why it still matters for our lives 2,000 years later.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, thanks for joining us on the Wednesday edition.\u00a0 You know, Dennis, I don't know that I will ever forget something that I heard our guest today say.\u00a0 I remember right where I was \u2013 I was driving along a highway on my way to Mount Ida, Arkansas.\u00a0 I was just tooling along, listening to John Piper on a CD, and he was saying that the world is not going to look at Christians in times of prosperity and say, \u201cI want to be a Christian.\u201d\u00a0 Because, you know what?, when Christians are blessed, they say \"praise the Lord.\"\u00a0 And when pagans are blessed, all we say is, \"Boy, wasn't that lucky.\"\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe said, \"No, the world is going to sit up and take notice when we go through adversity, and we still have confidence in God.\u00a0 When we go through trials and we live a radical kind of life, that\u2019s when the world will say, 'Where does that come from?'\"\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI thought to myself, \u201cYou know what? He\u2019s right.\u00a0 I am too comfortable.\u00a0 I\u2019m too content.\u201d\u00a0 In fact, I should say here as we\u2019re about to continue our conversation with Dr. John Piper that today\u2019s program should probably have a surgeon general\u2019s warning on the front.\u00a0 Today's program will create conviction in your soul and could bring you to a point of personal repentance yourself.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 It could you bring you to the conclusion that you are dangerously close - too close - to the world.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0Yes, and it might bring you to the point where you need to get more dangerously involved in the Gospel.\u00a0 And so, let me introduce the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church and the person who has brought me under conviction many times, John Piper, who is back with us for a third day.\u00a0 Welcome back to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thanks, I'm real glad to be here.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0And this book, <em>Don't Waste Your Life<\/em> \u2013 you felt so strongly about this book that you went to the publisher and said, \"I want to give 50,000 copies of this book away.\"\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, we created a website just to give it away called \"Don't Waste Your Life.\"\u00a0 You can go there now, but we don't give them away anymore, because people took them, and we got a special deal.\u00a0 We just wanted to jumpstart the impact of the book and give away as many as we could.\u00a0 So we raised the money, and people took them.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0Gave away 50,000?\u00a0 Do you have any idea any of the stories of folks who wrote to get a copy of this book?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Not yet.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 John, at the end of the broadcast yesterday, we challenged the listener to consider writing a title deed and transferring ownership over to Jesus Christ\u2014to become a disciple, a learner, a follower, a pursuer of God and His agenda for their lives.\u00a0 This is really at the core of what Don't Waste Your Life is all about.\u00a0 In fact, you quote \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t1 Corinthians 6:19-20 as really one of the seminal passages in the New Testament calling people to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Christ.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, the link that I heard, which you ended the program that way was between signing your life off so that it belongs now to another and the glory of God, which is the ultimate value of the universe and the value that we live to display.\u00a0 The link is made there in that verse in 1 Corinthians 6, because Paul says, \"You are not your own, you were bought with a price.\u00a0 Therefore, glorify God in your bodies, which are God's.\"\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo He made the link between being owned by God and glorifying God.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo I think you are absolutely right \u2013 every person should be challenged to sign the title of their lives over to another Who will not then say, \"Ah, now I have a slave.\"\u00a0 He will say, \"No longer do I call you slaves.\u00a0 I call you friends, and now, come on, let's live together to magnify my glory in the world, thus says the Lord.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo, that was the link I heard, and I thought it was crucial because the cross is right at the center of this book, and that's what I thought it might be helpful to think about a little bit in what way is the cross centered, because this book grew out of the one-day event in Memphis, Tennessee, in the year 2000, I think it was, where I delivered a message called \"Boasting Only in the Cross.\"\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI told the illustration of the shells, and so on, that we talked about a couple of days ago.\u00a0 That message was taken from Galatians 6:14, which says \"God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world was crucified to me and I to the world.\u201d\u00a0 I raised the question, \u201cReally?\u00a0 How can you only boast in the cross?\u00a0 Only glory, only enjoy the cross?\u00a0 What about your family?\u00a0 What about your health?\u00a0 What about your job?\u00a0 I mean, aren't these good things that the Lord has given us?\u00a0 Shouldn't we be glad that we have them?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMy answer was, \u201cYes, you should be glad that you have them, but you should realize that, as a sinner, you only have them to enjoy forever because Christ died to take away the penalty of judgment and to become your righteousness and to become your sacrifice.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo the cross is relevant for every single delight in my life.\u00a0 If it's a beautiful blue-sky day outside, and I have eyes to see it, I should be glad because of the cross, because apart from the cross, I'd be in hell today.\u00a0 He would snuff me out of existence because I deserve to be judged.\u00a0 So the cross really is an absolutely central reality in everything I think about and everything we all do.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And the passage that commands us as followers after Christ, to take up our cross and follow after Him\u2014what do you think He is challenging us to do at that point, John?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf the cross is to be central, and we're focusing on Christ\u2019s finished work, the love that is poured out there, the grace, forgiveness, the purpose, the peace with God, the relationship with God, all that's found in the cross, and He commands us to pick up our own cross, it seems to me at points it's almost like the fine print in the contract.\u00a0 It's like, \u201cNow that He's got me \u2013 hello \u2013 there\u2019s a cross that I must carry.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, the whole text, in fact, uses the words \"deny.\u201d \"If anyone would be my disciple and deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.\"\u00a0 But the argument that He gives following that verse is, \"For he who seeks to save his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake and the gospel\u2019s will find it,\" and you do want to find it, don't you?\u00a0 Therefore, lose it. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo you've got this paradoxical call from the Lord saying, \"Look, I have come to give you life.\u00a0 I will give you everlasting joy in my presence at my Father's right hand if you join me on the Calvary Road of self-denial and love.\u00a0 Now what does that mean?\u00a0 I think it means assess all the things that stand in the way of making Jesus look more valuable than life and get rid of them.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIn other words, it might be your car, it might be your house, it might be the job you presently have, whatever is standing between you and an effective display of the superior worth of Jesus in your life, let it go.\u00a0 That's what I think self-denial is.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And what have some of those things been for you?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong>\u00a0 The biggest threat, I think, to my being with Jesus and my own holiness, is the praise of men.\u00a0 When I come here to sit in this studio, the thought enters my mind, \u201cI was invited to this studio.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s a very dangerous thought.\u00a0 It\u2019s a deadly thought.\u00a0 Or, to be able to speak to your several hundred employees here and to have them like what I say and say nice things about it.\u00a0 That\u2019s deadly.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo when you ask what that means for self-denial, it means that I must continually, utterly renounce that and where I think I\u2019m being tempted to go someplace for that, don\u2019t go there.\u00a0 Just don\u2019t go there.\u00a0 Which is not an easy call to make, because my motives are always mixed, it seems to me.\u00a0 So that would be one in particular.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Isn't it interesting how we, as believers, can find something or someone or some activity that we enjoy and become enslaved to other than God?\u00a0 It's as though we're running from the hound of heaven in pursuit of all these different things, even the ministry.\u00a0 And you've experienced this as a pastor, I'm sure.\u00a0 Even the ministry can be addictive.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right, it can be.\u00a0 And how to move away from that without contradicting the goodness of creation is a challenge, because most of the idols that we have are good, they just shouldn't be idols.\u00a0 So to move away from them, you can swing to the ascetic side, where you become a creation-denying person.\u00a0 You know who I got a lot of help from on that?\u00a0 It is St. Augustine, and it's a prayer that he made.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe said, \"He loves thee too little\" \u2013 he's talking to God \u2013 \"He loves Thee too little who loves anything together with Thee, which he loves not for Thy sake.\"\u00a0 I found that very helpful, because it's saying anything can be an idol \u2013 any good thing can be an idol.\u00a0 \"He loves Thee too little who loves anything together with Thee.\"\u00a0 And then he qualifies it by saying, \"Which he loves not for Thy sake,\" which means that any good thing that is an idol can be deposed from its idolatrous position and become an instrument of worship.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo you might be worshiping food, and the solution to that is not to starve yourself to death with an eating disorder, but rather to say it's a precious gift from God to be used in moderation for the joy it brings and the strength it brings, and I will now turn all my eating back in thanks and worship to God and eat in moderation.\u00a0 That's the kind of thing that He wants the shift to involve.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0We started talking about, not the cross that we pick up and carry, but about the one that He carried for us.\u00a0 I don't know that I go through the day consciously aware of the cross.\u00a0 Is that something that comes to mind on a conscious level for you, hour by hour, throughout a day?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I wish it came more often.\u00a0 I think, to be honest there, I'd have to say no.\u00a0 But my prayer is that when Paul said, \"God forbid that I should glory, exalt, boast, rejoice, save in the cross,\" he meant, I think, number one, the cross bought all my joys as a believer.\u00a0 It bought all my joys.\u00a0 Therefore, as I rejoice in anything, that joy should be attached to the cross.\u00a0 It doesn't, I'm sure, have to consciously be at every moment, but probably more often than we do.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf we could realize the magnitude in history, in the universe, of what happened when Christ, the Son of God, died in the place of sinners and provided a righteousness for us ungodly people, I think we would be more ravished with it than we are, and it would be more constant in our thinking than it is.\u00a0 So, to be honest, no, but to express my longing, I wish it were.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And so, for you, when you say, \"I want to glory in the cross.\u00a0 I want to focus on the cross.\u00a0 I want to be caught up in the cross.\"\u00a0 You are caught up with the presence of God, His righteousness, His incarnation, His death on the cross on behalf of your sins, His burial and resurrection and ascension into heaven.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHave I done a good job of paraphrasing or describing what you are caught up with as we describe the cross?\u00a0 Because a lot of people wear it as jewelry and it's an event.\u00a0 It's not just an event, though, is it, John?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong>\u00a0 That's a very helpful observation for the radio, especially, because the word \"cross\" might mean something you're crucified on, or it might mean a piece of jewelry, or it might be the last name of somebody you know, but you summed it up in redemptive historical terms \u2013 that's right.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tJesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world.\u00a0 He lived a perfect life, becoming a holy, perfect lamb of God.\u00a0 He laid himself out voluntarily to be slaughtered on a cross.\u00a0 He poured out his forgiveness on us \u2013 \"Father, forgive them, they don't know what they're doing.\"\u00a0 He breathed His last breath in obedience to the Father so that He was a perfectly righteous substitute, and then He raised Himself from the dead.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI say that even though the Father raised Him.\u00a0 It says in Romans 6, (He said), \"Nobody takes my life from me.\u00a0 I'll lay it down, and if I lay it down, I can take it again.\"\u00a0 Jesus Almighty raised Himself from the dead, He was taken up, sits at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.\u00a0 When I say, \"the cross\" I mean that great redemptive work from incarnation to the installation at God's right hand.\u00a0 Yes, that's really crucial to see.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 To that person who is listening to us right now who does not have the awe, who does not have the wonder, who looks at the cross and said, \"Yes, that was an event in history,\" but who doesn't know the Savior, who doesn't know God's forgiveness, the peace with God that passes all understanding, what would you say to that person right now?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong>\u00a0 Depending on how much they know, I would say get to know Him by looking at the Scriptures, reading the Gospels, and once you see Him crucified, risen, then do what the Bible says \u2013 \u201cbelieve on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.\"\u00a0 And if you say, \"Believe on Him, what does that mean, what does that involve, believe on Him?\"\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI would say take these three words, it means trust Him or accept Him or embrace Him as Savior from your sin and judgment, as Lord of your life, who has the right to dictate what is healthy and good and right for you to do; and the third, and maybe just as important as the other three is embrace Him as your treasure.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut I find that many people today will talk about Jesus as Savior, Jesus as Lord, and it's such worn-out language they don't really realize the impact it must have in the transformation of their values.\u00a0 But when I say, \"Is He your treasure?\u201d\u00a0 Are you accepting Him as your treasure to as many as received Him?\u00a0 To them gave you power to become the children of God, receive Him as what?\u00a0 And I say, \"Treasure, the treasure of your life.\"\u00a0 Then they say, \"Whoa, maybe He's not.\"\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd so I would say to every listener, get to know him well enough to see that He is a Savior; He is a wonderful Lord; He is not a hard taskmaster, and He is a treasure that is so valuable that you can \"Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the body they may kill, God's truth abideth still,\" and you can a live a radical, God-glorifying lifestyle because He is the treasure that will never fail.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 We have people listening from all types of denominations, and when you just went through what you explained, immediately, they thought, \"Well, do I need to pray to be able to move into that right relationship with God?\u00a0 Do I need to kneel?\u00a0 Do I need to go to a church or a cathedral?\u00a0 Where do I need to go?\u00a0 How do I go about establishing this right relationship with God?\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong>\u00a0 One of the most beautiful things to me about the coming of Jesus Christ into the world is that he de-localized and de-externalized worship.\u00a0 Because when He met the woman at the well, and she said, \"Well, now, help me to understand this worship issue, Jesus, do we worship in this mountain or do we worship in Jerusalem?\"\u00a0 Jesus said, \"The day is coming and now is when you will not worship in this mountain or in Jerusalem, but you will worship in spirit and in truth.\"\u00a0 Notice the shift in categories from geography to spirit.\u00a0 And the reason He shifted from mountain in Jerusalem to truth and spirit, is because truth and spirit can be anywhere, anytime.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIn fact, Jesus Himself becomes the new temple.\u00a0 Christianity is the one religion that has no geographic center.\u00a0 We have no shrine.\u00a0 You don't have to go anywhere or move one single muscle to get right with God through Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ is here, now, whenever He is called upon.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo I would say \u2013 \"Call upon the name of the Lord, and you will be saved,\" Romans 10:13.\u00a0 And you can do that without moving your tongue.\u00a0 A paralyzed person lying in bed, unable to move eyelash or tongue, can call upon the name of the Lord in their heart, and He promises you, \"Call upon Me as Savior, as Lord, as treasure, and you will have all your sins forgiven, and you will have a righteousness imputed to you.\u00a0 You will have a home in heaven with me forever, because you have just honored me as a great Savior.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 What I would say to the listener after the compelling picture you have presented to them of the love of God, poured out in the person of Jesus Christ, after we have spent an entire broadcast describing the cross and how attractive it is:\u00a0 If right now, that picture, the person of Jesus Christ, and all the cross represents is attractive to you as Savior, Lord, and treasure, right now, don't drive another mile.\u00a0 Don't do another activity at work or at home or wherever you are listening to this broadcast.\u00a0 Right now, stop and make it right with God.\u00a0 Do business with Him.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong>\u00a0 And, you know, I would just add \u2013 when you use the word \"attractive,\" they're going to feel that as yes and no, aren't they?\u00a0 Because to Christians the cross is horrific, it is ugly.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIn fact, we've seen it in the movie.\u00a0 It's really ugly.\u00a0 Mel Gibson's, \"The Passion of Christ\" portrays Gethsemane and the cross for what it really was, and yet in that very substitutionary ugliness is the attraction.\u00a0 I mean, my only hope is that that didn't happen to me, it happened to Him for me, and so I am both repulsed by it \u2013 I've talked to people who say they can't watch more than a third of that movie, it's so horrible.\u00a0 And yet others are drawn to that movie, because that it happened is my only hope.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo I hope that my effort to describe the meaning of that suffering will really help people see what that's all about.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0And it\u2019s not just that it\u2019s our only hope for the next life, but it\u2019s also what calibrates our life for this life.\u00a0 It\u2019s what gives this life its purpose.\u00a0 What Christ did on the cross to reconcile us to God is what brings significance to how we live today, and you\u2019ve made that so clear not only here as we\u2019ve talked about it this week, but also in the book that you wrote called <em>Don\u2019t Waste Your Life<\/em>.\u00a0 I hope our listeners have either read the book by now or have called us to get a copy.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIn fact, now the book comes with a DVD of you speaking on this subject.\u00a0 So if a listener goes to FamilyLifeToday.com and orders a copy of Dr. John Piper\u2019s book <em>Don\u2019t Waste Your Life<\/em>, you\u2019ll get both the book and the DVD and this is something that you may want to do in a study group with high school students or with college students or with the adults in your church.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe title of the book, again, is <em>Don\u2019t Waste Your Life<\/em>.\u00a0 You can find out more about it online at FamilyLifeToday.com or call 1-800-FLTODAY, 1-800-358-6329.\u00a0 That\u2019s 1-800-F as in \u201cfamily,\u201d L as in \u201clife,\u201d and then the word \u201cTODAY.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI know that just a couple of years ago, Dr. Piper, you wrote a book on marriage.\u00a0 In fact, I remember hearing you speak on the subject of marriage in (I think) 2000, when FamilyLife hosted an event called \u201cBuilding Strong Families in Your Church.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou spoke at that event on \u201cMarriage Lived to the Glory of God.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe thought that message was so profound that we wanted to make it available as a way of saying \u201cthank you\u201d to those folks who are able to help support the ministry of FamilyLife Today with a donation this month.\u00a0 All you have to do is go to FamilyLifeToday.com and make a donation online or call 1-800-FL-TODAY to make a donation.\u00a0 When you do, just request a copy either of the audio CD or the DVD of Dr. Piper speaking on marriage, \u201cMarriage Lived to the Glory of God.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf you make your donation online at FamilyLifeToday.com and you\u2019d like a copy of the message, then either type the word \u201cGLORYCD\u201d or \u201cGLORYDVD\u201d into the online key code box on the donation form, or when you call 1-800-FL-TODAY and make a donation over the phone, just say, \u201cI\u2019d like the CD or the DVD of that message on marriage that they were talking about on the radio.\u201d\u00a0 They\u2019ll know what you mean, and we\u2019ll send you Dr. Piper\u2019s message on what a marriage looks like lived to the glory of God.\u00a0 Again, thanks for your support of the ministry.\u00a0 We do appreciate your financial partnership with us here at <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, tomorrow we want to encourage you to be back with us when we\u2019re going to hear a message from our friend Tommy Nelson.\u00a0 Tommy\u2019s a pastor in the Dallas\/Fort Worth area in Denton, Texas.\u00a0\u00a0 The message is all about how we can better understand our responsibilities as husbands and as wives in a marriage relationship.\u00a0 I hope you can tune in for that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 I want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team.\u00a0 On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We will see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelp for today.\u00a0 Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you.\u00a0 However, there is a cost to produce them for our website.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright \u00a9 2011 FamilyLife.\u00a0 All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/\">www.FamilyLife.com<\/a>\u00a0 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