Michael E. Wittmer - Becoming Worldly Saints: Can You Serve Jesus and Still Enjoy Your Life?

I found Michael Wittmers book an absolute delight. It is well-written, it is easy to understand, and it sometimes made me laugh out loud. But more importantly, it is wise, balanced, thoroughly biblical, passionate for Christ and the gospel, and outlines a broad, liberating, and life-affirming perspective that is badly needed in the world today. Furthermore, it is rooted in sound scholarship and wide reading. This is popular theology at its best. I recommend it enthusiastically.

Dr. Al Wolters, Professor Emeritus of Religion and Theology at Redeemer University College

Michael Wittmer has written a very fine book. In this book, Mike is practical. In this book, Mike is funny. In this book, Mike is biblical. In this book, Mike is intelligent. In this book, Mike is wise. In this book, Mike is down-to-earth (literally). In this book, Mike is spiritual (literally). In this book, Mike is controversial; but the so-called bottom line is this: In this book Michael is helpful to the body of Christ. How many stars can I give this book of Mikes? I will give it five! And thats too low.

David Naugle, Distinguished Professor, Dallas Baptist University, and author of Reordered Love, Reordered Lives: Learning the Deep Meaning of Happiness

In typical Mike Wittmer style, this book brings clever and readable relief to those of us who desire to live a godly life yet detest the thought of becoming a stodgy, droopy hermit Christian. With theological precision, Mike takes us on a journey toward a biblically balanced life. With tons of practical advice, this book is just what you need to live a vibrant and joyful existence in the midst of a fallen world. And no one is better to write this than Mike. I know him personally, and he is the poster child for an authentic worldly saint!

Joe Stowell, President of Cornerstone University

Becoming Worldly Saints addresses a topic that is on all of our minds as Christ-followers but we are afraid to talk about. It is an important, though provoking, smart read that is needed in the church today. , Rightly Dividing the Word, is worth the price of the book alone.

Tim Armstrong, Senior Pastor, The Chapel, Akron, OH

Is it okay for radical Christians to play golf while there are unreached people groups? Should Christians ever splurge and go out to eat? Committed Christians struggle with how they should balance Christs redemptive mandate to go into the entire world and make disciples while still enjoying God-given pleasures of life. In Becoming Worldly Saints, Mike Wittmer equips Christians to see life through a crystal-clear worldview in order to be appropriately balanced in their commitments. Wittmer shows in a winsome and engaging style how a proper understanding of biblical theology equips us to wisely make day-to-day decisions: whether considering a call to missions or going to the symphony.

Dr. Chris Brauns, Pastor of the Red Brick Church, Stillman Valley, IL, and author of Unpacking Forgiveness; When the Word Leads Your Pastoral Search; and Bound Together

This book frees people from viewing this life as though it was the waiting room of heaven. Finally, the church has a book that unlocks the door to understanding how Christians can love life as much as the Author of Life does.

Craig R. Jarvis, Lead Pastor, Medinah Baptist Church, Normal, IL

ZONDERVAN

Becoming Worldly Saints

Copyright 2015 by Michael E. Wittmer

ePub Edition December 2014: ISBN 978-0-310-51639-2

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr SE., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wittmer, Michael Eugene.

Becoming worldly saints : can you serve Jesus and still enjoy your life? / Michael E. Wittmer.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-310-51638-5 (softcover)

1. JoyReligious aspects--Christianity. 2. Pleasure--Religious aspectsChristianity. 3. Christian life. 4. SalvationChristianity. 5. SalvationBiblical teaching. I. Title.

BV4647.J68W59 2015

248.4dc23

2014029375

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Cover design and photography: John Hamilton Design

Interior design: Matthew Van Zomeren

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 / DCI / 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For James McGoldrick and James Grier, who taught me that redemption is as large as creation.

CONTENTS

F aithful Christian living involves a paradox: our faith is both world-affirming and world-denying. World-affirming in that we believe the worlds structures are fundamentally good, a part of Gods good creation now longing to be restored. World-denying in that we believe the worlds systems are pervasively evil, firmly opposed to God and His loving rule and awaiting His judgment.

Miss the goodness of the world structurally, and you start to think the physical creation is bad, so God must be going to do away with it all in the end. The Christian mission becomes getting people to heaven, since the world is going to the other place. Miss the badness of the world systemically, and you start to think sin is not as serious as weve made it out to be, so tinkering around with things in pursuit of improvement is all that is needed. The Christian mission becomes make the world a better place.

Careful Christian thinking holds these two truths in paradox, never allowing one truth to drown out the other, never allowing the extreme position of one side to lead us to the other. To miss one side of this paradox or the other is to distort the beauty of Christianity.

The book you are about to read pushes even deeper, reminding us that world-affirming and world-denying Christianity are two sides of the same coin. We wont deny what needs denying unless we affirm what needs affirming, and vice versa. After all, we were made for this world. We are earthlings, for heavens sake, as Mike says so memorably. When God created Adam out of the dust of the ground, He put his feet back in the dust and gave Him a garden to cultivate. Humans werent made for heaven, but for earth. Or more specifically, heaven on earth a world drenched in the presence of the Creator.

Sin, of course, changed everything, so now the world in one sense is structurally a good thing that needs redemption and in another sense is systemically evil and needs to be purged and made right. The truth of the Christian gospel is that through faith in Jesus Christ, we are promised a new heaven and new earth, a place where righteousness dwells, where the new world both structurally and systemically is harmonious and purposeful. Those who know and love King Jesus will be with Him forever, not in a disembodied state of shadows, but in flesh-and-blood resurrected and restored bodies.