DAY FIVE

In general, this Chapter misses the entire definition of faith. The gift of faith, worked only with the Word by the Holy Spirit, puts the believer into possession of the benefits of justification. Anything that does not proceed out of faith proceeds out of sinfulness. Warren seeks a definition of life without building that definition upon the gift of faith. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit which accompanies the imparting of faith provides the believer with understanding of life temporal and life eternal. Warren may be more correct, on page 41, when he says “How you define life determines your destiny” than he knows. The presence or absence of saving faith determines eternal destiny.

Accordingly, it appears to me that Warren is inviting people to build and base their lives on what he calls “a faulty life metaphor”, page 42.

In that Warren fails to see the Scriptures as presenting all of its teachings centered upon the doctrine of justification as a forensic work of God only, Warren’s metaphors of test, trust, and temporary assignment are Law-based, rather than expressions of the Gospel.

Warren’s concept of testing fails to predicate God’s work in the life of a believer in God’s grace. That testing is a refining wherein the believer is driven to hold on all the more to God’s gracious promises in Christ and thereby grow in faith and servanthood to others. Warren’s concept encourages works righteousness. This is particularly seen on page 44 where Warren says “Every time you pass a test, God notices and makes plans to reward you in eternity.” Where is Christ Crucified in Warren’s message?

Warren even makes the concept of trust a work of man. Faith is certainly trust in God’s promises, and particularly the promise of vicarious satisfaction, and the personal appropriation of those promises by the believer, all by the work of the Holy Spirit with the Word. Warren makes trust a works based stewardship to the point of saying “At the end of your life on earth you will be evaluated and rewarded according to how well you handled what God entrusted to you”, page 45. Warren has now completely eliminated Christ from salvation as well as all of the promises included within our salvation in Christ Jesus.

If we wish to look at our works, including our stewardship of time, talent, and money, under the Law, we fail! That Law examination of our lives should drive us all the more into the free gift of life in and by Christ Crucified only. Our lives are to be but a response to the free gift, empowered by the Holy Spirit working through Word and Sacrament, with all our boasting to be only of Christ Jesus.

Warren’s language is completely a language of punishment and reward, expectations and efforts, Law and works.

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