Radical Review- Chapter 8

I am slowly moving toward the conclusion of my review of David Platt’s new book Radical. Chapter 8 sees Dr. Platt attempting to motivate us to go to the nations. This was not my favorite chapter in the book but it did have some nice points in it.

Living When Dying is Gain

The first suggestion in this chapter is to go where there is need. This is an excellent suggestion and I could not agree more. A great example of this locally is in downtown Atlanta. There are many needs and there are not enough workers. So many times we overlook what we can do right where we in favor of something more exotic or appealing. Knocking on doors and passing out food in the projects does not sound quite as appealing as going on a mission trip overseas and yet the need is right there. We should be going, but we should also be looking for needs to be met where we are as well. I do not have to focus my entire year on a one week trip 3000 miles away when I can focus 40 weeks locally at 1/10 the cost.

The second suggestion is that we should go into danger. I believe this is a bit misguided in its representation of scripture here. Dr. Platt is right to question that safety is exactly where God wants us, but suggesting that we intentionally seek out danger is flat out wrong. In fact later in the next section Dr. Platt quotes Jesus as saying “when you are persecuted in one place, flee to another”. Yet here he is suggesting that we intentionally seek out danger. Perhaps it could be better stated that our “going” could very well lead us into danger.

Dr. Platt is correct again in stating that we will not be loved for being radical followers of Christ. I have heard many people state that if more people were like Jesus then more people would come to Christ. Please remember that the 1st century Jews liked Jesus so much that they plotted to kill Him. There is a balance somewhere here and I am not sure where it is. The message of the cross is offensive but that does not mean that we must be as well. Truth in love requires tact that many of us are lacking and I am not immune to being tactless at times. Perhaps it is best stated that we should not be surprised to be persecuted but we should not intentionally be seeking out persecution either.

This chapter concludes with stories of heroes of the faith. People that have gone and paid heavy prices for their faith (Paton, Elliot, Studd) to make sure that some who had not heard of Christ would have the opportunity. Dr. Platt then relates the story of a modern martyr who died while she was in the mission field. This section is inspirational and leaves me questioning how much I would willingly lay down for Him. It is a good question to ask.

I have to be honest and say that I was a bit disappointed in this chapter overall although there were some high points that were worth reading. Most of this stemmed from the section “Go to Danger” and the reasons for this were mentioned above.

Radical Review- Chapter 7

I am continuing my review of David Platt’s new book Radical. In chapter 7 he takes on why we should feel a sense of urgency in taking the Gospel to the nations. I found this to be the most difficult chapter to review and I apologize if I am not as clear as I would like to be in putting my reasoning onto paper.

There is No Plan B

4.5 billion people. It is a staggering number. Dr. Platt appeals to this number of lost people in an attempt to motivate us to go to the nations and proclaim the Gospel. He uses 6 Biblical truths to illustrate his point:

1. All people have knowledge of God
2. All people reject God
3. All people are guilty before God
4. All people are condemned for rejecting God
5. God has made a way of salvation for the lost
6. People cannot come to God apart from faith in Christ

In light of these 6 truths, the message of Paul becomes clearer and the urgency more apparent:

For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"
(Romans 10:13-15)

Dr. Platt points out that although God could have chosen another path for the redemption of believers, He did not. He chose the path that commands us to go and make disciples of all men. What a joy and privilege it is to be able to serve God in bringing the Gospel to the nations! As the chapter is aptly titled, there is no Plan B. If we have a desire for the salvation of the lost then we must take the message that can save them, to them.

There is a large part of me that would like to simply give a large thumbs up to this chapter at this point and move on. Unfortunately for me, I could not simply read this chapter and treat it as if I have never heard David Platt preach before. He often preaches about the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. One good way of looking at is that salvation is all of God and sin is all of man. I am a firm believer that this is the correct starting point in theology. The problem in formulating a belief system beyond these two truths is maintaining both truths without sacrificing one at the expense of the other.

Perhaps the more common way this is done today is by emphasizing the responsibility of man too heavily. The end result of this is a theology that has man at its center and not God. It is quite possible that this chapter will be viewed by many as along these lines. Dr. Platt repeatedly emphasizes that we should go so that people can hear the Gospel and as a result, be saved. This would give you the impression that he believes that more people might get saved if the Gospel is preached to all nations but this is simply not so. Dr. Platt subscribes to a definite (limited) atonement and to irresistible grace. So why the sense of urgency? If it is really because we are being obedient in extending God’s glory then why appeal to the number of lost at all?

It appears to me that Dr. Platt would like to apply a Great Commission hermeneutic to his radical concept of taking the Gospel to the nations. I am fine with that. I just think that he needs to be consistent in his application. If he truly believes that there will be no impact on the number of those that are saved as a result of the Gospel being preached then don’t use the numbers to justify taking the Gospel to the world. However, if he believes that the Gospel can make a difference in people’s lives then he needs to clarify how this can be so in light of his beliefs in irresistible grace and limited atonement.

On the other extreme, some people emphasize the sovereignty of God to the point of removing the responsibility from man to respond to the Gospel call. The end result of this is causal determinism. For my friends that subscribe to this view I have a simple question. Do you think that you can argue effectively to the point of convincing me that you are correct in your beliefs? If so, is it because your arguments are logically coherent or is it because it has been determined that I will believe you? If it is the former then my believing you is based on logic and not determinism. If it is the latter then truth is defeated and has no real meaning.

Of course at the root of causal determinism is the problem of evil. If God is the ultimate cause of everything then He is ultimately the cause of the fall and sin as well. Some (Vincent Cheung, R. C. Sproul Jr.) have embraced this but I can not help but ask how this can be. This line of thinking leads to questions about the meaning of justice in relation to God and this is a major stumbling block for me. However, the larger problem here is the effect that it has on scripture. If God is the cause of sin then how can we have faith in the words of the Bible? If we must redefine just and impartial then I am left to wonder what other words we must redefine as well. A good friend of mine likes to say the Bible means what it says. If it says that God is just and impartial then I see no reason to redefine those terms.

So how do we maintain a balance between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man? It is a difficult question to address. I think there are a great number of people that desire to err on the side of caution today and as a result unwittingly remove the responsibility from man. I would say to these people that if we truly wish to extend the glory of God then we must be faithful to His words. If the exaltation of one of God’s attributes leads to the denigration of others then perhaps we need to reexamine what we believe. What I find most interesting is that it seems to me that when we try to exalt God’s sovereignty to the exclusion of His other attributes we actually place a limit on what God can do. Is it not possible that God accomplishes all that He desires and still allows for permissive acts? Better still, isn’t that what scripture affirms?

At this point you may be asking yourself how this can be. Although I do have an opinion on the matter, I will leave that for another day and a separate blog dedicated to that purpose. For now I would simply encourage you to affirm all that scripture teaches and not try to make scripture fit your presuppositions.

Radical Review- Chapter 6

Radical Review- Chapter 6

I am continuing my review of David Platt’s new book Radical. Today we turn our attention somewhat to the American dream and the pursuit of stuff.

How Much is Enough?

At the root of the chapter is the question that we must ask ourselves. How much material wealth is enough? This is a tricky question. Too many Christians today have been taught that material blessings follow faith. This is explicitly taught by many prosperity preachers but Dr. Platt is quick to point out that it may underlie our own faith as well. After all, if I am following Jesus and doing what I am supposed to do doesn’t He want to reward my obedience? This is simply bad theology at best and borderline heresy at worst.

The question becomes tricky in its application. Does every follower of Christ need to sell everything to follow Him? Maybe not, but how do we know? Unfortunately this question is not addressed as well as it could be.

For most of the chapter Dr. Platt focuses on the abundance that we have as Americans and the lack of basic needs that so many are suffering from. I must say that I agree with Dr. Platt that there are needs and that we can not simply sit on our hands while the world is starving. The danger here though is to act out of compassion for the physical needs and export the same theology that has led to the American church losing her way. The focus should not be on feeding and clothing the poor but on bringing them the Gospel. Of course we must also be addressing their physical needs as well, but this is secondary to the message of the cross.

I will add that I think that the church needs to lead the way in taking up this challenge. It is no wonder that we have churchgoers that are focused on their bottom line when they attend churches that are more concerned with how much you give than they are with meeting your spiritual needs. We want bigger buildings and better productions and I must ask myself the same question for the church that I do of myself- how much is enough? If our primary outreach teaches the community how to balance their checkbook and not how to follow Christ, then what have we accomplished? Certainly not making disciples.

The past two weeks I have been participating in an outreach in inner-city Atlanta that seems to be on the right track. We have been going into poor neighborhoods and delivering food to people that need it and also praying with them and offering them love without judgment. The idea is to make disciples. There are many approaches but if we are not striving toward that, then we will not have the multiplying community that was the focus of the previous chapter.

What I found to be most interesting about this chapter is that Dr. Platt seemed to focus on our emotions when making his appeal for us to ask ourselves how much is enough. This appeal seems to be rooted in our humanistic tendencies. However, when we get to how his church has applied this thinking to their ministry I see nothing but Biblical responses. They have adopted within their community and sponsored churches overseas out of their abundance. This is the Biblical picture of using our abundance to extend God’s glory. I am not sure how he could have made his argument better but it seems that he could have. Especially considering how his church applied it to the needs that they saw.

Radical Review- Chapter 5

Radical Review- Chapter 5

I am continuing my review of David Platt’s book Radical. In the fifth chapter he takes on how to extend God’s glory.

The Multiplying Community

One might expect a radical plan in a book called Radical for fulfilling God’s plan to extend His glory. Perhaps we need to have bigger churches or have bigger shows to attract more people? Maybe we need to be more in tune with what is current and relevant? Thankfully, Dr. Platt does not suggest any of these options. Instead he recommends that we follow the example of Christ and simply make disciples.

Dr. Platt then turns his attention to problems with this plan for a multiplying community. The first problem is that most people do not know what it means to make disciples. When we look at what Jesus did it is not that difficult to see. He walked with His disciples. He prayed with them. He instructed and corrected them. It was a slow and tedious process, but in the end, it is what He thanked His Father for prior to going to the cross.

The second problem, although touched on only very briefly by Platt, is that we are a results driven country. We want the quick and easy way. We are constantly looking for ways to streamline processes and make them more efficient. Making disciples the way that Jesus did is a messy slow process and it may take a while to see results.

However, it is easy to contrast the way that we operate today vs. the disciple making process in the Bible and see the differences. Great shows with great speakers entertain us and leave us with a desire to be entertained again. This fills church pews and keeps the congregation happy. I must ask though, how many of those that are being entertained on Sunday are looking for ways to bring others to Christ? The vast majority are looking for their spiritual entertainment for the week so that they can feel good about being pious.

The slow process of making disciples has different results. It results in followers who are hungry for righteousness and eager for others to share their knowledge and love of God. I have been blessed to be part of such a small group where disciples were made. My good friend Dave Snyder started a Bible study in his house a few years ago and I think that this is exactly the type of process that Dr. Platt has in mind when he uses the example of the Cuban house churches.

Dr. Platt also related a story of him being a disciple of Jim Shaddix. He enjoyed following Jim to the point of actually going running with him despite not being a runner. I personally would have enjoyed the story more if Dr. Platt had been the runner and the one discipling him had been the one to go out of his comfort zone. As Paul states:

To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
(1Corinthians 9:20-23)

There is nothing wrong with the story that Dr. Platt relates but I would suggest that if we want to make disciples of others then we must be willing to find common interests with them.

Overall, I enjoyed this chapter and I appreciate the underlying math involved. If we have large congregations where nobody is being discipled then what are we really accomplishing? However, if one person can disciple two other people and those people learn from that and pass it on then we are quickly moving into exponential growth. This is what Jesus did and to think that we can improve on the model is not Biblical.

Radical Review- Chapter 4

Radical Review- Chapter 4


I am continuing my review of David Platt’s book Radical. As part of my review I am actually reading through the book a second time. The chapter I am reviewing today was not one of my favorites the first time I read the book. Perhaps there is a good reason for that.

The Great Why of God

The beginning of chapter 4 is somewhat shocking to me. The first time I read it I was appalled. Dr. Platt relates how while meeting with some church leaders and sharing some of his mission work, they related that they wished God would just annihilate the people. Surely there can not be people in the church that have such an attitude? A second reading of this chapter forced me to examine my own attitude concerning the lost (especially later in the chapter). Perhaps being appalled is the appropriate first step that leads to conviction.

Dr. Platt attempts in this chapter to explain why God has created us. He believes that there is a two fold purpose and that is to enjoy His grace and to extend His glory. He then goes on to examine what most Americans believe and contrast it with what we should believe. This is brought home by transforming the sentence “God loves me.” into “God loves me so that I might make Him known.” By doing so, we have changed the focus of the Gospel from ourselves to God. I would also add that focusing only on “God loves me” would be only enjoying God’s grace and not extending His glory.

The next section of the chapter focuses on the excuses people make to not take the Gospel to the nations. This ranges from “I’m not called to missions” to “I only feel called to local missions.” I have to admit that a second reading here led me to reexamine myself a bit. I have used the excuse that I have never felt God calling me to foreign missions before and yet His word plainly and clearly calls me. I am sure that I am not the only one who has been waiting for a special invitation and who has felt that missions in the US was more than adequate (a prideful I am doing more than most perhaps?), but the clear message is that we are to make His name known to all the nations. Local stuff is great- don’t stop doing that. Supporting those who are going is great as well- don’t’ stop doing that either. But still I am left with “How will they know unless someone tells them?” Perhaps it would be wise to join the list of someones.

Enjoy His grace. Extend His glory. I would be cautious to affirm that these are the sole reasons that God has created us, but I can certainly affirm that there is overwhelming Biblical support that these are at least among the reasons that He did. A second reading of this chapter convicted me more than the first time that my lack of action is no better than the words of the people the people that appalled me. Call it virtual atheism if you will. Perhaps this is why I did not like this chapter the first time around. It is easy to sit back and attempt to defend your actions. I love God; see how my actions here (locally) demonstrate my trust in Him? This is all well and good but our lack of action elsewhere shows us to be no better than the church leaders Dr. Platt met with. Perhaps we are even in a worse position for these leaders at least were honest about how they felt. It is something to think about.

This chapter also included (IMO) two of my friend Canyon’s objections. The first is the semi-appeal to a sort of social Gospel by working on our emotions and perhaps even guilting us into action. The reference to a poor woman in Honduras who was 8 months pregnant and living in a dump does tend to make us think about her physical needs. However, Platt clearly states that our purpose is to enjoy God’s grace and extend His glory. Our primary goal should be to make Him known to this woman but if we neglect her physical needs then what good is our faith?

If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
(James 2:15-17)

The second objection is the appeals found in this chapter to “God told me to do this”. I have to question whether the mentions of this type of scenario are actual verbal communications with God or merely a way of communicating the conviction of the Holy Spirit that a person feels. I would also state that any conviction one feels should be weighed against scripture to see if it is Biblical. I must say that when reading this the first time, I took these references to mean the latter. A second reading has not convinced me otherwise. I certainly agree that one must be careful in telling others that God has told you to do something. Perhaps better phrasing could have been chosen that would have left little doubt in the reader’s mind. For example “When confronted with this abject poverty and in light of James 2:15-17 I could not help but feel convicted that I could be doing more with what God has given me.”

Overall I felt more convicted by this chapter when I read it again.

Radical Review- Chapter 3

Radical Review- Chapter 3

I am continuing my review of David Platt’s book Radical. This is part 3 in a 9 part series where I am giving a recap of the chapter and my thoughts on what Dr. Platt relates. One thing that I have begun to notice is that Dr. Platt may have been better served to use the subtitles as the actual titles for each chapter

The Importance of Relying on God’s Power

Dr. Platt begins this chapter by telling two stories of people relying upon the power of God rather than their own power. The first relates to a missionary who was in an unreached area and was called out by a witch doctor. The missionary could have used his physical powers to take care of the witch doctor but instead called upon God to be his defender and the man was struck dead. This may not have been the most radical response ever (to rely upon God) but it sure was a radical display of the power of God in the life of one of His believers. Imagine the witnessing opportunity- Let me tell you about the God who can provide breath for life and take it away as well!

The second example is Jericho from the Book of Joshua. Now if ever there was a case of radical obedience, this was it. Imagine what our reaction might be- “you want me to walk around in circles and blow some horns- then what? Are you serious?” Fortunately for us Joshua had a trust in God that allowed him to be obedient and to rely upon the power of God in this situation.

Chapter 3 is also where we are first introduced to the “American Dream” in the book. Dr. Platt shows how we as a country value our independence and success. He also explains how we can easily build a church that is successful by our standards and totally lacking in desperation for the power of God that was prevalent in the early church. As a nice touch, he also humbly admits how when he first took over the Church at Brook Hills he applied the “American Dream” philosophy to it. He wondered at all that could be accomplished by the power and talent assembled there rather than simply waiting on the Lord to provide the power. He then relates the story of George Muller and how much he accomplished by trusting in God and His power fully.

Dr. Platt then proceeds to talk about the power of prayer and uses the illustration of a father and child. I found this section to be very effective and I often return to the words of Christ telling me that I must have “the faith of a child”. I think many people think this is an innocent faith without knowledge, but I do not think that is what Jesus meant. Instead, when a child asks for something from his father, he trusts that his father will provide for him. To me this embodies the faith of a child. I also like the way that Dr. Platt summarized the gifts that the Father gives us:

This is the great promise of God in prayer. We ask God for gifts in prayer, and He gives us the Giver. We ask God for supply, and He gives us the Source. We ask God for money, and he doesn’t give us cash; instead, so to speak, He gives us the bank!

I thought this chapter did a nice job of showing the disconnect between worldly success and kingdom success. We often think that by being more committed or more diligent we can do more for God. The reality is we can do more for God by relying on Him to do the work and surrendering to His will. Below is an excerpt by Adrian Rogers in his book The Incredible Power of Kingdom Authority of a conversation with Josef T’son that seems to capture the heart of the matter concerning the “American Dream”:

“Josef,” I asked, “What is the difference between commitment and surrender?”
He said, “When you make a commitment, you are still in control, no matter how noble the thing that you commit to. One can commit to pray, to study the Bible, to give his money, or to commit to automobile payments, or to lose weight. Whatever he chooses to do, he commits to. But surrender is different. If someone holds a gun and asks you to lift your hands in the air as a token of surrender, you don’t tell that person what you are committed to. You simply surrender and do as you are told.”
He said. “Americans love commitment because they are still in control. But the key word is surrender. We are to be slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

I would give a cautionary warning that committing to radical obedience is not quite the same thing as surrender.

Radical Review- Chapter 2

Radical Review- Chapter 2

I am continuing my review of David Platt’s new book Radical subtitled “Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream”. In chapter 2 Dr. Platt turns his attention to the Gospel message.

Discovering the Truth and Beauty of the Gospel

Dr. Platt begins chapter 2 by explaining how he first came up with the idea for Secret Church. It arose from the desire of members of a real underground house church to have a better understanding of the Bible. This led to almost non-stop teaching by Dr. Platt through the Old Testament and eventually through the New Testament as well. Platt then relates how he has incorporated this practice into his own church. Six hours of no flash Bible study on a Friday night may seem like it would not go over well, but these events sell out well in advance.

The next sections of this chapter focus on who God is, who we are, and how we should respond. Platt does not dwell as long on who God is as I would like but he does a nice job of summarizing how we have minimized some of God’s attributes that may cause us discomfort. If you have never read Your God is too Small by J. B. Phillips, I would suggest that it does a more thorough treatment of the subject.

Dr. Platt is solid in his description of who we are and how we have fallen short although this is also briefer than it might have been. I will add that his story of the preaching professor that would take his students to the cemetery and implore them to try to raise the dead was a sober reminder that only the words of God can bring a man back to life. All of us need God to bring us to life and it is only through His words that this can be accomplished.

How should we respond to the news that God both loves us and is angry because we have offended Him? Dr. Platt takes the time to hammer home the warning in Matthew 7- not everyone who professes to be saved will be saved. This is a sobering passage. I agree that we should examine ourselves and make our calling and election sure, but I am a bit unsure of Dr. Platt’s recommendations after this.

Overall, I enjoyed chapter 2. However, there were a couple of sticking points for me that I would like to point out. I am afraid that in our rush to rid our church of “Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your lives” that we will actually stop telling people that God does love them and focus only on His wrath. Clearly this would be wrong and if you need an example just Google Fred Phelps. The second is one that I found prevalent throughout the book and I will touch on more later. Dr. Platt seems to want to apply a Great Commission hermeneutic to scripture and I do not take exception to this. The problem is that Dr. Platt struggles with it and you end up with a mixed message. This is highlighted in the section on how we should respond (subtitled Radical Revelation to be Radically Received). The message seems to be that the Gospel requires a radical response and we are incapable of making that response but we better do it.

Radical Review- Chapter 1

Radical Review- Chapter 1

My good friend Canyon posted a review of David Platt’s book Radical on his blog and asked for my comments. Rather than responding to each of his points, I am simply going to provide a summary of each chapter and my brief thoughts on Dr. Platt’s work. Be warned ahead of time that I will be providing a summary that may spoil some of the book for you if you have not read it. I am not as eloquent a speaker or writer as Dr. Platt though, so I am sure that I will not ruin it too much.

What Radical Abandonment to Jesus Really Means

Dr. Platt spends much of the first chapter contrasting the call of Jesus during His ministry with our commitment to Him today. To emphasize his point, Dr. Platt appeals to some of the more outrageous statements that Jesus made during His ministry.

And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
(Luke 9:23)

So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
(John 6:53-54)

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
(Luke 9:57-62)

Each of these statements stands in stark contrast with the modern message that Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Take up your instrument of torture and follow me. Drink my blood and feed off of my flesh. Abandon your life and let the dead bury their own. If nothing else, Dr. Platt does a good job of getting our attention in the first chapter. However he does not stop there.

Dr. Platt also gives several examples of churches in other countries where people have given up everything to follow Christ. He is quick to point out that these people have done so gladly. They take joy in their persecution and consider themselves blessed just to be able to hear the Gospel. When one contrasts this with the church in America it is not too difficult to see that our idea of persecution and suffering is not the same as the rest of the world.

There are two contrasting points that I took out of the first chapter. The first is quite simple: am I really ready to abandon my own desires and pursuits to follow Christ? Or as the first chapter is aptly titled (slightly paraphrased) is Jesus someone worth losing everything for? While it is quite easy to answer this question yes, it is far more difficult to show by our actions that we believe what we are affirming.

The second point is how do I respond to this call to follow Christ without tying myself to some sort of legalistic obligation? Am I being radical enough? Dr. Platt addresses this some in an online conversation with Kevin DeYoung. We should not be responding to the call out of fear or obligation but out of our love to Christ and His call to obedience. The trick is to figure out if you are really following Jesus or merely paying Him lip service.

What I see in the first chapter is a simple call. Jesus said “Follow me.” Are you following Him? Are you really ready to give up anything to follow Him? I can certainly understand why this chapter was chosen to be the booklet entitled “The Radical Question”. It gets your attention and challenges you (the reader) to examine yourself. The call to examine yourself is Biblical and we should constantly be on guard against becoming complacent. I will leave you today with Paul’s words:

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
(2Corinthians 13:5)