{"id":2470,"date":"2022-09-28T05:00:55","date_gmt":"2022-09-28T09:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/?post_type=resource&#038;p=2470"},"modified":"2022-09-27T15:06:27","modified_gmt":"2022-09-27T19:06:27","slug":"5-biblical-truths-about-time-and-productivity-part-4","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/5-biblical-truths-about-time-and-productivity-part-4\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Biblical Truths About Time and Productivity, Part 4"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith\u2014and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God\u2014not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God\u2019s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. <\/em>(Eph. 2:8-10)<\/p>\n<p>Over the past few weeks, we\u2019ve explored three biblical truths about time and productivity:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/5-biblical-truths-about-time-and-productivity-part-1\/\">Truth #1<\/a>: Our longing for timelessness is good and God-given<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/5-biblical-truths-about-time-and-productivity-part-2\/\">Truth #2<\/a>: Sin has ensured we will all die with unfinished symphonies<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/5-biblical-truths-about-time-and-productivity-part-3\/\">Truth #3<\/a>: God will finish the work we leave unfinished<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But here\u2019s the thing: Even though God doesn\u2019t need us to be productive (see Truth #3),\u00a0<em>we<\/em>\u00a0often need\u00a0<em>ourselves<\/em>\u00a0to be productive in order to feel a sense of self-worth.<\/p>\n<p>So before we go any further, I want you to stop and let this truth sink in:\u00a0<em>The gospel frees us from the\u00a0<\/em>need<em>\u00a0to be productive.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The good news of the gospel is that \u201cwhile we were still sinners, Christ died for us\u201d (Rom. 5:8). And because we did nothing to\u00a0<em>earn<\/em>\u00a0his grace, there is nothing we can do to\u00a0<em>lose<\/em>\u00a0it. No matter how productive you are in this life, your status as an adopted child of God will never,\u00a0ever\u00a0change. In the words of the great preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones: \u201cA Christian is something before [they do] anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ironically, it\u2019s that truth that leads us to be wildly productive. Why? Because working to earn someone\u2019s favor is exhausting. But working in response to unconditional favor is intoxicating. Once you realize that God accepts you no matter how productive you are in this life, you\u00a0<em>want<\/em>\u00a0to be productive, as a loving act of worship, for His agenda.<\/p>\n<p>This is what the apostle Paul was getting at in Ephesians 5. After expounding upon the gospel of grace in chapters 1-4, Paul reminds us of our status as \u201cdearly loved children\u201d of God in 5:1. What is our response to our adoption as sons and daughters of God? Paul answers that question in verses 15-16: \u201cSee then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paul is saying that part of our response to the gospel is to \u201credeem the time\u201d \u2014 to manage our time as carefully and wisely as possible. In other words, the gospel is our ultimate source of both rest\u00a0<em>and\u00a0<\/em>ambition.<\/p>\n<p>The question now is straightforward: Where can we look for practical wisdom as to how to redeem our time? The general answer is to look to God\u2019s Word, but more specifically to the life of Christ \u2014 the eternal God who became a time-bound human being. More on that truth next week!<\/p>\n<p><em>This post originally appeared at <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/jordanraynor.com\/twbw\/a-christian-is-something-before-they-do-anything\/\"><em>Jordan\u2019s blog.<\/em><\/a><br \/>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith\u2014and this is not from yourselves, &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/5-biblical-truths-about-time-and-productivity-part-4\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">5 Biblical Truths About Time and Productivity, Part 4<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2455,"template":"","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"channels":[],"topics":[53],"languages":[],"class_list":["post-2470","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-article","topics-replanting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.0 (Yoast SEO v24.0) - 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