Experiential Orthodoxy

In The Prodigal God, Tim Keller asks the question: "Why would Jesus, to convey what he had come to do, choose to turn 150 gallons of water into superb wine in order to keep a party going?" He response is that "salvation is not only objective and legal but also [is] subjective and experiential." As Jonathan Edwards says, "The difference between believing that God is gracious and tasting that God is gracious is as different as having a rational belief that honey is sweet and having the actual sense of its sweetness."

This Christmas, for the glory of God, I actually want to taste of the gospel, savoring the beauty, wonder and power of God's love that has been expressed in the cross of Jesus. Yes, the legal dimension of God's grace (justification) is profoundly amazing, and the experiential (adoption) is incomparably sweet.