Paul Tripp: We must not settle for anything less than radically transformed lives. We cannot settle for anything less because God will not. God wants all of our being. He will not settle for a portion of who we are.

Kate Crowley: Welcome to Right Here, Right Now and today's program from Paul Tripp Ministries. Join us as Paul connects the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life. Now, here's Paul Tripp.

Paul Tripp: Everyone looks for wisdom. Everyone wants to think of himself as wise. Nobody wants to be the fool. Everybody wants to know; everybody wants to understand; everybody wants to organize, interpret, and explain. We just simply are craving to be wise.

Now if you had to define wisdom, how would you define it? If you had to define wisdom and what it looks like in everyday life, what would you describe? How do you recognize the difference between the wise man and the fool?

See, wisdom can be a tricky thing. When it comes to wisdom, we tend to have vision problems. Let me explain. We tend to look at ourselves, and we tend to see wisdom; and we tend to look at others, and we see foolishness. It is hard to see your own foolishness, and it is typical to give yourself more credit for wisdom than you actually deserve.

What does real wisdom look like? A wise person has an accurate view of his world. A wise person has a humble and accurate view of himself. A wise person has an accurate view of God. A wise person has an accurate sense of his own need for redemption and the provision that's been made in Christ.

Now think about this, isn't this exactly what we said the Bible gives us? The Bible shows us the real world. The Bible shows us real people. The Bible shows us a real God. The Bible shows us real redemption. You see, the four Biblical perspectives that we have been considering give us essential wisdom for everything we will ever face in human life. Have you benefited from this wisdom?

Music: "Headstrong" by 10,000 Maniacs

To your common sense firm arguments
I won't listen to your voice of reason, trying to change my mind
I mind my feelings and not your words, didn't you notice
I'm so headstrong even when I know I'm wrong
Take this to your heart and into your head now
Before you waste your time, call a truce and call a draw

Kate Crowley: This is Right Here, Right Now in today's important lesson, "What the Bible Gives Me." That's coming up on today's study with Paul Tripp. And remember that, at any time, you can log onto paultrippministries.org where you can pick up a copy of Paul's book, War Of Words, an in depth look at the power of words.

While you're there, be sure to check out other important resources including video, audio, and print materials dealing with marriage and parenting. That's paultrippministries.org. More later. Right Here, Right Now continues with Paul Tripp.

Seeing the World as It Really Is

Paul Tripp: It is only when that we see the world exegeted as it really is; it is only when we see ourselves as we actually are; it is only when we see God in all His glory; it is only when we grasp the completeness of the Redeemer's work, that we are able to have a wise, balanced, and functionally worthwhile perspective on anything.

But the problem is that before you can let the Bible encourage and motivate you, you have got to let it humble you. Before you can live on the side of celebration, you have to be willing to walk the road of sadness. Before you can live on that side, you have to live on the other side.

Before you can be truly wise, you have to be willing to admit what a fool you have been. Before you can celebrate the power you have been given, you have to be willing to confess how weak you actually are. Before you can make a difference in your world, you have to understand what is wrong with your world. Before you can recognize your idols, you have to know the one true God.

It's only when you accept the bad news of the Bible that the good news of the Bible becomes good news to you. You see, we've got to have both sides. We've got to have the bad news of the Bible; we have to accept it, and it is terribly bad news, because if you don't accept the bad news of the Bible, you will never understand the depth and quality, pervasiveness, and comprehensiveness of the good news of the Bible. The Bible is this story where good news kisses bad news, and good news wins.

You see, our problem is not that we don't conceptually understand redemption. No, we have a problem that's deeper than that. Our problem tends to be that we don't think we need it. That is why we need to face the real world. That's why we need to face our real selves. That is why we need to face the real God, and that is why we need to face real redemption.

We all desperately need of big dose of reality, and that's exactly what the Bible gives us. We can live in such unreality. We can live in such delusion. We can have such a distorted view of ourselves and the world. We can live with such powerful, personal blindness.

And so what does the Bible do for us? It breaks through our delusions. It penetrates our spiritual blindness, the bad news of the Bible and the good news of the Bible woven together in the fabric of this awesome, redemptive story. They're meant to open your eyes. They're meant to open our eyes to help us see ourselves and our world with clarity and accuracy.

What is wisdom about? Wisdom is about clarity; wisdom is about accuracy; wisdom is about humility; wisdom is about joy. And when we have those things, when those things shape our perspective of our world, we are on the road to becoming wise.

Music: "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna' be a bright, bright, sun shiny day
Gonna' be a bright, bright, sun shiny day
Gonna' be a bright, bright, sun shiny day

Four Foundational Perspectives From the Bible

Paul Tripp: So we have said that the Bible gives us four foundational perspectives. First is the perspective of a real world. The Bible is wonderful in its honesty. It's helpful in the gritty, street-level details of the everyday world. The Bible doesn't pull punches about what life in this fallen world is actually about, actually like.

The Bible introduces us to very real people. These are not plastic people; these are not exotically noble people who always did the right thing in the right way at the right time in the situations they faced. No, these are real flawed people like us, and they provide a mirror for us to look in to see ourselves as we actually are.

The Bible presents to us a real God, a God who is very, very different than the false gods, the plastic deities of idolatry. Jeremiah 10 says that they're likes scarecrows in a melon patch - you have to nail them to a platform, or they'll fall over. Psalm 115 says, "They have eyes that don't see, and ears that don't hear, and hands that don't work." They are false gods. But there's a real God, a God who's awesome in power, and awesome glory, and awesome in wisdom. He is the Lord. He is the Creator. He holds everything together by His power. He's a real God.

Real world; real people; a real God; and then, real redemption. The Bible puts sadness and celebration together as we've just been talking about. And the Bible points us to the fact that, in this sad, sad world, there's a reason to celebrate because there has been provision made; there is an answer; there's a real way in which we've got to say that what we needed was not just a system of redemption. What we actually needed was a Redeemer, and that Redeemer has come. And we don't depend on systems anymore because systems can never deliver what the Redeemer is able to deliver. And He did it fully and He did it completely. That's why the Bible said, "He sat down."

A real world; real people; a real God, and real redemption. Now, let's take a look at what these four perspectives provide for us as we face real life every day. And I want to explain each of these to you.

First of all, these four perspectives give us a comprehensive worldview that addresses everything. Now, you've got to know this about the Bible. The Bible is comprehensive in its content, but not exhaustive in its detail. No, the Bible doesn't topically discuss everything, but the Bible gives us material for understanding everything. The Bible gives us a worldview.

What is a worldview? It's a particular way of looking at the world that helps me to understand and interpret, make sense out of what I face. The Bible is a worldview. It is the most accurate lens on human life that you can ever have, and it gives me a way of thinking about, of interpreting everything.

Second, the Bible gives me practical perspectives on every human problem. Think about this: because the Bible does such a brilliant job of unfolding what 'the' human problem is - sin - then the Bible gives me a way of understanding all the myriad of details of particular concrete applications of that one big problem to the details of situations and relationships of life in a fallen world. Somehow, every human problem is in some way attached to 'the' human problem.

Third thing is the Bible offers me life before death. You see, I don't have to wait for eternity for the good things to come. Oh yes, there will be things that I will only ever experience when sin has finally been defeated, and I'm in eternity forever where there is no suffering, and there is no sin, and there is no death.

But there is real life right now presented in Scripture, a quality of life that would not have been possible without the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, without that great redemptive story. I'm not waiting for life; I've been given life. Peter says, "...everything we need for life and godliness." A God-honoring life between the time I come to Christ and the time I go home to be with Him.

A comprehensive worldview that addresses everything; practical perspectives on every human problem; life before death; the fourth thing, and this is so important: real hope of self-knowledge.

Self-knowledge is difficult. We can think we know ourselves very well, but we can be so deluded; we can be so deceived; we can be so mistaken. We look at ourselves typically in carnival mirrors. Yes, a carnival mirror shows you 'you,' but it shows you 'you' with distortion. And so it's wonderful that the Word of God does function like a mirror; it does reveal me as I actually am. I can know myself. I can spring free of the distorted, deluded, blinded view of me that I often have.

Fifth, the Bible offers practical help for the deepest issues of the human experience. You see, the Bible doesn't just tell me what is wrong, it tells me why it is wrong, and how to deal with that wrong in a way that's helpful and productive. The Bible is not just a diagnostic; the Bible is a cure.

A comprehensive worldview that addresses everything; practical perspectives on every human problem; life before death; real hope of self-knowledge; practical help for the deepest issues of the human experience; And then the sixth thing: real hope of lasting, personal change.

The Bible presents this wonderful, wonderful, wonderful thing that, although my condition is grave, although the world is flawed, although my problems are deep, there is hope for me. Change can really take place.

And then finally, the Bible offers me real comfort. Why is there real comfort? Because I can look my need in the face, and I can have hope because of what Jesus has done.

A comprehensive worldview that addresses everything; practical perspectives on every human problem; life before death; real hope of self-knowledge; practical help for the deepest issues of human experience; real hope of lasting personal change; real comfort all are found in God's Word.

(Music Interlude)

Paul Tripp: Let's consider these seven things that the Bible gives us one more time:

1. The Bible gives me a comprehensive worldview that addresses everything.

2. The Bible gives me practical perspectives on every human problem.

3. The Bible gives me life before death.

4. The Bible gives me real hope of self-knowledge.

5. The Bible gives me practical help for the deepest issues of the human experience.

6. The Bible gives me real hope of lasting personal change.

7. The Bible gives me real comfort.

Now, as you continue your journey of Biblical, personal discovery, you need to recognize the personal challenge that these seven benefits of a Biblical perspective lay before you. Too often, even in our celebration of the wisdom of Scripture, we hold the Bible separate from the situations and relationships of our daily lives.

Ask yourself right now, "Where have you allowed yourself to respond to the push and pull of life in a fallen world in a way that is less than Biblical?" Have you done that in a friendship? Have you done that in your marriage? Have you done that in your parenting? Have you done that in times of leisure and entertainment? Have you done that in your use of time and money? Have you done that in your work? Have you done that in your community, in the way you drive, in your relationship to pleasure?

Now, here's the important question, and I would like you to stop, look, and listen for a moment. Think about this question; use it as a lens to look at yourself. Where have you failed to observe the Bible's honest description of humanity and reserved its wisdom for the religious part of your life?

Let me ask you to think about that again. "Where have you failed to observe the honest description of humanity that's in the Bible that helps you to understand you and your daily life, and instead reserved its wisdom for the religious part of your life?" Or, here's another way to ask the question, "Where have you sought insight for life challenges from every source except the Bible?"

Where have you gone for help for your marriage? Where have you gone for help for your parenting? Where have you gone for help for that personal area of difficulty? Or, where have you ignored the internal source of your problems and relentlessly sought to place blame somewhere, somehow, someway outside of yourselves? Or, let me ask it this way, "Where have you reduced Christ's work to forgiveness of sins and lost hope of the total renovation of your heart, your relationships, and your world that is the redemptive hope of the Bible?

Now, here's what I'm asking you to do. I'm asking you to take a look - are you willing to take a look at you? I know it's hard to take a look. I know it's hard to be honest about yourself. I know it's hard. You know why? Because it's hard for me too.

Music: "Lord, You're Beautiful" by Margaret Becker

Oh Lord, You're beautiful
Your face is all I see
For when Your eyes are on this child
Your grace abounds to me
I want to take Your Word and shine it all around
But first help me just to live it, Lord
And when I'm doing well, help me to never seek a crown
For my reward is giving glory to You

More Than a Religion of the Mind

Paul Tripp: You know it is really easy to pursue a religion of the mind. Millions and millions and millions and millions of people do that. It's another thing, it's a very different thing, it's a qualitatively different thing, to surrender your heart and, therefore, every aspect of your life to God. Have you done that?

We cannot settle for expanding knowledge and enhanced understanding - those are wonderful things when your knowledge is expanded and your understanding is enhanced - but we must not settle for anything less than radically transformed lives. We cannot settle for anything less because God will not.

God wants all of our being. He will not settle for a portion of who we are. And isn't it wonderful that, in His grace, you really do find everything you need to be what you were designed to be and to do what you have been called to do. Peter says it this way in 2 Peter 1, verses 3 and 4:

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

You really can experience this right here, right now because God really has given you this amazing grace. Grace that gives you everything you need to be what you were designed to be and to do what you were designed to do. Don't settle for a religion of the mind. Give your heart to the Lord.

Kate Crowley: Wisdom from the Word, Paul Tripp and the power of the Word of God from our current series, "What's So Important About the Bible Anyway?" on Right Here, Right Now.

For a review of today's lesson or to share these words of hope with a friend, you can order a CD online. Just go to paultrippministries.org. CD copies are available for just five dollars. While you are there, take a look at Paul's book, War Of Words. In it, Paul discusses the many aspects of speech and how words can be used to build up or tear down. That's War Of Words, available at our website, paultrippministries.org.

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Next time we are together, Paul continues his discussion from the series, "What's So Important About the Bible Anyway?" as he addresses the topic of, "Personal Commitments." That's on Wednesday.

For Paul Tripp and all of us at Paul Tripp Ministries, I'm Kate Crowley, reminding you that, in Jesus Christ, there really is help, right here, right now.