Skip to content

Add your phone number?

Optional. Nothing is sent unless you choose it.
The Historic Faith
Sign in

Jumpstarter 7 of 10

Ideas to help restart your discussion
Radical Reformation History  /  Lecture 2: The Early Church  /  Discussion Questions
All Questions
Question 7
In Ezekiel 36, God says, “I do not this for your sakes… but for mine holy name’s sake,” and then promises to “cause you to walk in my statutes”; how does this God-centered motive for salvation confront a self-centered or therapeutic gospel, and what might need to die in us if salvation is mainly about God’s reputation?
Another way to ask: If God saves mainly for his own name and reputation (Ezekiel 36), how does that challenge a “me-centered” gospel? What parts of our pride or self-focus would need to die?

Direct Answer Dean uses Ezekiel 36 to insist salvation is primarily about God’s honor—His “holy name”—not our self-focused benefit, and that God’s saving work includes causing obedience. If that’s true, what must die in us is the assumption that life and salvation are “about me” rather than about glorifying God.

Support from Transcript:

  • Dean highlights God’s motive: “I do not this for your sakes… but for my holy name’s sake,” repeated for emphasis.
  • He contrasts it with “American modern evangelicalism” and calls attention to what God “had pity for”: “my holy name.”
  • God’s saving actions include cleansing and inner transformation: “A new heart… a new spirit… I will put my spirit within you.”
  • The purpose is obedience: God will “cause you to walk in my statutes… keep my judgments and do them.”
  • Dean applies it bluntly: “I hate to break it to you, it’s not about you… our life is about God and our salvation is about God.”
  • He warns of “scarily results” if we interpret salvation as mainly for “personal salvation” rather than glorifying God in the Kingdom.
Discussion Follow-ups What parts of our spiritual life are mainly about managing our feelings, comfort, or reputation? If God saves for His name, how should that reshape how we talk about testimony, holiness, and mission?

Jumpstarter 7 of 10
Back Questions Next