Jerry Bridges starts his book the Gospel for Real Life by making two points. The Gospel is for believers not just unbelievers. And that believers must preach the Gospel to themselves everyday. So in terms of his first goal of convincing us that we as believers need the Gospel - he does this admirably and movingly. As for the second goal of teaching us how to preach the Gospel to ourselves, well I think the verdict is mixed. I think that I now better understand how the Gospel applies to my day to day life, but I’m not sure that I better understand how to preach the Gospel to myself. There was no point where he stopped and said, ok we’ve talked about propitiation here’s how you would preach that to yourself in this particular situation. It just wasn’t there. But I feel challenged to live the Gospel, to live in light of the Gospel, and I feel inspired to preach the Gospel to myself.
But his central argument is absolutely correct. That too many Christians feel that the Gospel is how we get saved and is the message that we share with others so they can be saved, but it is has no lasting impact on how we live. This view certainly has some truth in it, the Good News that Jesus has died to atone for sins and that we can benefit savingly through repentance and faith, certainly this is the message that we need to saved and that others need to hear so that they can be saved. But Bridges is right to tell us there is more to the Gospel than a simple ticket to heaven. The Gospel shapes how we live and is our motivation for Christian living.
But I want to highlight two chapters that highlighted for me the importance and impact of the Gospel. First is The Empty Cup which was an explanation of the Bible’s teaching on how Jesus absorbed wrath of God for us. This truth that God has no wrath left for us should change how we live. We need not walk around obsessed with whether God is mad at us for our sins, instead we should embrace this truth, confess our sins, and get back to serving our Lord. Because if we live defeated lives consumed with this kind of fear, we will not be faithful to our God. Embrace this truth, God has no wrath left for His children, Jesus took it all.
The second chapter I want to highlight is The Scapegoat. This chapter hearkens back to Leviticus 16. Where the sin offering is made on the day of atonement with two goats. One goat is slaughtered to atone for sins pointing to Jesus atoning work on the cross. The second goat was sent away to a remote place, this pictured a work of Jesus that is too often forgotten, Jesus bore our sins away. We have no more sin to feel guilty about. Remember the promise in Psalm 103:12 - as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. They are removed from us. Once we have come to Jesus we have no more sin to make us feel defeated and guilty. It has been punished and carried away.
So now we are free to make these objective truths subjectively real. We must remember we do not fight the fight of holiness to be saved or to earn God’s favor or to make Him love us. We fight this fight for His glory, for our joy, and for the good of the Kingdom. So lets take the Gospel truths and remind our weak hearts each day what our might King Jesus has done for us.
Thank you Jerry Bridges for another awesome book, you are a Pastor to many of us.
Showing posts with label Gospel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gospel. Show all posts
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Friday, October 31, 2008
Reformation Day
Oct. 31 1517, an Augustinian Monk nailed a set of theses for debate on the Wittenberg Church door, little suspecting that the world would never again be the same. The Monk's name was Martin Luther and his theses were the beginning of the recovery of the Gospel for the Christian world.
We moderns tend to think of this day as costumes and candy, but we as Christians have shamefully forgotten our heritage. We have forgotten that the Gospel, though never entirely lost, had been pushed into the shadows and God then used Luther to bring His Gospel back into the center. Let us never forget what God did through Luther and the reformers, let us never forget the courage they showed against the Holy Roman Empire. We should be thankful for the sacrifices the made.
I am deeply thankful for what Luther did (and consistently amused by him), and I was wondering how you celebrate this day if you do. And if you haven't in the past do you have any idea's. To give an example my family watches the Luther movie every year on this day. How about you feel free to share, I would like to hear some idea's.
We moderns tend to think of this day as costumes and candy, but we as Christians have shamefully forgotten our heritage. We have forgotten that the Gospel, though never entirely lost, had been pushed into the shadows and God then used Luther to bring His Gospel back into the center. Let us never forget what God did through Luther and the reformers, let us never forget the courage they showed against the Holy Roman Empire. We should be thankful for the sacrifices the made.
I am deeply thankful for what Luther did (and consistently amused by him), and I was wondering how you celebrate this day if you do. And if you haven't in the past do you have any idea's. To give an example my family watches the Luther movie every year on this day. How about you feel free to share, I would like to hear some idea's.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Brian McLaren on the Gospel
Brian McLaren was asked the question, What is the Gospel? Here is his response...
“I think this is where it gets interesting because one of the ways that what we do becomes colonization, when we’re going to represent a religion and trying to make converts to a religion… but the good news isn’t the good news of Christianity, it’s the good news of the Kingdom of God. And I think that Fatmire [Muslim peace activist also present at conference and sitting next to him on the panel] working for peace, is an agent for peace, and I’d much rather her be working for peace being who she is than… becoming a person in a church worrying about the list over there on that wall. [on “the list” are things non-essentials like speaking in tongues, etc.)
So, to me there’s something we really have to grapple with about whether the border of a religion is the border of the kingdom of God. And I think that’s a question we’d be wise to raise. I liked what you said about there not being despair when you’re among the extremely needy people. Wouldn’t it be interesting if we found out that God is present wherever there’s suffering because God is there bringing healing and God is really present wherever people are working against injustice because that’s the work of God, wherever people are working for peace. And then the we find that the place that God isn’t is where you have a bunch of affluent people who are self-absorbed… and that wouldn’t surprise me why they would get depressed, because, in some way, it’s not that God isn’t present but they’re snoring through the presence of God.”
First off how do you respond to the question What is the Gospel by jumping immediately to colonization, that betrays a great deal about where he's at.
Second, how can the Good News not be the Good News of Christianity. When Jesus was asked the question how can one know the way He responded in this way.
John 14:6-7 - Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [7] If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."
When Jesus was giving His disciples their last command before His ascension, He did not command that we all become peace activists, He commanded that we, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matt 28:19-20)
I am not denying that we have a calling to help the poor, but our primary calling is to share the Good News of Jesus substitutionary death, His death that brings us forgiveness, and reconciliation with the Father. How can any news compare with this, how can any calling compare with the privilege of sharing the news that will spare people eternal torment and grant them eternal life in the presence of God.
McLaren appears to be fleeing the shame of conversionist Christianity, let us embrace the conversionist Christianity of our Savior, and lets close with His words.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
“I think this is where it gets interesting because one of the ways that what we do becomes colonization, when we’re going to represent a religion and trying to make converts to a religion… but the good news isn’t the good news of Christianity, it’s the good news of the Kingdom of God. And I think that Fatmire [Muslim peace activist also present at conference and sitting next to him on the panel] working for peace, is an agent for peace, and I’d much rather her be working for peace being who she is than… becoming a person in a church worrying about the list over there on that wall. [on “the list” are things non-essentials like speaking in tongues, etc.)
So, to me there’s something we really have to grapple with about whether the border of a religion is the border of the kingdom of God. And I think that’s a question we’d be wise to raise. I liked what you said about there not being despair when you’re among the extremely needy people. Wouldn’t it be interesting if we found out that God is present wherever there’s suffering because God is there bringing healing and God is really present wherever people are working against injustice because that’s the work of God, wherever people are working for peace. And then the we find that the place that God isn’t is where you have a bunch of affluent people who are self-absorbed… and that wouldn’t surprise me why they would get depressed, because, in some way, it’s not that God isn’t present but they’re snoring through the presence of God.”
First off how do you respond to the question What is the Gospel by jumping immediately to colonization, that betrays a great deal about where he's at.
Second, how can the Good News not be the Good News of Christianity. When Jesus was asked the question how can one know the way He responded in this way.
John 14:6-7 - Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [7] If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."
When Jesus was giving His disciples their last command before His ascension, He did not command that we all become peace activists, He commanded that we, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matt 28:19-20)
I am not denying that we have a calling to help the poor, but our primary calling is to share the Good News of Jesus substitutionary death, His death that brings us forgiveness, and reconciliation with the Father. How can any news compare with this, how can any calling compare with the privilege of sharing the news that will spare people eternal torment and grant them eternal life in the presence of God.
McLaren appears to be fleeing the shame of conversionist Christianity, let us embrace the conversionist Christianity of our Savior, and lets close with His words.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Guarding the Mental Fortress
Today in an aside I mentioned that we must be careful what we allow to influence us. And as I was reflecting (over-analyzing) over lunch I realized two things. That I wasn't sufficiently clear and that is the central purpose and message of our blog. Everything that we allow to influence us is a seed planted, either for righteousness or unrighteousness. We are delusional if we think that we can numbly soak in the frivolity and sensuality of TV all week and there be no price to pay. We will gradually come to make peace with and then embrace that which we expose ourselves to.
I think for example of the Oprah clip I saw this week where she was explaining her pluralistic ideas. That all ways eventually lead to God and that it is arrogant to think that there is only one way and we know that way. Now how many Christian ladies were watching that show and saw that. Now if those same Christian ladies heard their waiter say that they would simply blow it off, but because Oprah said it comes with a kind of authority. We must be careful what we let inside the walls of our mental fortress.
I saw another clip this week about Billy Graham and his views on those of other religions. Graham says that he believes that people can be saved without ever hearing the Gospel if they know that they need something. I respect Mr. Graham's years of faithfulness in preaching the Gospel, but what he said is simply not the Gospel. And if Oprah has influence what about Billy Graham!
It may seem intolerant and arrogant to say that there is only one way. But we cannot be more tolerant than Jesus, and Jesus said in John 14:6 - "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." We are told that it requires conscious faith in Jesus and His saving work on the cross for us to be saved, we must repent and believe. Without this truth the Great Commission simply makes no sense. We need a new perspective on the "one way" we need to be thankful that there is A WAY, the fact there is a way at all is the pure grace and mercy of God. God did not have to provide a way for us through the life, death, and Resurrection of His Son. He chose to.
These are two respected public figures who have undermined the Gospel in recent days and if you were not careful then your eyes may have be drawn away from the pure beautiful gospel of Christ.
Yet there are also other influences that we must avoid. We must careful of the themes of the movies and TV shows we watch, the ideas presented in the music we listen to and the books we read. We must be careful to always hold before our eyes God as He has chosen to reveal Himself in His word. This is a call to caution and thoughtfulness. We must be on the alert, because no one gains any ground in likeness to Christ without discernment.
Sorry if I still isn't clear. Jamie.
I think for example of the Oprah clip I saw this week where she was explaining her pluralistic ideas. That all ways eventually lead to God and that it is arrogant to think that there is only one way and we know that way. Now how many Christian ladies were watching that show and saw that. Now if those same Christian ladies heard their waiter say that they would simply blow it off, but because Oprah said it comes with a kind of authority. We must be careful what we let inside the walls of our mental fortress.
I saw another clip this week about Billy Graham and his views on those of other religions. Graham says that he believes that people can be saved without ever hearing the Gospel if they know that they need something. I respect Mr. Graham's years of faithfulness in preaching the Gospel, but what he said is simply not the Gospel. And if Oprah has influence what about Billy Graham!
It may seem intolerant and arrogant to say that there is only one way. But we cannot be more tolerant than Jesus, and Jesus said in John 14:6 - "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." We are told that it requires conscious faith in Jesus and His saving work on the cross for us to be saved, we must repent and believe. Without this truth the Great Commission simply makes no sense. We need a new perspective on the "one way" we need to be thankful that there is A WAY, the fact there is a way at all is the pure grace and mercy of God. God did not have to provide a way for us through the life, death, and Resurrection of His Son. He chose to.
These are two respected public figures who have undermined the Gospel in recent days and if you were not careful then your eyes may have be drawn away from the pure beautiful gospel of Christ.
Yet there are also other influences that we must avoid. We must careful of the themes of the movies and TV shows we watch, the ideas presented in the music we listen to and the books we read. We must be careful to always hold before our eyes God as He has chosen to reveal Himself in His word. This is a call to caution and thoughtfulness. We must be on the alert, because no one gains any ground in likeness to Christ without discernment.
Sorry if I still isn't clear. Jamie.
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