The good news of the gospel is good because it not only brings us to salvation in proclaiming the death of Christ on our behalf but it continues to be good in providing the basis for our obedience and following Christ, both individually and corporately as a church. The past few months have been humbling and encouraging, for I have found that the neglect of the gospel has lead many down the road to legalism and a pharisaical attitude, including myself. It is easy to use a performance mentality in gauging spirituality, both in my own life as well as in others. Yet the mindset that says we need to try and earn God's favor through our hard work and labor for the sake of the kingdom can lead to a works mentality that contradicts the foundation of living by grace through faith. We are not only saved by grace through faith in our justification, we are also continually to walk in grace through faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. As Jerry Bridges notes, "Your worse days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace." This is indeed comforting news for those of us who are so performance oriented that we can go from one extreme to the other. We feel good about ourselves when we are doing well with all our spiritual disciplines and maintaining a high level of activity. We then feel bad about ourselves when we miss our quiet times and go through prolonged periods of spiritual lethargy. While Romans 6 reminds us not to abuse grace, we must remember to also consider that we forget about grace as we live out the Christian life.
The reminder to "preach the gospel to yourself" has been something that I have heard before, but it has not been so prominent as it has become now. The gospel must be central to my life's purpose and message. I am called to live in a manner worthy of the gospel and I am to partner with fellow believers for the sake of the gospel (Philippians 1:27). If this is so, then the gospel needs to be constantly on my mind from my waking moments to the time I go to bed.
It is no surprise to see the apostle Paul so focused on the cross of Christ. One of my favorite verses since high school has been 1 Corinthians 2:2 - "For I determined to know nothing among you except Christ and him crucified." This verse has been revived in my heart and I see how easy it is for me to then walk in the flesh when I forget to fix my eyes on Christ (Hebrews 12:2).
As we celebrate our 10th anniversary at Lighthouse, I would like to again reiterate what was preached this past Sunday. The mission of Lighthouse - to make disciples of Christ, is no less than a call to go and proclaim the gospel, making disciples who will then be baptized and taught to live in light of the gospel for the rest of their days. The vision of Lighthouse - to plant churches, gives us the goal of taking the gospel ministry, both for the purpose of evangelism and edification, to places where there is a need for the gospel to be made known. The passion of Lighthouse - to love God and people, can only be truly experienced when the gospel is driving our loving so that it really is the love of Christ that both motivates us and energizes us to love in the way God defines true love.
The gospel is precious - don't let it become something that you think is so basic that you are not in need of preaching it to yourselves daily. My prayer is that the gospel would become the beacon of your heart, your mind, your mouth, and the unifying factor in all your relationships so that Christ might receive all the glory.
Showing posts with label Gospel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gospel. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
God Is the Gospel, by John Piper
This is one of those books that is quickly becoming a "classic." As defined by Rick Holland, a classic is a book that everyone has on their shelf and no one has read! In my personal reading, I have been trying to pick up many of these classics and start reading through them. Fortunately for me, this wonderful book by John Piper is one of the first ones I picked up. If you have not read this book, I highly recommend it.God Is the Gospel provides a good and helpful walk through the gospel message in a way that many Christians might not understand. In a church that is saturated with man-centered theology and ministry, Piper redirects our thoughts to God and reminds us that the gospel is primarily about God and His glory. Drawing from truths read in John Owen and (of course!) Jonathan Edwards, Piper walks through all the blessings of the gospel, including justification, sanctification, and glorification, and shows how these gifts of the gospel were meant to ultimately provide us with the opportunity to see and savor God. The gospel is not as much about making much of us as it is about making much of Christ.
Thus, Piper asks a significant and poignant question: If you could go to heaven after you die and experience all its wonderful blessings -- the absence of pain, the perfect fellowship of the saints, streets of gold -- except that God was not there, would you be content to remain there? Sadly for most Christians, this would be acceptible because they do not treasure God in their lives as much as they treasure the blessings and gifts God provides. Salvation from sin is an amazing gift, but it was not given as an end to itself. It was given as a means to enjoy God forever. This is what the Apostle John meant when he wrote, "And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life" (1 John 5:20). Christ came and gave us understanding so that we may know Him who is true. The purpose was to know God, not just His salvation blessings.
I encourage all to pick up and read this book. Read it along with John Owen's amazing book The Glory of Christ and fill your minds with meditations of Christ. It is in the face of Christ that we are to see God's glory. This is why Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 4:6, "For God, who said, 'Light shall shine out of darkness,' is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." God Is the Gospel serves as a wonderful commentary of this foundational verse.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Reflections of Life in the Face of Death
My father-in-law passed away this afternoon. It was one of those phone calls that I have always dreaded receiving, finding out that someone precious has passed away. A lot of personal thoughts are going through my mind and heart, but those are not the ones that are appropriate to share yet. The more appropriate subject that I thought I might share is that when death takes place and it hits home that we are all mortal, I can't help but think about the reality of God. It just really strikes you that death really does happen. A life ends and you must face the very real question as to why death happens. Without God, there really is no solid ground to stand on. There is no objective purpose for life and there is also no objective explanation for death. An existentialist might just dispassionately state that life is over, that this life is all there is. The materialist might state something similar, that there is really nothing beyond the physical realm so death is just the last stop. Those who are religious might purport some idea that death is just a step to another realm, whether it be reincarnation, the state of Nirvana, some heavenly realm, or some other esoteric state. But there is still no explanation as to WHY death occurs.
It is here that the person of God as seen in the Scriptures declares the CLEAR reason for death. It is the penalty for sin. Romans 6:23 states that the wages of sin is death. As we are all sinners, we have offended the Most Holy God and His righteousness and justice call for eternal condemnation for having defied our Creator. Some might ask why must God be so harsh? It seems unfair. But it is not an issue of fairness. It goes back to the point of reference from where you start. If you really see God for who He is, that He is the one that defines the standards of right and wrong, that He is the sovereign authority over all of creation, He has every right to exercise that authority and He does so in conjunction with all His attributes equally exercised and never compromised, including His grace, His mercy, and His love. That's why the second half of Romans 6:23 is what gives great hope - "but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Despite the fact that we are sinners (Romans 5:8), God sent His Son to die on our behalf. In taking our place, Christ paid the penalty and satisfied the wages of sin by dying the death that we deserved. This is what we call the truth of penal substitutionary atonement. God's justice is satisfied by His own grace being extended through the gift of His Son.
Physical death awaits us all. But spiritual death need not be our end. That is why the gospel is so powerful - it is the power of God unto salvation. Jesus Christ is our only hope. He is the One that we cling to in life and the one we cling to in death. It is not because we place our hopes in our own merits but we trust solely in the completed work of Christ, His death and resurrection, in the imputation of Christ's righteousness to us so that we might be justified in the sight of God.
That is why as Christians we remind ourselves of the gospel daily because it is something that is not only effective in dealing with our past, it is what anchors us in the present and secures our future. So death no longer needs to be feared. It has lost its sting and while there is a certain and understandable human grief that is experienced when someone dies, we rest on the sure arms of Christ in that He has conquered sin and death and His resurrection ensures our own.
There must be a greater sense of urgency in sharing the gospel. Death is not something that comes conveniently. It comes unannounced and while most people assume that they might have a long life to live before death needs to be faced, recent events have made clear that this is not true. Those students and professors at Virginia Tech woke up that fateful day, not knowing it would be their last day alive. The tragedy that compounds the physical deaths is that there are still so many who are unmoved by the reality of sin that results in death. The only answer to sin and death is the gospel and we must share the hope of the gospel urgently.
So stop wasting your life, vainly pursuing the things of this world. Heed the wisdom of Solomon, who wasted years of his life chasing after the wind, only to come back to His Creator and give the exhortation of one who had much to regret, "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth!!"
So there are tears to be shed and grief to be observed. But it need not be without hope. We have Christ, and to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
It is here that the person of God as seen in the Scriptures declares the CLEAR reason for death. It is the penalty for sin. Romans 6:23 states that the wages of sin is death. As we are all sinners, we have offended the Most Holy God and His righteousness and justice call for eternal condemnation for having defied our Creator. Some might ask why must God be so harsh? It seems unfair. But it is not an issue of fairness. It goes back to the point of reference from where you start. If you really see God for who He is, that He is the one that defines the standards of right and wrong, that He is the sovereign authority over all of creation, He has every right to exercise that authority and He does so in conjunction with all His attributes equally exercised and never compromised, including His grace, His mercy, and His love. That's why the second half of Romans 6:23 is what gives great hope - "but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Despite the fact that we are sinners (Romans 5:8), God sent His Son to die on our behalf. In taking our place, Christ paid the penalty and satisfied the wages of sin by dying the death that we deserved. This is what we call the truth of penal substitutionary atonement. God's justice is satisfied by His own grace being extended through the gift of His Son.
Physical death awaits us all. But spiritual death need not be our end. That is why the gospel is so powerful - it is the power of God unto salvation. Jesus Christ is our only hope. He is the One that we cling to in life and the one we cling to in death. It is not because we place our hopes in our own merits but we trust solely in the completed work of Christ, His death and resurrection, in the imputation of Christ's righteousness to us so that we might be justified in the sight of God.
That is why as Christians we remind ourselves of the gospel daily because it is something that is not only effective in dealing with our past, it is what anchors us in the present and secures our future. So death no longer needs to be feared. It has lost its sting and while there is a certain and understandable human grief that is experienced when someone dies, we rest on the sure arms of Christ in that He has conquered sin and death and His resurrection ensures our own.
There must be a greater sense of urgency in sharing the gospel. Death is not something that comes conveniently. It comes unannounced and while most people assume that they might have a long life to live before death needs to be faced, recent events have made clear that this is not true. Those students and professors at Virginia Tech woke up that fateful day, not knowing it would be their last day alive. The tragedy that compounds the physical deaths is that there are still so many who are unmoved by the reality of sin that results in death. The only answer to sin and death is the gospel and we must share the hope of the gospel urgently.
So stop wasting your life, vainly pursuing the things of this world. Heed the wisdom of Solomon, who wasted years of his life chasing after the wind, only to come back to His Creator and give the exhortation of one who had much to regret, "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth!!"
So there are tears to be shed and grief to be observed. But it need not be without hope. We have Christ, and to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Why Is Good Friday Good?
As we prepare for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, it would be helpful for us to consider why we celebrate these events. For many, these days represent nothing more than ritual and tradition -- an excuse to buy a new outfit, to have a $50 brunch at some fancy hotel, or to look for eggs hidden in the bushes and dress up in costumes.
I recall going to the Czech Republic for the first time during the Easter Week and in Prague, there were stalls and carts filled with decorative eggs in celebration of Easter. When asked what Easter represents, the typical Czech had absolutely no idea, except that it had something to do with eggs. Now these eggs were beautiful and came in wonderful designs, but you are left to wonder, "So what are these eggs all about?"
It's almost akin to Christmas and people getting hung up with mistletoe and eggnog and dressing up as Santa or the elves. Or Thanksgiving where it's all about getting a turkey and dressing and gaining ten pounds. Or even Halloween, which originally stood for "Hallow's Eve," the celebration of a holy day, and it gets turned completely upside down into a celebration of demons and witches and other depictions of evil.
Why make a big deal of all this? For starters, we celebrate Good Friday because of the goodness of God that was displayed in what was a most extreme and violent event: the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. How could the brutul murder of the innocent Son of God be considered good? Because of what was accomplished. It was His death that took the place of my own, not simply the physical death, but to face the wrath of God that was to be poured out in judgment of my sin. Jesus took my place on the cross. When He cried out, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" we must consider the absolute agony of what Jesus had to go through, to feel the very wrath of God poured out on Him where there was a very real sense of the break of fellowship that takes place when sin enters the presence of God. God cannot accept it or allow it to go unpunished.
2 Corinthian 5:21 states it so clearly, "He [God] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
Good Friday is good because the righteousness of God is now imputed to us through Christ so that His goodness stands in our place as our righteousness. We have absolutely no goodness or righteousness that we can generate on our own to merit standing before God. We would be totally unacceptable in His presence. But as our substitute, the Lamb of God was slain so that we might receive the goodness and grace of God through Him.
As we prepare to partake in communion this Friday, I hope that we can all take some time to meditate on the goodness of God shown through the sacrifice of His beloved Son. It was a dark day, the darkest day of all history, when the Son of God was subjected to the cruel torture and excruciating pain He suffered on the cross for us. But thank God it was not left to end at the cross, for the third day would approach and the Resurrection of Christ would take place to show that sin and death had been conquered once and for all. Not only can we experience His goodness in the forgiveness of sins, but we also have the incredible and unbreakable promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ.
I recall going to the Czech Republic for the first time during the Easter Week and in Prague, there were stalls and carts filled with decorative eggs in celebration of Easter. When asked what Easter represents, the typical Czech had absolutely no idea, except that it had something to do with eggs. Now these eggs were beautiful and came in wonderful designs, but you are left to wonder, "So what are these eggs all about?"
It's almost akin to Christmas and people getting hung up with mistletoe and eggnog and dressing up as Santa or the elves. Or Thanksgiving where it's all about getting a turkey and dressing and gaining ten pounds. Or even Halloween, which originally stood for "Hallow's Eve," the celebration of a holy day, and it gets turned completely upside down into a celebration of demons and witches and other depictions of evil.
Why make a big deal of all this? For starters, we celebrate Good Friday because of the goodness of God that was displayed in what was a most extreme and violent event: the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. How could the brutul murder of the innocent Son of God be considered good? Because of what was accomplished. It was His death that took the place of my own, not simply the physical death, but to face the wrath of God that was to be poured out in judgment of my sin. Jesus took my place on the cross. When He cried out, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" we must consider the absolute agony of what Jesus had to go through, to feel the very wrath of God poured out on Him where there was a very real sense of the break of fellowship that takes place when sin enters the presence of God. God cannot accept it or allow it to go unpunished.
2 Corinthian 5:21 states it so clearly, "He [God] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
Good Friday is good because the righteousness of God is now imputed to us through Christ so that His goodness stands in our place as our righteousness. We have absolutely no goodness or righteousness that we can generate on our own to merit standing before God. We would be totally unacceptable in His presence. But as our substitute, the Lamb of God was slain so that we might receive the goodness and grace of God through Him.
As we prepare to partake in communion this Friday, I hope that we can all take some time to meditate on the goodness of God shown through the sacrifice of His beloved Son. It was a dark day, the darkest day of all history, when the Son of God was subjected to the cruel torture and excruciating pain He suffered on the cross for us. But thank God it was not left to end at the cross, for the third day would approach and the Resurrection of Christ would take place to show that sin and death had been conquered once and for all. Not only can we experience His goodness in the forgiveness of sins, but we also have the incredible and unbreakable promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ.
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