Category Archives: Gospel
Good?
YOLO? Not if Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life
YOLO = You only live once.
Easter kicks that thought in the teeth.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me,though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” – John 11:24-27
Phil Robertson from Duck Dynasty – Deciding to Follow Jesus
I’m a big fan of Duck Dynasty. It’s a fun, family-friendly show that promises belly laughs and a good moral. In this brief video, Phil Robertson, the original “Duck Commander” tells the story of his own conversion and gives the message of the Gospel.
The story of Jesus of Galilee … the one we’re all counting time by. He’s still changing lives.
Making Disciples – God became Man for no other Purpose
The mission of the church extends much deeper than an hour on Sunday. As C.S. Lewis famously wrote:
It is easy to think that the Church has a lot of different objects—education, building, missions, holding services. Just as it is easy to think the State has a lot of different objects—military, political, economic, and what not. But in a way things are much simpler than that. The State exists simply to promote and to protect the ordinary happiness of human beings in this life. A husband and wife chatting over a fire, a couple of friends having a game of darts in a pub, a man reading a book in his own room or digging in his own garden—that is what the State is there for. And unless they are helping to increase and prolong and protect such moments, all the laws, parliaments, armies, courts, police, economics, etc., are simply a waste of time. In the same way the Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose. It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other purpose. (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York, Simon & Schuster Touchstone, 1996), p. 171.)
What is the Difference between the Law and the Gospel?
Tullian Tchividjian and Jono Linebaugh (Professor of New Testament at Knox Theological Seminary) recently sat down and discussed the differences between the Law and the Gospel. The whole 12 minutes is well worth watching, but a few lines that stood out to me were:
- There is a difference between that the Law and Gospel are, and what they do.
- What they are:
- The Law is God’s true statement of what is good. It is His demand. It is God’s will, holy, righteous and good.
- The Gospel is God’s announcement of Jesus Christ for sinners. In His life, death, resurrection and on-going life, Jesus is for sinners.
- What they do:
- The good Law shows us that we are sinners, works wrath / increases our trespasses and reveals the sinfulness of sin.
- The Gospel speaks to accused sinners and gives them a word of forgiveness and freedom.
- What they are:
- Both are good, both come from God.
- God’s Law diagnoses sinners, God’s Gospel delivers sinners.
- God’s Law shows us what a sanctified life looks like, but only God’s Gospel gives us the power to live that life.
What were your favorite lines in this conversation?
How Can We Apply Grace and Truth to Lance Armstrong?
One of Refuge Church’s core values is that we know people need Grace & Truth.
Today I’m wondering how we’d apply that to a fallen public figure like Lance Armstrong.
I’ve heard a report that a library in Sydney, Australia, moved all the books by Lance Armstrong into their “Fiction” section.
According to a Jan. 20, 2013, Reuters story, a sign was posted Saturday in Sydney’s Manly Library which says: “All Non-Fiction Lance Armstrong Books, including Lance Armstrong: Images of a Champion, The Lance Armstrong Performance Program and Lance Armstrong: World’s Greatest Champion, will soon be moved to the fiction section.”
The story reports that library officials said the printed notice, which was placed in a plastic stand on a bookshelf in the library, was a prank and that an internal review was underway.
A local pastor with a high profile recently blogged:
Whether or not he walks away from the worst crash of his life, Lance Armstrong will forever stride with a limp. Mr. Livestrong will be Mr. Crashhard. The International Cycling Union stripped Lance Armstrong of all seven of his Tour de France titles back in October. His decorated identity is gone forever. The man formerly associated with perseverance and triumph over adversity will now be known as a cheat, a liar, and a self-absorbed worshiper of the god he sees every morning while brushing his teeth. No matter how many tears he sheds on national television, no matter how much money he pays in lost endorsement deals, and no matter what sanctions or legal punishment he endures, nothing will ever buy back the sterling reputation Lance Armstrong once enjoyed. (emphasis mine)
We can’t reclassify books arbitrarily. There are ISBN’s that set those standards.
We also can’t classify someone’s soul based on a few media appearances. The Creator of the universe sets those standards as well.
I get tempted to judge too. I’m an open-opportunity tyrant. In the just writing the earlier parts of this post, I’ve emotionally judged Lance Armstrong AND the pastor who assumes that Lance only worships himself. Now I’m judging myself for judging them. The death-spiral continues until a tone of grace shatters it all.
What does a fallen figure need after they blow it? They need to know the Truth about who Jesus is and their rebellion against Him. They also need Grace, knowing that Jesus came to save sinners, of whom I’m the worst. (to paraphrase my good friend Paul)
What do public religious figures who get big press from little judgments need? They need to know that Truth isn’t just a set of facts, the Truth is a person who took on flesh and dwelt among us so that we could see His glory. They need to encounter that Person anew and remember that Moses came to bring the Law, Jesus came to bring grace and truth (in that order). (see John 1)
What do I need as I react to Armstrong, Nicki Minaj, my wife, my friends or anyone else? Grace. Truth. Jesus.
The essence of the Christian salvation is to say that He is good enough and that I am in Him!
Last Sunday at Refuge Church I shared a powerful quote from Martin Lloyd-Jones. I re-discovered it in Tim Keller’s Center Church, but have often benefited from Lloyd-Jones’ Spiritual Depression in other times.
The context of the quote is that The Doctor is asking someone if they are ready to become a Christian and is met with the response, “I’m not good enough.”
I’ve found that answer in my own heart, and in the hearts of believers and unbelievers … and I find The Doctor’s response helpful in every condition of heart:
At once I know that … they are still thinking in terms of themselves; their idea still is that they have to make themselves good enough to be a Christian … It sounds very modest but it is the lie of the devil, it is a denial of the faith … you will never be good enough; nobody has ever been good enough. The essence of the Christian salvation is to say that He is good enough and that I am in Him! (Spiritual Depression, p. 34)
A Grace That Un-Burns Bridges and Welcomes You Home
Earlier today I mentioned a song by Mumford & Sons called “Roll Away Your Stone.” The songs are haunting and gospel saturated. One of the lyrics, reminding me of the return of the prodigal son, declares:
It seems that all my bridges have been burned,
But you say that’s exactly how this grace thing works
It’s not the long walk home that will change this heart,
But the welcome I receive with the restart
Take a moment to listen to the song and study the lyrics. As you do ask yourself what you’ve been filling the hole in your heart with. Is “darkness” too harsh a term to define your heart? Do you know the grace that un-burns bridges and welcomes you?
Roll away your stone, I’ll roll away mine
Together we can see what we will find
Don’t leave me alone at this time,
For I’m afraid of what I will discover inside
Cause you told me that I would find a hole,
Within the fragile substance of my soul
And I have filled this void with things unreal,
And all the while my character it steals
Darkness is a harsh term don’t you think?
And yet it dominates the things I see
It seems that all my bridges have been burned,
But you say that’s exactly how this grace thing works
It’s not the long walk home that will change this heart,
But the welcome I receive with the restart
Darkness is a harsh term don’t you think?
And yet it dominates the things I see
Darkness is a harsh term don’t you think?
And yet it dominates the things I’ve seen
Stars hide your fires,
These here are my desires
And I will give them up to you this time around
And so, I’ll be found with my stake stuck in this ground
Marking the territory of this newly impassioned soul
But you, you’ve gone too far this time
You have neither reason nor rhyme
With which to take this soul that is so rightfully mine
Why Do We Need Jesus?
Yesterday was Christmas. I hope that, amid the gifts, TV specials, food and family, you took a moment to reflect on the reason for the season. One way to remember the importance of Christmas is to see the lives that Jesus still changes. Take this story for example:
Because of Jesus:
