The Gospel in Real Life

I love this time of year. The fall months are my favorite for a lot of different reasons. The temperature drops below triple digits. I put that one first on purpose. In the fall, the outside temperatures become livable again and we slowly start to creep outside and life on the patio resumes, at least until sometime in May when the temperatures climb back into those nasty triple digits again. Our mild fall days are good for spending time on the patio with an open Bible, a good book, and my first (and only) wife. My favorite holidays – Thanksgiving and Christmas – begin to loom large. My wife’s December birthday looms even larger and is a big deal around our house. The leaves fall off of our trees and then a week to ten days later (literally) they reappear. Welcome to southern Arizona where there are three seasons: hot, not so hot, and a little bit chilly. Then there is football. I decided this year to watch it more and get up to speed with it all. The last few years, I haven’t paid too much attention to it. But this year’s been different. I’ve actually found the time to watch several games, pro and college, and I feel like I know what’s going on for the first time in quite a while.

Then there’s Christmas, that most wonderful time of the year. Yards come alive with amazing decorations and lights. Our cul-de-sac is usually lit up so bright, it’s probably Read more…

I was reminded recently of how easy it is to let other things become as important, or even more important than the gospel.  One of the recurring themes in our lives that can subliminally tug on us and draw us away from the purity of the gospel is our theology. I know that sounds weird. Please don’t misunderstand me; good theology is important. But it is possible to make it too important by taking it out of the context of gospel application and in doing so, subliminally elevate it to the place where only the gospel belongs. When we do that, it’s possible to mistakenly think that our theology, especially if it’s good theology, is the gospel. In other words, it is possible to make our theology or hermeneutic into an idol and once we do that, we become more interested in whether someone has embrace our theological view of things, than whether or not they’ve embraced the gospel. Paul, Master Theologian and Apostle extraordinaire said,

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

If anyone understood the value of good theology and sound doctrine, it was Paul. But his first or primary concern was Read more…

That title sounds kind of ominous, and rightly so. It’s a scary thing to think that a believer can abandon their first love, but they can. The church at Ephesus managed to do it and the potential for it is something that every believer needs to be aware of.  Does it mean that a true believer can deny the faith, walk away and somehow lose their salvation? No. That’s not what it means at all.  Look at the message that was delivered to the Ephesian church:

I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. (Revelation 2:2-6)

One of the things that jumps out at me in this passage is how the Ephesian church was doing so many right things and so many good things. Let’s look at them:

• They were hard working.
• They were patient under pressure.
• They hated evil.
• They identified and exposed false teachers and false teaching.
• They endured trials patiently for Jesus’ sake.
• They persevered in the faith.
• They hated false doctrine that leads people astray – something Jesus also hates.

Yet in spite of all of the good that was being done (and there was a lot of good happening there), they had lost sight of what was and is most important; they had abandoned Read more…

A friend sent me a link to this blog.  It’s very good so I pass it on to you for your consideration.  Here’s a blurb from it.  Follow the link to see the whole article.  Here it is:

I recall when I was in seminary (Westminster Seminary California, 1992-96) that many of the young men used to sit around and debate the fine points of Van Tillian presuppositional apologetics for hours. They would be incredibly critical of any other form of apologetics, even other Reformed apologists like ….[Finish Reading...]

The gospel in real life…

Yesterday we heard a testimony at church. We do testimonies about once a month. Each time, it is another great reminder that when the Lord saves someone, he completely transforms them by grace. At conversion, every believer begins a lifelong journey of transformation that is brought about by grace. The Spirit of God begins an incredible work in our lives as we experience not only the complete forgiveness of sin, but a changed life. The work of the Spirit in our lives guarantees growth. We don’t stay the same. There is no Biblical category for a believer who doesn’t grow in grace. A life that professes to believe and yet gives no evidence of saving grace, is a denial of the Spirit’s transforming work. This is part of what Paul meant in 2 Corinthians 3:3.

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

The Corinthian believers were Paul’s letter of authenticity. Their lives, transformed by saving grace, served as living evidence that Paul’s ministry among them was authentic and genuine. They were Paul’s “living letters” and walking, breathing proof that the Spirit of God transforms a God-hater into one who is unconditionally accepted by him and nothing can prevent that transformation. Believing the Gospel results in a Read more…

One of the most comforting verses in the Gospel of John is also one of the most convicting. That’s part of the rich beauty of the gospel. The imperatives of Scripture rest within the confines of the indicatives of Scripture. If we separate the imperatives (commands) from the indicatives (what we have been freely given in Christ), we run the risk of reducing Scripture to a “to-do” list because we’ve removed it from the context of unconditional grace. But the things that we are instructed to do in Scripture rest on the foundation of the gospel and our unconditional acceptance with the Father because of the cross and resurrection.  In chapter 14 of John, Jesus told His disciples,

If you love me, you will obey what I command. (John 14:15, NIV)

That’s pretty clear. We could stop there, making this arguably the shortest blog post in history. But let’s press on because I think it can be easy to misunderstand and misapply this short verse. First, let me explain what I think the verse is not saying, followed by what I think it is saying.

What It Doesn’t Mean
Jesus’ words to the disciples and to us, aren’t primarily intended to serve as a rebuke for slothful Christians to get their act together and start obeying. Nor are they a reminder that what I really need in the Christian life is more self-generated performance so that I can be more pleasing to Him. In both of these scenarios, the focus of attention and motivation is placed more on me and my performance for Him instead of on Him and His performance for me. In both scenarios, the love and unconditional acceptance that God has for me is easily overlooked and outward obedience for the sake of outward obedience is elevated to a Read more…

I was blessed by this blog I read today at Grace for Life. Good reminder of the gospel and grace. Check it out…

http://www.graceforlife.com/2006/03/loving-jesus-vs-admiring-jesus.html

Mike

When I was in High School, I had a job as a cook at Kentucky Fried Chicken. Let me put that in perspective (and date myself) by telling you that Colonel Sanders (the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken) was still alive and doing T.V. commercials when I worked there. It wasn’t called KFC way back then either, so we’re talking waaaay long ago! It was acceptable back then to use the word “fried” when referencing food. In spite of being a hot and steamy place to work, the job had some perks. I got to handle the “eleven secret herbs and spices” on a daily basis. I also got to eat some of the profits free of charge. It also made me very popular with some of my friends who would pull up to the back door at closing time because they knew that any food that was left over, was up for grabs and they were always hungry that late at night. I won’t say why. My parents benefited too because I was always bringing home delicious and unsold fried chicken. No wonder our arteries are clogged.

A downside to working there, especially in the summer, was the heat. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen”, and it applied in spades there. It was so incredibly hot because back then, we cooked the chicken in huge pressure cookers that were full of boiling grease. Just like Read more…

I think this subject is something that affects us all. Or at least the potential is there. It’s one of those frog in the kettle experiences that sneak up on you unnoticed and then you suddenly realize you’re in the throes of it. I don’t think any of us wakes up one day and thinks, “Today would be a good day to start down the road of performance-based Christianity.” Instead, it takes us by surprise and that’s one thing that makes it necessary to talk about from time to time. In my own experience, being caught in the trap of performance-based Christianity has a subtle beginning and when you’re in the midst of it, you can be blind to it, apart from the Lord showing it to you. Like any other trial, the experience is not wasted but once you recognize it for what it is and repent, your grip on grace tightens.

A Working Definition
It’s necessary to start with a good working definition, so let’s do that. What do I mean by performance-based Christianity? A couple of days ago, I stumbled across a good definition of it and instead of reinventing the wheel, I thought I would just use it. The following is a clear definition of what I mean by performance-based Christianity, Read more…

This link to a short article called “Waging War Against Fellow Believers” surfaced on Twitter today. It is very good, convicting, and thought-provoking, so I am passing it on to you. Please take a look and see what you think.

http://tinyurl.com/dj5qa6

This morning, my first wife (and my only wife) and I started reading Comforts from the Cross, by Elyse Fitzpatrick. It’s subtitled, Celebrating the Cross One Day at a Time. If you haven’t read it, it’s a series of daily devotionals about the gospel. I was reminded this morning of my ongoing need for the gospel and what that means. Check out this quote from Day 1 – Celebrate Jesus, which talks about remembering the gospel when taking the Lord’s Supper, and how that fleshes out in real life:

We do that [proclaim the Lord's death until he comes] by intentionally focusing our thought on him instead of on ourselves or on what we think we’re missing. I think it’s very easy for me to focus my attention on myself. I don’t mean that I just sit around thinking about me and how wonderful I am (although I am not above that!). No, I mean that I tend to focus my thought on my Christianity-how I’m doing, what I’m learning, how my prayer time was today, how I avoided that pesky sin or fell into it again. I think about what I’m supposed to accomplish for Christ and I interact with others on that same works-oriented ground. But this day isn’t about me at all. It’s about him: his sinless life, death, resurrection, ascension, reign, and the sure promise of his return. It’s the gravity of his life that should attract my thought toward him.

Something that really jumped out at me in that quote was how easy it can be to focus on my Christianity-how I’m doing, what I’m learning, or how my prayer life is instead of on Read more…