Recently, I came across this video interview and thought it would be helpful to share with regards to how we are to read God’s Word.
Darrin Patrick, pastor of The Journey Church in St. Louis asks Dr. Bryan Chappell, president of Covenant Theological Seminary, the question: “How can I see the Gospel through the Law?” In other words, “How do I see Jesus being displayed in a commandment like ‘Do not steal’? Is this commandment given to show me primarily what Imust do – or to show me primarily what Jesus has done?”
Though this question is asked in regards to how preachers are to preach God’s Word, it is absolutely helpful in how we approach God’s Word on a daily basis in our devotionals.
Here’s a great way to redeem some of the time that we spend on FB. This link will take you to a Facebook page full of short Youtube clips of Pastor Mark preaching on certain subjects. Some of the topics include:
Perhaps one of the most important truths that Christians must cling to is a thorough understanding of what true, biblical faith and repentance means. Greg Gilbert, in his extremely practical and simple book titled What Is the Gospel? explains just that. For the next few entries, I will be sharing some excerpts from the book. Here’s the first:
Faith Is Reliance
Faith is one of those words that’s been misused for so long that most people have no idea what it really means. Ask someone on the street to describe faith, and while you might get some respectful-sounding words, the heart of the matter will most likely be that faith is belief in the ridiculous against all evidence.
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It’s a charade, a fun and comforting game that people are free to engage in if they wish, but with no real connection to the actual world. Children believe in Santa Claus and the Easter bunny. Mystics believe in the power of stones and crystals. Crazy people believe in fairies. And Christians, well, they believe in Jesus.
Read the Bible, though, and you’ll find that faith is nothing like that caricature. Faith is not believing in something you can’t prove, as so many people define it. It is, biblically speaking, RELIANCE. A rock-solid, truth-grounded, promise-founded trust in the risen Jesus to save you from sin.
Paul tells us about the nature of faith in Romans 4, in his discussion about Abraham. here’s how he describes Abraham’s faith:
18In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which wasas good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21fully convinced thatGod was able to do what he had promised. (Romans 4:18-21)
Despite all that was working against God’s promise – Abraham’s age, his wife’s age and barrenness – Abraham believed what God had said. He trusted in God without wavering and relied on him to accomplish his promises. Abraham’s was not a perfect faith, of course; Ishmael’s birth to Hagar proves that Abrahamat first tried to RELY on his own schemes to fulfill God’s promises. But having repented of that sin, Abraham in the end put his faith in God. He RELIED on him, as Paul says, “fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”
The gospel of Jesus Christ calls us to do the very same thing – to put our faith in Jesus, RELY on him, and trust him to do what he has promised to do.
So this is what faith is biblically. Tomorrow, we’ll go into further detail about exactly what we are to be RELYING on Jesus for. But for the meantime, some questions to think through for yourself:
What was your understanding of faith prior to reading this? Was your “faith” in Jesus, as Gilbert puts it, like believing in the Easter bunny, Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, etc? If not, then what was it?
How does Gilbert’s explanation of faith as RELIANCE on something differ from this notion of faith as casually believing in Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, etc.?
What or who are you practically RELYING on in your life currently? That is to say, what or who, if it was not in your life right now, would you feel as if something important was missing? (i.e. friends, money, reputation, intellect, God? Bible? Affection for Christ?)
One of the things that I have found alarming is the fact that many of us in Ekklesia521 still are unclear as to what the Gospel exactly is. Recently, I’ve heard answers vary anywhere from “The Gospel is the Bible…” to “The Gospel is free will…”
Now, I would never say that reciting the correct answer makes somebody a Christian. But, one thing I am certain of is that it is a cause of concern when I learn that somebody does not know what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is because, in the end, it is precisely faith in this Gospel of Jesus Christ alone that saves us.
So, to bring some clarity to the situation, I wanted to share this very helpful post from Jeff Louie, a council member of The Gospel Coalition and associate professor at Western Seminary that I found on Justin Buzzard’s blog. In it, Louie lists 55 things that the Gospel isn’t. Sometimes, I find it helpful to define what something is by defining what it is not.
I’ve gone ahead and selected a few misconceptions of the Gospel from the list that I find specifically in our Ekklesia521 group. Here they are:
“The center [of the Gospel] is accepting all people through love.”
“The center [of the Gospel] is separating ourselves from the sinful world.”
“The center [of the Gospel] is being a good person.”
“The center [of the Gospel] is your devotion and piety.”
“The center [of the Gospel] is obeying the 10 commandments, and obeying the moral law of God.”
“The center [of the Gospel] is finding out your generation’s needs, and give it to them in the name of Jesus.”
“The center [of the Gospel] is getting people involved in the church.”
“The center [of the Gospel] is about worshipping God.”
“The center [of the Gospel] is studying the Bible.”
“The center [of the Gospel] is having faith so that God will bless you materially and physically in this life.”
“The center [of the Gospel] is spiritual-mystical, finding God through prayer and fasting.”
“The center [of the Gospel] is finding out what God is saying to you.”
“The center [of the Gospel] is that you are loved by God. The center is a good self-image and self-worth.”
“The center [of the Gospel] is the power of the Holy Spirit.”
“The center [of the Gospel] is spiritual warfare.”
“The center [of the Gospel] is having faith so that miracles can be done in your life.”
“The center [of the Gospel] is faith in Jesus, but this Jesus is vague and non-specific.”
Buzzard writes that “these may, or may not be wrong concepts; [and] most have truth in them, and are good things. But they are not the “center” of the Gospel.”
What is the Center of the Gospel then?
The Gospel Center is Jesus’ person, work on the cross for forgiveness of sins, and his resurrected triumph over death. From that center we understand the fuller work of the triumphant Christ, from his perfect life to his enthronement and return. Again, some of the above statements are blatantly wrong, others have a high degree of truth in them. Most are good, but good is not the center of the Gospel. It should be the goal of the theological student to understand how the Gospel Center relates to the above statements.
Much of what is “believed” by Christians today to be Christian – in fact, has no part in Christianity, much less the Bible. Here’s an excerpt from post by Michael Kelley listing a few of these “beliefs” believed to be Christian (when in actuality, they are the furthest thing from it):
Wrong: God helps those who help themselves.
Right: God helps those who know they cannot help themselves.
Wrong: This too shall pass.
Right: This might not pass. But God is faithful to uphold the weak.
Wrong: Cleanliness is next to godliness.
Right: Don’t worry so much about outward cleanliness; we’ve got bigger problems, namely the dirt of the heart.
Wrong: Jesus Christ is my personal savior.
Right: Jesus Christ has saved me, but He does not belong to me. I belong to Him. And though I am individually rescued, I’m not the only individual that has been rescued. I have been saved into a family – a community of believers.
