Gospel Fail

One of the most disgusting and sad things that you could ever see is when a church or pastor completely forgets the Gospel message that they are charged to proclaim and protect.


One such clear example of that recently took place in a North Carolina pulpit. This incident centered on the controversial topic of homosexuality. This message is disturbing and sad. This pastor should be removed from his pulpit.

Why is it so hard for Christians to remain faithful to the Gospel of Jesus when it comes to these issues. It seems that people only swing from extreme to the other. But if we remain faithful to the Gospel, we can confidently affirm the fact that, yes, homosexuality is a sin. But so is adultery, pornography, and self-righteousness (just to name a few). All sins and sinners need the healing forgiveness of Jesus. Only Jesus never leaves people in their sin, or comfortable in their sinning (John 8:11).


Gospel Truth
In order to get the bad taste of the first video out of your mouth, please watch this powerful video of Matt Chandler who gets the Gospel right.

Seeing the Gospel in Marriage

This video is so powerful. Marriage is a living, breathing picture of the Gospel of Jesus. As Jesus loves, serves, and sanctifies the church, those same principles are seen in the marriage relationship. Christian marriage should ultimately model the good news and glorify God.
This video has rattled me and it is a beautiful picture of the Gospel.

This video of Ian and Larissa comes from Desiring God ministries. In honor of this video, Westminster Books is offering the hardcover of John Piper's Book "This Momentary Marriage" for $8. That is a great deal on an important book.

God Owes us Nothing

"We want to live as though the Christian life is a 50/50 project we undertake with God, like faith is some kind of cosmic vending machine. And we're reinforced in this idolatry by bad preachers, by ministers with no respect for the Scriptures, by talking heads who teach out of emotion instead of texts, who tickle ears with no evident fear of the God who curses bringers of alternative gospels (Gal. 1:8-9). He owes us nothing." -Matt Chandler in "the Explicit Gospel"

The *Forever* Wonder of the Gospel

Things get old fast. We get so excited about things in this world, but nothing ever really seems to hold our wonder or excitement. We crave gadgets, cars, houses, spouses, children, and all manner of other things. These are good things that do satisfy for a time, but they all eventually lose that same awe and wonder that they once created in our hearts.


I have found there is an exemption to this common reality. The exception is the Gospel of Jesus.  The gospel never gets old to me. The more I ponder the truth of what God has done for me in Jesus, the more amazed and "awed", I find myself to be.


I think this corresponds to Jared Wilson's writing about "Gospel Wakefulness", or as I like to think of it, getting hit over the head with the *Gospel Hammer*.


 I got hit by that hammer again tonight. I was reading Tim Keller's book "Counterfeit Gods", which brought a gospel thought to my mind.  The fall of mankind in Genesis 3 came as a result of Adam and Eve desiring to become God (Genesis 3:5). Because Adam and Eve desired to become God, all humans have suffered the consequence of being born in sin and must suffer the consequences of our sins. 
The Gospel Hammer hit me when I realized that the solution to our sin problem was for God to lower Himself to become man. In Jesus' humility, He came to earth, He condescended to our space and died for us (Philippians 2:6-10). 


The problem: Man wanting to become God. 
The solution: God becoming man.
Maybe that is not all that insightful, but it made me stop and wonder.  The Gospel never gets old.

Running from Prayer

Prayer is hard. It is a difficult discipline to master. All Christians know they should pray. Most would admit that they don't pray enough. Some might even confess that they don't enjoy praying. Why is this the case for many believers? Prayer is spending time in communion with the God who has delighted in us, and has proved His love for us by redeeming us through Christ.


Yet we run from prayer. This speaks to the pull of our flesh. In many ways, we are still enemies of God, trying to hide from God like Adam and Eve in Eden after they sinned. Even with redeemed souls, our worldly flesh still objects to spending time in the presence of a holy God. And so prayer is something that Christians are both drawn to do instinctively through the Spirit, and yet run from because of the power and pull of the flesh.


What can help us run to God, rather than running from God? Disciplining ourselves to pray is ultimately a love issue. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He answered that we must love God with all that we are and all that we have. Believers often drag themselves to prayer with souls that are cold. We have a sense of duty for prayer, but we fail to delight in prayer. We fail to delight in prayer because we are failing to love God. Love must fire the discipline. Love must drive all spiritual disciplines.  Without love, our acts of devotion are heartless rituals. When love is the fuel, prayer is transformed.


 How can we grow in our love for God? The answer is that we must sit under, meditate on, and glory in the truth of the Gospel. We must remember we were in a hopeless and helpless condition. We must remember what we were in our own righteousness. We must remember what we rightfully earned from God...wrath and judgment.  And then think about and stand in awe of what Jesus has done for you. Chew on the truth that you were dead in your sins and trespasses, and God made you alive together with Christ. He has forgiven you all your sins, setting them aside, nailing them to the cross. Bask in the glory of the Gospel. Behold His glory, and allow Him to transform you (2 Corinthians 3:18). Soaking in the Gospel will naturally cause you to run to God in prayer.