The Gospel for John

"Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?" And Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me." Matthew 11: 2-6 (ESV)

Did Christ not say there was no one greater born of woman than John? Was it not John that was the forerunner of Christ, announcing the good news, and calling for repentance by the people? Was it not John who witnessed the Holy Spirit descend upon Christ like a dove? Did he not leap for joy in his mother's womb when Mary's announcement was made? Yet, in his darkest hour even John the Baptist needed to hear the Gospel. Christ offered it willingly. How beautiful those words must have been to John. How beautiful they are still to us today.

P.S. November 11, 2007 was designated as the international day of prayer for the persecuted church. For most of us, living in "modern times," it is difficult to imagine that someone would be persecuted for their religious beliefs. Nonetheless, the voices under the altar who cry out "how long" are growing stronger each day. May our ears not grow deaf to them.

Lloyd-Jones on Romans

"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?" - Romans 6:1 (ESV)

"There is no better test as to whether a man is really preaching the NewTestament gospel of salvation than this: that some people might misunderstand it and misinterpret it to mean that because you are saved by grace alone it does not matter at all what you do; you can go on sinning as much as you like because it will redound all the more to the glory of grace. If my preaching and presentation of the gospel of salvation does not expose it to that misunderstanding then it is not the gospel."

- Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones expounding on Romans 6:1.

Gospel Confusion

Ask any three (3) Christians to define the gospel and you will get four (4) different answers. It seems that a term so frequently used and so important to defining our faith would have a more universally accepted definition. Graeme Goldsworthy points out that some confuse the gospel with the proper response to it.

"But it is important to keep the gospel itself clearly distinct from our response to it or from the results of it in our lives and in the world. If our proper response to the gospel message is faith, then we should not make faith part of the gospel itself. It would be absurd to call people to have faith in faith!. . .[W]hat you or I do in response to the gospel is not itself the gospel. You cannot say that repentance and faith are the gospel. They are what the Holy Spirit enables us to do about the gospel." According to Plan, InterVarsity Press, 1991 p. 81,83.

So how do you define the gospel? Goldsworthy defines it in part as follows:

"It [the gospel] deals with the problems that he [God] perceives and defines. It does not primarily deal with our needs as we perceive them - how can I live a better life, overcome my hang-ups, make sense of my existence - although it may include these. The gospel is God's way of dealing with his 'problem' of how he, a holy and just God, can justify and accept the sinner." Id. at 81-82.

Of course, the cross was His complete and perfect solution.

The Potter and the Clay

In his post entitled Don't be Stingy, John Hendryx, over at Reformation Theology (one of my favorite blogs), responds to Brian McLauren's assertion that anyone who believes in election must be so self-absorbed in their standing before God that they view themselves as having what he calls 'exclusive privilege' over others. Here are a few nuggets from his response. . .

"If Jesus died for all our sins, this includes the sin of unbelief. So even the very heart and new life needed to apprehend the excellency of Christ are granted to us. Our unregenerate wills are not sufficient to pull ourselves out of our own hostile nature. In other words, the moment we remove divine election from Christianity is the moment we remove salvation by grace alone in Christ alone."

"Let me say this, if you reject election, EVEN if, in word, you say that all glory goes to God, your theology loudly declares otherwise, for it is not the grace of Jesus Christ alone that saves but grace plus some additional element you wish to keep back for yourself. So in actuality it is those who reject the biblical doctrine of election that can boast of privilege due to some factor in their natural selves."

Steven Camp, of the Calvinist Gladfly, has called for the discipline of McLauren for his heretical beliefs, i.e. his challege to "the veracity and authority of Scripture; justification by faith alone; imputation of the righteousness of Christ; substitutionary atonement; the omniscience of God, Hell-eternal punishment, etc." While I second the motion, I doubt the Emergent Church folks have the courage or the structure to begin such a task.

The Gospel at Dairy Queen

. . .Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Revelation 19:9. (ESV)

I have found that the Gospel goes well with cheeseburgers and fries. Recently, on a return trip from vacation, my family stopped a Dairy Queen for supper. It is interesting how the Holy Spirit prompts little hearts to ask deep eschatological questions that are difficult for adults to answer. One of those is, "What is the Gospel?" How do you explain it to a three (3) year old or a thirty (30) year old for that matter? I have taught my girls that the Gospel is simply this, "Jesus will make sure you are at the party." They seem to understand it quickly. They love parties! I want to remind them in the same sentence that it is Christ's work, not their merit, that will get them there. I want to emphasize the promises of God, if you will. Now, they ask me all the time, "What will the party be like?" and "Who will be at the party?" I even overheard my oldest daughter, who was five (5) at the time, ask her cousin, who was her same age, "Do you love Jesus?" He responded, "Yes." My daughter replied, "Then you will be at the party!" I think she gets it.

How do you explain the Gospel to your little ones? How do you explain it to yourself?

Kingdom Confusion