A Gospel Primer for Christians

     Milton Vincent is the Pastor-Teacher of Cornerstone Bible Church in Riverside, California. He has written a must-read book for every Christian. A Gospel Primer for Christians is a great aid to any follower of Christ. Vincent breaks down the book into 4 different secitons: Reasons to Rehearse the Gospel Daily, A Gospel Narrative - Prose Version, A Gospel Narrative - Poetic Version, and Surprised by the Gospel. Vincent writes in the introduction:

     “…this booklet is based on the premise that all Christians should become expert in their knowledge and  use of the gospel, not simply so they can share it faithfully with non-Christians, but also so they can speak it to themselves every day and experience its benefits. In fact, if Christians would do more preaching of the gospel to themselves, non-Christians might have less trouble comprehending its message, for they would see its truth and power exuding from believers in indisputable ways.”

     We must strive to have the Gospel as “first importance” (1 Cor. 15:3) in our lives as Christians if we are to properly live the Christian life. This book is a great contribution to you cultivating that priority day by day.

New Attitude Conference 2008

    In less than a month, there will be over 3,000 students, singles, and young married couples making their way to Louisville for the upcoming New Attitude Conference. I attended this conference for the first time last summer, and NA is easily one of the best conferences I’ve ever been to. Between the community, the speakers (CJ Mahaney, Al Mohler, Mark Dever, John Piper, Joshua Harris, and Eric Simmons), the bookstore, and everything this conference has to offer you will leave New Attitude with an increased passion for the local church and for the truths of the Gospel. Over at the Sovereign Grace Blog, CJ Mahaney has written a post on ”New Attitude 2008 and Why You Should Come.” Here’s the promo video for NA:

    This year’s conference is focused on rediscovering the doctrine of Scripture. I highly recommend that you register for this conference, especially since registration closes on May 5th. Whether you’re going or not, start praying for the speakers and attendees of the conference; it’s going to be a very fruitful time.

—-As a quick side note, I encourage you to check out the New Attitude blog. They are putting out some really great posts and articles. Two articles that are “must-reads” in my opinion are the two that discuss “The Gospel and Relationships.” There’s one for guys by Jospeh Stigora and one for girls by Erin Sutherland.

Is the Gospel “good news”?

     As I made my way through John Piper’s God is the Gospel, there are a number of things that the Holy Spirit convicted me of. One of the main things that was brought to my attention is that I don’t ultimately view the Gospel as the “good news” that it truly is, and I think that there are many in the Church today that do the same thing. A lot of people will say stuff like, “We just have to share the good news” or “Go and preach the good news!” But, do we really believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is “good news”? I think that if we did, the majority of our church services, evangelistic efforts, and our own personal relationships with the Lord would be drastically different.

     In this book Piper’s overall point is that the Gospel is good news because God is the Gospel (hence the book title). What he means by this is that the news of the Gospel is good because of what it centers around: God Himself. Piper explains throughout the 179 pages of the book that the best thing the Gospel does for us, the most central part of the Gospel, is the fact that our faith in those truths bring us to God; the saving truths of Scripture allow us to come to God and behold Him and, as Piper would say, to “see and savor” who He is. This is the main thread that is woven throughout the book, and Piper shows how this is lived out in various aspects of our lives; I’ll let you read the book for yourself to get all the details.

       But why does this matter? Why is it so important to view the Gospel as “good news”? Well, I am convinced that the way that we view the Gospel dictates how its message will be preached and applied in our lives. So if I don’t see that the Gospel is good news because it allows me to behold my God (Isaiah 40:9), if I don’t see that “Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God…” (1 Peter 3:18, emphasis added) then the Gospel won’t be shared, talked about, or lived out in a way that shows that. What you believe about the Gospel determines your behavior towards the Gospel. So without a deep, genuine belief in your heart that the Gospel is true and that the highest purpose of that truth is not to give you salvation, or forgiveness, or justification, but it’s to give you God and all other gifts of the Gospel flow from Him then that won’t be seen in your life. The Gospel is not good news because it makes us comfortable or wealthy, there is no evidence of that in Scripture, but the Gospel is good news because it opens the door for us to do what we’re made for: behold and know the almighty, sovereign, just, gracious God of the Universe. God, thank You that You have brough us to Yourself through the beautiful blood of Christ. Make the Gospel “good news” in the hearts of Your people.

    

The Unchanging Nature of the Gospel

    There are mornings when I wake up and for some reason I’m just not excited about getting into the Word that morning, or I’m just not looking forward to doing ministry that day. We all have days like these. There are other days when I’m the exact opposite; I wake up excited about having time to spend with the Lord and I’m motivated to live out what I learn from the Word. I’m not unusual in this sense at all; anyone who says that they wake up excited and can’t wait to get into the Word every single morning is lying. Also, there are times in my life when everything seems like it is going wrong. It’s as if it is impossible for one thing to turn out good for me. Once again, this is something that we all experience. In most cases, I end up allowing these circumstances to influence a negative outlook on the rest of life, especially my spiritual life.

     Looking back on how I’ve reacted to these feelings and circumstances, it just seems ridiculous to allow that which is temporal in my life to dictate how I view that which is eternal. It’s something that we all do. But I am so thankful to God that He doesn’t work according to how we feel. It’s not as if God becomes less of God just because we don’t “feel” His truth that day. God’s goodness doesn’t decrease just because our circumstances might not seem “good” to us. This tendency in our lives is a product of the culture that we live in. One of the main messages that flows out of our culture is to do follow your heart or just go with your feelings. We, as Christians, end up transferring this mindset into our spiritual lives and it distorts our view of God and His Gospel.

     But I urge you to cling to this truth: The truth and power of the Gospel are not dictated by how we feel about it or by what our circumstances may say. I have to preach this concept to myself over and over each day. Praise God that His Gospel of salvation is always true regardless of how we feel about it. Rejoice in the fact that no matter what your circumstances may be the Gospel is always powerful. Why is this? Because the Gospel is God’s Gospel. We serve a God that is immutable; He never changes. Therefore, the good news that is the message of our salvation will never change because the Author Himself never changes. God, thank you that You are eternal and thank you that Your Gospel that saves us is eternal. I am humbled by the fact that you work completely outside of us. You don’t need us, yet You choose to use us. “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!” (Psalm 115:1).

The Exception

     After I posted my previous post on how the Cross of Christ and the truth displayed in that historic event negates all boasting in our lives, I realized that there was an exception to what I was saying. I think most of the people who read it understood that when I talked about boasting I was taking about boasting in ourselves–sinful pride. But I think that there’s one response to the truth of the Cross that is necessary to our lives as believers: boasting.

     There’s no doubt in my mind that I sound like I’m speaking out of two sides of my mouth, but let me explain what I mean.  The message of the Gospel nullifies all boasting in ourselves; our boasting is excluded by the law of faith (Romans 3). But there is one type of boasting that God permits, and even encourages, us to have in light of the Gospel. This is a boasting in the Cross itself. The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Galatians proclaims this truth, “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (6:14). Notice the word “except,” this signifies that Paul only desires to boast in the Cross and that alone.

     The question to ask is, “How do I boast in the Cross in my everyday life?” I think in order to answer this question we need to continue to look at Paul’s life. In most of his letters Paul writes to the different congregations about how he boasts about them, and how he boasts in his weaknesses, etc. Is Paul contradicting himself? No, because Paul sees the world through the lens of the Gospel. Paul sees all things in his life as “blood-bought gifts” (Piper). Paul knows that if it wasn’t for the death of Christ on the Cross then he wouldn’t have a church to write to, and if Christ hadn’t rose again on the third day he wouldn’t be convicted of his weaknesses. If the Gospel was a false message then Paul wouldn’t have had a Church to persecute before he became a Christian, and he never would’ve become a Christian after that. I say all that to say this, Paul sees all other boasting as boasting in the Cross of Christ.

     Is this how we see the Cross? Do we see all things in our lives as “blood-bought gifts”? Am I even seeking to boast solely in the Cross? The Cross “pours contempt on all our pride,” but are we only taking off the old self but not putting on the new self? We must do both; take off the past pride and arrogance in ourselves and things of this world, and put on the truth of the Cross and boast in that and that alone.

Why the Cross Negates All Boasting

     I am a prideful person. There are so many instances daily that my main focus is how I can be noticed and how I can get my name complimented and praised. If I was truly honest, I would admit that I want my own self and who I am to be lifted high and maginified. I think more highly of myself than I ought to; I’m consumed with self. Why do I say all this? Well, to ask for you to pray for me in this area, but mainly to expose this reality in light of the truth of the Cross. As I think on this truth, I don’t see any ground for my boasting. How can a man boast before the Cross of Christ? If you think about the Cross and what it means according to the Scriptures, there is no room to boast at the foot of the Cross. Yet, I continue to boast in myself; this is a result of not consistently preaching the Gospel to myself.

     There are a number of truths that can be seen in the work of Christ on the Cross, but there are two that the Lord has been constantly teaching me through His Word these past few weeks. One, God’s grace displayed on the Cross, and, two, man’s sinfulness displayed on the Cross.

     When we look at the truth of Christ being crucified on the Cross, God’s grace is put on full display. If you see the Cross but don’t see the grace of God, then I’m not sure what you’re looking at. The fact that a sovereign, holy, righteous God would send His Son, Jesus Christ, to a world full of sinners that would mock Christ and spit on Him, in order to save those very same sinners completely screams GRACE!! The only explanation for such an event is the grace of God. This undeserved gift of salvation through faith in the work of Christ is our eternal hope. The truth of Christ becoming a “propitiation by His blood” (meaning His death satisfied the righteous wrath of God, and, at the same time, covered our sins), and that we did nothing to earn this or to make it happen is a manifestation of God’s mercy and grace.

     Seeing the Cross not only means seeing God’s grace, but it also means seeing the greatness of our sin. “It was my sin that held Him there;” our sin was the reason Christ had to die. Christ’s death satisfied the penalty for our breaking of God’s law. But, the grossness of our sin is seen in the fact that it killed the perfect, spotless, blameless Lamb of God. See the nails in His hands and feet, the crown of thorns on His head, and the sword in His side– how sinful we are! We were right there with the crowds screaming, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” Our sins hammered those nails, our sins shoved the crown of thorns onto His brow, and our sins stabbed the sword into His side.

     The Cross displays both of these biblical truths. Our sin is great, but God’s grace “is greater than all our sin.” We are so wretched and depraved, but the God of our salvation is infinitely merciful and gracious. But we can’t leave Christ on the Cross; the Gospel wouldn’t be the Gospel if it wasn’t for the resurrection. Christ conquered the power of sin and death, and our souls can now have life through the power of His resurrection! May God continue to grow us in our knowledge of the beauty and depth of the Gospel.

Sermon on the Necessity of the Gospel

     Adam Kendrick has posted a link to my talk from Sunday night, March 25th, on the other blog that I contribute to, Soli Deo Gloria. My two-part post on responding to the Gospel came out of this talk. So if you’re interested in hearing the message in it’s entirety, check out this post.

Responding to the Gospel (Pt. 2)

     This is the second, and last, part of my previous post on our response, as believers, to the truth of the Gospel. When I talk about our response to the Gospel, what I’m talking about is how we live out the truth of our salvation. How does the fact that you have been justified in the sight of God come out in your life? Can people tell that the righteousness of the perfect Son of God has been imputed to you? These are the kinds of things I’m talking about; we have receieved salvation through faith in Christ, but are we living that way? Here are the last 5 of the 10 responses:

6. Forgiveness of Others: If we truly the grasp the gravity of the Gospel, then we will see how much we’ve truly been forgiven. As a result, how can you know how much you’ve been forgiven and then look at the sin of another person and even think about not forgiving them?

7. Strength in Trials: The Gospel that unites us with Christ gives us hope that nothing can separate us from Him. We look to the promise of Romans 8, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers; nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (verses 38,39)

8. Power in Temptation: We see our identity in Christ through the lens of the Gospel. We are justified, righteous and holy. This is a truth that we use to battle Satan in the midst of temptation. We stand on the solid rock of Christ’s salvation and who that saving work changes us to be.

9. Take Risks: God wants us to take risks for the Gospel. This can mean risking a reputation, a job, a friendship, and, in some cases, even a life. We must realize that the only reason we can take risks is because God can’t. The word “risk” implies some level of ignorance in not knowing what the outcome will be; since our Lord is an all-knowing, sovereign God, it’s impossible for Him to take risks. Therefore, our ability to take risks for the Gospel is grounded in the sovereignty of the God that saves us.

10. Be Authentic: The Gospel liberates us from having to put on masks around other people. The Christian life is not a cultural hiding game, and spiritual maturity is not measured by how well you can hide your sin. Though we try so hard to conceal our sin, it has been exposed; it’s been exposed to Jesus. So we don’t have to hide the fact that our sin is real, but we can acknowledge that truth and find hope in the fact that our Savior is real also.

 What is your response to the Gospel?

Responding to the Gospel (Pt. 1)

     This past Sunday night, March 25th, God gave me the opportunity to preach at Boone’s Creek Baptist Church for their Sunday night service. This is a church that sees their role in training young men for ministry, and it’s very encouraging to see. I spoke out of Romans 3 and I closed with 10 different response that we should have to the Gospel as believers. This is only applicable for those who are followers of Christ because there’s only one response possible for an unbeliever and that’s the response of faith in Christ. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s just a few that came to mind as I prepared.

1. Seeing both yourself and God rightly: throught the Gospel, we see our sinfulness in light of God’s holiness. This gives us a proper view of ourselves and a correct view of our God.

2. Living in light of God’s grace: Our legalistic minds are nullified by the grace of God. Instead of trying to live in such a way that we earn God’s favor, we live knowing that Christ has earned His favor for us. We partake in the spiritual disciplines not so we can earn this favor, but because the grace that saves us and initially earns God’s favor for us in Christ is the same grace that disciplines us.

3.  Humility: The Gospel shows us that the ground is level at the foot of the Cross. Everyone is in need of God’s salvation, but everyone is also undeserving. Yet God chooses to save His Elect by His grace and apart from anything that we do. The Gospel humbles us by our sinfulness and by Christ’s saving work on our behalf.

4. Evangelism: This seem like an obvious one, but the more we preach the Gospel to ourselves daily, the more we grow in our passion for its truth, and the more we desire to share its message.

5. Freedom from Guilt: We look to the promise of Romans 8, “There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Through the imputed righteousness of Christ we are justified and declared not guilty before God. It’s crazy to think that the same God that condemns us is the same God that pardons us from His condemnation.

Advance the Gospel, not America

     Right now, I am in Greensboro, NC at the MidSouth Winter Conference that is hosted by Campus Crusade for Christ. So far it has a been a very challenging week; the main session teaching and seminar times have proved to be both encouraging and convicting.

     I attended a seminar today that discussed the issue of cross-cultural ministry. As we walked through the do’s and don’ts of cross-cultural ministry, I began to think about what our motivation should be in sharing the gospel with other cultures. In the Church today, I think that there is this idea that in order for someone to truly be a Christian they must live under a democratic government and emulate the American culture. (Before you jump to conclusions, please realize that this post has nothing to do with politics, but rather with evangelism). There’s this common misconception among believers, and the American people in general, that if something is different then it must be wrong. How foolish we are to think this way!

     This shows a misunderstanding of what our Savior was all about. Contrary to popular belief, Jesus Christ was not a white, middle-class republican. (Once again, I’m not talking politics here. I’m talking about the advancement of the gospel). A lot of times we give Jesus those characteristics and, as a result, think that in order for someone to be saved they must be just like that. During our seminar time, the Holy Spirit awakened my mind to the fact that the gospel favors no race, language, culture, political policy, etc. So, if this is true, why do we preach the opposite? Yes, a Christian in Africa is in many ways very different from a Christian in the United States, but there’s one thing they do have in common: salvation by grace through faith. When we get to Heaven, all cultures, races, and ethnic groups will worship around the throne of God. So I encourage us as believers, as the Church, to preach the saving work of our Savior, Jesus Christ! Preach the gospel to all nations, not the American way of life. Our salvation is proved not by our citizenship in America, but by our citizenship in Heaven.

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As soon as this conference is done here in Greensboro, I’ll be driving to Atlanta to attend the Passion 07 Conference. I’ll be live-blogging the Passion Conference each day (Jan. 1st-4th), so be sure to check back for updates.