It's amazing how easy it is to lose sight of the main thing. We get so lost in the sea of details that we take our eyes of the target. Suddenly, we find ourselves consumed by all the little things that were never intended to dominate our thoughts and discussions. Saddly, such is often the case when it comes to the Gospel. We lose sight of the fact that the Gospel is simply and soley about God. But is it is more than just mental agreeing with facts about Jesus, it is about a true and genuine treasuring of Christ. I was reading a chapter in a book by John Piper, the Teaching Pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. (Copyright 2006 by Desiring God Foundation) What follows below is an excerpt from Chapter 22, "To Bring Us To God." (p. 62) that stated what had been floating around in my head for the past weeks.
"When all is said and done, God is the gospel. Gospel means "good news." Christianity is not first theology, but news. It is like prisoners of war hearing by hidden radio that the allies have landed and rescue is only a matter of time. The guards wonder why all the rejoicing. But what is the ultimate good in the good news? It all ends in one thing: God himself. All the words of the gospel lead to him or they are not gospel. For example, salvation is not good news if it only saves from hell and not for God. Forgiveness is not good news if it only gives relief from guilt and doesn't open the way to God. Justification is not good news if it only makes us legally acceptable to God but doesn't bring fellowship with God. Redemption is not good news if it only liberates us from bondage but doesn't bring us to God. Adoption is not good news if it only puts us in the Father's family but not in his arms. This is crucial. Many people seem to embarce the good news without embracing God. There is no sure evidence that we have a new heart just becuase we want to escape hell. That's a perfectly natural desire, not a supernatural one. It doesn't take a new heart to want the psychological relief of forgiveness, or the removal of God's wrath, or the inheritance of God's world. All these things are understandable without any spiritual change. You don't need to be born again to want these things. The devils want them."
May we never deceive ourselves into thinking that the gospel is just a mental acknowledgement of facts about Jesus. But may we realize that it is about a treasuring of God and a desire for the joy that can be found as we are brought to Him through the blood of Christ.
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1 comment:
Joe,
I think you are right on in this post, well you and Piper. One of the things that bothers me with they way the Gospel is often presented is the focus on the reward or more specifically -freed from Hell get to go to Heaven. I feel there is a problem when Heaven or Hell is the focus of your Christianity. If Hell was the reason I decide to follow Christ then who cares about sanctification? I just feel that the emphasis on God's work through Christ is the most beautiful part of the whole thing.
Thanks for your post.
Josh King
Minister of Students, THECREEK
www.jowiki.net
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