What is the Primacy of the Gospel?
Here is a helpful summary of DA Carson’s answer to the question, “what is the primacy of the gospel?”
What does “the primacy of the gospel” mean? I will answer that question from Don Carson’s keynote address delivered at The Gospel Coalition’s first conference in May 2007.2 Carson clarifies the gospel from 1 Cor 15:1–19 with eight summarizing words:
Christological: The gospel centers on the person and work (the life, death, and resurrection) of Jesus Christ.
theological: The gospel tells us that sin is first and foremost an offense against God and that salvation is first to last the action of God, not our own.
biblical: The gospel is essentially the message of the whole Bible.
apostolic: The gospel is passed on to us by Jesus’ disciples as authoritative eyewitnesses.
historical: The gospel is not philosophy or advice on how to find God, but rather news of what God has done in history to find and save us.
personal: The gospel must be personally believed and appropriated.
universal: The gospel is for every tongue, tribe, people, and individual.
eschatological: The gospel includes the good news of the final transformation, not just the blessings we enjoy in this age.
Busyness Robs Us
We just finished a series on Busyness and the rest of the sermons should be on the website soon. But I quoted from Mark Buchanan's book "The Rest Of God" several times in my sermons. I would recommend it for content and beauty of writing. In the following paragraphs he reflects on how busyness keeps us from knowing God.
"Busyness also robs us of knowing God the way we might. It’s true that some facets of God we glimpse only through motion. Only those who stretch out their hands and offer water to the thirsty discover, disguised among them, Jesus. Only those who trudge up the mountain, willing to grow blistered and weary on the narrow trail, witness his transfiguration. Only those who invite the stranger in to share bread realize they’ve entertained an angel unawares, sometimes even Christ himself. Often, God meets us along the way, as we go: he waits to see who will step out before he sidles up, woos us over, intercepts, redirects.
"But other facets of God we discover only through stillness. “Be still,” the psalm instructs, “and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). Only Mary, Martha’s sister, sitting wide-eyed and open-eared, truly hosts Christ in her home. Only those who wait on the Lord renew their strength. Only those who are quiet and watchful find God’s mercy that is new every morning. Only those who join him in his love for the contrite and broken in spirit recognize him hidden among “the least of these” (Matt. 25:40)."
Buchanan, Mark (2007-03-11). The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath (pp. 48-49). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
"God Loves You," But I'm Not Sure We Know What That Means.
I came across this quote from CS Lewis this morning from the Problem of Pain. He is talking about the idea of the love of God, and as usual he says very eloquently something important that I had a hunch about.
"By the goodness of God we mean nowadays almost exclusively His lovingness; and in this we may be right. And by Love, in this context, most of us mean kindness- the desire to see others than the self happy; not happy in this way or in that, but just happy. What would really satisfy us would be a God who said of anything we happened to like doing, ‘What does it matter so long as they are contented?’ We want, in fact, not so much a Father in Heaven as a grandfather in heaven- a senile benevolence who, as they say, liked to see young people enjoying themselves’, and whose plan for the universe was simply that it might be truly said at the end of each day, ‘a good time was had by all’. . . . I should very much like to live in a universe which was governed on such lines. But since it is abundantly clear that I don’t, and since I have reason to believe, nevertheless, that God is Love, I conclude that my conception of love needs correction." (Problem of Pain, pp.31-32)
When the average Christian talks to the average Postmodern/ Late-Modern person and says, "God loves you," that is a true statement. But many of our neighbors have a very different understanding of God and love. This difference is so huge that it may amount to meaning the exact opposite of what we (and the Bible) intend. For many of our neighbors, it sounds like this: "The most important thing is my freedom to do what I want and pursue my passions and desires. If anyone loves me (including God) then they would have to approve and support my attempt to enjoy life as I see it. If God loves me he will respect my rights and all that."
This is tricky because the Christian Gospel definitely says, "come as you are." And this can easily be misunderstood as an endorsement of what we are. For many people they cannot separate the idea of love and endorsement. The truth is much more difficult and much more liberating. God does love us as we are, which means he CANNOT leave us as we are. That would not be love at all. Our condition is so dark and desperate that in order to fix our mess he sent his son to be die as our substitute. The love of God also leads him to send his spirit to change our hearts and begin the process of renewal and restoration.
We need to talk about the love of God. And do it a lot. But we need to make sure we are not talking about a cheap imitation.
Summoned by God
"Perhaps it seems rather crude to describe glory as the fact of being “noticed” by God. But this is almost the language of the New Testament. St. Paul promises to those who love God not, as we should expect, that they will know Him, but that they will be known by Him (I Cor. 8:3). It is a strange promise. Does not God know all things at all times? But it is dreadfully reechoed in another passage of the New Testament. There we are warned that it may happen to any one of us to appear at last before the face of God and hear only the appalling words, “I never knew you. Depart from Me.” In some sense, as dark to the intellect as it is unendurable to the feelings, we can be both banished from the presence of Him who is present everywhere and erased from the knowledge of Him who knows all. We can be left utterly and absolutely outside—repelled, exiled, estranged, finally and unspeakably ignored. On the other hand, we can be called in, welcomed, received, acknowledged. We walk every day on the razor edge between these two incredible possibilities. Apparently, then, our lifelong nostalgia, our longing to be reunited with something in the universe from which we now feel cut off, to be on the inside of some door which we have always seen from the outside, is no mere neurotic fancy, but the truest index of our real situation. And to be at last summoned inside would be both glory and honour beyond all our merits and also the healing of that old ache. "
—from “The Weight of Glory” (The Weight of Glory) C.S. Lewis
What Kind of Faith Are You Talking About?
A majority of Americans claim to have some kind of religious belief. And the majority of those claim some version of the Christian faith. A 2007 pew poll says that 78% of Americans claim to be Christians. Of that group 51% claim to be Protestant, and 26% going to be evangelicals. Close to 26% profess to be Catholics. Of course statistics have their limits. And it is almost certain that the landscape has further changed in the last 7 years. This study tells us what people report about themselves.
But those percentages are significant. Found hiding in those numbers is a group of serious religious people. They are caught up in the fight against secularism. These people may find such numbers encouraging. Maybe things aren't so bad after all? On the other hand, people who are serious about Christianity may also find these numbers troubling. Why? Because there is a disconnect between the walk and the talk. Does anyone really believe that 78% of Americans are even trying to follow the teachings of Jesus? Perhaps that standard is too high. Do even half of these "believers" faithfully follow the teachings of their own sects?
This is not a new problem. When we read the Bible we encounter a similar situation. In the Gospel of John we read, “Now when [Jesus] was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.” (John 2:23-25, ESV)
In the original text of John chapter 2 something interesting is going on that we might miss in this translation. The word for “entrust” in v. 24 is the same word describing that the people “believed” in his name (Pisteuo- in bold above). We could translate it, “many people believed in his name…. But Jesus for his part did not believe in them.” Their claim to belief was unconvincing. And though we may be suspicious of religious claims, we do know what is going on deep in someone’s soul. But Jesus knew their hearts. He skeptical was about their faith.
In James 2, we read about a similar problem. Some of the believers of the early church professed their faith in Jesus, yet they treated the rich and the poor radically different. They treated the poor with contempt. This behavior was a kind of lie detector for their Christian profession. Their actions were inconsistent with their faith. He writes to them, “But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” It is not enough to have a claim of faith if your life doesn’t match up. And the great example is the faith of the fallen angels. They are good theologians and understand God. Even more than that, they have an appropriate emotional response, fear. They tremble before God. Which seems to be more than some of the folks reading the letter from James.
Last week at FGC we looked at Luke 8:26-39. In this passage we see an example of this demonic faith. It may have been the very incident that James had in mind. A man that was possessed by many demons falls down at the feet of Jesus. The voices that come from him are the voices of these evil spirits. And they express acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus and fear of the coming judgment day. “When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” (Luke 8:28, ESV) You can listen to the sermon here.
This is an important concept for Americans. We seem content with a little bit of religion, and a little bit of Jesus, and a little bit of pop Christianity. But there is a kind of faith that isn’t worth much. The Bible talks about it in bitter terms. It doesn’t transform the life. It doesn't make you a christian, it makes you an actor. And it is little better than the faith of demons. Throughout the rest of Luke 8 we read about commendable responses to Jesus. Read the chapter for yourself. In fact, just before this passage (about the demon possessed man) he tells the parable of the sower. It is a story that vividly depicts the different kinds of responses to Jesus and his teaching. And only one really counts. It is the one the bears fruit. Unseen faith in the heart always produces visible fruit. Not perfection. Not sinlessness. But real fruit.
As for the other kind of faith, Jesus doesn’t believe in it. I wonder what he would say about America? I wonder what he would say about my faith, and yours?
Why You Should Respond To Truth
This morning we looked at Luke 8:16-18. Below is a great passage from Bock’s commentary on the book of Luke.
“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.” (Luke 8:16-18, ESV)
“Luke 8:16-18 calls people to respond to the light because of the dire consequences of not doing so. Jesus’ message is portrayed as light. He notes that one does not light a lamp to hide it, but to make its light available by placing it on a lampstand. The function of light is to make visible that which was previously hidden in darkness. So it will be with Jesus’ message. Everything that is hid will be made known, and all secrets will be brought to light. One must therefore listen with care, since we are all accountable. There is much at stake, for whoever has, in terms of responding to revelation, will get more. On the other hand, those who do not have because they refuse to respond will lose what they seemed to have, ending up with nothing.”
Bock, Darrell L. Luke. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996. Print. The NIV Application Commentary.
Photo Courtesy of the George Eastman House
Understanding Grace
Josh read this quote on Sunday. We wanted you to have it as well as the source.
"When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good, I feel guilty about not feeling guilty. I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and I still play games. Aristotle said I am a rational animal; I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer.
"To live by grace means to acknowledge my whole life story, the light side and the dark. In admitting my shadow side, I learn who I am and what God’s grace means. As Thomas Merton put it, “A saint is not someone who is good but who experiences the goodness of God.”
"The gospel of grace nullifies our adulation of televangelists, charismatic superstars, and local church heroes. It obliterates the two-class citizenship theory operative in many American churches. For grace proclaims the awesome truth that all is gift. All that is good is ours, not by right, but by the sheer bounty of a gracious God. While there is much we may have earned—our degree, our salary, our home and garden, a Miller Lite, and a good night’s sleep—all this is possible only because we have been given so much: life itself, eyes to see and hands to touch, a mind to shape ideas, and a heart to beat with love. We have been given God in our souls and Christ in our flesh. We have the power to believe where others deny, to hope where others despair, to love where others hurt. This and so much more is sheer gift; it is not reward for our faithfulness, our generous disposition, or our heroic life of prayer. Even our fidelity is a gift. “If we but turn to God,” said St. Augustine, “that itself is a gift of God.” My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.”
I am pretty sure that we would take exception to some of the things Manning says in the book. I feel this way about most books I read. But I am also thankful that we can grow and be challenged by others even we do not agree with on everything. We do this quite often with the church fathers and reformers. This is a sign of spiritual maturity.
Manning, Brennan. The Ragamuffin Gospel Sisters, Or.: Multnomah, 2000. Print.
Pastor Matt
Photo- soup kitchen New South Wales